Christmas Baking

Martin, being English, thinks that Christmas has only arrived when he gets his fruitcake. Which is usually from Mom and in his stocking. I found a fruitcake bar recipe in a cookie magazine and it included nice sounding fruits, so I decided to make it for him. He kept wanting to get in the kitchen and help, but I was trying to do something FOR HIM and wouldn't really let him.


His face doesn't actually show delight, but he was loving these! They were moist and quite tasty and even I enjoyed eating them! (And I HATE fruitcake) I made these for our Christmas Eve buffet at Mom's. (The green bits you see in the next photo were a few extra candied cherries I had leftover, and we added them in)

Golden Fruitcake Bars (’08 for Martin)
1 cup golden raisins

1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
1 cup Brandy or orange juice

1 16 oz. box pound cake mix
1 cup powdered sugar

*Combine the dried fruit in a bowl and pour the orange juice over it. Let stand for 1 hour or overnight. Drain fruit; reserving brandy or OJ. (May not be any left)
*Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 15x10x1 baking pan; set aside.
*Mix the pound cake according to pkg. directions, except add 1 additional egg. Fold the drained fruit and pistachios into the batter. Spread batter into prepared pan.
*Bake for 25-30 minutes until cake is golden or toothpick comes out clean. Let bars cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack.
*Meanwhile, mix 1 cup sugar with 2 tbs. reserved juice/brandy. Stir in additional juice if needed, to make frosting a drizzling consistency. Drizzle partially cooled cake with icing. Let cool completely. Use a serrated knife to cut into small bars. Makes 42.

I also made a cheesecake for Christmas day, as well. Lots of baking going on on the 24th. I usually make a cheesecake for dessert and the last 2 years it has been a Peppermint Cheesecake. This year I was ready for a change and went looking back through previous recipes... and found Fudge Truffle Cheesecake. I remember it being so incredibly rich. I made it in 1994 and hadn't repeated it since. Well, it turned out perfecto. No crack on the top, which made me happy! I've tried all of the tricks that people tell you will keep it from cracking and so far none of them are fail proof. Well, Grandma loved it and, of all people, my Mom did too! I couldn't believe it, as I figured it would be too rich! She ended up keeping a few pcs. to take to work and the nurse she worked with didn't eat any, so she ate a pc. both nights she worked! Guess it really was yummy! The photos of cheesecake always have the fancy cream piped on the top, but if you really do that it gets soft and melty and makes the rest of the cake look icky. So, we add it to each serving instead.

Fudge Truffle Cheesecake (Christmas ’94 & ‘08)

Chocolate Crumb Crust:
1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup Hersheys cocoa

1/3 cups melted butter
*Combine ingredients and press firmly on the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.

Cheesecake:
2 cups (12 oz) Semi sweet chocolate chips

3 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
14 oz can Sweetened Condensed milk

4 eggs
2 tbs vanilla extract

*Heat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare chocolate crust. Set aside.

*In heavy saucepan, over very low heat, melt chips, stirring constantly. In large mixing bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add melted chips and remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely. Chill several hours. Refrigerate leftovers