So, the pre-holiday rush is now a thing of the past. Time to sit back and take in all this joyous day has to offer. When I was growing up, I had the luxury of a Mom who really enjoyed baking, and she had the time to do it. The house always had those wonderful aromas of cinnamon or mint or oranges as ingredients of whatever was taking its turn, baking in the oven. Here are some of the old favorites, along with some new. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Ingredients
- Topping:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Juice of one orange
- Cake:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 orange rind
Instructions
- Mix together the sugar and orange juice for the topping and let stand.
- Mix together sugar, butter, eggs, and buttermilk.
- Add baking soda to the flour and mix together.
- Add flour mixture and vanilla.
- Chop the raisins and orange rind until fairly uniform in small pieces.
- Add to the batter.
- Pour batter into a 9" x 13" pan and bake at 350 degrees at least 30 - 45 minutes.
- Check with toothpick for doneness.
- When cake is done, take out of the oven and let sit for a few minutes.
- Pour the orange juice/sugar mixture on top while cake is still warm.
Here’s another blast from the past and Dorothy’s Kitchen!
Ingredients
- Topping:
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 12 drops red food coloring
- 2 cups drained, red, sour pitted cherries
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or almonds
- Cake:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Topping: In a 9" round cake pan, melt butter.
- Stir in brown sugar and red coloring until well mixed, and spread out evenly over bottom of pan.
- Add cherries, fitting them close together, making only one layer.
- Sprinkle nuts over the cherries.
- Cake: In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together.
- Beat in egg.
- Alternately stir in sifted dry ingredients and buttermilk.
- Spread soft dough evenly on top of the fruit and nuts.
- Bake in a moderate oven (350) about 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven, place serving plate over top and invert.
- Allow to stand several minutes before removing pan.
- Serve hot with a dollop whipped cream.
For some reason, I always associate mint with Christmas. Not only does the green in this recipe make it look a little festive, but the combination of mint and chocolate is hard to beat. This recipe is from our friends Sierra, Chloe W. and Temple from Troop 436. Thanks, girls!
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- 1 cups butter, softened & divided
- 1 box finely crushed Thin Mint cookies
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract, divided
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 drops green food coloring
Instructions
- Melt 2 cups chocolate chips and 1/3 cup butter in the top of a double boiler.
- Stir just until melted and smooth.
- Stir the crushed cookies into the chocolate mixture and press evenly into the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan (if you like a thicker crust, use a smaller pan).
- Refrigerate 10 minutes or until firm.
- Beat together 1/3 cup butter, milk, 1/2 tsp. of peppermint extract and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth.
- Gradually add in powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add food coloring one drop at a time until you have the desired color.
- Remove crust from the refrigerator and spread the powdered sugar mixture on top of it.
- Return to refrigerator.
- Place 1 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 1/3 cup butter, and 3/4 tsp. peppermint extract in the top of a double boiler; melt and stir.
- Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Spread this chocolate layer evenly over the powdered sugar mixture.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- For easier cutting, let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
