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Heritage Holidays.
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Weaving Stories Through the Generations
We invite you to journey through our family’s Christmas traditions, from sweet cookie-baking days to the heartfelt evening meal. These recipes aren’t just food for the body, but also connect cultural historical traditions, and are filled with memories that bind us in spirit across generations. Travel with us connecting Eastern European foods with a few American adaptations and some fun activities you might want to include for your family.
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Also see: Elfie’s Christmas Cookie Adventure shown below the latest additions on the Welcome Page:
Happy Holidays – Merry Christmas – Have a Healthy and Happy New Year
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Bohemian Horn Crescent Cookies
These recipe for these cookies is one of the most precious family heirlooms.
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About the Recipe: These old-fashioned nut cookies were always a special treat when a mother or grandmother made them the holidays. Even today, they are usually included with the holiday cookies that families bake every year. Crescent cookies are delicate, rich, and full of buttery flavor. They’re irresistible!
Cook’s Note: For a smaller version, see our recipe for Bohemian Horns. https://www.gloriagoodtaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/BOHEMIAN-HORNS-A.pdf
Yield: about 4 dozen
pdf for Copy of Recipe – Crescent Cookies
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Sugar Sprinkled Spritz Cookies
So easy to make with a cookie press.
About the Recipe: This is one of the easiest recipes to make. You can use any disc shape, but we like to use the snowflake shape because it makes smaller cookies. Of course, that’s wonderful since there are more cookies for sugar sprinkling. The recipe is one of our favorite Christmas cookies.
Fill Cookie Press: Place snowflake shaped disc into cookie press; insert part of the dough inside the cookie press.
Shape Cookies: Press out snowflake shaped cookies; sprinkle cookies with colored sugar.
Bake Cookies: Bake cookies in preheated 375-degree F oven for 6 to 8 minutes or light brown edges. Remove to cooling rack after 5 minutes.
Yield will depend on the cookie size
pdf for Copy of Recipe -Sugar Sprinkled Spritz Cookies
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Christmas Candy Cane Cookies
A family favorite cookie teamed Dads and Kids as holiday bakers.
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About the Recipe: Christmas Candy Cane Cookies are delicate swirled red and white cookies shaped like canes and lightly sprinkled with sparkling red sugar. They are lightly mint flavored and have a crisp sugared texture. No matter how they turned out, they were beautiful and brought holiday smiles.
Heartwarming Story about the Recipe: The children in our family usually helped Grandma or Mom bake holiday cookies. One Christmas Eve, we decided to leave Grandma’s kitchen to the Dads and Kids and let them work out how to bake the candy cane and sugar sprinkled spritz cookies. After leaving the supplies and recipes, the women went out for a holiday lunch, hoping for the best. When we returned, the canes were twisted and sprinkles were left to be found for days, but all of them loved working together. This tradition continued, even after the kids graduated and moved to their own homes. It became a cherished tradition for them. Now every holiday, all of them return to Grandma’s kitchen and bake those delicious, perfectly made candy cane and sugar sprinkled spritz cookies. We never expected that those little cookies would bring so much holiday happiness to our family.
Bake Cookies: Bake cookies in preheated 375-degree F. oven for 8 to 12 minutes or until delicate brown on edges. Do not overbake.
Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen cookies
pdf for Copy of Recipe – Christmas Candy Cane Cookies
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The Bethlehem Cake
Baked with Golden orange, warm balsamic Frankincense, and smoky
Myrrh flavors
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About the Recipe: The original recipe was a West Jerusalem Palestinian Christian family favorite that was baked for decades.
It inspired me to recreate this cake, highlighting the journey of the 3 Kings and adding flavors of golden oranges, sweet balsamic tang, and smoky almonds to the recipe. The finished cake has the added flavor of snappy ginger cookies.
A Word about the Herbs: They are best known through the story of the Three Wise Men (Magi) delivering gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the baby Jesus; myrrh was also used to anoint Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. These herbs, valued like gold, were mentioned repeatedly in the Old Testament, in instructions to Moses about making incense and anointing oil, and in the Song of Solomon.
St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia (now in Turkey) was a 4th-century miracle-worker, known also for the healing myrrh that flowed from his sacred relics http://www.itmonline.org/arts/myrrh.htm
Serving:
Use the foil to remove cake from pan and turn cake upside down onto large serving plate. Remove, discard parchment and foil. Remove any extra crumbs from serving plate. Brush the top and sides of cake with remaining warm syrup. Let cool. Place cake in refrigerator to set glaze.
If decorating cake: Use confectioners’ sugar with a star template to create a Bethlehem Star on the top of cake.
Serve cake in 1- or 2-inch slices.
Yield: one 13×9-inch cake
pdf for Copy of Recipe – The Bethlehem Cake
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Christmas Wafer (Oplatek)
A Polish Christmas Eve Tradition Practiced for Generations.
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‘The picture shows a Christmas Wafer/Oplatek being held as it would be by a single person. The envelope picture is the normal manner the Christmas Wafer would be delivered from the church, where it is purchased for a nominal fee.
This tradition is normally used at the Polish Christmas Evening dinner, where the family gathers and offers well wishes to each other. The breaking of a piece off the wafer and digesting it, signifies the acceptance of the wishes that person gives to each other. Once this is completed, then the family goes about enjoying the food prepared for them at that Christmas Evening meal.
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Italian Shredded Kale Salad
The Kale salad became a family favorite and was included on our first post in 2014.
About His Recipe: Did you ever wonder how kale became the poster dish of the health and wellness movement? It remains part of the farm-to-table culinary trend today. It’s always amazing that many times a turn of fate or an accident changes the world.
Recipe: Inspired by Joshua McFadden – United States 2007 Signature Dish – Kale Salad
Signature Story and Recipe are located on p. 204 and p. 388 in Signature Dishes That Matter book.
Before serving: Toss thoroughly; add 2 Tablespoons grated cheese and season to taste as desired. Lightly toss with crushed croutons right before serving.
Serves: about 4 to 6
pdf for Copy of Recipe – Italian Shredded Kale Salad
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Lithuanian Kugelis Potato Casserole
Healthy Edge to a Family Favorite – Vegetarian Style
About this Recipe: This Lithuanian potato dish is a favorite for holiday serving and special occasions in our house. The original recipe has lots of saturated fat and bacon with its drippings. Wanting to make it healthier, we adjusted the fat content and eliminated the bacon. The caramelized onions gave the casserole a delicious flavor. It’s prepared in a food processor, making it easy to make and enjoy more often.
Note: If you want to check your flavors, fry up a spoonful of batter forming a soft pancake in a greased skillet. Crisp it up by turning it over……Yummy! There’s nothing like having a good time while you do this.
Serve with: Unsweetened applesauce, plain yogurt, or sour cream.
Garnish: minced parsley as desired
*Use organic ingredients if available
pdf for Copy of Recipe – Lithuanian Kugelis Potato Casserole – Traditional Style
pdf for Copy of Recipe -Lithuanian Kugelis Potato Casserole -Veggie Style
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