3 Holiday Recipes You Must Try
These 3 holiday recipes are the perfect desserts to take to your next party. We know that you will love them as much as we do!
Sweet Potato Pie
There is nothing more nostalgic to me than a piece of delicious sweet potato pie. North Carolina has been the top producing state of sweet potatoes in the entire United States since 1971. We embrace this! Sweet potato is actually now written as “sweetpotato” but I’m resisting the change simply because I’m not used to it yet.
As you can tell from the name of my blog and the picture below, sweet potato pie is important to me because of the memories the dessert holds. Here I am as a child holding a tiny sweet potato pie that my grandma made just for me. It has always been a special dessert in my family. I can picture the pies my mom would make cooling on the kitchen counter. You knew they were going to be so good. They were perfect every single time.
This recipe has been passed down through the generations. It’s tried and true and so easy. It’s definitely worth a try. The only part that takes a bit more work than usual is that it requires fresh sweet potatoes baked in the oven instead of canned ones. Just trust us, you will taste the difference! From my grandma’s kitchen to yours, enjoy!
To read more about NC sweet potatoes, check out this link: https://ncsweetpotatoes.com/sweet-potato-industry/
Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts
- 2 cups mashed, cooked sweet potatoes
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 tsp Lemon flavoring
- Nutmeg & Cinnamon to taste
Instructions
- Mix up all of the ingredients!
- Add some milk to make it juicy! Add just a small amount so you can stir and check the consistency.
- Divide the ingredients evenly between the two pie crusts.
- Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes until golden brown.
- Allow to cool and then top with whipped cream, blueberries, or whatever you want!
- Enjoy!
Notes
Banana Nut Bread
Next up on our list of 3 Holiday Recipes is banana nut bread. My mama has made banana nut bread for as long as I can remember. You know when she has made it because you can smell it as soon as you walk in the back door. And whenever I have banana nut bread now, no matter where I am, it takes me right back to my childhood. There’s a special nostalgia about it that will always exist for me. It’s a special homemade treat, with a little extra love that goes in to make it. It makes me think of my mama, and it’s a tradition I want to share with my kids.
This bread is not too sweet and makes a great breakfast or a special treat at any time of the day. You can leave out the nuts if you prefer. Whether you follow the recipe in a loaf pan or decide to make muffins, I know you will love it. It is, of course, a great way to get some fruit into your diet. If your kids don’t like bananas, it’s worth a try to see if they will like them mixed into this sweet bread.
Banana Nut Bread
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas 3 large
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 2 1/3 cups Bisquick or Jiffy mix
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease the bottom of a loaf pan very well with butter.
- Stir all ingredients in the pan with a fork.
- Beat the ingredients in the pan for 1 minute.
- Bake 55 to 65 minutes.
- Cool 5 minutes.
- Run a knife around the sides of the loaf to loosen and then remove from pan.
- Enjoy!
Space Cookies
I have loved Space Cookies for so long, I can’t even remember when the relationship began. My mom would make these from time to time and it was always a very special treat. They melt in your mouth and before you know it, you are looking around trying to figure out where they went because you ate every single one. Pace yourself!
I’m not totally sure why but at some point, I started calling these “Space Cookies” as a child. I probably couldn’t figure out how they were so different from every other cookie I had eaten. The actual name my mother calls them is “Meringue Kisses” but we both agree, they are out of this world delicious. They are so light and airy and thin and crispy, yet ooey and gooey at the same time.
Tips & Tricks
These can be tricky. Don’t give up if they don’t come out perfect on your first try! The deliciousness is the reward when you get it right. Some tips beyond the recipe:
Don’t grease your paper bag/parchment paper on the cookie sheet. I know that sounds weird for those of us who grease everything when we are cooking, but moisture can actually ruin these cookies.
Resist the urge to double the recipe unless you actually want a lot of cookies. It seems like the ingredients wouldn’t make a lot, but they do!
Add in the sugar a bit at a time rather than dumping it all in at once.
Be careful not to get any yolk in your mix. You only want the egg whites.
Be patient waiting for those stiff peaks to form. It will take several minutes.
You can also fancy these up by adding a little food coloring to the mix or drizzling a bit of chocolate on top after they are done. Think red or green for unique Christmas cookies! I must admit though, I think they are perfect just the way they are!
Space Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 cup sugar
- chopped pecans (as many as you like)
Instructions
- Beat egg whites until they are real stiff.
- Add the sugar into the egg whites.
- Beat a little more and mix in pecans.
- Take a brown paper grocery store bag (think Food Lion) and cut out a piece of it to fit on a cookie sheet. Lay it on top of a cookie sheet.
- Drop your mix by teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheet (on top of the bag cutout).
- Bake @ 250 degrees for 1 hour.
Notes
Just remember, calories don’t count when you are eating Sweet Potato Pie, Banana Nut Bread, and Space Cookies – the best desserts for your holiday party!
