Non-Alcoholic Egg Nog

It's just us on this one, kiddos! Daddy doesn't do egg nog, but it just isn't Christmas without it. This is the first egg nog recipe I've ever tried and I love it so much and I'm so satisfied with the healthfulness of the ingredients that there's no need to look any further. I found the recipe here and modified it to meet our needs and tastes.

Ingredients

3 eggs yolks (from local, pastured chickens only - do not eat store bought eggs raw!)
1/4 cup grade B maple syrup
Pinch of salt
Nutmeg, to taste
Ground cloves, to taste
Splash of vanilla
1 Tbsp whey (optional)
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup non-homogenized whole milk (from pastured cows)
1 cup cream (from pastured cows)

Directions

1. Put the egg yolks in a one quart mason jar and blend them with a stick blender until thick.

2. Add the syrup, salt, spices, vanilla, whey, and lemon juice and blend some more.

3. Add the milk and cream and blend some more!

4. Store the egg nog in the mason jar in the fridge and shake it up before serving. Try not to drink it all at once!

MOM TIP

Save your egg whites for Meringues!

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

This is great grandma Lois's recipe, and it's dad's absolute favorite pumpkin pie in the world! (Mine, too - but the way he goes on about it you'd think it was his grandma's recipe.) We love it with a homemade graham cracker crust, which is super easy to make.

It doesn't require an oven (except for the pie crust), just a stovetop and a double boiler.

Ingredients

3 Eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1 Cup Sugar
1 1/4 Cup Pureed Pumpkin
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
1 Tbsp Unflavored Gelatin
1/4 Cup Water
1 Graham Cracker Pie Shell

Directions

1. Heat water in the bottom of a double boiler until boiling. In a mixer, beat egg yolk plus 1/2 cup sugar til thick. Add pumpkin, milk, salt and spices and mix together. Transfer this mixture to the top of a double boiler and cook until thick.

2. Soften gelatin in the 1/4 cup of cold water for five minutes. Stir into hot mixture.

3. In the mixer, beat egg whites until stiff, then add 1/2 cup sugar. Add to double boiler and mix.

4. Pour into pie shell and chill for at least three hours. Serve with whipped cream.

Sweet Potato & Fresh Orange Casserole

Believe it or not, I found this delicious recipe last year on Live with Regis and Kelly. It must have been fate that the one random time I ever watched that show I got something out of it! Gotta give all the credit to Joy Philbin, as it's her recipe, and it's delicious! I only wish that someone in my family liked sweet potatoes besides me... I'm putting it here anyway, because someday my kids are going to have to make it for me.

Ingredients

4 Large Sweet Potatoes
2 Oranges
1 Stick of Butter
1 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Pecans, chopped
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 Cup Orange Juice
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1/8 Tsp Cloves

Directions

1. Cover potatoes in water and boil until tender, approximately 25-30 minutes. Remove the potatoes and peel while still warm. Cut into 1/4" slices and set aside. Peel, then slice the oranges into 1/4" slices. Mix gently with potatoes.

2. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish and add potato/orange mixture.

3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and pecans. Simmer 3 minutes. Pour sugar/pecan mixture over the top of the potato/orange mixture.

4. In a saucepan, mix the OJ, cornstarch, maple syrup, and cloves. Cook and stir until thick. Pour over potatoes and bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

Cardamom Bread

This bread has been a staple at my family's holiday dinners for as long as I can remember. Dad loves it, and would eat an entire loaf in two days if I made him one.

The original recipe is double this one. Great-grandma always made two loaves at Thanksgiving and put one in the freezer to keep until Christmas. I divided the recipe in half so it would fit in my bread machine. I'm lazy like that.

It's very important that this braided loaf be served warm and not sliced. It must be passed around the table and your piece must be torn from the loaf. It's essential for proper absorption of butter into the nooks and crannies. I repeat, do not let anyone slice this bread!

Ingredients

1 1/8 tsp Active Dry Yeast or Bread Machine Yeast
1/8 Cup Water, warm
1 1/4 Cup Milk, scalded and cooled
3/8 Cup Butter
1/2 Egg
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 C Sugar
3/4 Tsp Cardamom
4 Cups Flour (white is usually used, but I've used wheat with great success)

Bread Machine Directions

1. Put all ingredients into the bread machine in order listed, except add the yeast last! Put it on top! Run the machine through on the dough setting.

2. When the dough is finished rising (and you can let it rise as long as you want, but at least 1 1/2 hours), remove it from the chamber. Punch down, divide into three equal pieces and braid it. Let it rise for at least another 40 minutes.

3. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Directions for making without a bread machine:

1. In large bowl blend yeast and water. Let stand for 5 minutes.

2. Stir in all ingredients except flour until blended.

3. Stir in most of the flour, about 3 1/2 cups, until dough is stiff. Turn onto floured board and knead in remaining flour until smooth and elastic.

4. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise for at least 1 1/2-2 hours until double.

5. Punch down, divide into three equal pieces and braid it. Let rise for at least another 4o minutes.

6. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Serve warm and do not slice!

Melting Moments

THE premiere holiday cookie... Great grandma's very best!

Cookie Ingredients

1 Cup Butter

1/3 Cup Powdered Sugar

3/4 Cup Cornstarch

1 Cup Flour

Cookie Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together, form small balls on cookie sheet; chill overnight.

2. Bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes.

*A small cookie scoop is 2 teaspoons and is the perfect size for these cookies. Little hands can stay busy by rolling them after they are measured.

Icing Ingredients

1 Small (4 Ounce) Package of Cream Cheese

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 Tsp total Vanilla & Food Coloring

Icing Directions

1. Mix ingredients. Drop onto cooked cookies.

Mom Tips

* I always sift the powdered sugar into the cookie and the frosting recipes.

* The "classic" version of this recipe features green icing using conventional food coloring, however artificial food dyes are off limits here. We use India Tree Natural Decorating Colors. They are $18.99 for three colors at Whole Foods, but we have no other choice if we want color! It's hard to get vibrant colors using natural food dyes, so we opted for a light pink.