Sweet treats often bond the generations, families at the holidays
By Cathy Branciaroli, Food Correspondent, The Times
While you might see just a plate of cookies, some might see a reminder of holidays past, times with loved ones no longer here.
A few days before Christmas, friends come to my house to share holiday treats and stories of their family food traditions. Their recipes hold long-treasured memories kept alive by us for the next generation. While we come from different places — Hungary, Italy, the Ukraine, Poland, or Puerto Rico — the stories are similar.
Some of the stories are about great cooks, some about those who could not cook at all. Some of the stories are wistful, like longing for the crusciki recipe that died with my friend’s mom. Some are joyful, like enjoying rice pudding with coconut and cinnamon.
We each bring tons of treats to pass around while we catch up on family doings. Every one of us has our traditions and this time of year things get very busy as we organize to share them once again with family and friends.
It’s the rare family that doesn’t have some holiday food tradition to share, from sitting around the table all day making pierogies, to sharing twelve dishes for the twelve Apostles on Christmas eve, to enjoying a whole roasted pig wrapped in green banana leaves. The favorite in my husband’s family are his mother’s sugar cookies with sprinkles on top and applesauce cake baked in a Christmas tree shaped pan.
For me it’s all about my mother’s Hungarian pastries.
My mother’s mother brought the secret of these specialties with her when she immigrated to the US from Hungary many years ago and the recipes were never written down. So when my mother set up her own household, she had to experiment to recreate them. She must have tried twenty versions, trying her friend Gabi’s recipe and those of others before she felt she had matched her favorite, the nut rolls.
I was luckier. I became my mother’s baking helper and in so doing learned her nut roll secrets. Along the way she offered pointers, saying, “here’s the way I like to do this” while demonstrating each step. For silky smooth dough she instructed “stretch and fold it until the surface shines.” Or to avoid a gritty crushed nut filling, “a splash of hot milk does the trick,” she advised.
These days my mother supervises, drinking hot tea at the kitchen table while I do the heavy lifting and she visits with my friend Diane. Nut rolls are from the Eastern European tradition although even my Irish friend Diane has a trusted recipe. Each year the nut rolls turn out a little differently but we look for success in a golden brown crust and uniform pinwheel shape. No matter how they turn out, we congratulate ourselves on another year of keeping this family tradition alive.
In the spirit of holiday giving, here are some scrumptious holiday recipes from friends of mine in the food world, which I hope you will enjoy.
• Berry Chocolate Mocha Mousse Dessert by Flavor Mosaic
• Caramel Apple Turnovers by In The Kitchen With KP
• Chocolate Mousse Cups by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Fudgy Chocolate Berry Bundt Cake by Desserts Required
• Italian Wine Doughnut Cookies by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Lemon Pound Cake by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Red Wine Chocolate Cookie Cups by Alida’s Kitchen
• Red Wine Chocolate Truffles by Life Tastes Good
• Vanilla Cupcakes with White Wine Caramel Apple Compote by Feed Me,Seymour
• White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Snowballs by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Amaretto Cranberry Swirled Cheesecake by The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Rum Cake by Wallflour Girl
• Dumante Frozen Espresso Creams by Seduction in the Kitchen
• Honey Chamomile Hot Toddy Tea Cake by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Kahlua Bundt Cake by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Tiramisu Biscotti by The Redhead Baker
Cathy Branciaroli also writes about her adventures in the kitchen on her blog Delaware Girl Eats
