I am taking a trip back through time to remember Christmases past by highlighting the various holiday goodies my family has enjoyed over the years.
For me, the Nineties were a whirlwind of transition. I graduated high school in 1991, and three months later, I gave birth to my oldest daughter. Then in October, I got a job at McDonald’s, where I ended up working for nearly ten years. Ten years…
In 1994, I had just started a McManagement position for The Clown when I met my future ex-husband. I wound up getting pregnant for a second time in 1995, which led to an ill-fated marriage in 1996. We were married in July, and within six weeks of our wedding, I gave birth to my youngest daughter, Bree.
Don’t Grimace. It’s just the overlord and I. To be quite frank, the guy was a clown.
Ten days after Bree’s birth, I turned 23. For my birthday that year, my mom got me the 11th Edition of the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book. I had grown up thumbing through Mom’s 1970-something edition of the New Cook Book, and now I had my very own copy. That cookbook became my go-to guide as I learned how to cook, and I read it from front to back.
While there is a glut of excellent cookbooks on the market, I still always recommend the New Cook Book to those who are just starting out in the kitchen. Part of the reason is nostalgia, and also because it is a solid choice. I also recommend Joy of Cooking in case you’re curious. These books are American classics, and I believe they have a place in everyone’s cookbook collection. But I digress.
By 1998, my marriage was kaput, and so we separated. And thus began my journey of becoming who I am today. No longer under the confines of my parents rules and with the stress of a bad marriage lifted, I was able to spread my wings a bit and learn a little about myself apart from being my parents’ daughter and someone’s wife. I was also able to parent a bit more freely, as well as use the kitchen—things I could not really do when I lived with my parents.
I wanted to create happy memories & new traditions. So, that holiday season of 1998, I decided I would start my own tradition of making treats. For that, I went straight to my New Cook Book and flipped open the “Candy” section. I decided to make the Easy Chocolate Truffles on page 155. Despite the fact that they had to be dipped in white chocolate, they actually turned out okay. That was a pleasant surprise because I am exceptionally clumsy and uncoordinated. I was also happy because my grandma mentioned how much she liked them.
I believe it was during the 1999 holiday season, when I decided to do some fun things with my oldest daughter, Sam. She was at the perfect age to help me in the kitchen. I decided we would bake gingerbread cookies and string popcorn. I must have been intimidated by making the gingerbread cookies from scratch because I passed over my New Cook Book for a boxed mix.
For the life of me, I cannot remember what happened, but things went horribly wrong with the cookies. Knowing myself, it definitely would not have been a scene from a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, and you can be sure that I had some form of a meltdown. Poor Little Sam. Her mother had been reduced to a flustered, angry mess. Oh well. We would scratch the cookies & just string the popcorn.
You can probably already guess where this is going, and you’re correct. I threaded the needle and picked up my first piece of popcorn, carefully inserting the needle. The kernel split. Annoying, but okay. We’d just move on to another kernel. The next one split. Kernel after kernel broke apart as my anger & frustration mounted. I eventually got the picture, and I gave up. It wasn’t going to work.
Our fun Saturday afternoon projects had been ruined, and I was exasperated. On top of that, I felt like a total failure as a parent. I needed to get out of that kitchen. So, I took Sam to McDonald’s and bought us Holiday Pies, which were two for a dollar back then. Sam also remembers driving around looking at Christmas lights while eating our pies. Unfortunately, I don’t think I ever attempted a Fun Holiday Project in the kitchen with the kids again. In retrospect, that makes me very sad.
Over the next couple of years, as I gained a bit more confidence in the kitchen, I decided to make a couple of different treats for the holidays. Once again, I grabbed my well loved New Cook Book and opened it to the “Candy” section. I decided I would make the Remarkable Fudge on page 152 and the Toffee Butter Crunch on page 156. This was a Big Deal for me, and I was completely out of my depth. But I did it anyway. And I actually mean I did the thing…and succeeded!
Over the years, I have managed to become a decent cook and baker and have since added several other goodies to my annual holiday treat rotation. But Remarkable Fudge and Toffee Butter Crunch have earned their place as staples. I cannot imagine a holiday without them.
While times have changed—and me with them—I am so thankful that, no matter what the year brings, each December I can step into my kitchen and create these treats that my family looks forward to each Christmas season. God willing, I will be making fudge and toffee for years to come. And I hope I am lucky enough to always be surrounded by loving family with whom to share these treats—the treats I first made as a young, inexperienced, and unsure girl so many years before.
The following two recipes are from the 11th Edition of Better Homes & Gardens “New Cook Book.”
Remarkable Fudge
Ingredients
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 5- ounce cans 1 1/3 cups evaporated milk
- 2 sticks butter and some extra to butter the sides of the pans
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder this is my addition, and it’s totally optional
- 1 12- ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 7.56- ounce Hershey’s Special Dark bar or Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar cut up
- 1 7- ounce jar marshmallow creme
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 tsp vanilla I’ve also been known to add a glug of Kahlua in addition to vanilla
Instructions
- Line a 13x9x2-inch pan will foil, extending foil over the edges of the pan. Butter foil. Set aside. (I skip the foil & just butter the pan)
- Place the chocolate chips, cut-up chocolate bar, marshmallow creme, and nuts in a bowl. Set aside.
- Butter sides of a heavy 3-quart saucepan.
- In the saucepan, combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and instant espresso (if you choose to use it). Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat to medium; continue cooking & stirring for ten minutes.
- Remove pan from heat. Add the bowl of chocolate chips, cut-up chocolate bar, marshmallow creme, nuts, as well as the vanilla; stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is combined. Beat by hand for one minute (you may want another person to help with this). Spread in the prepared pan. Score into 1-inch squares while warm. When fudge is firm, cut fudge into squares. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator (we prefer it kept out at room temperature). Makes about 4 pounds.
Toffee Butter Crunch
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coursely chopped almonds or pecans toasted
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp light-colored corn syrup
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup finely chopped almond or pecans toasted
Instructions
- Line a 13x9x2-inch pan with foil, extending foil over the edges of the pan. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts in pan. Set pan aside.*
- Butter sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In saucepan, melt better. Add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Reduce heat to medium; continue boiling at a steady rate, stirring frequently, until thermometer reaches 290 degrees (soft crack stage). Watch carefully after 280 degrees to prevent scorching. Remove saucepan from heat; remove thermometer. Pour candy into prepared pan.
- Let candy stand about 5 minutes then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let stand 1-2 minutes. When chocolate has softened, spread over candy. Then sprinkle with the 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts. Chill until firm. When candy is firm, use foil to lift out of pan; break into pieces. Store tightly covered. Makes about 1 1/2 pounds.
