Once again, it's time for our favorite holiday recipes. We have run this column every year in the Thanksgiving issue. It's a twofer column -- it makes the readers happy and it makes my holidays a little easier. Thanks so much.
This year we've added a recipe, one for Christmas pickles that was entered in a recipe contest by Lori J. Bennett a few years ago. Make them or Marty Aronowitz's fruitcake or whip up a batch of fudge and let the scents of the season begin.
TEXAS CHRISTMAS PICKLES
Yields 1 gallon
1-gallon jar of dill pickles
5-pound bag sugar
1 small bottle Tabasco sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Drain all juice from pickles and discard. Slice pickles lengthwise and place in jar. Add Tabasco and garlic. Add about one-third of the sugar.
Screw lid back on jar tightly, so no juice will leak out. Gently tip jar back and forth several times to allow sugar and spices to mix with pickles. Leave on counter at room temperature for about a week.
As sugar dissolves, add more until all sugar is used. Gently tip jar back and forth daily to allow sugar and spices to mix.
When all sugar is absorbed, pickles will be dark green and crispy. Serve on platter with sliced vegetables.
Nutritional analysis per half-pickle: 35 calories, trace fat, 9 grams carbohydrates, trace protein, 0 cholesterol, 287 milligrams sodium, 2 percent of calories from fat.
MARTY ARONOWITZ'S FRUITCAKE
This is Fort Worth's favorite fruitcake. Marty Aronowitz shared this recipe with the Star-Telegram in 1964. He died in 1986, but we repeat this recipe every year with memories of all the pounds of fruitcake he made, and the city made, with his recipe. Don't expect a cakelike consistency; this is a chewy fruitcake combination.
Yields 5 pounds
1 pound pitted dates
1/2 pound candied cherries
1/2 pound candied sliced pineapples
1 pound coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Line angel food tube pan with parchment paper. Spray with vegetable cooking spray, if desired.
Cut fruits into small pieces; mix with chopped pecans. Sift dry ingredients together; mix with fruits and nuts. Beat eggs with vanilla; pour over fruit mixture. Mix well.
Pack into pan. Bake for 2 hours at 250 degrees. Top of fruitcake may be decorated by removing cake from oven after 1 hour and garnishing with more pineapple slices, halved cherries and pecan halves.
Return to oven to finish baking. Cool completely before removing from pan, preferably overnight.
Nutritional analysis per serving: 274 calories, 13 grams fat, 40 grams carbohydrates, 32 milligrams cholesterol, 60 milligrams sodium, 42 percent of calories from fat.
NEVER-FAIL DIVINITY
Candy made easy: Candy-making can be simple. Here's an easy way with a trick. And here's a tip: Don't use cream of tartar that has been in your cabinet for years; you'll end up with candy that won't set.
Yields 2 dozen
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Dash of salt
7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
Combine water, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Do not stir. Bring to a rolling boil and boil until temperature on candy thermometer reaches 248 degrees.
Place marshmallow creme in small bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer while gradually pouring in hot syrupy mixture. Add vanilla.
Beat until candy loses its gloss and holds its shape when dropped from a spoon. If mixture is underbeaten, it will not hold its shape, and if it is overbeaten, it will become dry. Add nuts.
Drop from spoon onto wax paper. Cool and store in airtight container.
Nutritional analysis per piece: 113 calories, 3 grams fat, 21 grams carbohydrates, 0 cholesterol, 18 milligrams sodium, 26 percent of calories from fat.
WHITE CHRISTMAS FUDGE
Yields 3 pounds
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks margarine
5 1/3- ounce can evaporated milk
7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 pound Brazil nuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 pound candied red cherries, halved
1/4 pound candied green cherries, halved
Butter a 9-by-13-by-2-inch pan.
Combine first 3 ingredients in large saucepan; stir over medium heat until smooth and melted. Bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until candy thermometer registers 238 degrees (soft-ball stage).
Remove from heat and quickly stir in marshmallow creme. Add all remaining ingredients. Stir well; mixture will be stiff.
Press into prepared pan and cool. When cool, cut into small squares.
Nutritional analysis per piece: 208 calories, 13 grams fat, 23 grams carbohydrates, 1 milligram cholesterol, 46 milligrams sodium, 55 percent of calories from fat.
CINNAMON ORNAMENTS
2 cups cinnamon
2 tablespoons white glue, see note
1 1/2 to 2 cups water (less on humid days)
Note: Elmer's Glue can be used, but don't use Elmer's School Glue because it is designed to be washed out of clothes.
Combine all ingredients and mix well. The mixture should be a consistency that can be kneaded.
After kneading, roll out mixture to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Dip fingers in water before smoothing any rough edges. While ornament is still wet, stick in a straw near the top of cut-out shape to make a hole for a ribbon to hang finished decoration.
Ornaments need to air-dry slowly and should be turned twice a day. Avoid putting decorations under air vents -- drying too quickly can cause them to crack. Drying takes 2 days to a week, depending on humidity.
Cinnamon ornaments can be decorated with acrylic paint. Don't go overboard with paint or you will smother the cinnamon smell. Ornaments can be saved from one year to the next. Brushing with cinnamon oil will rejuvenate the cinnamon smell annually.
Beverly Bundy is food editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Distributed by the New York Times News Service