Classic Christmas Recipes

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Stock up on tins when you see them on sale, and use them to gift your homemade holiday desserts.
Stock up on tins when you see them on sale, and use them to gift your homemade holiday desserts.
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Delight your guests as you grace your holiday table with classic desserts. But be warned: They won’t last long!
Delight your guests as you grace your holiday table with classic desserts. But be warned: They won’t last long!

Somewhere between my grandmother’s wedding silverware and an odd assortment of vintage tablecloths lies my collection of family heirloom recipes. Oil-streaked ink on yellowed pages gives me a glimpse of how, decades ago, my relatives provided more than food for their families; they created fond childhood memories.

My grandmother’s chocolate roll was my favorite classic Christmas recipe. We would relish our delicious chocolate slices after Christmas dinner, knowing there wouldn’t be second helpings. (I suspect that my grandma looked forward to those few remaining slices the next day as her small reward for preparing such a feast.) My husband, on the other hand, fondly remembers his grandma’s recipe for chicken ‘n dumplings, a Sunday tradition that began during World War II.

Just recently, my mother and I sorted through a box of family cookbooks and recipes dating hack to before the turn of the century. As I read my great-grandmother’s favorite recipes and began comparing past and present methods of food preparation, it struck me that nowadays we sure have it easy. Back then, cookbook recipes contained few directions and great grandma had to rely on cooking tips from relatives. Much of the food was smoked, pickled and canned because it was difficult to keep it fresh in an icebox (thank goodness for Ziploc bags!). There was no such thing as an oven temperature until the first kerosene stove outdated the wood burner during the 1920s. Baking a pumpkin pie? You’d have to cook the pumpkin, since there weren’t any canned goods. And men were seldom caught in the kitchen, unless to eat.

Well, we’ve come a long way, baby. Like old silver, classic recipes are a part of our heritage. Our ancestors prepared them with love to nourish their families, leaving us with memories that we’ll pass on to our children. But in order to enjoy them today, a few alterations are necessary for the sake of healthy living.

Chocolate Roll Recipe

  • Published on Oct 1, 1999
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