Levittown Town Center s 2011 Holiday Contest Recipe Book! Includes all entries from the Share Your Most Creative Holiday Recipe Facebook Contest!
Desserts Christmas Tree Ice Cream Sandwiches submitted by Kristen G. Package of refrigerated cookie dough Green food coloring M&M s Half gallon of preferred ice cream Tree cookie cutter Add green food coloring to cookie dough, cut out tree shapes and bake as instructed. While cooling add the M&M s (to imitate Christmas balls!) to one side of the cookie. Once cool, spread ice cream on the cookie. Then take another cookie that s decorated and place on top of the ice cream covered cookie. Put in sandwich bag and freeze! Lemon Fruitcake submitted by Steven S. 1 lb brown sugar 1 lb butter 6 eggs 2 oz lemon extract 4 cups flour 1/2 cup of bourbon, plus extra for finishing the cakes 1/2 lb candied cherries, halved 1/2 lb candied pineapples, chopped 1/2in cubes 1 lb chopped pecans 2 tsp baking powder A pinch of salt White or light Karo syrup for glazing Soak candied fruits overnight in 1/2 cup of bourbon. Cream brown sugar, butter, eggs, lemon extract and salt. While stirring add flour, fruit and nuts. Line three loaf pans with wax or parchment paper and split mixture evenly among the three. Bake at 250 degrees for 2 1/2 hours or when they have just begun to pull away from the sides of the pan and the tops are lightly browned. To glaze, you can brush the Karo syrup on top after taking cakes out of the oven. When cakes are cool, brush tops and sides with bourbon. Wrap cakes in a bourbon-soaked cheesecloth. Wrap it all in heavy aluminum foil and seal well. Store in a cool, dry location. A basement or garage works well, or you can always put them in the freezer. (Defrost in the fridge overnight before you serve). You can brush the cake occasionally with bourbon to add moisture. Makes 3 cakes.
Extremely Chocolatey Beaver Huts submitted by Chris B. 1/2 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup cocoa powder 1/3 cup Quaker instant oats 1 tbsp cream or half & half ½ tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt ¼ cup white chocolate chips ¾ cup dark chocolate chips ¼ cup chopped walnuts 1 Hershey s kiss 5-6 tbsp Nutella 1/6 bag thin stick pretzels, some broken, for decorating huts Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl beat together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. In another bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, oats, baking soda and salt; stir into the butter mixture and add cream slowly, just enough to form a stiff, but well-blended dough. Fold in chocolate chips and chopped walnuts (think of these as rocks and stones). Roll by large tablespoons into rough balls, about the size of a ping-pong ball (these are your mud huts) then hide a chocolate kiss beaver inside one cookie. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes on an ungreased AirBake cookie sheet in the preheated oven until set (watch carefully). After cookies cool, spread a small amount of Nutella as muddy layer over each hut and have fun adding pretzel sticks to the outside of each beaver hut. Makes 20-24 cookies.
Melted Snowman Cookies submitted by Lily P. 2 nd place! Sugar cookie batter/mix Cookie icing - white (body), black (face, arms) & color of your choice (hat/scarf) Bag of marshmallows M&M s or Nonpareil candies Small pretzel sticks, if desired Bake sugar cookies, being inconsistent about size and shape when you put them on the pan. Once cooled, spread white cookie icing sloppily around the cookie using the back of a spoon letting a little bit spill over the edge in spots. In microwave cook 10 marshmallows in a bowl for up to 30 seconds. Remove before they double in size. Pull a marshmallow off carefully and nestle it in the icing towards one edge of the cookie (for the head). Use a piping bag with icing to put dots for a face, arms (or use small pretzel sticks) and hat/scarf if desired. Stick 3 M&M s or colorful nonpareils in the icing for buttons. Holiday Cookies submitted by Kristen G. 1 box of Red Velvet cake mix 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 sticks softened (not melted!) butter 2 eggs 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 bag of white chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter and eggs together in a mixing bowl. Add flour and cake mix followed by vegetable oil. Mix completely. Add the bag of white chocolate chips and stir until well distributed. Use an ice cream scooper (so you re hands don t turn red!) and form dough into one inch balls. Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cones submitted by Chris B. For the Ice Cream Cones 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp light corn syrup 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (preferably toasted; you can substitute pecans or almonds) 1/4 cup all-purpose flour Pinch of salt For the Cookie Dough 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/8 tsp cinnamon 2 tbsp malted milk powder (optional) 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temp 2/3 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 tbsp milk Preheat oven to 350. To make ice cream cones : in a small saucepan combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Add walnuts, flour, and salt. Stir until well-combined. Let sit for 10 minutes. Place 4-6 rounded teaspoons of dough on an ungreased AirBake sheet, at least 5 inches apart (the dough spreads a lot). Bake each batch for about 10 minutes, until most of the bubbling stops and the cookies turn a walnut brown. Let rest on the pan for 1-2 minutes, until they are easily removed from the baking sheet with a spatula. Allow to cool slightly longer if cookies wrinkle when a spatula is slid underneath. (If too stiff to remove, put back into the oven for a couple of minutes to soften up.) With the small spatula, wrap the cookie around a cylindrical object such as a funnel or water cooler paper cup. Or roll a 6 x10 piece of parchment paper into a cone and cut it into a 5 cone and wrap the cookie around it to resemble a cone. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Again, if they become too stiff to remove, put back into the oven for a couple of minutes to soften up. The ice cream cones can be made ahead and stored in an air tight container until ready to top with the raw cookie dough. To make cookie dough : in a large bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and malted milk powder (optional). In another large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and mix until well blended. Refrigerate for 1 hour. To make the finished ice cream cones : spoon a rounded tablespoon of the cookie dough into the ice cream cones. Top with whipped cream and a cherry (can also add hot fudge, caramel, sprinkles, nuts,etc). Makes about 36 cookies.
Popcorn Treat submitted by Ben B. Air popped popcorn White chocolate (bakers) M&M s Pop the popcorn. Melt the white chocolate and pour over the popcorn. Quickly stir in the M&M s & enjoy! Christmas Cone Trees submitted by Lily P. Waffle ice cream cones Butter cream frosting Green icing Assorted colorful candies (M&M s, Red Hots, Jimmies, Nonpareils) Place a waffle ice cream cone upside down on a paper plate. Stick it to the plate with butter cream frosting. Cover the cone with green icing. Attach M&M s, red hots, jimmies, nonpareils, etc. as ornaments. Let dry. Can be used as a topper for a cupcake or eaten as is. Reindeer Marshmallows submitted by Kristen G. Bag of large marshmallows Bag of tiny pretzels Bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips Bag of holiday M&m s Sheet of wax paper Put bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a sauce pan and heat on medium high. When melted dip marshmallow and place on sheet of wax paper. When cooling, apply small pretzel s on the top (to imitate reindeer antlers) and a red M&M on the top (like Rudolph s nose!) Cool in the fridge for 10 minutes then enjoy!
Italian Tri-Colored Cookies submitted by Danielle B. 8 oz almond paste 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 4 eggs, separated 2 cups all-purpose flour 6 drops red food coloring 6 drops green food coloring 1/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three 9x13 inch baking pans with parchment paper. In a large bowl, break apart almond paste with a fork and cream together with butter, sugar and egg yolks. When mixture is fluffy and smooth, stir in flour to form a dough. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into the dough. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Mix one portion with red food coloring, and one with green food coloring. Spread each portion into one of the prepared baking pans. Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Carefully remove from pan and parchment paper, and cool completely on wire racks. Place green layer onto a piece of plastic wrap large enough to wrap all three layers in. Spread green layer with raspberry jam, and top with uncolored layer. Spread with raspberry jam, and top with pink layer. Transfer layers to a baking sheet, and enclose with plastic wrap. Place a heavy pan or cutting board on top of wrapped layers to compress. Chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight. Remove plastic wrap. Top with melted chocolate chips and refrigerate 1 hour, or until chocolate is firm. Slice into small squares to serve.
Chocolate Mice submitted by Chris B. 4 (1 oz) squares semisweet chocolate 1/3 cup sour cream 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs 1/3 cup chocolate cookie crumbs 1/3 cup confectioners sugar 24 silver dragees decorating candy 1/4 cup sliced almonds 12 (2 in) pieces long red vine licorice Melt the chocolate and combine with sour cream. Stir in 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs. Cover and refrigerate until firm. Roll by level tablespoonfuls into balls. Mold to a slight point at one end (the nose). Roll dough in confectioners sugar (for white mice), and in chocolate cookie crumbs (for dark mice). On each mouse, place dragees in appropriate spot for eyes, almond slices for ears, and a licorice string for the tail. Refrigerate for at least two hours, until firm. Cherry Thumb Print Cookies submitted by Ben B. 2/3 cup unsalted butter (room temperature) 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 large egg yolks 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp salt 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 large egg whites 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts 5 red glacé cherries, halved 5 green glacé cherries, halved Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, vanilla extract and salt. Gradually stir in flour. Form dough into about 20 balls. Dip in lightly beaten egg whites then roll in walnuts. Place 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets. Press down center of each with thumb to make an indentation. Place a cherry half in each indentation. Bake about 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 36 cookies.
Appetizers & Beverages Sweet & Sour Wings submitted by Lindsay K. 3 rd place! 3 lbs chicken wings (thawed) 2 tsp minced garlic (or 2 cloves of garlic) 1 cup chicken broth 2 tbsp brown sugar 1 cup soy sauce 6 tbsp sugar 6 tbsp vinegar 2 tsp ginger Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and pour over wings. Bake uncovered in a baking pan for 3-4 hours until meat is tender. Stir wings after 1 hour of baking and every half hour after that. When they are done the meat will fall off the bone. Cookie Cutter Pizza submitted by Kristen G. 1 st place! 1 package of refrigerated pizza dough 1 jar of pizza sauce 1 bag of mozzarella cheese Holiday cookie cutters! Additional toppings of choice (pepperoni, veggies, etc.) This is perfect for an appetizer for a holiday party and easy, too! Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the package of refrigerated pizza dough and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes (can be done for any holiday/theme!) Place the shapes on a cookie sheet. Put a thin layer of sauce on each one. Then add mozzarella cheese and choice of toppings. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crisp.
Spiked Eggnog submitted by Sara L. Gallon of pre-made Eggnog Half a bottle of Pinnacle Chocolate Whipped Vodka 1 tsp of nutmeg Fresh cranberries (optional) Mix all ingredients in a large punch bowl and stir well. Top off with fresh cranberries for decoration. You can also dip the rims of each glass in green sugar for an extra festive look!