HALLIE EPHRON: With the holidays already fading in our rearview mirrors, some of us are still enjoying the treats our ever-so-thoughtful friends and family members knew we’d enjoy. For me, food says love, and it's the best gift ever.
Sadly I’ve polished off the last bite of smoked white fish that my daughter brought me from Zabars in Manhattan.
I am still eating (at this very moment as I type this) one of the Crawford’s Garibaldi biscuits she gave me, too–good but not as good as our own discontinued Sunshine Raisin Cookies but yummy nevertheless.
And I hope my son-in-law is enjoying the chocolate covered orange rind I made for him, and my daughters are still savoring the homemade granola (Lucy Burdette’s recipe) I made for them... and which they requested.
Are the holidays the time when you enjoy sweet or savory indulgences, and what’s at the top of your wish list to give or receive?
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: A dear pal of mine sent a Kringle. Okay, I‘m sure you know all about these, butI had never ever heard of this, but it's an oval-shaped coffee cake thing, from Wisconsin. The one he sent was cinnamon and glaze. I thought, aww, that’s so kind. But–whatever, how good can coffee cake be?
Yikes yikes yikes I have NEVER had anything that good.
You know me, Reds and Readers, I can take or leave sweet and sugary things, but that Kringle had me dreaming of it. I finally cut it into individual servings and put them in the freezer to keep them from being so tempting.
Also indulgences? Latkes with sour cream. Tiny blinis with caviar and sour cream. Baked potatoes with, um, sour cream. AND a darling author pal (Lisa Scottoline) sent me a massive box of Philadelphia pretzels WITH special pretzel salt. You brush with oil, sprinkle on salt, and back. SWOONING.
LUCY BURDETTE: It’s become a bit of a tradition for me to make a yellow cake with caramel frosting over Christmas. There’s none left, of course, it was gone in three days. I also made two chocolate loaf cakes, one in California and one in Key West. And we had some friends over on New Year’s day, and our pal Pat Kennedy made her famous chocolate layer cake with white frosting. Cake Cake Cake, my favorite!
I’ve never heard of a Kringle and now I’m off to look it up.
RHYS BOWEN: We have long polished off the mince pies and sausage rolls I always make for the holidays. I am working my way through homemade cranberry cookies ( so yummy) and the real French macarons my granddaughter made for our present.
And so many people gave us boxes of chocolates that they should last until Easter! A friend who came for New Year’s Eve brought bagels and lox for the next morning. I've been enjoying them this week. But so much sugar and starch!
Now it’s back to grilled chicken and veggies.
JENN McKINLAY: What is this Kringle you speak of? Must go investigate!
I’m usually in a baking frenzy - cookies for everyone! - every December but this year a deadline blew it all up. I had no time. So my usual bad breakfast choices of cookies for the entire month did not happen. *Sigh* On the 24th, I managed to make a batch of peppermint bark, which I do every year.
There is still some left as I’m supposed to be watching my sugar intake and Hub is not a sweets guy. Whatever.
We do receive a lot of homemade goodies during the holidays, so that did tide me over - fudge, rocky road candy, a box of See’s - is it even the holidays if there is no See’s? I don’t think so.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Hallie, I saw a Zabar’s catalogue at Celia’s house, and you can order all their stuff shipped! I nearly gave myself a present of their bagels and schmear package.
I went to a cookie swap at a friend’s house. Did the cookies last until my kids arrived on Christmas Eve? No, they did not. I made some brownies for them. Otherwise, I didn’t get any foodie gifts this year. I need to see if the chocolate-covered cherries and the popcorn tins have been marked down at my grocery store!
DEBORAH CROMBIE: Trader Joe's has Kringles but I've never bought one!! They are hugely popular (here's a review though, and next year I am trying one for sure!!
I usually do buy stollen at Christmas, because I love anything with almond paste, but this year I never got around to it. What I did pick up at Trader Joe's was a tub of their pistachio toffee, and it was delicious. When I went back for more, sadly it was all gone. They didn't have chocolate oranges this year, either, boo.
What I wish someone had gifted me was a box of Harry and David pears. Maybe I will treat myself now…
HALLIE:
AND as I was posting this, realized I haven't had my favorite fruitcake. So it's now ordered from Colin Street Bakery, my favorite, and introduced to me by one of the wonderfull commenters here at Jungle Red!
Are you extending the holiday with goodies, too? Or going on a diet and having a dry January? ("Bah, humbug!")
I love anything and everything peppermint, and I have several things I buy every year. I might have some left over to eat still. (And I'm NOT sharing!)
ReplyDeleteI love homemade fudge, but it's been a while since I got any. Especially since people usually make it with tree nuts, and I'm allergic to them.
Homemade fudge... there was always a great fudge place at the Farmer's Market in Los Angeles... anyone know if it's still there?
DeleteLast year our local cheese shop introduced us to Vacherin Mont D’Or cheese, made during the winter, wrapped in spruce, and a European treat. It is so gooey and delicious on anything, or you can just scoop it out with a spoon. We can’t import it because it isn’t pasteurized, so they used a version from Wisconsin, and I ordered a few rounds this year. Then when we were in France last month, the actual Mont D’Or was just sitting there in Aldi, so I grabbed one to devour. I still have one of the Wisconsin rounds that isn’t going to make it through the weekend ….
ReplyDeleteMont D'Or - writing that down. I LOVE soft smelly cheeses. There's a soft creamy blue that I can get at my local stop n shop
DeleteThat creamy blue... maybe it's caled robiola? or carambola? or something-ola
DeleteI bought a similar cheese wrapped in spruce bark from Montebello, Quebec at our Christmas Market in Gatineau. Quebec.
DeleteIt is called Adoray. https://thecheeseatlas.com/cheese-profiles/adoray/
I just looked this up, and Murray's carries it! Thanks, Lisa.
DeleteWhere I lived in France, one of the local cheeses was cancoillotte--also scoopable and very delicious. Have not found it in the States. I love Mont d'or as well.
DeleteRubiola?
DeleteI always make batches and batches of cookies to give as gifts and to have during the holidays [there are a few left; sadly the dark chocolate espresso ones are long gone]. Our daughter always sends John chocolate-covered cherries . . . there might be a couple left . . . .
ReplyDeleteMmm chocolate covered cherries - my friends in Holland used to send us dark chocolate covered actual cherries (some still had the pit so you had to be careful) with a sweet liqueur around the cherry. Not legal to sell here because of the alcohol. Sublime.
DeleteI know that I am in the minority, but I LOVE FRUITCAKE! The REDS (DEBS and other commenters) suggested I try the Collin Street Bakery fruitcake so I did buy the apricot pecan one last year. But with $US exchange & int'l shipping, that was an expensive buy (over $50). Instead, I tried our national chain (Loblaws) dark brandied fruitcake with marzipan for only $10. DELISH!
ReplyDeleteI also love all fruited holiday breads. I have made my almond stollen with marzipan to give out as gifts for over 25 years. I made 3 smaller loaves this year, and kept 1/2 of one (to enjoy as quality control). And store-bought panettone. What is the difference between a $10 & $40 one, I have no idea. Montreal has a large Petite Italie neighbourhood, so I bought a less traditional one while there in mid-November. It was pear and dark chocolate (cost $25), and I am still enjoying it.
And being a chocoholic, I still have lots of artisan chocolates to enjoy.
Grace, my husband adores fruitcake! He has endured a lot of teasing over the decades, but his sister faithfully sends him one every year at Christmas. (Selden)
DeleteYAY, another fruitcake lover! And yes, I have also been teased about it. But I figure there's more fruitcake available for me to eat when others refuse!
DeleteMy husband loves fruitcake, too, Grace. Me, not so much, but he looks at it the same way you do - more for him to enjoy.
DeleteMy husband also loves fruitcake; I think I'm the one who originally suggested Colin Street, because that was his family's favorite when I met him in 1978. I had already been making one that was very similar, and it was deemed by the family equally as good. Over the years it's gotten harder to find the ingredients, so I quit making it for a couple years. At a brunch I hosted for my girlfriends this year two friends asked if I was still making the fruitcakes I used to gift to everyone, they missed them! I did make one this year, and substituted the Michigan dried cherries we get in Traverse City for the candied ones, and it turned out great.
DeleteWaiting for my fruitcake to arrive. 10% after holiday discount! I tried the apricot almond and it's good, but the traditional one I like better.
DeleteGrace, I love fruitcake too.
DeleteAt the beginning of December, I bought one from our local Lion’s Club . It’s made by Grant’s Bakery here in Quebec. I didn’t begin it because I received a homemade one by my stepmother that is finished as is now finished the friendship’s cake made by my best friend ( very different than fruitcake but containing lots of fruits ).
I will surely start the one I bought during the storm they predict for the weekend.
Danielle
Awww, JRW is such a positive welcoming community. Fellow fruitcake enthusiasts can admit our love online!
DeleteGrace, both of us love Dark Fruitcake. I make a big batch and it usually lasts 2 years, as most people don't like dark. We eat it all year round. As a replacement for light fruitcake, which I find dry, I make a dense buttery cherry pound cake.
DeleteI remember years ago when the hippy movement meant breaking from many traditions - our neighbors' older daughter had a fruitcake for her wedding cake.
DeleteMARGO: Swoon, homemade dark fruitcake! If you eat it all year round, can I come visit, lol?
DeleteI gift my almond stollen with marzipan for dark fruitcake haters. They eat it all.
Fellow fruitcake devotees, this recipe is SO decadent and delicious. I made it during the pandemic, and maaaayyybe added more than my share of pandemic poundage because of it. Totally worth it.
Deletehttps://www.davidlebovitz.com/chocolatecherry/
I am positively gleeful at Grace's love affair with fruitcake (and being able to declare the forbidden love out loud, well, on the blog.) OMG, I can't stop giggling.
DeleteHa ha, yes, JRW is a safe space to declare my HIDDEN (not forbidden) love of dark fruitcake!
DeleteKAREN: Any David Lebovitz recipe is sure to be a hit, so I saved the chocolate cherry fruitcake recipe.
DeleteMy husband also loves fruitcake and I think has received the Collin Street version from his relatives. I want to try Margo’s dense buttery cherry pound cake! That sounds delish to me! — Pat S
DeleteCherry Pound Cake - check out the Fanny Farmer book. It needs butter and lots of eggs and patience - there is no leavening. Lots of drained maraschino cherries. I now have the chocolate cherry recipe and looking at 3 Kringle cake recipes. Still drooling over the pears...
DeleteRhys will know this but others may not--traditional British wedding cakes are dark fruitcakes and I love them! People often save a slice in the freezer for their firstborn's christening.
DeleteThere are never any leftover goodies with my husband around. I have to remind him to at least save one for me and most of the time he does. An example is the Peppermint Bark. Yum!!
ReplyDeleteMy sister used to push in the bottoms of the chocolates to find the flavor she liked. Ick.
DeleteI had a boss who did that, but who actually stuck her fingernail in the candy! Talk about unsanitary! Blecch! — Pat S
DeleteI did not get any food gifts, alas, except a box of local chocolates, which is long gone. I made several of my traditional cookies and a batch of Chex Mix - also all gone. And now I want some peppermint bark.
ReplyDeleteDebs, I've had those Harry and David pears - SO good. Alas, I can't eat pears any more. (Grr, damn allergy.) I might have drop a few hints about that Kringle next fall!
I think we're ALL going to buy Kringles. I wish we had a Trader Joe's nearer by.
DeleteI don't have one nearby, either, Hallie. Have to highway-drive at least a half hour north or south.
DeleteI went to Trader Joe's this morning--pre winter storm shopping, and they still had Kringles! Didn't buy one, though. That would be a lot of pastry for two people.
DeleteWhat used to be our mutual favorite Xmas cake was my god mother's steamed black pudding cake with hard sauce. After she passed,her daughter could make it, and I had the recipe but had never tried it. But then we moved to Portugal, and it's not something you would ship. So this year, I made it with WhatsApp input from my god sister, and Eureka! It came out just right. Rajan made the hard sauce, and now it's our newly restored Xmas tradition.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fabulous! It's a first cousin to fruitcake only better.
DeleteWe always have duck for Christmas. I know this is going to disgust some people (c'est la vie), but my husband renders the duck fat and then we use it for a lot of cooking and baking. I love it in old fashioned recipes that call for lard or shortening (which I don't usually make). I've made tortillas and biscuits with it. Even in some cookie recipes, if the ratio is 50 shortening/50 butter it still works. The duck fat just gives it a rich flavor, it doesn't taste "ducky." A little bit with grilled cheese or a 1/2 tsp to tsp when you're frying eggs. Yum!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely an indulgence and not appropriate for vegetarians. Maybe the Inspector Bruno fans will understand. I still haven't gotten around to reading that series, but my dad says he cooks everything with duck fat ;-) We will be working on that for a long time.
The only other goodie. . . A dear friend of ours knows that our older son (who is hard to shop for) loves pears, so she always sends us a huge Harry and David gift basket with lots of pears. The pears vanish instantly and we dole the chocolates and treats out sparingly. They're hidden in the garage (shhh). We still have some white chocolate covered pretzels but I think that's b/c everyone but me has forgotten about them. There actually might be some stray bits of peppermint bark too, now that I think of it.
Duck fat fries were HUGE here in SoCal about 8 years ago.
DeleteDuck fat is highly prized by gourmands, Jill! I saw a chocolate chip cookie recipe in Fine Cooking Magazine, about 30 years ago, that used duck fat. Sounded divine.
DeleteJILL: I keep leftover duck fat from roasted whole duck or duck breast to use in other meals. I used to subscribe to Fine Cooking Magazine for many years (not 30 years). That chocolate chip cookie recipe sounds decadently delicious but I doubt that I have that recipe.
DeleteAw, I should have figured I wasn't the only one who liked duck fat. I know there's a lot of foodies here. When I mention it to a lot of family and friends, I get "bleah! How can you eat that?"
DeleteI *always* save the duck fat when I cook a duck. Though it's harder and harder to find one in the supermarket. There's a fabulous tiny restaurant tucked into PORTLAND MAINE (great foodie city) called Duckfat known for their handcut frites fried in... duck fat. https://www.duckfat.com/df-menu
DeleteMy grandmother always had ginger cookies in the cookie jar. They were sort of hard, but so delicious. She would often share her recipe, but nobody could make them that in anyway tasted the same. It turns out what was in the recipe was shortening, but she always used bacon fat. Completely different cookie!
Delete@Margo, that sounds amazing! I think bacon fat could be good with peanut butter cookies too.
DeleteDuck fat in specialty stores is super pricey stuff. It's great that you can make your own.
DeleteMargo, I think the NY Times had a recipe this fall for ginger cookies made with bacon fat. I was tempted to make them, but in the end, did not. I love the Bruno books, but have never been a big fan of duck, so for lack of duck fat . . .
DeleteYes, duck fat for roasted potatoes, especially! Our local butcher shop sells jars of it. Expensive, but then you don't need a lot.
DeleteMy darling neighbor gifted us a box of assorted chocolates and my niece gave a package of my favorite chocolate-covered pretzels from Sarris's, our local chocolate-maker. I am such a chocoholic, none of it lasted to New Year. I did, at least, share with my husband to help save me from myself.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is what husbands are especially good for!
DeleteAnd they only eat some to help us out, right?! Ha! — Pat S
DeleteOur youngest grandson is six and has allergies too numerous to list here. I love to bake for my grandsons but it is a challenge to do it for this one. My son brought him to visit on the first night of Hanukah. I use recipes from Sally's Baking Addiction and swap out the ingredients that he can't have for ones he can. I baked double chocolate cookies, tiny chocolate zucchini bread muffins (his favorite), and chocolate banana muffins. It was way more than we could eat in 2 days so they brought the rest back to Beverly where they froze the leftovers.
ReplyDeleteWe usually visit our Delaware kids, too, but they didn't put us on their schedule. I am baking now for our trip to visit them later this month.
Judy, have you seen banana flour? I have baked for our neighbor who has severe food sensitivities, and she was able to easily tolerate that gluten-free alternative.
DeleteAgreed, there are so many alternative flours available now that can be used in baking. I also have had several food sensitivities that come and go. I was able to swap regular flour in recipes with either almond, coconut, brown rice, buckwheat or teff flours with good results.
DeleteLucky for everyone he's not allergic to chocolate. That would be a tragedy.
DeleteHallie: Sh-h-h! No "kunnihurrahs," please. (A "kunnihurrah" keeps evil spirits from hearing about and ruining things.)
DeleteKaren: banana flour sounds like a good possibility.
Grace: I mix a combination of brown and white rice flours with tapioca flour, following Cristina's flour recipe for baking for her family.
Our darling California nieces continue their mother's tradition of sending us a box of See's dark chocolates every December, bless them. I had to put it in the freezer a couple weeks ago when I realized there were only six pieces left, and Steve had not had any. Oops.
ReplyDeleteOne of Steve's best clients is Brome Bird Care--Brome Lake, aka Knowlton, is the inspiration for Louise Penny's Gamache books, and her home. The Brome guys send us chocolate every year, too, from different places every year. This year's was mostly milk chocolate, which is pretty safe from me.
The smoked whitefish the Michigan kids brought for Christmas is long gone, alas. It's SO good. For the first time in decades we didn't get any H&D pears from our elderly friend in Anchorage, and we are more sad knowing he's slowed down that much than from the loss of the yummy fruit. It's gotten too expensive now for the Polish cousins to send their amazing chocolates, too, but we hope to go there ourselves later this year. And maybe take them some treats from Cincinnati.
Brome Lake is also where I get my fresh whole duck & duck breast. They were devastated by avian flu last year and had to cull the whole flock last spring. But I am glad that Brome Lake ducks are back in the grocery stores this winter.
DeleteSees Chocolates! I found an outlet in the west village in Manhattan and treated myself to a box of their dark chocolate covered molassses chips.
DeleteWe have a See's store here, too. The nieces, California girls that they are, would be shocked to know this, so we don't bother to tell them.
DeleteIrwin's parents used to bring us a box of See's chocolates every time they went to CA to visit his sister and her family. Sigh. The good old days.
DeleteWhy would California girls be shocked See’s a national chain has a store in Ohio? See’s has not been exclusive to California for at least thirty years.
DeleteKaren, I didn’t realize that See’s was that far East! We usually send it to relatives in other parts of the country. Well, a gift is still a gift you don’t have to pay for, right? — Pat S
DeleteBecause they are convinced that Ohio is far too provincial to have anything remotely cool. They used to visit as children, and were only taken to the likes of Big Boy- type places, and they continue to believe that's about all we have here in the flyover space. I wish they'd come visit so I can show them what they missed.
DeleteOne jar of delicious home-made lemon curd from a good friend arrived into the house, a few servings of my home-made Scottish-style shortbread went out, and I baked a few loaves of Mary Berry's Tea Cake which I call 'fruit loaf' -- it's my substitute for Christmas cake but easier to make. We also ate several trays of Domino Steine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominostein), liquer-filled chocolate-covered cherries and brandy beans. Now all gone, though evidence remains on my hips...
ReplyDeleteYum! *LOVE* anything lemon flavored.
DeleteLemon curd, lemon curd! SO wonderful. On pound cake. With chocolate sauce. Ahhhh
DeleteAnyone want a recipe for a lemon snack cake that I just found. LemonY, easy (1 pan) and doesn't stale up - that is if you don't snuff it down!
DeleteYUM, I also love lemon-flavoured desserts. And homemade lemon curd is soooo easy to make. Can you please share your lemon snack cake recipe, MARGO?
DeleteLucious Lemon Snacking Cake
DeletePrep Time: 10 MinCook Time: 35 MinTotal Time: 45 Min
This is one of those tasty cakes you mix, bake and serve up right from the pan. No fuss, no muss and lush lemon flavors from the cake itself, right on up to that buttery lemon glaze!
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
1 1/4 cups (156g) plain, all purpose flour
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large free range egg
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/4 cup (57g) butter, melted
3/4 cup (180ml) milk
For the glaze:
3/4 cup (97.5g) icing sugar
1 TBS butter, melted
2 to 3 tsp lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking tin.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the pan. Level it off with a fork and then make two deep indentations in it.
Whisk the egg and lemon zest together in a small bowl. Pour this mixture into one indentation.
Pour the melted butter into the other indentation and then pour the milk over all.
Mix well together with a fork, making sure you get into the corners. The mixture will not be totally smooth. (Alternately you can mix everything together in a bowl.)
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. The top should spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the pan.
To make the glaze whisk all of the ingredients together until you have a thick glaze that you can spread over the top of the cake. Use only enough lemon juice to do this.
Spread the glaze over top and cut into squares to serve. Store in the pan, tightly covered.
I may have upped - the lemon - can't throw it out! Ours lived on the counter top and lasted a week - by then it was gone.
Thanks, MARGO!
DeleteMargo, stop, you're killing me! :-) I love lemon anything and this sounds delicious! I would eat it all, sadly, and it would definitely not last a week.
DeleteThe only thing I baked was banana bread. We had some at home and took some to my sister’s. Just ate cookies and her mother-in-law’s cheese ball at her house and didn’t bring anything home. We did get two small boxes of chocolates which are long gone and my husband made two huge batches of Chex mix that are also gone. Still rationing my Reese’s trees from my stocking.
ReplyDeleteSome (what I call over-the-counter) chocolates are Soooo good.
DeleteThe Very Nice Girlfriend gave me a box of chocolates for Christmas. I have one piece a day and today is the last piece. But I do have some of the dark-chocolate covered sponge candy The Hubby brought from his trip to Buffalo right before Christmas - also consumed at the rate of one piece a day. That should get me through another week at least.
ReplyDeleteChocolate covered sponge candy! I haven't had that in years... loved that stuff.
DeleteNever heard of that!
DeleteA few years ago received a gift box of Harry and David pears for Christmas. Oh, my gosh! The best pears I have ever tasted! I’ve since given them to other people, and everyone loves them.
ReplyDeleteMy sister-in-law, one of the best bakers ever, always sends big boxes of assorted homemade cookies. I try to make them last until New Year’s, but…Lest me just say that cookies are my downfall!
DebRo
For the work you have to put in, I do find cookies are a bit disappointing ... especially if you can't eat them within hours of pulling them out of the oven. Give me a black forest cake anytime.
DeleteI agree on the cookies. They dry out too fast!
Deletethat Kringle looks so good!
ReplyDeleteThey used to make peppermint mocha latte? at Peet's. They stopped doing that before the pandemic. And their S'more biscuits too.
Recently discovered this wonderful vegan (non dairy) Hot chocolate mix from the local organic grocery store. Yummy!
Diana
This year I was in Trader Joe's when they brought out a shipment of Jingle Jangle. Curious, I bought a box for the kids to enjoy over Thanksgiving. It disappeared in a nanosecond, and it wasn't restocked. I do have a full inventory of Sipping Chocolate to get through the winter.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Jingle Jangle?
Deletehttps://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/jingle-jangle-051324
DeleteMany, many years ago (prior to 1994 because that was the year that he died), my uncle, who lived in the US came for Christmas, and he brought a very large box of Whitman Sampler chocolates. They were in a yellow box with what I remember as a cross stitch sampler décor. I think they were miniatures – they must have been because there were a lot of chocolates. I tasted them, and loving chocolate really loved those! He had a spare box in his suitcase and gave them to me, and I doled them out to myself enjoying every one. The lucky thing was that the popular to be savoured chocolate in our house was Laura Secord Miniatures, and they were my mother’s – doled out measily. (apparently that is not a word).
ReplyDeleteThis year, we both were given a box of Ganong’s fruit jellies. I love those as they are pure fruit flavour. They also remind me of afternoon tea with my father. He usually had a box of his own as my sister didn’t like them, and he would ask me “would you like a jelly?” We would discuss the merits of lemon over orange or red over dark red – neither of us knew what they were except good, and then pop them into our mouths and luxuriate – ahhhh.
There was also a box of fresh oysters. No one likes them except me. I ate them all…
Oh and Julia, I bought 2 boxes of chocolate covered cherries and two of Brandy beans and hid them. They are chosen one at a time at about 9:30 – just before bed.
I also grew up with Laura Secord chocolates in Toronto. That's also where my mom bought our annual dark fruitcake. Sadly, I bought their fruitcake in 2021 and it did not taste the same. That's why I have been looking for a new dark, moist fruitcake. The Loblaws one I found has 50% fruit & lots of brandy, so I was satisfied.
DeleteFruit Jellies! I love them, and it's so hard to find ones taht don't just taste sweet. Thanks, Margo. My mother had her own huge box of miniature chocolates which she did not share, either. I have no memory of what the brand was but they were kosher. Go figure.
DeleteGosh, I've never had fruit jellies, either. What have I been missing?
DeleteI was also wondering about Trader Joe’s chocolate oranges which they have always had in. both dark and milk chocolate. I started looking for it when they began putting out their holiday specials and the oranges never appeared. This is in the Boston area.
ReplyDeleteYou're the second person I've heard say they were looking for TJ's chocolate oranges and were disappointed.
DeleteIt was me! I love TJ's chocolate organges (and they are the perfect stocking stuffers) but I never saw them this year.
DeleteSadly, the holiday cookies are all gone, the last of the chocolates, too. Chocolate caramel seashells from our library director--I can't say I managed one a day, though. My brother Mitch and I had birthdays 20 days apart, so later this month I will bake a coconut layer cake in his memory to extend my celebratory sweets! (Flora)
ReplyDeleteMmmm. I love coconut layer cake, too. Looking for a recipe that has lemon curd between the layers.
DeleteOMG, Hallie, I never thought of putting lemon curd between the layers! I love lemon!
DeleteI just found this and it looks like a dream: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/lemon-coconut-cake/ (from Flora) Will definitely be trying this!
DeleteI’ve seen the Kringle in Trader Joe’s at other times of the year, not just Christmas so they may still have it now
ReplyDeleteHere's the Kringle link! https://www.ohdanishbakery.com/everyday-kringle-favorites/wisconsin-kringle
ReplyDeleteThere are many different kinds, and every one of them that we've tried is delish. xxx
When I was a kid, Granddad used to gift fruit cakes to his clients. They were in beautiful embossed tins. He would save one for himself and my family got one. I remember them and don't think I liked them very much so I probably, dutifully ate my three bites. Three bites was my family rule if there was something we really didn't like. I was a kid, those fruit cakes were dense and the candied fruit was sticky, what did know?. BUT I still have one tin and my sister has other. They are the button boxes of my youth. Used to entertain three sick kids that needed to stay quiet and in bed.
ReplyDeleteI have gifted my sister's family smoked salmon for a few years now. They love it. Sometimes it is with bagels and schmear, sometimes without. I have heard of Kringles. The television play by play broadcaster for the Giants is from Wisconsin and talks about them all the time... Duane says the best are in Milwaukee.
Since I traveled this year at Christmas, I have no leftover treats, though I have enjoyed a gift box of pears in my past. And now I want to stop at See's this weekend to pick up some dark chocolate.
“Kuip” is from Wisconsin? I’m a long distance Giants fan so don’t get to listen to him and Krukow, but my friend still lives up there and raves about them as a broadcast team. (I grew up with Lon Simmons and Russ Hodges.) And I have only had Trader Joe’s Kringles, but they’re pretty darn good. — Pat S
DeleteDeana, that's how I recall them at my grandparents' house; dry and sticky, an unpleasant combination. DEFINITELY not soaked in bourbon or rum!
DeletePat S: I grew with Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons, too. They are both in the Hall.of Fame now. Kirk and Kuip are THE broadcast team. The radio guys, Miller and Fleming are good too. Jon Miller is in Hall too. The hope is that will bend the rules and let Drum and Kuip together. Normally one broadcaster is selected.
DeleteMy grandparents house was whiskey and bourbon, Julia.
Holiday season inspires me to make frosted cookie-cutter cookies ( great sugar cookie recipe from NY Times), but the timing never worked out w/ the grands and we were not going to get to my friends New Year day party, so...I made them myself. Colored the frosting and sprinkled the decorating sugar. Passed some out to the kids and the rest went into the freezer. They are no longer there. How did that happen?😄
ReplyDeleteHallie, growing up in Texas, we always had Collin Street fruitcake during the holidays, and usually one or two more sent by friends. I never understood all the fruitcake jokes until I tried a different cake that wasn't from Corsicana. Pity the person who has never tasted this classic Texas treat.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in California with Wolferman's fruitcake. Collin Street is even better.
DeleteMy parents gave Collin Street cakes to their customers every year, until they discovered Enstrom's Almond Toffee. Now I send Enstrom's--my agent adores and says Christmas is not Christmas without her toffee.
DeleteMmmm... toffee. Even better!
DeleteJust remembered that the Holiday Nog (non dairy version) was stocked in November and was all gone before Christmas at the local Organic grocery shop. It is like Egg Nog though with coconut milk instead of Dairy. It is so good!
ReplyDeleteDiana
Sounds delicious!
DeleteVery yummy. It is once a year treat.
DeleteAnd the Candy Cane decaf Green Tea is now gone. It comes out once a year before Christmas and that tea is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteDiana
We didn't get any edible goodies this Christmas. None! So strange. But kringles. . . I had an aunt in Racine, WI who used to have a kringle mailed to us in Houston every year. Yum. When we lived in Minnesota they were readily available and I indulged.
ReplyDeleteMy seasonal treat that usually appears in late fall is Nouveau Beaujolais. It's here and gone fast. I lucked out and saw it at my local Kroger. Yay!
My mother's gumdrop bars. There's a story in the family about the year she sent me some from Ohio to Indiana, and it took over a month to get there. The post office was notoriously bad that year. Stale, but I still ate them. This year, I went home to Mom's, and had fresh ones. But, that's the smell of Christmas - gumdrop bars with anise in the icing.
ReplyDeleteLESA: I remember seeing that post about your much delayed gumdrop bars finally arriving a month late. So much pandemic holiday mail/shipping was messed up that year!
DeleteMy mom used to make those too, Lesa!
DeleteReally?!? Gumdrop bars! I'm looking for a recpe.
DeleteReally, Edith? Most people never heard of them. Mom"s recipe is weird, Hallie. She adapted it from my grandmother’s, and she thinks Grandma made it in a different size pan, so measurements are wrong.
DeleteFrom Melinda: I live in Madison, Wisconsin. Kringle is a regular thing here, although the “original” comes from Racine, WI. It’s delish!
ReplyDeleteI found 2 recipes - one has yeast, one is pastry. Any idea which one I should try?
ReplyDeleteI'm taking notes on the fruitcake suggestions. I alos had NO good fruitcake experiences until, I think, I had some of Celia's, shipped over form Marks & Spencer. SO good! I'll have to give the Collin Street cake a try.
ReplyDeleteWe used to get a box of Harry and David pears for Christmas from my daughter's best friend's parents when they were little. I see the Kringles every year at Sam's, and I have been tempted to buy one for just us, but I haven''t. If they still have them next time I go, I'll get one. Someone gifted us a box of See's assorted chocolates, and I got to "see' what everyone was talking about. They were delicious. A neighbor was so wise and gifted us after Christmas a big box of chocolate-covered pretzels, milk chocolate and white chocolate. I love the white chocolate ones, but I love white chocolate candy of most any kind.
ReplyDeleteWhat I miss most at Christmas these days is my mother's caramel-iced jam cake. My mother-in-law used to make it, too, so we had it for many years until both mothers were gone. One Kentucky specialty I buy for ourselves and as gifts is Bourbon Balls, round chocolate candy with bourbon in the mix (but there really isn't any left after cooking except the essence of it) with a big pecan on top. https://www.ruthhuntcandy.com/product/bourbon-balls/bourbon-balls There's also Cream Candy that I grew up with and Ruth Hunt's sells, and everybody in my hometown seemed to make it for Christmas and give as gifts in Christmas tins with waxed paper between the layers, my mother included. It's just a tad too sweet (hard to believe) for me these days. https://www.ruthhuntcandy.com/product/Pulled-Cream-Candy/49
Our regional best was and is transparent puddings, not really puddings but miniature pies or tarts in tins. My brother sent me a dozen this year, and yum, yum, yum. I sent him a box of 50 bourbon balls. OK, time to go have a bourbon ball.
I've made bourbon balls... waaaay long ago.
DeleteChocolate covered cherries, in cordial. NOT in cream. My best friend buys me a small box for Christmas every year and puts it in my stocking. They don’t last long. I have no will-power.
ReplyDeleteI meant to treat myself to a little box of Kate Weiser's chocolates but didn't manage. They are made here in Dallas but ship all over the country. I'm sure I've talked about them before, but here's a link: https://www.kateweiserchocolate.com/
ReplyDeleteBe sure to watch the video about how they are made! They are little works of art and are so delicious!!
Oh shoot. They don't seem to have a production video anymore but here you can see how beautiful they are. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nfehjfdaSs And I just ordered myself a box:-)
DeleteI have been on the Kringle website WAY more then is good for my mental health or waistline.
ReplyDeleteTrader Joe's at Patriot Place in Foxboro, MA carries Kringles. This is basically a King Cake. The best bakery for this is Gambino's bakery in New Orleans. We order Gambino's online and have it shipped to MA especially for Mardi Gras celebrations every year. When we were in New Orleans on a tour a few years back, we were introduced to this wonderful delight when we toured the facility that houses the parade floats!
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