So I’m not that big on holidays as a rule, but all the indifference I load onto Easter, Thanksgiving, Canada Day and Victoria Day is balanced out by my complete enthusiasm when it comes to Christmas. There are some great Christmas recipes that we make in my family, but I also use it as a time to make all the decadent and delicious foods that are either too much work for regular consumption, or that are too unhealthy. Christmas I pull out all the stops. So rather than sharing one original recipe, here are some I’ve found online that are excellent.
- English Roast Potatoes by Confessions of a Baking Queen
- Vegan Yorkshire Puddings Recipe by Tesco Real Food
- Polvorones de Nuez by Moxie2Burn on Group Recipes
- Christmas Sugar Cookies with Easy Icing by Sally’s Baking Addiction
- Eggless Sugar Cookies by The Mother Overload (in case you’ve got anyone with egg allergies in your family – these are great!)
- Our Favorite Apple Pie with Easy All-Butter Flaky Pie Crust by Inspired Taste
We made the sugar cookies for both Halloween and Christmas (with appropriately shaped cutters) and they were very easy to make, worked perfectly for decorating and were delicious. I’ve been making Polvorones de Nuez for years now and they are delicious. Like shortbread balls with nuts that are extra melty because of the icing sugar layer. This year my kid wanted to try making pie, so I tried this recipe, not expecting it to work (my pies have historically suffered from what is, according to Mary Berry on The Great British Bake Off, officially called “soggy bottom”) but it did! Marvellously! I used milk instead of an egg wash and that also provided a beautiful golden colour. It took all day, but it was gorgeous. And this year we made a second Christmas dinner (my mother-in-law also made a wonderful Christmas dinner that we were given to eat at home – Covid Christmas style) because not going to family gatherings gave me some extra time to experiment. It had been years since I’d had my family’s Christmas dinner, but here’s what it usually includes: Chicken, Nut Loaf (or similar vegetarian alternative); mashed and roast potatoes; steamed carrots, brussel’s sprouts and broccoli; Yorkshire puddings, cranberry sauce and gravy. This year I made roast potatoes according to a combo of my dad’s instructions and the recipe above. I also made two batches of Yorkshire puddings – my mum’s originals and the eggless ones above. I didn’t notice that the recipe called for self-raising flour, so they didn’t have the puff of proper Yorkshires, but they tasted just as good!
Needless to say we were all quite full by the end of dinner! It was the first and only time I’ve made a full Christmas dinner mostly by myself (I had some help with the vegetarian roast thing we had this year), and I was so proud that I not only figured out how to do each thing, but that I figured out how to time it so the whole meal was ready to eat at once. What a lot of work – I have utmost respect for people who make meals like this on a regular basis!
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