Let me share with you two holiday family favorites from my husband’s side of the family. His grandfather was Italian, full Italian, and his grandmother Croatian. I know that it’s not quite the same without Brian’s grandfather playing his accordion in the background and his grandmother’s secret ingredient– the love that came from her years of experience. – But I do my best to add something from the past to our holiday table each year.

The following are two wonderful Christmas favorites, one from each of their families.

Italian Knot Cookie Recipe: From the Piziali side.

You will need:

• 5 1/2 c. Flour
• 3/4 c. Butter
• 1 1/2 c. Sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
• 4 Eggs
• 1/2 c. Milk
• 1 Tsp. Anise Extract
• 1 Tsp. Lemon Extract

1. Place flour in large mixing bowl and with a pastry blender cut in butter ( be sure to use real butter) until resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in sugar and baking powder till well blended.

2. In a small bowl lightly beat eggs with milk and extracts. Stir in all flour till moistened. Turn out dough on well floured surface and knead till smooth (about 2 min.). Place back in bowl.

3. Refrigerate 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven 325 degrees.

5. Cut off small amount of dough and roll on highly floured surface into 6 inch strips. Twist /tie into knots and place on cookie sheets.

6. Bake 15 minutes or till lightly browned in oven. Remove and cool; do not over cook.

For Frosting: Mix Powdered Sugar and Milk to make glaze and add  Christmas Sprinkles  if desired. Enjoy!

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Italian Knot Cookies

Ingredients

• 5½ c. Flour
• ¾ c. Butter
• 1½ c. Sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
• 4 Eggs
• ½ c. Milk
• 1 Tsp. Anise Extract
• 1 Tsp. Lemon Extract

Instructions

1. Place flour in large bowl and with pastry blender cut in butter ( be sure to use real butter) until resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Stir in sugar and baking powder till well blended.
3. In a small bowl lightly beat eggs with milk and extracts. Stir in all flour till moistened. Turn out dough on well floured surface and knead till smooth (about 2 min.). Place back in bowl.
4. Refrigerate 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven 325 degrees.
6. Cut off small amount of dough and roll on highly floured surface into 6 inch strips. Twist /tie into knots and place on cookie sheets.
7. Bake 15 minutes or till lightly browned in oven. Remove and cool; do not over cook.

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Walnut Povitica

Walnut Povitica- from the Urich side. Pronounced ( Poh-vee-TEET-sah). The word makes me think of Christmas even though it wasn’t a tradition that I myself grew up with. This nut roll is a Slovenian favorite. It can be filled with various other ingredients but in our family it was always walnuts.

If you’d like to make this delicious roll you will need:

For the dough

• 2 to 2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/3 c. milk
• 1.4 c. butter
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs

For the walnut filling

• 3 c. ground walnuts
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 slightly beaten egg
• 3 tbsp. milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

In a bowl combine 1 cup of the flour and the package of yeast. Set it aside. In a saucepan, heat the milk, butter, sugar, and salt till warm (120-130 degrees) and the butter almost melts. Add to flour mixture. Then add 2 eggs. Beat with electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 sec. and high speed for 3 minutes. Next, using a Wooden Spoon, add as much of the remaining flour as possible.

On a lightly floured surface knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic. ( Kneading from 3-5 minutes will accomplish this.) Shape in a ball and place in a greased bowl turning once to grease surface of dough ball. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double-approximately 1 hour.

While the dough is rising in a warm spot, make the filling. Mix walnuts, sugar, butter, honey, beaten egg, milk, and vanilla. Set aside.

Punch dough down and let rest 10 minutes. While you wait grease 2 loaf pans and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. After 10 minutes roll dough out on a floured surface to make about a 15 in. square. Cover and let rise another 10 min. Roll again but this time try to roll out the dough to about  a 20 to 25 in. square.  Then cut into 2 rectangle dough pieces, one for each loaf pan. Now spread the filling on both dough rectangles leaving an inch on each end of the dough. Once filing is spread well on top both of them, roll each one like a jelly roll or in cinnamon roll style. Except instead of slicing, punch ends and seam the bottom to completely shut the roll. Lastly, place loaf in greased loaf pan seam side down. Cover and let rise one last time until it has once again doubled it’s size.

Bake at 325 degrees F. for 45-50 minutes or till golden brown. If the outside browns too quickly then just cover with foil the last 10 or 15 minutes. The type of pan you use may also effect cook time so make the necessary adjustments.

Remove from pans and cool. This recipe makes 2 loaves and 32 servings. We like to enjoy this on Christmas morning with coffee.

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The post Two Holiday Family Favorites: Italian Knot Cookies and Walnut Povitica appeared first on Dymphna's Song.

I’ve been inspired lately with coconut so I chose it as Food of the Month!  The two flavors are a perfect match.
{ Truly sorry to anyone who has given up chocolate for Lent- you can file this one for later!}

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Chocolate Muffins from Scratch:

Ingredients

• 1½ unbleached all purpose flour
• ½ c. unsweetened cocoa
• ½ c. natural organic shredded coconut - (Don't use the kind with tons of sugar and preservatives!)
• ⅓ c. organic or raw sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 c. skim milk
• ¼ c. of canola or vegetable oil
• ½- 3/4 c. natural chocolate pieces (chocolate chips)
• ¼ c. shredded coconut for topping

Instructions

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl: flour, cocoa, ½ c. coconut. sugar, and baking powder.
2. In a second bowl combine wet ingredients: egg, milk and oil.
3. Combine them together.
4. Then add chocolate chips.
5. Fill muffin pan and top with remaining coconut and bake in oven at 375 degrees for 15 min. ( Times will vary)
6. Let cool and serve!

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The post Chocolate Coconut Muffins: Chocolate Muffins from Scratch appeared first on Dymphna's Song.

Apples! Apples!  They are truly a perfect food. What better recipes than Fall Recipes for Apples? Below you’ll find 3 great ways to use apples this fall:

Apple Almond Muffins~

Apple Muffins are really easy. They aren’t very popular-sure don’t know why- but they really do make wonderful muffins. You can chop the apples finely if you prefer or you can leave them chunky-it’s all about preference.

Prep:Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease muffin pan or spray with non stick cooking spray.

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Fall Recipes for Apples

Ingredients

• 1 c. unbleached all purpose flour
• ¾ c. whole wheat flour
• ⅓ c. organic or raw sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt (optional)
• 1 tsp. apple pie spice mix (see recipe card below)
• 1 egg
• 1 c. milk
• ¼ c. canola oil
• 3-5 chopped apples-makes 1½ -2 c.
• ¼ c. sliced almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease muffin pan or spray with non stick cooking spray.Place all dry ingredients in bowl and mix.
2. Combine wet ingredients in a second bowl and mix wet /dry together. Batter will be somewhat stiff, that's OK, Apples will moisten.
3. Add 1 ½ -2 c. chopped apples as desired
4. Add ¼ c. sliced almonds and reserve some for sprinkling on top.
5. Fold in apples & sliced almonds. Spoon batter into muffin pan and top with sliced almonds.
6. Bake 18 min. for regular size muffins (makes 12) or 25 min. for extra large muffins (makes 6). Times may vary.

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Apple Pie with a Twist~

Just use your favorite recipe for apple pie and make these easy modifications:

1. Use 1-2 tsp. of my Dried Fruit Spice in place of cinnamon:

This makes a typical shaker full:

2tsp. Chopped Dried Cranberries, Blueberries, or Raisins
2tbsp. Organic Sugar
1tbsp. Cinnamon
1tsp. Ginger
1tsp. Cloves
1tsp. Nutmeg
*Uses: Muffins, Granola, as Cinnamon Sugar, Dessert topping, Vanilla Ice Cream , Breads, Pies

2. After combining all ingredients and before adding to your crust add one of the following fresh, frozen, or dried (all work well):

• Blueberries (that’s what I did- see photo above.)
• Cranberries
• Raspberries, Blackberries, or Currents
• Raisins

Apple Cranberry Coconut Granola~

This is a loose Granola, which I like because it’s low sugar (but still sweet due to the coconut) and more like cereal to me. It’s my favorite with Almond Milk but is also fabulous with just regular milk, or if you drink soy milk I am sure that would also be delicious.

This makes enough for a large family. If it’s too much you can half the recipe. But around here it goes quick.

Ingredients

4-5 tbsp. canola oil

Combine all together in a bowl and toss with canola oil til just moist. Place in a roaster or cake pan and toast on 375 degrees F. for 10-15 min. You need to stir granola at least twice (about every 5 min.) so it doesn’t burn and can get toasted all over. The oats should be slightly golden brown but fruit should not blacken. Let cool and store in airtight container till use. Serve with milk.

I hope you enjoy these apple recipes. Through out the month of September you will be able to read more on uses for apples! To see all of my recipes available on PDF recipe cards just click the icon below:

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The post Fall Recipes for Apples appeared first on Dymphna's Song.