Holiday Treats

When I finally got the holiday spirit in my bones I got busy baking goodies to share. Mia had a lot of fun working with me on several of these items. Here are three kinds of fudge, a coconut macaroon cake, Italian fruit cake, and Autumn Olive fruit rolls.



For the first time I tried white chocolate fudge, plain and with cherries. Next time I need to use dried, not frozen cherries! It was delicious, but made the fudge a little soft!!




These are the Autumn Olive fruit rolls which we made in the fall. I kept them fresh in an air tight container. I still have frozen berries ready to be made into more fruit rolls when needed. I am so glad that we took the time to pick so many berries. Mia and the grandkids really enjoy it. And it is so healthy for you. I use frozen Autumn Olive puree every morning in my oatmeal and in Mia's smoothie.



This fruit cake is from an old Italian recipe I got from a past employer. It is light and full of ust the fruit you want to use. I use raisins, nuts and lots of cherries and whatever dried fruit I have on hand (apricots, plums, apple) Then I soak it in brandy. I used to make it every year over Thanksgiving weekend and soak it for a month before Christmas. Then it is really, really tasty. This year it got a week's worth of soak, but I have held some out to age it a bit. Problem is, hubby keeps snacking on it!! Not too much left. Will have to make two next year.




This coconut Macaroon cake was from a McCall's recipe about 40 years ago. I love almonds and coconut. This makes into a great rich pound cake. I froze half of it to be able to enjoy throughout the year, or as long as it lasts. Hubby does not know where I put it, so he has not been hunting for it!



This is one of the goodie trays we brought for holiday gifts.




We used to host Christmas eve for my family. I have 7 siblings so we would usually have 20+ here and once we did it as a sleepover! Our meal always started with Antipasto, Onorato style.




My Dad's family used to just consider the toppings as their antipasto, while hubby's always put theirs on a big bed of lettuce. It was quite a hit with our friends for their Christmas Eve luncheon and gift swap.





I always used to make a great sweet pastry candy cane coffee cake for Christmas morning. Hadn't done it since i hurt my hands, but decided to do it this year as a special treat for hubby. Only problem, I couldn't find the recipe. I knew it was in a holiday file, but was unable to locate it. So I downloaded sweet dough recipe from google and tried my best to come up with it. Ran too short on time, too much needing to get done. It tasted fine, but didn't look anything like what it had been in the past!!! But, that has been what aging is all about. Accepting what is and enjoying it!!