FROM 1987:
HOLIDAY GOODIES

In 1987, readers shared some of their best recipes for holiday goodies.

Emma Patterson of Lexington sent in this coffeecake recipe.

Coffeecake
• 1/2 pound butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
Topping:
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Mix soda and baking powder
with flour and add to butter mixture. Add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.
Mix well. Pour half of batter into a greased and floured 9- by 13-inch
baking pan.

Mix topping ingredients, except 1 tablespoon butter, and sprinkle over
batter. Pour in remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining topping.
Drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter.

Bertie DeFilippo of Lexington discovered this recipe while unpacking a
box from her daughter. It was printed in the newspaper - the Austin
American Statesman on Dec. 20, 1982 - that was part of the packing. "My
daughter lived in Austin and sent a package home at Christmas. I
smoothed the paper out and have made the cake every year at Thanksgiving
and Christmas," she said.

Eggnog poundcake
• 2 tablespoons soft butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups commercial eggnog
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 tablespoons rum or 1/4 teaspoon rum flavoring

Generously grease a 10-inch tube or bundt pan with soft butter. Press
almonds against buttered sides and bottom; set pan aside.
Combine cake mix, nutmeg, egg yolks, eggnog, melted butter and rum in
large mixing bowl until blended. Beat batter until smooth and creamy.
Beat egg whites separately until stiff but not dry. Carefully fold
batter into whites.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 to 55
minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the thickest portion comes out
clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, invert onto rack and cool thoroughly.
Drizzle with glaze made with 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and 2 or 3
tablespoons eggnog.

Lori Gibson made fudge to serve friends and give as gifts. "It is the
best and also the easiest I've ever tried," she said.

Microwave fudge
• 2 packages (16-ounces each) confectioners sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 cups nuts
• 2 tablespoons vanilla

In large bowl sift sugar and cocoa. (This is necessary to remove lumps.)
Add milk and butter. Do not stir. Heat 4 1/2 to 6 minutes on high in
microwave until butter is melted. Add nuts and vanilla, stirring until
smooth. Spread into greased 13- x 9-inch dish. Chill and cut into
squares.

This recipe for baked cranberries was given to Mary Ann McGrath of
Lawrenceburg by a friend who lives in Alabama.

Baked cranberries
• 1 package fresh cranberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 8-ounce jar orange marmalade

Wash cranberries and place in a 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish.
Sprinkle sugar over berries and cover with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for
1 hour. Place pecans in oven on cookie sheet, last 10 minutes of baking
time, to toast. After baking stir pecans and orange marmalade into
cranberries. Serve hot or cold.

This cranberry salad is one of Mrs. W. L. Baldridge's family's favorite
recipes. "I can't remember a Thanksgiving or Christmas in the last 30
years that I haven't made this salad. The recipe was given to me in the
early '50s by a dear friend Minnie Patrick of Morehead who passed away
last summer," said Mrs. Baldridge of East Point.

Cranberry salad
• 4 cups cranberries
• 2 oranges, peeled
• 2 3-ounce packages black raspberry gelatin
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup ice water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup broken pecans or English walnuts
• Pinch of salt

Put cranberries and peel from one orange peel in a food processor.
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. When dissolved, add ice water. Chill
slightly. Dice oranges and mix with sugar. Combine all ingredients and
chill until firm.

Velma Whitecotton of Cynthiana sent this recipe for holiday date
pudding.

Date pudding
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups flour

In a saucepan, bring brown sugar, water, syrup and 1 tablespoon butter
to a boil. Pour into 9- by 13-inch cake pan. Mix white sugar, 2
tablespoons melted butter, milk, pecans, dates, baking powder and salt.
Then stir in flour. This will be stiff. Take out with spoon and drop in
syrup. Should pretty well cover the syrup, although syrup may peep
through in places. Bake in 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Syrup will
boil up around edge. When serving turn square upside down and top with
Cool Whip.