Ingredients

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 cup pecans or walnut halves

Directions

Have ready a large baking sheet. In a small bowl combine sugar, salt and black and red peppers. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add pecans; cook and stir until hot, about 1 minute.

Reduce heat to medium; sprinkle pecans with half of the reserved sugar and pepper mixture; cook and stir until sugar melts, about 30 seconds. Add remaining sugar and pepper mixture; cook and stir until sugar melts and coats nuts, about 40 seconds. Place nuts on baking sheet; cool slightly and separate.

Store in a tightly covered container.

Yields 1 heaping cup.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 pound Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 cup raisins, diced
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, diced
• 1/4 cup dried dates, diced
• 1/4 cup dried prunes, diced
• 1 cup pecans, chopped

Directions

Mix cream cheese, Cheddar cheese and coriander until well blended. Add dried fruits and stir gently. Shape into a ball and roll in pecans. Refrigerate overnight.

Serve surrounded by clusters of red and green grapes and wedges of unpeeled apples.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons melted shortening
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup prepared, moist mincemeat
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions

Combine and sift flour, baking powder and salt.

Combine egg, milk, sugar, shortening and mincemeat. Add to flour mixture; stir only until dry ingredients are moistened.

Bake in greased 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 4-inch loaf pan for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

Let stand 24 hours before cutting.

Makes one loaf.

Ingredients

• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup crushed red and white-striped peppermint candy
• 1 1/4 cups whipping cream, whipped
• 1 1/2 cups Nabisco chocolate wafer crumbs
• 1 small jar maraschino cherries

Directions

Fold marshmallows, pecans and candy into whipped cream. Refrigerate for 2 hours or longer.

Form into 12 balls. Roll in cookie crumbs. Top with cherries.

Yields 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Few grains of salt
• 1/3 cup maraschino cherries (half red, half green)
• 30 large marshmallows cut into quarters
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or vanilla wafer crumbs)
• 2 1/2 cups coconut

Directions

Blend together milk, vanilla extract and salt. Add cherries, marshmallows and wafer crumbs. Line an 8- or 9-inch pan with half the coconut. Add marshmallow mixture, spreading evenly over the pan. Top with remaining coconut. Press firmly. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours to ripen. Unmold and cut into squares.

Ingredients

• Glaze
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• Ribbon
• Small Christmas trimmings
• Sequins and small spangles and Dressmaker pins with colored heads

Directions

Keep popcorn warm in a 300 degree F oven. Butter sides of heavy saucepan. In it, combine sugar, water, salt, corn syrup and vinegar. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook without stirring to hard-ball stage (250 degrees F on candy thermometer).

Pour slowly over hot popcorn, mixing well. Butter hands lightly; form 4-inch balls. Let balls dry thoroughly. Decorate with ribbon, trimmings, sequins, and spangles, holding all in place with pins. To hang, pin ribbon loops at top of balls; or use balls as table decorations.

Yield: 8 large balls

Ingredients

• 35 ounces water
• 4 sticks (1 pound) butter
• 1 ounce sugar
• 3/4 ounce salt
• 20 ounces bread flour
• 12 large eggs
• Whipped cream
• Coffee extract

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine water, butter, sugar, salt in pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add all flour at one time. Stir quickly and put back on heat. Stir vigorously until dough pulls away from sides of the pot. Put dough in mixer and mix on low until dough has cooled (until you can touch the mixing bowl without burning your hand!). Add eggs slowly.

Mix whipped cream and coffee extract to taste.

Put dough into piping bag. Using a large star tip, pipe balls of dough on nonstick sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, then turn heat down to 375 degrees F for an additional five minutes. Let cool, then cut in half and pipe in coffee-flavored whipped cream. Dust with confectioners sugar or cocoa and serve.

Ingredients

• 12 cups crushed vanilla wafers—the original Nilla (4 boxes)
• 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided
• 3/4 cups chopped pecans, divided
• 3 cups bourbon—Old Grand Dad’s

Directions

1. Mix vanilla wafers, corn syrup, cocoa powder, 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, 4 cups pecans and bourbon. Refrigerate at least 12 hours.
2. Shape into balls. Pulverized remaining 3/4 cup pecans and sift in remaining 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar. Mix together and roll bourbon balls in mixture. Yield: 6 dozen.

Ingredients

• 4 Cups cornbread crumbled
• 10 Slices dried bread cubed
• 1 Pound MILD ITALIAN TURKEY SAUSAGE
• 1-1/2 Cups celery chopped
• 1 Cup onion chopped
• 1-1/2 Teaspoons salt
• 1 Teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/4 Cup Jalapeno peppers seeded and chopped
• 2 eggs slightly beaten and 1 Cup TURKEY BROTH

Directions

Preheat oven to 325.
In large bowl combine cornbread and bread cubes.
In large skillet, over medium-high heat, saute sausage, celery and onion until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender; combine with cornbread mixture.
Add salt, poultry seasoning, jalapeno peppers, eggs and turkey broth.
Spoon dressing into lightly greased 3-quart casserole dish.
Bake, covered, at 325 degrees F. 45 to 50 minutes.

Ingredients

• 3-4 loaves of white bread (or 5 if you like leftovers)
• water
• chicken broth
• insides of the turkey
• 2 bunches of celery
• 1 or 2 onions
• 2 TBSP butter
• 1/2 tsp. sage
• oysters (optional) and mushrooms (optional)

Directions

The night before you want to eat the stuffing, break the bread into small pieces (about 1 inch squares) into 2 huge bowls or pots. Let the bread sit overnight to dry out.
The next day, after you remove the insides of turkey, boil them in water in 2/3 qt. sauce pan until cooked (about 20/30 minutes).
Remove insides for later use or discard. Keep water and put aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Chop onion and celery and place into food processor until minced.
Melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter in large saucepan.
Saute onion and celery until heated through. Do not brown! (Saute mushrooms also at this time if wanted). Depending on how much stuffing you want and how much celery and onion you’ve chopped, you may have to saute the onion and celery in two parts.
Once cooked, pour the onion/celery mixture directly over the dried out bread.
Pour 1/2 tsp. sage over bread/onion/celery mixture.
Then take your reserved water and pour slowly over bread. The bread will shrink as you do this. Be careful not to pour too much water in.
Mixture thoroughly and smell/taste for perfect stuffing.
If you need more liquid, open a can of chicken broth and pour over bread. If you need more spice, add more sage.
If you are using oysters, add them now.
Once stuffing is of a consistency that it will stick together and does not look too dry, do not add more liquid.
Either stuff in turkey to be baked in oven, or put in 9 x 13 pan.
If using oysters, it is recommended that you bake the stuffing in a pan so as to ensure the oysters will be cooked through.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. You want the stuffing to have a nice brown crust on top.

Note: If you are cooking the stuffing in a pan and not inside the turkey, try stuffing the turkey with small apples. It smells wonderful and the apples have a great flavor when you take them out.