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From Our Family to Yours: Favorite Holiday Recipes

The holidays are often associated with the comforting smell of fresh-baked goodies, filling our homes with a sense of warmth and nostalgia. That’s why we at Feed the Children wanted to share our beloved recipes from this time of year. These dishes, created with love and shared with gratitude, reflect the traditions that make this time of year so special.

We hope you find a special recipe to share with your loved ones!

Chocolate Haystacks

Chocolate Haystacks

My grandma would always have these on the snack table during the holidays! They are crazy simple, but very yummy. They have a really good crunch to them too. It’s definitely a holiday food that has memories attached to it.

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Ingredients

  • 11 oz. butterscotch chips
  • 1 1⁄2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 12 oz. chow mein noodles
  • Optional: peanuts (my grandma always added them)

Steps

  1. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats, parchment paper or wax paper.
  2. Place the butterscotch chips and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute on 50% power. Stir. Repeat, microwave for 1 minute on 50%, stir. If not completely melted, microwave for 30-45 seconds on 50%.
  3. Add the noodles and peanuts, if using, to the chocolate, mixing well to coat.
  4. Use a cookie scoop or big spoon to quickly scoop mounds of noodles onto the silicone mat. Allow the haystacks to harden completely, about 1-2 hours before removing from the tray. Store in an airtight container or eat them all!
Cranberry Cake

Cranberry Cake

Every December my parents host a Christmas party, and my mom would always bake this cranberry cake. She would have the butter sauce topping in a pot on the stove so it’s nice and warm when you spoon it over the cake. As a child I’d want the piece to swim in that sauce! Now, I’ll have a piece without the butter sauce as I’ve grown to enjoy the tartness of the cranberries without all that sugar.

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Ingredients

  • 1 1⁄2 cups white sugar
  • 1 1⁄2 cups milk
  • 5 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
  • 3 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 package fresh, whole cranberries

Butter Sauce Topping

  • 3⁄4 cup butter
  • 1 1⁄2 cups white sugar
  • 1⁄4 cups whipping cream

Steps

  1. Mix all ingredients except the cranberries. Fold in cranberries.
  2. Bake in a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
  3. For Butter Sauce Topping combine ingredients in a saucepan, bring to boil; lower heat temperature and gently boil for 7-10 minutes. Spoon sauce, while hot on individual cake servings. Always a crowd pleaser!
Cranberry fluff

Cranberry Fluff

This recipe reminds me of the “salads” my grandma and my great aunts always used to bring to our holiday potlucks. This is sweet and tart, and it’s a perfect substitute if cranberry sauce is too tart for you.

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Ingredients

  • 12 oz. fresh cranberries
  • 3⁄4 cup sugar
  • 8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained
  • 1 cup red or green grapes, sliced
  • 1 cup pecans, chopped
  • 2 cups small marshmallows
  • 8 oz. tub Cool Whip

Steps

  1. Chop cranberries lightly in a food processor.
  2. Add sugar to the cranberries and refrigerate overnight or as long as you can.
  3. Add pineapples, grapes, and pecans to the cranberries and mix.
  4. Add marshmallows and mix.
  5. Add Cool Whip and fold mixture together.
  6. Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator.
Forcemeat Dressing Recipe

Forcemeat Turkey Dressing

My mother, Carolyn, always made this dressing during the holidays, and now my sister has carried on the tradition. As a kid, I thought it was called “horse” meat, and I still call it that to this day, much to my family’s chagrin.

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Ingredients

  • 3 small onions, diced
  • 1 pound hamburger
  • 1 pound sausage
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 10-14 pieces dry bread
  • 1 small turkey

Steps

  1. Bring heart and liver out of turkey and cut up fine.
  2. Crumble/mix all the meat, add onions and spices, cover with water until it just covers the mixture and boil all this together
  3. for one-half hour.
  4. Soak about 10 slices of dry bread with water for a few minutes. Squeeze as dry as you can and drain off water. Keep a few
  5. dry pieces aside to add in later in case the dressing is too wet.
  6. Mix the boiled meat mixture with the bread and seasonings and toss it all together.
  7. Fill the turkey cavity loosely with the mixture and put the remaining in a 9×13 pan. If you don’t want to stuff the turkey, you
  8. can put all the dressing in the pan.
  9. If baking in a turkey, bake as directed.
  10. When baking in the pan, bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. You can also broil at the end of the baking time to get the
  11. top nice and crispy.
Christmas Cookies

Frey Family Christmas Cookies

My family makes these every year, and they are delicious! What makes them even more special is that this recipe was passed down from my Grandma Mary.

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup salted butter, softened
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon rum, anise, or almond extract (choose your favorite – you only need one)
  • 2 1⁄2 cup flour
  • 3⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

Steps

  1. Mix cinnamon and 2 cups of sugar. Set aside.
  2. Cream together butter, 1 cup of sugar, eggs, and extract.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking soda.
  4. Add dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture.
  5. Refrigerate dough for an hour, then roll out and cut into shapes using cookie cutters.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
  7. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes, then cover them with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. You could also dip them in melted chocolate.
Glens Spicy Corn

Glen’s Spicy Corn Recipe

This recipe is so easy, and you won’t take up any stove or oven space. Plus, it works great to prep ahead of time and leave in the fridge overnight to let the flavors really got to know each other.

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Ingredients

  • 6 cans Mexican Corn
  • 1⁄4 cup chopped pickled jalapenos
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (you can omit if you don’t like spice)
  • 1 package cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Steps

  1. Add all ingredients to a large, microwave safe bowl.
  2. Microwave for 1-2 minutes until cream cheese is soft. Stir until combined.
  3. Microwave another 3-4 minutes.
  4. Stir again and serve.
Grandma Helenas Greek Lemon Chicken

Grandma Helena’s Greek Lemon Chicken

This recipe is meant to feed a crowd, and my grandma considered this her holiday batch.

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Ingredients

  • 10 -12 chicken thighs (skin on)
  • 10-12 chicken Legs (skin on)
  • 10 baking potatoes (cut into 4 wedges)
  • 20+ lemons (use only real lemons, the more the better)
  • Minced garlic, as much or as little as you like
  • 2-3 sticks salted butter
  • Olive oil
  • Lawry’s Seasoning
  • Cavender’s Seasoning (or pepper if you prefer)

Steps

  1. Generously butter the inside of a deep, large basting pan. Put a layer of thighs, legs and potato wedges on the bottom.
  2. Splash with olive oil and squeeze 10 or more lemon halves over the chicken and potatoes, making sure to catch the seeds.
  3. Add a generous amount of minced garlic, Lawry’s and Cavender’s.
  4. Finally cut thin slices from one stick of butter, placing them on and around the first layer of chicken and potatoes.
  5. Do the exact same for the second layer of chicken and potatoes.
  6. Bake at 350 for at least 3 hours, but if you let it go longer, it will be even better. After about 90 minutes of cooking, begin to baste the chicken and potatoes every 15-20 minutes to prevent the top layer from drying out. Just tip one side of the pan and use a large spoon to collect the juices and spread over all the top layer.
  7. Let rest for about 30 minutes after you pull it from the oven and then you are ready to eat!
Speculaas Cookies

Speculaas (Cookies)

These cookies taste like the holidays! As these bake, your house will be filled with the most wonderful smell. Enjoy!

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Ingredients

  • 1 1⁄4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1⁄4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 cups white flour
  • 1⁄2 cup slivered almonds
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting

Steps

  1. Beat together the butter, brown sugar, and egg.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the mix little by little to the wet mix. Stir in the almonds.
  3. Refrigerate about an hour, until dough is firm, then roll it out onto a counter surface that has been lightly dusted with powdered sugar (instead of flour – the sugar makes them even more delish).
  4. Roll out to about 1⁄4 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters.
  5. Bake for 11 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Nine Week Coleslaw Recipe

9 Week Coleslaw

The name of this side dish probably came from the fact that it lasts a long time, but we eat it too quickly to know for sure!

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Ingredients

  • 3 pounds cabbage, shredded
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 3⁄4 cup oil of your choice
  • 3⁄4 cup vinegar
  • 2 cups + 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon celery salt
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Steps

  1. Combine cabbage, onions and green peppers in a large bowl.
  2. Add 2 cups of sugar and salt and pepper to taste.
  3. To make the dressing, bring oil, vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar and celery salt to a boil. Pour over cabbage mixture while it’s hot.
  4. Chill and serve.

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