Mamas Christmas Fruitcake Dee Dees Recipes

AUNT DEE DEE'S APPLE COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 pan.
• Mix pie filling and cinnamon, set aside.
• Beat flour, white sugar, milk, 1/2 cup softened butter, baking powder, salt and eggs in mixing bowl on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
• Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. Spoon half of the pie filling over the batter. Spread remaining cake batter over pie filling, and top with the remaining half of the pie filling.
• Mix brown sugar and nuts together and sprinkle over top of cake. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 55 minutes. Allow cake to cool 20 minutes.
• Combine confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, 3/4 teaspoon vanilla, 2 to 3 teaspoons hot water. Beat until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Soak cherries, mango, cranberries, currants, and citron in 1/4 cup rum for at least 24 hours. Cover tightly, and store at room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Butter a 6x3-inch round pan or loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; mix into butter and sugar in three batches, alternating with molasses and milk. Stir in soaked fruit and chopped nuts. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons rum.
• Cut out one piece parchment paper and one piece cheesecloth, each large enough to wrap around the cake. Moisten cheesecloth with 1 tablespoon rum. Arrange cheesecloth on top of parchment paper, and unmold cake onto it. Sprinkle top and sides of cake with remaining rum. Wrap the cheesecloth closely to the surface of the cake, then wrap with paper. Place in an airtight tin, and age for at least 10 weeks. If storing longer, douse with additional rum for every 10 weeks of storage.

MOM'S CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• The day before: chop dates into small pieces and put in a glass bowl. Add rum. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 8 hours, or overnight, to absorb the rum. You can leave this step out if you want but I find it makes the dates more delicious and the cookies have more flavor.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Dice candied cherries and pineapple into small pieces and place in a very large bowl; I use the top of my cake carrier. Add pecans, followed by dates. Add 1 cup flour. Toss well to coat all of the pieces and break them up so they are not sticking together.
• Whisk baking soda into the milk and let it dissolve.
• Mix shortening into the fruit. Add remaining flour, sugar, eggs, orange juice, nutmeg, salt, and milk-baking soda mixture. Mix together with your hands just until you no longer see the flour. Try not to overmix. The batter will be very dense.
• Use a small ice cream scoop or two teaspoons to drop the cookies onto the prepared pans, about 1 inch apart.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on wire cooling racks.

MAMA'S GIBLET GRAVY - DEE DEE'S

Steps:

• I love our giblet gravy with: https://www.justapinch.com/recipe/diane-smith/our-family-tradition-chicken-and-dressing/chicken
• Combine giblets, neck, and water in saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until meat is tender. Strain, reserving broth. Discard turkey neck (pull any meat remaining on the neck to include in gravy). Coarsley chop giblets; set aside. (NOTE: I PERSONALLY DON'T CARE FOR LIVER IN THIS GRAVY SO I DON'T INCLUDE IT, I DISGARD IT OR COOK IT AND GIVE MY PUPPIES A TREAT)
• Skim and discard fat from reserved pan drippings of roasted turkey or hen. Add reserved broth (at least 2 1/2 cups) to pan drippings; stir until browned bits are loosened from bottom of roasting pan.
• Transfer broth and dripping to a saucepan to continue cooking over a medium heat. Stir in chopped giblets; add onions, celery, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
• Combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup water, stirring well; gradually stir into gravy. Bring to boil; boil for 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in boiled egg; add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot over dressing.
• NOTE: you can use flour in place of cornstarch to make a thickening base for gravy. In fact my mother always used flour, I use cornstarch. Just be sure to blend it well with small amount of water to make a paste, then add remaining water and mix well. Don't want any lumps!

DEE DEE'S NO-BAKE ICEBOX FRUITCAKE AND NUT ROLL

Steps:

• Combine cracker crumbs, cherries, nuts, coconut, raisins, and craisins; set aside. NOTE: This is my suggestion for the meat of this nut roll. You can change out fruits and nuts of your choice. I would NOT suggest peanuts. You may like candied fruit and dates in place of cherries, raisin and craisins that I added. Craisins were a complete and wonderful accident. I had every intention of using only raisins. I only had 1/2 lb of raisins in the house and a pound and 1/2 of craisins. The craisins were a wonderful addition to what I was attempting!
• Meanwhile, in a 2-quart sauce pan, stirring constantly, heat milk and marshmallows together until marshmallows are melted; remove from heat and add bourbon. NOTE: I used a double boiler.
• Pour milk mixture over dry mixture. Mix well with hands. NOTE: If mixture is too loose, add more cracker crumbs. If too dry, add more liquid; milk or juice. I would not add more bourbon.
• Divide the mixture into 8 to 10 balls. Somewhat shape into logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and using hands continue to shape into tight logs. The size roll should be the size you would like to slice and serve as a cookie.
• Tighten the plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. Slice and serve. Keep refrigerated.
• NOTE: If you perfer loaf pans over a roll, spray 8 to 10 mini loaf pans with PAM and pack mixture in pans. NOTE: You can also roll these rolls in coconut flakes, powdered sugar or chopped nuts for a final touch. ENJOY!!