By: Kayla Good, Senior
Courtesy of Chasingtheseasons.com
From gift giving to joyful conversations with family, the holiday season is always an enjoyable time for my family and I. Not only is it heartwarming to experience fellowship with each other, but it is even more comforting to come together and enjoy my Nanny’s classic, tasty holiday desserts. I will be sharing with you three of my Nanny’s traditional homemade desserts that not only fill our bellies but our hearts as well. All it took was her secret recipes of some sugar and a lot of love for her to make the holidays a memorable and tasty season.
The first recipe that I will be sharing is one that we rarely share with anyone in my family (this is top secret stuff!): the Italian knot recipe. For this recipe, you will need ½ cup of sugar, 3 cups of flour, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1 stick of butter. For the frosting and cookie decoration, you will only need colored sprinkle balls, confectioners sugar, and lemon juice. In order to make the cookie, you will need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees and mix all the ingredients using either a mixing machine or your own mixing technique to make the dough. Then, you need to roll them into a knot shape, or you can also make a long, twist-shaped cookie. Once you’re done, pop those in the oven to bake for 12 to 15 minutes. For the frosting, you will need confectioners sugar and a little bit of lemon juice to mix together where the consistency is nice but not too thick or thin. Then, when the cookies are done baking, wait for them to cool off before applying frosting so it won’t melt. Once you frost the cookies, you can sprinkle the colored sprinkle balls on it and let it dry for up to four to five hours. Once they’re finished drying, enjoy!
This next recipe is my Nanny’s delicious cream cheese cookies with preserves. For this recipe, you will need 2 cups of flour, 2 sticks of butter, an 8 ounce block of cream cheese, powdered sugar, and preserves. First, you will need to mix all the ingredients into a bowl using either a mixing machine or by doing it yourself. Then, roll it out and make round circles. Put a teaspoon or half a teaspoon of preserves (this flavor can be your choice: pineapple, blueberry, raspberry, or any other). After, fold the cookie over almost like an empanada. Once you’re done, sprinkle on a little bit of confectionery or powdered sugar and serve!
The final recipe that I want to share is the perfect recipe for a scrumptious, Italian cheesecake. For this recipe, you will need an electric mixer, 3 pounds of ricotta cheese, 9 large eggs, 1 ½ cups of granulated sugar, grated peel and juice from 1 orange, ¼ cups of heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract, and confectioners sugar for sprinkling. Before you begin mixing the ingredients, you will need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and butter and flour a 10-inch springform pan and place it on a baking sheet. Using an electric mixer, combine ricotta, eggs, granulated sugar, orange peel and juice, cream and vanilla. Pour the mix into the prepared pan and bake for 1 and 1/2 hours. After that, turn off the oven and let the cake rest inside of the oven for 30 minutes maximum. Finally, take the cake out and let it cool for up to 2 hours. Once it has cooled off, sprinkle some confectioners sugar on top and serve!
Thank you for listening to these recipes from me! I hope that my Nanny’s homemade recipes allow you to experience my celebration of the holidays with the Italian side of my family. I hope that you and your family or friends have a happy holiday season!
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