Cook's Exchange | Bake these goodies for Christmas and beyond

Two days before Christmas and, oh, what a rush. Presents need wrapping; gifts need purchasing; cookies and Christmas desserts need baking; and, yes, time to start realizing why Christmas is amazing.

My granddaughter loves the Christmas tree and loves to hang and touch the ornaments. She gets excited when she places a new ornament on the tree. Is the tree a little heavy with ornaments on one side? Yes, but who cares?

She turned to my daughter and me the other night and said, "This is the best Christmas ever."

For her it is because this Christmas is the first one she has been old enough to enjoy. For my daughter and I, we miss her dad and my husband.

Elyssa looked at me when Lilly said that and said "Mom, this is so hard." Oh, yes, it is. My heart goes out to readers who, too, have lost loved ones this year. In Mom-like manner, I told my daughter if she had to cry to go to her room and not spoil the magic for her daughter.

See, Christmas is not just presents, food and hustle and bustle, it is the smile of a child, a Christmas carol, a homemade gift and the best gift of all for me, Jesus' birth. So amid the tears, let's celebrate with everything Christmas but not forget to take time to enjoy this wonderful time of year.

A couple whom I saw at a craft store immediately started talking about food and that the wife had made more than 170 fruit cakes this year plus mini-pecan pies, persimmon bread and more.

We chatted and went our separate ways. Last week, they came bringing me recipes and samplings of what had been made. What Christmas spirit they exude.

Now it is my turn to share these recipes with readers.

FRUIT CAKE

Oil the pans then line with parchment paper. Do not use wax paper to line pans.

Pan size: One 9-inch tube pan or two loaf pans or four mini-loaf pans. She uses

7- 1/2 by 3-3/4 by 2-1/4-inch pans, the perfect size for gift giving.

2 pounds of cut dates

1 pound of candied whole cherries

2 quarts pecan halves (8 cups)

Sift over first 3 ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Toss all fruit ingredients with flour mixture making sure every piece of fruit is coated.

Beat until foamy 5 large eggs. Add to eggs 2 teaspoons of vanilla.

Pour over fruit/flour mixture. Mix with hands until all ingredients have been completely moistened with egg mixture.

Place in 4 pans. Bake 1 hour in 300-degree oven for tube pan; reduce 20 to 30 minutes for loaf pans.

Important: When placing mixture in pan, put partial amount of mixture in pan and make sure mixture is pressed to keep from falling apart as it cools after baking.

Let cool completely.

Soak cheesecloth in apricot or peach brandy (can use coconut or pineapple rum); wrap individual fruit cake with soaked cheesecloth, pat cake with additional brandy. This step keeps cakes moist.

MINI PECAN MUFFINS /SMALL TINS

Cream:

2 sticks butter

4 eggs

2 cups brown sugar

Add and mix well:

1 cup self-rising flour

2 cups pecans chopped fine

2 teaspoons vanilla

Grease small muffin pans. Important: Place 1 teaspoon of mixture in each muffin. Do not use full teaspoon for each muffin. If use too much dough mixture, muffins will overrun and cooked muffins are more difficult to remove from pan. Use small knife to remove baked muffin pan. Tilt muffin pan and touch corner of muffins with knife. Muffin pops right out. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Makes 5-6 dozen.

PEAR CAKE

4 cups raw diced pears (peel pears and chop into small pieces)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

Pour sugars over diced pears and place in a covered container in refrigerator overnight. Next day, put sugar/pear ingredients in blender and blend just until the pears are cut into smaller pieces.

Sift:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Set aside dry sifted ingredients.

In large bowl, place:

1 cup oil

3 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups chopped pecans

1 (8-ounce) package chopped dates

Add pear sugar mixture in bowl. Stir and mix well. Next add flour mixture and stir until completely combined.

Spray pans with oil and line bottom of pans with piece of parchment paper.

Pour mixed ingredients into greased loaf pans (pan size: 7- 1/2- by 3-3/4-inch or 2 8-inch by 4-inch or 1 springform pan).

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Topping:

In saucepan, mix and bring to slow boil for 3 minutes:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 stick butter

Pour over cakes and return to oven for 4 minutes.

Note: Original recipe is made without the pecans and dates. This is also a very good cake.

PERSIMMON BREAD

Sift together:

3- 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1- 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

In large bowl, combine and mix well:

1 cup cooking oil

2 cups persimmon pulp

1/3 cup water

4 eggs lightly beaten

2 cups sugar

Blend dry ingredients into egg mixture then add:

1- 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1- 1/2 cup chopped dates

Mix well.

Divide batter and place in 4 greased loaf pans. Make sure bottom of pan is lined with parchment paper. This keeps cake from breaking up. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let cool in baking pans.

"I couldn't find a recipe for peach bread, but did have one for apple bread," said Betty Bailey of Bradenton. "I think peaches could easily be substituted for the apples."

APPLE BREAD

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

4- 1/2 teaspoons evaporated milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped peeled chopped apple

Topping:

2 teaspoons sugar and cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-by-5-inch loaf pans.

Combine sugar, eggs, milk and oil. Beat until combined. Add flour, soda and salt. Mix well. Stir in chopped apples and pour into pan. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top. Bake 1 hour.

Note: Fresh chopped peaches could be substituted for the apples. If using peaches, reduce cooking time to 30-40 minutes because peaches cook faster.

-- Submitted by Betty Bailey

Andrea Yeager, can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net and at Cook's Exchange, P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567.

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Cook's Exchange | Bake these goodies for Christmas and beyond ."