It’s the time of year when we pull out our time-tested, perfected recipes to add festive flavors to family gatherings and parties with friends. This year, we asked our readers to share their best in our first-ever Holiday Recipe Contest, and the results were delicious. Try adding one or all of these sweet treats to your holiday lineup this year.
Sponsored by: Stauffers of Kissel Hill
First Place:
Perfect Pumpkin Crisp
Recipe by Kevin Elias
Serves 12
“This recipe was passed down to my wife and me from her mother, who obtained it from a friend. It won a food competition in NYC for my sister-in-law and has become a Thanksgiving favorite, as it uses pumpkin and nutmeg—two very classic fall flavors.”
Kevin Elias is a guidance counselor at Hempfield School District and lives in Lancaster County with his wife, two children and two dogs.
Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 15-ounce can fat free evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup melted butter
Directions:
1. Mix the first 7 ingredients.
2. Pour into a greased 13-x-9-inch glass baking dish.
3. Pour yellow cake mix on top.
4. Pour melted butter over cake mix.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve warm with a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Second Place:
Snowman Cookies
Recipe by Ann Yawornitsky
Makes 50
“This recipe is a family favorite because everyone likes the flavor of the dough—and they love the snowman “caps”! I have been making these cookies since 1986 when I found the recipe in a magazine. I changed it up a bit to suit our tastes and have been making it every year since then.”
Ann Yawornitsky recently retired from Wilson School District as a middle school librarian, moved to Willow Valley Communities and is loving it.
Ingredients:
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon coconut favoring (optional)
Decorations:
Miniature chocolate chips
Miniature peanut butter cups, cut in half
Milk or dark chocolate kisses
Decorator icing, red or green (purchased or homemade)
Powdered sugar
Directions:
1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large mixer bowl, beat butter or margarine and cream cheese on medium speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds.
3. Add sugar; beat til fluffy.
4. Add egg, vanilla, almond extract and coconut flavoring. Beat well.
5. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Cover and chill overnight.
6. For each snow person, shape dough into 3 balls: 1 1-inch ball, 1 ¾-inch ball, and 1 ½-inch ball. Place balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in decreasing sizes with sides touching. Press together slightly.
7. Press 2 chocolate chips into the smallest ball for eyes. Press 3 more chocolate chips into the body sections for buttons.
8. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 18 minutes or until the edges are firm and the bottoms are a light golden brown. Cool one minute on baking sheet. Carefully transfer to a wire rack.
9. When cookies are completely cool, attach halved peanut butter cups or kisses to heads with icing to make hats. With a decorator tip, pipe icing onto cookies to form a scarf. Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes about 50 snowmen.
Third Place:
Apple Tart Bites with Cranberries, Walnuts and Caramel Brandy Sauce
Recipe by Nancy Skee
Serves 24
This recipe is an adaptation from her mother and Nana’s homemade apple strudels, using store bought pastry dough instead of homemade, yet it still delivers the Hungarian family tradition in a more convenient style for the busy working woman.
Nancy Skee is a retired Manheim Township teacher who now owns and operates Old Square Inn, a bed and breakfast in Mount Joy.
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
Two sheets (one box) of frozen puff pastry such as Pepperidge Farm, thawed according to package directions
3-4 apples (Gala, Fuji or Pink Lady work well because they are firm and have a hint of tartness)
½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon flour
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3-4 tablespoons (about ¼ cup) apricot brandy or orange juice
1/3 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
½-¾ cup walnuts broken into small pieces
Directions:
For the tarts:
1. Core and halve each apple, then cut into thin slices, leaving on the peel for color.
2. Place slices into a large bowl and sprinkle with brown sugar and flour, tossing to coat each piece.
3. Once pastry is ready to use, unfold each sheet and cut into thirds lengthwise, then cut each strip into four equal pieces.
4. Put the pieces of pastry on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
5. Arrange 4-5 slices of apple on each pastry, overlapping the slices.
6. Bake in the top half of a preheated 400 oven for 20 minutes until pastry has browned.
7. Remove from oven and cool.
For the sauce:
1. To make the sauce, melt butter over med/low heat in a small saucepan.
2. Add brown sugar, stirring to help dissolve sugar.
3. As mixture begins to bubble, stir in half the liquid and continue to cook.
4. As mixture thickens, stir in the rest of the liquid and toss in the cranberries. Cook down until brandy sauce again thickens and coats the spoon.
5. Cool slightly. Mixture will thicken as it cools; if it becomes too thick, reheat and add a little more brandy.
To serve:
Drizzle each tart with the brandy sauce and cranberries. Top with walnuts.
Honorable Mention:
Kiki Rolls
Recipe by Kerry Fritz
Serves 16
Ingredients:
8 hot dog rolls
1 8-ounce package cream cheese (softened)
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup sugar (granulated)
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
¾ cup butter (melted)
Directions:
In bowl combine cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar. In another bowl combine granulated sugar and cinnamon and set aside. Separate top from bottom roll. Flatten top then bottom roll using a rolling pin (each makes 2 rolls). Spread 1 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture on flatten roll. Roll up jelly roll style. Dip in melted butter then in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place on ungreased baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.