Cherry Winks!

I've been listening to Christmas music and I love it!  I guess for me,  music is one of the best parts about the Christmas season.  Most years I find a new song or a new album and just immerse myself in it.  But this year the old carols are really taking me down memory lane.  Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, Silent Night and so many others.  Saturday night while we were singing at the Santa Lucia Festival at NPU I was flooded with memories of Christmases long past.  In my mind I was a little girl sitting in the backseat of the family car with your Aunt Shirley.  We were bundled up on a cold winters night riding home to the farm with our Mom and Dad in the front seat.  Shirley and I were singing Christmas carol after carol.  We were belting them out and our parents were joining in.  Unlike the Griswold family in "Christmas Vacation", we were all having fun!  Although the ride was long and the car was cold for most of the way home, our hearts were warm as we sang the words to those old familiar songs.

Christmas carol memories come easily from my childhood.  The Baptist church we attended in Adrian holds special memories of Sunday School Christmas programs.  Each child spent weeks memorizing a "piece"  for the program, then suffered through what seemed like a entire day long rehearsal with each class taking turns "onstage" practicing their parts, until finally the pastor and teachers declared it perfect!  On the night of the program we all came traveling through the snow, to the warm church, dressed in our best Christmas finery, and performed our pieces around a very clean manger and filled the night with beautiful carols and felt the love of Christmas on the faces of each parent sitting shoulder to shoulder in the little church.  At the close of the service, when we had greeted all our friends and said thank you to all the folks who commented  on our wonderful performance, we bundled into our coats and hats and headed to the door.  There the deacons wished us all a "Merry Christmas"  and then they gave each child a shiny red apple and a brown paper bag filled with candy!  We hurried to the car, I held my candy bag tightly, not wanting to loose a piece of it in the snow.  The candy was the old fashioned kind you hardly see anymore, colorful hard candy ribbons, cinnamon balls, peanut shapes filled with peanut butter, anise, fruit filled (yucky), candy canes and more!  I felt so rich!

On Christmas Eve, after days of preparation,wrapping, baking, cooking and cleaning, we little girls waited eagerly for family to arrive to celebrate.  Andy Williams would be playing on the stereo, the table set with Mom's best dishes, the tree twinkling and surrounded by presents.  Shirley and I, having gotten in the way, and making Mom crazy with our favorite question, "When can we open presents?", loved to sit upside down on the sofa and look at the tree!  If you have never done this you really should give it a try.  Dim the lights, plug in the Christmas tree and hang your head down off the sofa, feet up in the air, be sure to squint a bit for the best effect.  The tree looks especially beautiful when viewed this way by little children who are so excited for Christmas! Amazing!

I came across a cookie recipe online that my Mom used to bake at Christmas time.  Turns out it was one of the first Pillsbury Bake Off winners and had been printed on the Corn Flakes box too.  I don't remember Mom adding the nuts and dates, but I know I liked these cookies and I enjoyed making them with Mom.  Hope you'll like them too!

CHERRY WINKS

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/3 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups crushed cornflakes cereal
• 10 maraschino cherries, quartered

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
2. Cream the shortening with the sugar. Blend in the eggs, milk and vanilla.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the chopped pecans, chopped dates and 1/3 cup maraschino cherries.
4. Shape teaspoonful sized chunks of dough into balls. Roll each ball in the crushed corn flakes. Place balls on the prepared baking sheets and top each cookie with 1/4 maraschino cherry.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in airtight containers.  Best while enjoying some Andy Williams or your favorite Christmas carols!

*Disclaimer:  I did not have time to try this recipe until the day after I posted it.  It is definitely not the taste I remember, so I think my Mom had a secret recipe!  Perhaps Aunt Shirley might have the original somewhere.  But, oddly enough, the cookies tasted better 1 day old than they did fresh from the oven.  I'm sure I have never disliked freshly baked cookies before.  Hmmmmmm. 

Hanukkah O Hanukkah! - Mandel Bread

 Yesterday was the first day of Hanukkah.  This Jewish holiday begins on a different day each year because it follows the Jewish calendar.  I have never figured out the system, but thinking about Hanukkah has brought up some memories!

You both learned pretty much everything you know about Judaism in school or from your friends.  Then you came home and taught me.  First grade seemed to be when Northbrook kids really became aware that other kids had different religions and holidays.  Little Emily came home from 1st grade  and informed us that some of her classmates were "Christmas" and some were "Hanukkah", referring of course to the holiday their family celebrated.  Soon we learned that some families celebrated both holidays!  Why?  What is the difference between a  Christmas tree and a Hanukkah bush?  Why do we Christians only get to open presents on Christmas when our Jewish friends get presents for 8 nights?  Dad and I found it very educational to answer your questions, lucky for us they didn't start too difficult.

When Ty was is first grade he was good friends with a boy named Adrian.  Ty came  home after playing at Adrian's  house feeling confused.  "They have a menorah and a Christmas tree!  Are they Jewish or Christian?"  It really bothered you.  You wanted answers.  Our ideas about the parents having different religious beliefs and choosing to celebrate both holidays were just not good enough.  There must be a better answer!  So December came and went with Tyler still wondering.  Then Tyler came home one day so excited, the mystery had been solved!  The children had been learning about their heritage in school and Tyler had discovered "Adrian isn't Jewish or Christian!  He's Italian!"

In keeping with the theme of Hanukkah here is a favorite holiday recipe from one of my Jewish friends from Greenbriar.   In Italy it would be called biscotti, a good Swede would call it skorpa, skorpor or almond toast.  But at this time of year in Sunset Foods it is called mandel or mondel bread.  Happy Hanukkah!  And Happy Birthday Kelly!

Felicia's Mandel Bread

1 tsp salt

1/2 lb butter

1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp lemon extract

3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder

1 bag of chocolate chips

1 pkg chopped nuts, (almonds, walnuts or pecans)

1 box raisins, craisins, etc, optional

ground cinnamon

sugar and cinnamon on top

First, cream the sugar and butter.  Then add the eggs one at a time but keep beating.  After the eggs are put in add the almond and lemon extract.  Put some ground cinnamon in the batter, there is no measurement.  Then measure and sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the mixture.  Mix well.  If you want to make 2 different flavors, divide dough in half now, then add chocolate chips, nuts and raisins as desired.  Divide the dough into 4 equal parts.  Put flour on your hands and roll the dough into long loaves, place on cookie sheets and sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes.  Slice the loaf into thin slices and lay flat on cookie sheet, return to oven for 15-20 minutes, until lightly toasted.

This season when you see a menorah in a store window or find yourself singing the "Dreidel" song, take a moment to remember all our Jewish friends who have enriched our lives.  And of course Jesus, the little Jewish baby in the manger who grew up to be the Savior of the world, and our reason to celebrate!