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Your Tried-and-True Holiday Recipes

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We asked AM readers to share their tried-and-true holiday recipes, either original dishes or something yummy from Grandma’s hand-me-down recipe book. The response was delicious, and to complete the two-page printable recipe cards, we’ve included a few of our own. (Click on the gallery to your right.)
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Additional Reader Recipes

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
submitted by Melinda Newton

1 ½ cup chopped pecans
1 ½ cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups cake flour, sifted
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground mace
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

Sprinkle ½ cup pecans in a greased and floured bundt pan, set aside. Cream the butter and cream cheese. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and salt until combined. Add mace, vanilla, and remaining pecans and mix well. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on rack. Powdered sugar may be sprinkled on top.

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Baked Olive Cheese Boats
submitted by Mary Lou Loewenstern

6-8 individual French rolls (6 inch)
½ lb. grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
½ cup chopped black olives
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice lids off the tops of the rolls and set aside. Scoop out the centers to make “boats” out of the rolls. (Save the scooped out bread for future bread crumb use.) Mix the rest of the ingredients together and fill the rolls.

Replace “lids” on top of each roll, place on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Serve as is or garnish with a toothpick and cherry tomatoes and olives for decoration.

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Chicken Broccoli Divan
submitted by Mary Lou Loewenstern

2-3 cups cooked chicken, sliced or shredded in large pieces
3-4 packages broccoli, par-cooked
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons chicken fat or butter
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons sherry
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ounce package sliced almonds (lightly toasted in a pan with a pat of butter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat and add flour to make a roux. Once the flour has cooked a few minutes, add the milk and broth and bring to boil to thicken. Add mayonnaise, sherry, Worcestershire, nutmeg, salt and pepper and simmer over low heat until smooth.

Place drained broccoli in a buttered baking dish. Arrange chicken over top. Layer half of the cheese and the sauce, and then remaining cheese on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Sprinkle the almonds over the top during the last 15 minutes of baking.

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Pumpkin Roll
submitted by Agnes Campbell

Cake: Filling:
3 eggs 1 pkg. – 8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sugar 4 tablespoon butter or margarine
2/3 cup canned pumpkin 1 cup powdered sugar
¾ cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup pecans, chopped
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine eggs and sugar, beating well. Add pumpkin, mixing until well blended.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Add to egg mixture and mix together well. Spread batter into a greased and waxed paper-lined 10x15 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from pan (still on wax paper). Cool for 15 minutes. Turn cake onto a clean tea towel and cool 10 minutes longer. From 10 inch side, roll cake up in towel and set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare filling. Beat together the room-temperature cream cheese and butter. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla extract, blending until smooth.

Unroll cake and place on parchment paper. Evenly spread filling over cake. Sprinkle with pecans. Roll up cake. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours seam side down. Cut into even slices to serve. Garnish with mint leaves or orange slices, if desired.

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Pumpkin Bundt Cake
submitted by Agnes Campbell

1 package Duncan Hines spice cake mix
1 package Jell-O Instant cream cheese pudding mix
1 -15 ounce can pumpkin
3 eggs
½ cup dark rum
1/3 cup oil
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Frosting or glaze:
½ can of Duncan Hines cream cheese frosting
1 teaspoon dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients except pecans in large bowl and with electric mixer on medium speed, blend until a smooth, creamy texture. Add pecans and mix well. Pour into greased and floured Bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 39 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto cake plate.

Let cake cool completely before adding frosting. Warm the frosting in the microwave for about 10-20 seconds and mix in rum and vanilla. Frosting should be a glaze-like consistency to pour over cake. Drizzle desired amount of frosting over cake.

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Cinnamon Candy
submitted by Jackie Cogburn

2 cups sugar
¾ cup white corn syrup
1 cup water
¾ teaspoon cinnamon oil
½ teaspoon red paste food coloring or 1 teaspoon red liquid food coloring
1 cup powdered sugar

Assemble the following before starting recipe: marble slab (cookie sheets will also work), gallon size Ziploc bag, wooden spoon, pizza cutter, and candy thermometer. Lightly butter the marble slab. Pour powdered sugar into Ziploc bag.

Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook to hard crack stage (302°) on candy thermometer without stirring (this takes a while). Remove from heat and carefully add the food coloring and cinnamon oil. Stir well. (Do not stand over the pan while stirring. It helps to place pan under the vent hood to let some of the steam escape.)

Carefully pour onto buttered marble slab. Let it set up for about 30 seconds. Quickly score with a pizza cutter in small approximately one inch sized bites. Begin to break apart from the outside in. Drop pieces in powdered sugar and shake bag to coat.

Baker’s Note: I always make my first batch around December 7th for my brother-in-law’s birthday, which signals the beginning of the Christmas season for our family. This recipe has been a part of our Christmas tradition for almost thirty years. It makes a great gift when packaged in a cellophane bag and shared.

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Texas Cinnamon Chocolate Sheet Cake
submitted by Wendy Marsh

2 sticks of butter
1 cup of water
4 tablespoons Hershey’s cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a saucepan, melt together the butter, water and Hershey’s Cocoa. Boil and allow to cool. Sift flour, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk and soda. Mix all together and spread in sheet cake pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Cake Icing
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 stick of butter
1 tablespoon Hershey’s cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup milk (as needed)

Mix sugar, butter, Hershey’s cocoa, vanilla and pecans together and spread on cake while it is still hot to keep cake moist. Freezes well.

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Sour Cream Pound Cake
submitted by Wendy Marsh

6 eggs
3 cups sugar
½ pint sour cream
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
2 sticks butter
3 cups cake flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat one minute after each addition. Put soda and flavoring in sour cream. Alternate the flour and sour cream mixture beginning and ending with flour. Bake for one hour and five minutes Bundt pan.

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Glazed Popcorn
submitted by Paula Pingelton Wood, Claude, TX

½ cup white Karo syrup
2 sticks of butter
1 ½ cups sugar

Combine in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and pour mixture over a bowl of 3 bags of popped popcorn, toss to coat well. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in a large, airtight container.

Baker’s Note: This has been a favorite holiday treat for my family and friends for years.