Christmas Recipes From My Childhood

By Rana DiOrio, Founder, Little Pickle Press

Christmastime for me always involved a lot of cooking with my mother and grandmother. I loved to “help” them cook. My mom had a special stool for me that we used so I could peer into the various bowls and, of course, my own apron, which made me official.

I wanted to share with you two of the recipes we made together. As for the first one, we made countless cranberry nut breads each holiday season. We gave them to the postman (now postal delivery person), the milkman (now the rarely seen milk delivery person), the garbage man (now the trash collector and recycle technician), our school teachers, our piano instructor, our choral director, etc. You get the picture. Everyone received one of these treasures:

Cranberry Nut Bread

2 c               all purpose flour
1 c               granulated sugar
1 1/2 t          double acting baking powder
1/2 t             baking soda
1 t                salt
1/4 c            butter
3/4 c           orange juice
1 T              grated orange rind
1                 egg well beaten
1/2 c           chopped walnuts
2 c              fresh chopped cranberries

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles course cornmeal. Separately, combine orange juice, grated orange rind, and egg. Add wet ingredients to dry ones, mixing just enough to dampen. Fold in nuts and cranberries. Pour into greased loaf pan (9” x 5” x 3”). Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 55 minutes. Test with a toothpick. If dry after inserted, it is done.

Then, there were the beloved butterballs! We would make these for the class parties, for my parents’ annual holiday party, and to just have around to share with egg nog for whomever stopped in during the festive season. With this much butter and sugar how could they not be amazing!?

Snowball Cookies (aka Butterballs)

½ c              butter

½ c              Crisco or other shortening

1 t               vanilla

1 c               chopped walnuts

2 c               flour

6 T              powdered sugar, plus additional powdered sugar for the topping

Cream butter and shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Blend in flour and nuts. Roll into small balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 325-degree oven from 10 to 20 minutes (depending on how big you made the balls). Roll in powdered sugar while warm and sift another coat of powdered sugar onto the cookies when cool.

Consider making one of these special holiday recipes with your little pickles, and by all means tell us how it went!