A Small Town Christmas

by Sheila Roberts

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend just until smooth. Serve in a champagne flute or margarita glass and garnish with a small peppermint stick. Pour in just a dab more club soda to add decorative fizz. Makes 1 drink.

  Joy’s Stuffed Phyllo Appetizers

  1 box packaged stuffing mix

  1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese at room temperature

  ¼ cup dried cranberries or sultana raisins

  ½ cup chopped pecans (optional; use if you want some crunch)

  4 sheets packaged frozen phyllo dough

  16 muffin tins

  1. Prepare stuffing on the stovetop according to package directions. After it has set the required number of minutes, cut up the cream cheese and stir it into the stuffing with the cranberries and pecans, if using.

  2. Take out 4 sheets of phyllo dough and spread them on a counter, keeping them stacked one on top of each other. Peel back the top three layers and brush the bottom layer lightly with oil or melted butter. Then drop the third layer back over it and brush that. Repeat the process with the second and first layers. Phyllo dough can be intimidating because it tears so easily, but don’t worry. A tear here or there won’t matter. Cut the stack in quarters and cut each quarter into quarters again. You should now have 16 small stacks with each stack containing 4 sheets.

  3. Take the top 2 sheets from each of your 16 stacks and lay them in a greased muffin tin. Spoon in 1 to 2 soup-spoon-size helpings of the stuffing, then top with the remaining sheets and fold them over the bottom so it looks like a little bundle. If the bundles look dry, brush lightly with oil. Bake at 350° F. for about 8 minutes (no longer than 10—this stuff browns quickly!). Makes 16 appetizers.

  Joy’s Vegetable Soup

  (In Loving Memory of Don Moyle)

  1 pound short rib or beef shank

  Stockpot filled with stock or water

  1 (2½-pound) can diced tomatoes

  ½ cup lentils

  2 stalks celery, finely chopped

  1 parsnip, finely chopped

  1 rutabaga, finely chopped

  ¼ of a small cabbage, finely chopped

  1 onion, finely chopped

  2 carrots, finely chopped

  2 potatoes, cubed

  Parsley, minced

  Ketchup

  Salt and pepper to taste

  Oregano (just a dash)

  1. Boil the beef until you can pull the meat off the bones, about 45 minutes. Remove the meat, discard the bone, and when the meat is cool cut it into bite-size pieces. Add tomatoes, lentils, celery, and the other vegetables to broth. Add seasoning and a small amount of parsley, if available. Bring to a slow boil and simmer 2 to 3 hours. Add a couple of shots of ketchup for color and flavor.

  2. Return the meat to the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of oregano. Makes 6 to 8 servings with leftovers to spare. This soup freezes well.

  Sharon’s Granny Patrick’s Stuffing

  (Courtesy of Dustin Patrick)

  1 pan of corn bread (white is preferred, but you can use yellow)

  ¼ cup butter

  ½ onion, diced

  3 celery stalks, chopped Salt and pepper to taste

  1 tablespoon rubbed sage or to taste

  1 can mushrooms, chopped

  3 to 4 hard-boiled eggs, cut up

  1 can cream of mushroom soup

  ½ cup chicken broth

  1. Crumble corn bread into a large bowl. Melt butter in a large skillet. Sauté the onion and celery until onion is tender but not brown. You may add salt and pepper and some of the sage. Add mushrooms to the sauté for the last minute or so. Add the mixture to the corn bread along with the eggs, then start adding sage and stirring. Mix well. Continue adding sage just until you can taste it. Mix in the cream of mushroom soup. Mix in the broth a little at a time until the dressing is very moist but not soupy.

  2. Bake at 325° F. for 50 to 60 minutes, or use the mixture to stuff a turkey. If baking separately, stuffing is done when the top is a little crunchy but the inside is still moist. Makes enough stuffing for a medium-sized (15- to 20-pound) turkey.

  Joy’s Christmas Bonbons

  (Courtesy of Stacia Swenson)

  3 boxes powdered sugar

  1 can sweetened condensed milk

  2 sticks margarine

  ¼ teaspoon each of 3 different extracts, such as mint, orange, rum

  Food coloring

  3 to 4 packages imitation milk chocolate chips (see note at end)

  1 inch paraffin wax

  1. Mix powdered sugar with warmed-up milk (heat opened can in a saucepan of boiling water) and margarine until smooth. Separate filling into 3 batches. Flavor and color each batch. Wrap in plastic wrap to prevent air from drying out filling when it’s not being worked. Shape each batch into different forms (patties, squares, balls), making them candy-size. Put them on cookie sheets and stick them in the freezer to set until chocolate coating is ready.

  2. Melt chocolate and wax together in the top of the double boiler. Chocolate is the right consistency when it pours from the spoon. If too thick, add more wax. Dip the candy forms into the chocolate and set out on foil-lined cookie sheets to cool. Pack them up in gift boxes about the size of powdered sugar boxes and store in a cool place. Makes enough for about 6 small gift boxes (about 200 candies). You can use real chocolate chips, but it’s much harder to get the chocolate to set up right when making the candies. Be prepared to use more wax.

  Tiffany’s Fudge Meltaways

  (Courtesy of Rana French)

  Bottom layer:

  ½ cup butter

  1 (1-ounce) square unsweetened chocolate

  ¼ cup granulated sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  1 egg, beaten

  2 cups graham cracker crumbs

  1 cup flaked coconut

  ½ cup chopped walnuts

  Frosting:

  ¼ cup butter

  1 tablespoon milk or cream

  2 cups sifted powdered sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  Topping:

  2 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate (the recipe actually calls for 1½ squares, but Tiff uses 2 to make sure she has enough to spread over the frosting)

  1. For the bottom layer, melt ½ cup butter and 1 square of chocolate in a saucepan. Blend sugar, vanilla, egg, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and walnuts into the butter mixture.

  2. Mix well and press into an ungreased baking dish, 9 × 9 × 1¾ inches. Refrigerate.

  3. For the frosting, mix together the butter, milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Spread over the crumb mixture and return to the fridge to chill.

  4. After it’s set, spread with the melted chocolate. Lightly score the top for easier cutting. Chill again. Makes 1 dozen squares.

  Sharon’s Andes Mint Cookies

  (Courtesy of Carol Schmidt)

  This was once a top-secret recipe that Sharon never shared with anyone until Prevention magazine had the nerve to leak it a couple of seasons ago. So, Sharon sends her apologies to Carol (so does Sheila) for sharing it, but there’s really no point in keeping the secret anymore.

  ¾ cup butter

  1½ cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

  2 tablespoons water

  2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet

  chocolate chips

  2 eggs

  2½ cups flour

  1¼ teaspoon baking soda

  ½ teaspoon salt

  2 to 3 boxes Andes crème de menthe mints

  Chocolate sprinkles (optional)

  1. In a large, heavy saucepan over low heat, cook butter, sugar, and water until butter is melted. Remove from heat, add the chocolate, and stir until it is completely melted.

  2. Pour the mixture into a large mixer bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool slightly. With mixer at high speed, beat in eggs 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating just until blended. Chill dough 1 hour for easier handling.

  3. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 2 cookie sheets with foil
. Roll dough into small (about 1-inch) balls; place them 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 13 minutes—no longer (cookies will crisp as they cool). Remove from oven and immediately place a mint over each cookie. Allow it to soften, then swirl over top. If desired, decorate with chocolate sprinkles. Remove from cookie sheets and cool. Frosting will harden once it cools. Makes about 80. (Each contains 90 calories, but when you eat these with friends the calories only count half as much.)

  Tiffany’s Frosted Christmas Brownies

  2 sticks butter (salted)

  4 ounces (squares) unsweetened chocolate

  4 eggs

  2¼ cups sugar

  1 teaspoon peppermint extract

  1 cup flour

  1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips

  Frosting:

  2 cups powdered sugar

  3 tablespoons softened butter (salted)

  2 tablespoons milk

  Green or red food coloring

  Crushed peppermint candy (about ¾ cup, or however much or little you want)

  1. Melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Cool. Beat eggs with a mixer for a couple of minutes, slowly adding sugar. Add peppermint extract and flour and stir until just combined. Add chocolate chips and chocolate-butter mixture.

  2. Pour into greased 9- × 13-inch pan. Bake at 350° F. for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool.

  3. For the frosting, combine the sugar, butter, milk, and a drop or two of food coloring. Spread over the brownies. (Note: frosting will thinly cover brownies. If you like more frosting, you may want to double the recipe.) Top with crushed peppermint candy. Makes a couple dozen or so, depending on what size you cut the brownies.

  Joy’s White Chocolate Shortbread

  The original shortbread recipe called for 4 cups of flour, but with that you wind up adding extra butter and/or a tablespoon of water to get the dough to hold together, so Joy just starts with less flour. If the dough feels sticky you can always add more flour.

  3½ cups flour

  2 sticks butter (use the real thing, salted—no substitutes!)

  ¾ cup sugar

  4 (1-ounce) squares white chocolate, melted

  Flaked coconut (optional)

  1. Mix the flour, butter, and sugar together until it holds in a ball like pie crust, then divide into 3 balls. Turn onto a large ungreased cookie sheet and flatten into circles about ¼ inch thick and 5 inches wide. Poke full of holes with a fork, then cut into pie wedge sections with a sharp knife. (This will make it easier to get the cookies apart once they’re baked.) You should get about 6 wedges per circle.

  2. Bake at 350° F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut them again after you take them out of the oven and let them cool.

  3. Melt white chocolate according to package instructions. Then frost the shortbread from the tip to the middle. If desired, you can top each cookie with a teaspoon of flaked coconut. Let the white chocolate harden completely before storing. Makes about 18 wedges.

  Joy’s Gumdrop Cookies

  (In Loving Memory of Anne Bates, Who Died Way Too Young)

  ½ cup shortening or margarine

  ½ cup granulated sugar

  ½ cup brown sugar

  1 egg

  1 tablespoon water

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  1 cup sifted flour

  ½ teaspoon baking powder

  ½ teaspoon baking soda

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1½ cups rolled oats

  ¾ cup gumdrops, cut into small pieces

  Approximately 1½ cups flaked coconut (optional)

  1. Cream together shortening, sugars, egg, water, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients and the oats to the egg-sugar mixture. Add cut-up gumdrops. Form into 1-inch balls and roll in coconut, if desired.

  2. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake the cookies at 350° F. for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen. (Joy thinks. It’s very hard to get an accurate count when people keep snitching the dough and snatching cookies the minute they come off the cookie sheet. She suggests doubling the recipe.)

  Tiffany’s Snowball Cookies

  1 cup butter (can use half shortening)

  ½ cup powdered sugar, plus additional for rolling cookies in after they are baked

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  2¼ cups flour

  ½ cup chopped walnuts

  Cream butter and sugar. Add salt, vanilla, flour, and walnuts and mix. Roll into 1-inch balls and bake at 350° F. for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. (Watch these carefully. Don’t overbake them.) Cool on rack. After they are cool, roll in powdered sugar. Makes 2 dozen.

  Joy’s Frosted Biscotti

  (Adapted from a Recipe Courtesy of Susan Abbe)

  1 cup pecans, lightly toasted

  1 cup dried cranberries

  2 eggs

  ½ cup sugar

  ½ cup vegetable oil

  2 tablespoons grated orange peel

  1 teaspoon cinnamon

  1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

  1¼ teaspoons baking powder

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  ½ teaspoon orange extract

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  2 cups flour

  6 (1-ounce) squares white chocolate, melted

  1. Toast the pecans by placing them on a lightly greased baking sheet and into a 350° F. oven for about 15 minutes. Stir the pecans at the end of each 5 minutes of baking time. Take from oven and set aside to cool.

  2. Place the cranberries in a bowl with hot water to cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

  3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, oil, orange peel, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, vanilla, orange extract, and salt. Blend. Add the flour, pecans, and drained cranberries and stir into a stiff dough. Turn out onto a heavily floured surface and knead until smooth, counting your kneading turns. Knead about 20 turns. Add more flour if needed to reduce stickiness.

  4. Divide dough in half. Form each half into a 2-inch-diameter log with a slight hump going down the middle. (These actually look a little like mini bread loaves.) Put them on a large cookie sheet greased lightly with cooking spray and bake them at 350° F. for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Let cool for 10 minutes. (Make sure you cool them for the full 10 minutes or they won’t cut well!)

  5. With a spatula, carefully transfer the logs to a cutting surface. Using a serrated knife, cut them on the diagonal into ½-inch-thick slices. Return the slices, cut side down, to the baking sheet. Bake until brown at 350° F. about 20 minutes more. Cool on wire racks. When cool, melt white chocolate slowly in a heavy pan and dip one whole side of each biscotti in the chocolate, scraping off the excess as you remove each from the pan. Return the biscotti to wire racks and let them stand until chocolate is hardened. Makes 16 to 24.

  Carol’s Figgy Pudding

  (Formerly Mrs. Moyle’s Figgy Pudding; In Loving Memory of Florence Moyle)

  1/3 teaspoon baking soda (I know. Who uses 1/3 of a teaspoon of anything? My mom. And this recipe is so good I honestly didn’t want to tamper with it.)

  1/3 teaspoon salt

  1/3 teaspoon cinnamon

  1/3 teaspoon nutmeg

  1/3 teaspoon allspice

  ½ cup flour

  ½ cup sugar

  1/3 cup each of raisins, candied fruit mix, cut up figs, and dates

  1/3 cup grated apple

  1/3 cup grated carrot

  2 tablespoons melted butter

  1 egg, beaten

  1 tablespoon lemon juice

  1. Sift dry ingredients together and mix with dried fruits. Add grated apple and carrot. Add melted butter and egg and stir in lemon juice.

  2. Steam in the top of a medium-size double boiler for about an hour or so. The pudding will remain a little moist, but just be sure the center is a little bit firm. It will firm up a little more when it cools. Wrapped
in foil, it will keep well for several weeks in your refrigerator.

  3. To serve, heat the pudding in the top of a double boiler. Should be served hot. Makes 6 to 8 servings, depending on how much they eat.

  Old-Fashioned Pudding Sauce

  1 heaping tablespoon softened butter

  1/3 cup flour

  1/3 cup sugar

  Salt

  ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

  2½ cups boiling water

  Lemon juice (optional)

  In a small saucepan cream together the butter, flour, and sugar. Add dash of salt and the nutmeg. Pour in a small amount of hot water to make a paste, then slowly add 2 cups boiling water to make a sauce of the desired thickness. If desired, add lemon juice to taste. Serve hot with the pudding. Serves 6 to 8.

  Happy Holidays and Happy Eating!

  Acknowledgments

  I’d like to thank my friend Kema Bohn for helping me get my cancer facts straight. You beat the disease with grace and dignity—you’re an inspiration. Thank you also to the Port Orchard Brain Trust: Lois Dyer, Rose Marie Harris, Patty Jough-Haan, Krysteen Seelen, Susan Plunkett, Kate Breslin, Susan Wiggs, and Anjalee Banerjee. Your insights were always appreciated. I also want to acknowledge my amazing agent, Paige Wheeler, and my wonderful editor, Rose Hilliard. Where would I be without you two? (I don’t want to even try to imagine.) Thanks, too, to all those great cooks whose recipes have added richness to my life and pounds to my hips. Speaking of recipes, thanks, Marliss, for helping me make some of those old family recipes make sense. And last but not least, thanks to my long-suffering husband, Robert, who said to make sure I spelled his name right, for helping me with my football terminology. (So, did I get the name right?) Happy holidays to every one of you! May your stockings be filled with all the good things you deserve and may the Sugarplum Fairy make the calories vanish from every Christmas cookie you eat.