Sweetheart Salad Add 2 cups of drained, crushed pineapple, ½ cup sugar, 1 ½ packages unflavored gelatin (in dry form), and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat and cool.
In a mixing bowl, combine 8 ounces of softened cream cheese and one 6-ounce bottle of drained, stemless, maraschino cherries and mix on low speed until creamy. Stir into pineapple mixture and refrigerate. Whip ½ pint heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into chilled fruit mixture being careful not to over mix. Spread into a 9 x 9 pan and refrigerate. Enjoy.
Two more seasonal favorites are Molasses Cookies and Snickerdoodles. For eight months out of the year, neither of these goodies get a moment’s thought, but when the mercury dips and the ground is blanketed by fallen leaves, my mouth waters in anticipation of sinking my teeth into a soft gingerbread-like or cinnamon-covered cookie.
Molasses Cookies Mix thoroughly until creamy – ¼ cup shortening ½ cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 egg ¼ cup dark molasses Add – 2 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground cloves ¼ tsp sea salt Mix until dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Dough will be sticky. Cover and chill for one hour. Preheat oven to 375. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in Demerara or Turbinado sugar, placing cookies several inches apart on baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for several minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Enjoy.
Whatever seasonal treats you look forward to, I hope you’re able to enjoy them with those you love. Wishing you a joyous holiday season!
~ Kristine Raymond
