Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

“May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope; The spirit of Christmas which is peace; The heart of Christmas which is love.” – Ada V. Hendricks. Here it is, December. Days pass quickly and suddenly you’re faced with Christmas morning. Chaos reigns with finding presents, wrapping paper scraps and discarded bows, checking out gifts, and now it’s breakfast.

Linda: Some people open gifts early before breakfast, some people wait until after breakfast and some people save gift opening for evening and a special dinner. I remember spending Christmas at our aunt’s house. I was maybe seven years old. We had to finish all of our breakfast before gifts could be distributed and opened. We gobbled our food and it was not a fun-filled morning.

Lucy: I remember that and I’m not sure the most delicious breakfast would have helped the atmosphere. Let’s change the mood and discover some easy make ahead and simple to make offerings.

Our Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffee cake comes to mind.

Linda: And late sleepers can enjoy coffee cake when they decide to leave a cozy bed and welcome Christmas morning. Coffee cake can be made ahead when you have less rushed time and then frozen. Just remove a day ahead before serving.

Lucy: A layer of cinnamon mixture is spread in the middle of the cake and again on top of the batter. Since it’s made in a Bundt or a tube pan, the cake is turned upside down to remove from the pan. The cinnamon layer that was on top is now a crispy bottom layer.

Linda: I think your hash brown recipe would be perfect for a crowd. It can be made Christmas morning but is easy and quick. People often have other family visiting and everyone would enjoy this casserole.

Lucy: There’s not very many ingredients and it’s fast to make. It calls for thawed, shredded hash browns. The key is to take the hash browns out of the freezer the day before to thaw. The bacon could be cooked the day before and crumbled so it’s ready to add to the casserole. I shared it with my neighbors last summer and they all asked for the recipe. 

Linda: Recently you shared some cinnamon type buns that were made with an apple filling. They are scrumptious and can be made the day before or earlier and frozen. They could be reheated for a few minutes before serving.

Lucy: Yes this is a recipe  that sounds complicated but is actually quite easy. They’re called Shortcut Easy Apple Fritters. The shortcut is using puff pastry. You can find the pastry in the frozen section of the grocery store, maybe near the pie shells. Two sheets come in the box so you need four boxes. The recipe also calls for a little bit of apple butter. If you don’t have this on hand, I think some applesauce would work.

Linda: Christmas is on its way so let’s get our recipes out. December 9 will probably be our last Landrum Christmas Market Day to sell our cookbook. December 16 is the last market but unless someone cancels, we won’t have a spot. Merry Christmas!

 

Shortcut Easy Apple Fritters

12 Fritters Oven 425

Ingredients

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

4 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

4 Tbsp melted butter

2 Tbsp apple butter

3 cups chopped  apples

Vanilla Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup whole milk

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Arrange 12-15 paper cupcake liners on a baking sheet.
2. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl.
3. Lay one pastry sheet flat on your counter. Brush with 2 Tbsp melted butter, 1 Tbsp apple butter, then sprinkle with 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar. Arrange 1/2 of the apples over the sugar. Place a second sheet of pastry directly over the apples to cover. Gently press down to seal everything inside. Roll the dough into a log, like a cinnamon roll.
4. Cut the log into 6-8 rounds, placing each in the prepared paper cupcake liners. Repeat with the remaining pastry/apples. Use the palm of your hand to smoosh the round down to about 1/2 its size . Sprinkle the tops lightly with any remaining cinnamon sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden brown.
5. To make the glaze, whisk all ingredients in a bowl, adding additional milk as needed to thin.

Dip or drizzle the glaze onto the fritters. Eat warm. And enjoy. Can be made a day ahead of time or earlier and freeze

 

Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

Serves 6-8 Oven 375

Ingredients

1 30 oz bag shredded hash brown potatoes — THAWED

2 cups sharp shredded cheddar

1 cup sour cream

8 slices of cooked crumbled bacon

salt and pepper

 

Directions

Mix potatoes, sour cream and 1 cup of cheese together. Add  bacon and salt and pepper. Put into a  9×13 casserole, sprayed with baking spray. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. The thing to remember is to have the potatoes thawed so you can make it fast.

 

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Oven 350

Ingredients

Filling

1/4  cup packed brown sugar

1/2   cup chopped pecans (optional)

3 or 4 tsp cinnamon

Coffee Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

 

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 10-inch angel food (tube) or Bundt cake pan. In small bowl, mix all Filling ingredients; set aside. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, butter, vanilla and the eggs with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in flour mixture alternately with sour cream on low speed. Spread half of the batter in the pan; sprinkle with half of the filling. Spread remaining batter in pan and sprinkle with rest of cinnamon sugar. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool 10 minutes.

 

Shortcut Easy Apple Fritters