SDGE Holiday Recipes

Timeless Holiday Recipes from SDG&E

With the holiday season under way, many of us may be thinking about our favorite holiday recipes. We have some time-tested traditional holiday recipes to share from our archives.

Years ago, our staff got together over the holidays to share their favorite recipes. Those holiday recipes were published in cook books that were recently discovered in our archives. Below are a few recipes pulled from our 1972 holiday cook book. The message which accompanied the publication of the recipe book rings as true today as it was five decades ago. 

 

“Much of the joy of the holiday season is in preparation for the festivities. By tradition this preparation often centers in the kitchen with the re-creation of tantalizing foods which were cooked in the kitchens of your mother, your grandmother and her mother before her. America is rich in the variety of traditional holiday cooking. Many favored recipes have been derived from the wide range of family heritage brought to this country by settlers from other lands.”

Enjoy!

OLD-FASHIONED PEANUT BRITTLE

2 cups sugar

1 cup Iight corn syrup

½ cup water

1 cup butter or margarine

2 ½ cups raw peanuts

1 teaspoon baking soda

In a 3 quart saucepan, heat together, sugar, corn syrup and water, stirring until sugar dissolves. When syrup boils, blend in butter. Stir frequently after temperature reaches 230°. Chop peanuts in blender container and add to sugar mixture when temperature reaches 280°. Stir constantly to hard crack stage (305°). Remove from heat; quickly stir in soda, mixing well. Pour onto 2 well buttered cookie sheets. Loosen from cookie sheets when candy hardens. Break into pieces. Makes 2½ pounds.

STOLLEN (Coffee Cake)

 ¾ cup milk

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup softened butter or margarine

¼ cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

2 eggs

5 to 5½ cups sifted flour

½ cup chopped, blanched almonds

1 (4 ounce) jar candied cherries halved

1 (4 ounce) jar candied citron, chopped, or fruit cake mix

1 cup raisins

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

¼ cup melted butter or margarine Frosting

Combine milk, sugar, salt and butter in saucepan. Heat just until bubbles appear around the edge. Cool to lukewarm. Measure warm water into large mixing bowl. Sprinkle in yeast; stir to dissolve. Add lukewarm milk mixture and eggs; mix well. Add 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add almonds, cherries, citron, raisins and lemon peel. Mix in 1 ½ cups flour. Dough will be very sticky. Flour board with remaining flour. Turn dough out onto board. Work just enough flour into dough with spatula or hands to make it easy to handle. Knead 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in large greased bowl; turn dough once to grease surface. Cover with damp towel. Let rise in warm place (85°), free of draft, 1 to 1 ½ hours or until doubled. Punch dough down. Let rise 30 minutes or until doubled. Punch dough down. Turn out onto floured board. Knead; divide in half. Shape each half into 7x12 inch oval; brush with melted butter. Fold long side two-thirds across dough. Place on greased cookie sheets; cover. Let rise 1 hour or until doubled. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, brushing with melted butter halfway through baking. Remove from oven; transfer to wire racks. Cool. Drizzle with frosting. Makes 2 coffee cakes. Frosting: 1 cup powdered sugar 2 to 3 tablespoons milk Combine powdered sugar and milk and drizzle on cake, or if desired sprinkle powdered sugar over cake.

SPICED APPLE PANCAKES

11/3 cups milk

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

1 cup cubed apple

2 cups biscuit mix

Cider Sauce

Preheat griddle. Put milk, egg, biscuit mix and cinnamon into blender container; cover and run on high until smooth. Add apple and blend on high for 15 seconds or until grated. Grease griddle and pour batter from ¼ cup measure onto hot griddle. Bake until bubbles appear. Turn and bake other side until golden brown. Serve with warm Cider Sauce. Makes about 18 pancakes. Cider Sauce 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons cornstarch ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 2 cups apple cider 2 tablespoons lemon juice ¼ cup butter or margarine Mix sugar, cornstarch and spice in saucepan. Stir in cider and lemon Juice. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat, blend in butter. Makes about 2½ cups sauce.  

NEW ORLEANS CREAM PRALINES

1 (1 pound) box light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

¾ cup evaporated milk

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups pecan halves

½ teaspoon vanilla

Combine brown sugar, salt, evaporated milk and butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves; add pecans. Stir over medium heat to soft ball stage (234° on candy thermometer). Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and cool 5 minutes. Stir rapidly until mixture begins to thicken and coats pecans lightly. Drop rapidly from a tablespoon onto aluminum foil to form patties. If candy becomes too stiff to handle, add a few drops hot water. Cool until set. Makes about 20 candies.