Boxing Day Recipes

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, or, if you don't celebrate, a wonderful Saturday! Christmas is actually just beginning, remember the 12 days of Christmas are the 12 days AFTER Christmas. It will end on Epiphany, Three Kings Day on January 12...although many Poles celebrate until Candlemas, February 2! In keeping with the holiday I asked some favorite cozy authors to share some favorite holiday recipes.

 From Maureen Klovers

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Biscotti

 

Biscotti was the Roman Empire’s version of hard tack—its legions marched to battle with bellies full of biscotti—which is proof positive that Italians do everything better! In modern-day Italy, they are generally referred to as “cantucci”— “biscotti” is a broader, more generic term for a hard cookie or bread.

 

As the name suggests, biscotti are twice-cooked (“Bis” meant “twice” in latin, and “cotto”—the singular of “cotti”—means “cooked” in modern Italian), and this recipe requires you to do just that. The upside is that you end up with a wonderfully crunchy cookie to dip in your cappuccino or dessert wine, and they will last far longer than your typical chewy American cookie.

 

Peanut butter and chocolate are not particularly authentic flavorings, but this is one of my favorite recipes and—judging by all of the information I’ve extracted from neighbors I’ve plied with these biscotti—one of Acorn Hollow’s favorite recipes too!

 

3 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup peanut butter

¼ cup water

2 ¾ cup flour

1 ¾ cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp salt

4 cups dark chocolate chips, divided

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Combine eggs, peanut butter, and water in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then add dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredients, stirring to fully incorporate. Then stir in one cup of chocolate chips.

 

Line cookie sheet with buttered parchment paper. Divide dough, which should be sticky and relatively dry for cookie dough, into two halves. Form each half into a log, approximately three inches in width and one-half inch in height, on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with back of spoon.

 

Bake logs at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Then remove from oven and turn down oven temperature to 300 degrees. Slice logs on the bias (diagonally) into ¾ inch thick slices. Then arrange slices, cut side up, on the cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, flip slices biscotti so that the other side gets toasted and bake another 10 minutes at 300 degrees.

 

Let biscotti cool on a wire rack. Once biscotti have cooled somewhat, melt 3 cups of chocolate chips in a double boiler, stirring constantly. Then dredge one side of each biscotti in the melted chocolate and return to the wire rack to dry. Let harden overnight.

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From Daryl Wood Gerber

My grandmother made these and I’ve made them every year since. My sister does, too, and she lives in Virginia.  I make them gluten-free now. My grandmother used regular flour (not the sweet rice flour, white rice flour, and tapioca starch, and and no xanthan gum.  :)  Enjoy. 

 

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From Ellen Byron

 

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From Nancy Cole Silverman

Carrot pudding. It’s a steamed pudding and an old world favorite.

 

 

1 Cup Flour
½ t cinnamon
1/s tsp salt
1 Cup finely grated carrots
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup nuts
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
1 Cup grated apples
½ C melted butter
1 Cup raisins

Sift flour with spices, salt, and baking soda. Combine w/ other ingredients and mix thoroughly after each. Spoon into a large mold. Steam 3 ½ hours and allow to cool to room temp. Serve with hard sauce.

 
HARD SAUCE

1 Cup powdered sugar
½ Cup butter melted
1 T Rum or imitation Rum flavoring.
Mix well. Chill til ready to serve. 

 

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From Victoria Hamilton

 

I know most people think of sweets at Christmas, and I love desserts like sugar cookies, or a pie or cake. But… there is a photo of me as a kid reaching for a handful of Nuts ‘n Bolts. It was the sixties, and Mom made it every year and now I do, too! I love it!

I use a modified recipe from the original. The original recipes uses Cheerios (for the ‘nuts’ part; I always figured in the name ‘Nuts ‘n Bolts’ the pretzel sticks were the ‘bolts’ and Cheerios were the ‘nuts… tho’ maybe the peanuts are the ‘nuts’?), but I like Crispix cereal in my mix instead.

Nut’s ‘n Bolts

Ingredients

4 Cups Cheerios OR mix it up… you can use any mixture of cereals, as long as makes up 4 cups. I’m using Crispix for mine, but you can use Rice Chex or Shreddies.

1 cup peanuts (I like redskins, but can’t usually get them!)

2 Cups pretzel sticks

¼ cup melted butter (or more… I’ll admit, I used a scant half cup.)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (this is a little weak in flavour for me… I think I’ll double it for my next batch!)

1 tsp paprika (smoked is best)

½ tsp garlic salt (or seasoning salt… I used Herbamare organic seasoned salt, about a teaspoon)


Method

1 – Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit

2 – In ungreased 13 X 9 inch pan mix cereals, pretzels and peanuts. Stir together remaining ingredients, pour over cereal tossing until evenly coated.

3 – Bake 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool; store in airtight container.

When I smell the Nuts ‘n Bolts, I know it’s Christmas. 

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Meg Macy loves shortbread and shares this recipe, which is simple: https://preppykitchen.com/shortbread-cookies-recipe/

 

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Tina Kashian provides a link to her Armenian White Holiday cookie recipe which was on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. https://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/2021/12/armenian-white-christmas-cookies-with.html 

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I hope you've enjoyed these recipes. Please share some of yours in the comments below! Happy Boxing Day!