The holiday season is all about connection. Last month, we asked you to share your favorite holiday recipes and traditions with us as a way to connect and learn from different cultures. We created this space to compile all the recipes so everyone can try something new. If you want to contribute, please email Brooklin, and we will add yours!
Biscochitos
(From Stephanie Bacue)
"My grandmother would make these every year around the holidays, and now that she's gone, my aunt and mom make them for our family. They're a New Mexico tradition. The flavor is so unique--they're just sweet enough, and the anise seed gives a really interesting spice. When I think of Christmas in New Mexico, I think of biscochitos!"
-Stephanie
Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 to 1½ teaspoons ground anise
½ teaspoon salt
½ pound lard, softened
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sweet white wine, brandy, rum, apple or pineapple juice
¼ cup sugar and ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon for the topping
Directions
Sift together the flour, baking powder, anise, and salt and set aside.
Beat the lard in an electric mixer, gradually adding the sugar, and beat until extremely fluffy and light, about 8 minutes. Don’t shortcut this step. Stop the mixer every couple of minutes and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl.
Add the egg, followed by the wine, and continue beating.
Mix in the dry ingredients, adding about one-third of the mixture at a time. Stop the mixer as you make each addition, and beat no longer than necessary to incorporate the dry ingredients. A stiff pie-crust type of dough is what you’re seeking.
Chill the dough for about 15 minutes for easy handling.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Roll out the dough ¼-inch thick on a floured work surface and cut with a small cookie cutter. Avoid handling the dough any more than necessary, one of the keys to the melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Transfer the cookies to ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until just set and pale golden.
While the cookies bake, stir together the topping.
When the cookies are done, cool for just a minute or two on the baking sheets, then gently dunk the top of each in the cinnamon sugar.
Transfer to absorbent paper to finish cooling.
7-Layer Bars (Magic Bars)
(From Patti Tutalo)
"Cookies are everything in my family. There are cookie exchanges for the holidays, and cookies are at every event, including graduations and birthday parties. There is also a large table of hundreds of cookies at Pittsburgh weddings. The tradition is believed to have started during the Great Depression when families couldn't afford a wedding cake. The bride's family, including her mother, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and closest friends, bake the cookies in advance. The Wedding Cookie Table has strong ethnic and religious ties, linked mainly to European immigrants of Catholic descent – particularly present in industrial areas that housed Italians, Greeks, and other Europeans. Enjoy!"
-Patti
Ingredients
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup butter, melted
1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). (If using a glass dish, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).) Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter in a bowl until well combined.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and press onto the bottom.
Pour sweetened condensed milk on graham cracker crust. Sprinkle with an even layer of chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts.
Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Cool completely, then cut into 36 bars or diamonds.
Chicken Paprikash
(From Brooklin Armaro)
"This recipe is a mixture of my grandmother's and my husband's grandmother's. Both of our families have Eastern European roots, so when we married, there was, of course, a great debate on who had the better Paprikash. I asked his mom for her recipe and compared it to ours. Then, I created a mixture of both, which has become the family favorite! For the last 4 years, we have had the tradition of eating Paprikash on New Year's Day. It's the perfect cozy meal to bring in the new year. I hope you like it!"
-Brooklin
Ingredients
3 large chicken breasts
Hungarian paprika to taste (at least 4 tablespoons)
1 sweet onion
Olive Oil
2-3 cups chicken broth
Dash of Lowry's seasoning salt (to taste)
Slurry (mix together)
1 pint of sour cream
3 tablespoons of flour
3/4 cup of water
Dumplings
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon of salt
3/4 cup of water
3 cups of flour
Directions
Sauté the onion in olive oil until soft and translucent (about 7 minutes). Turn off the heat and add paprika to the onions.
In the same pot with the onions, brown the chicken breast on both sides. About 5 minutes per side (do not cook through).
Add the chicken broth so it just covers the chicken and a dash of Lowry's. Bring to a boil.
Lower heat and simmer for about 30 minutes
Meanwhile, make your dumplings - bring a large pot of salty water to a boil, and mix together all dumpling ingredients until sticky (add more water if needed)
Once the water is boiling, dip a spoon in the water to keep the mixture from sticking to the spoon. Add about a teaspoon of the mixture to the boiling water. As the dumplings rise to the top, scoop them out and put them into a separate bowl.
Once the chicken is cooked through, pull it out and shred it.
Add the sour cream slurry mix to the pot and whisk well.
Put the chicken back into the pot and add more paprika, if needed.
Add the dumplings to the pot and reheat them for about 10 minutes (on low heat).
Serve sprinkled with fresh parsley, and enjoy!
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