CHRISTMAS TEA and recipes

"Afternoon tea should be provided,, with thin bread and butter, fancy pastries, cakes, etc.  being brought in as other guests arrive...." 

-Mrs. Beeton (Jan 1, 1861)

It's not just about  treats at Christmas, it's what they represent, or rather,  WHO they represent. Moments in time.  Places we've been. People we've laughed and cheered with  and cried with. We're still walking with. All these years later. So many treats and pots of tea across the miles....here's a few of my favourites.....

1920's XMAS(Bethune) PUDDING: Double to make two. 1/4 lb flour, 1/4 lb br sugar, 1/3 cup crumbled marg (suet would have been used in last century), whole lotta raisins, 1/3 cup orange juice and ground up orange, 1/3 cup lemon juice,  cup of brandy, shredded apple and carrot, bunch of almonds,  1/2  tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves allspice. Enough MILK or sub to make a sloppy batter.  Pile into greased pudding bowl, lined with paper. Steam in a pot of water, or steam in a basin of water in oven, for about 6 hour.Add more water as needed. the scent is amazing! Freezes great. Sometimes I double this recipe. Serve with cold whipping cream or hard sauce. Just wonderful. My fav is the whipping cream. 

HARD SAUCE (Here is the CNR’s Canadian National Railway ....recipe for hard sauce, as given by dining car steward W.R.Hudson, Jr.)Combine ½ pound butter, ½ pound berry sugar, 8 drops vanilla and 8 drops almond flavouring. Add a few drops of yellow colouring to make the sauce a very delicate rich-cream colour. Keep all ingredients cool during mixing, and store in cool place. My dad got this recipe from one of the people he worked with on the trains.

MELOMAKARONA (Greek Honey Shortbread) (from my dear friend, from across the miles, Maria,  1998 St. Albert, Alberta)

3 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 cup olive oil, ¼ cup sugar, ½ cup brandy, ¼ cup orange juice, 1 tbsp grated orange rind,1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1 tsp cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 350  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda.

Combine oil, sugar, brandy, orange juice and orange rind. Gradually combine all together . Dough should be easy to knead. Roll out and cut into round or oval shapes about 2 ½-3 inches. Or roll by hand. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for about 20 mins till brown.

SYRUP INGREDIENTS: 1 cup honey, ½ cup sugar, 1 cup water boil for about 5 mins. Let cool.  Dip hot shortbread in cooled syrup, place in container or on serving plate and sprinkle with chopped walnuts and cinnamon. OR store shortbread without dipping in freezer. They are good without the syrup I think. 

                          

MY GRANDMOTHER'S SCONES (circa Bethune 1920) She pronounced it as "Scawns" 

Handle the mixture lightly. Do not over mix. Do not knead. Everyone seems to treat scone dough like it were  bread dough.It should look rather undermixed, then it will be  flaky and light. Be fast and quick.

2 cups  flour,  ½ cup sugar,  1 tbsp baking powder,  Pinch of coarse salt

½ cup cold butter or margarine,  1 egg, 2/3 cup cream plus a tad more if too dry. 

Mix all dry ingredients together Plop butter or margarine into this, blend with pastry cutter.

Dump egg into milk/cream and beat till blended. Make a well in center, pour liquid into this well. Mix quickly with fork and turn into a soft, dough ball…should feel like baby’s skin.  DO NOT KNEAD. It will come together in the baking.  

Divide into to dough balls. Plop each dough ball onto Silpat/Parchment lined pan and press down gently to make a circle. Don’t press down too hard….. Work quickly with your fingers to shape. Brush  a little milk on tops, with fingers, sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Cut into pie wedges. Bake at 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Start with 12 mins. Cover with foil if your oven is hot. Add time as needed. watch them or they can burn.  Serve with butter and honey if wished. My Uncle would travel from the snowed in farm in Bethune,Saskatchewan, to spend Christmas with us. Every breakfast he'd polish off the daily scones my mother made, with butter and honey, bacon and eggs, and a pot of coffee.

SHIRLEY MOORE’s XMAS CAKE ( 1997from Shirley Moore, Fredericton, New Brunswick. This is  a  lovely, light , pretty cake. )

 Shirley was a retired pastor's wife who lived a life of amazing service. A harmonious friend, who only saw  good in life. She passed away , only  a few years ago. When we first showed up in Fredericton she came over with oodles of pies, cookies, breads. She didn't want us to starve, while waiting for the moving truck. We were instant friends. She gave me one of her Xmas cakes and the recipe, before we moved the following year. Since then, for twenty years, we gabbed on the phone. When I make her cake, I think of her. Best cake ever

FRUIT:

3 cups golden raisin, 2 cups glazed fruit, 6 candied dried pineapple, 1/3 orange candied peel, 1/3 cup lemon peel, 2 cups green/red cherries, 3?4 cup dried apricots, 1 1/2 cups pecan halves, 1 1/2 cup chopped almonds. You can also soak fruit in a bottle of wine. Shirley never did that,or use orange juice instead.

BATTER: 1 pound butter, 2 cups white sugar, 10 large eggs, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 2 tsp almond extract, 1 tsp vanilla ext.,3-4 cups flour, pinch salt, 1 tsp b powder.

 Line  small loaf pans with greased parchment paper. You can find loaf pans in the section of the grocery store where they sell foil and cling wrap.

  Put all ingredients for “Combine Fruit in Bowl” list into  large bowl, mix together. Let sit for a day to let the flavours mellow.  

 From BATTER List, cream butter with sugar, add eggs 1 at a time. Add remaining ingredients.  When  batter is ready, pour in the fruit that has been standing. Mix well.

 Divide batter between pans. Bake at 300 degrees for about 1  ½ hours ( give or take. Sometimes it takes an hour). I kind of guesstimate the time, and check after 40 minutes by testing the centre.  You do not want to over bake the little loaf pans , so check often. It makes between 10 and 13 pans.

                            

VINEGAR TARTS ( 1940’s) My dad's favourite of all. He's sneak them in the middle of the night....... and hand one to me as well. My mother started to wonder why she was always making tarts.

(Basically a gooey type of butter tart, but without raisins. My grandmother  also  made these  ….)

 ¾ cup brown sugar,  1 large tablespoon of butter,

2 tablespoon of  red wine vinegar, or balsamic, or white vinegar

½ cup corn syrup,  2 eggs

 Beat all together, pour into frozen, store bought tart shells ( my mother used to make pastry shells herself. It's whatever is easiest for you!)  and bake at 350 till filling is set, about 18 minutes.  ( Makes about 14 tarts) You can cover with a lid if you wish. They are amazing.  My mother served these piping hot so the filling would dribble here and there.  

                                             

"The earth has grown old with its burden of care. But at Xmas it is always young. Its soul full of music, breaks the air, when the song of angels is sung..." - Phillip Brooks

Mum’s SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD (  from the 1940’s)

(This turns out great. Make sure you do NOT overwork the mix, so the shortbread remains buttery yet flaky. Mum’s old Scottish recipe)

 1 pound of butter, softened slightly.

1 cup  white sugar  ( not icing sugar)( I substitute brown sometimes)

4-4 ½ cups flour (the dough needs to be like pastry)

 

Combine the Butter, Sugar and flour. All at once. Mix like pastry, use a pastry cutter if you like. It should be crumbly in the bowl, not squashed together like regular cookie dough. It should actually LOOK like pie pastry. Less mixing is better. Do not mix into a ball of dough. It will lose  texture otherwise.

Pat Mixture  into  parchment lined  13 x 9 inch pan, using the heel of your hand.

Prick all over with fork. Sprinkle with a tablespoon or two of sugar.

 

Bake at 325 degrees till lightly browned. About 20 minutes. Add time if needed. The baked sheet  should feel fairly dry to the touch. And the edges ever so slightly browned a bit.  All over should be cream coloured for the most part.

 Take out from oven and immediately cut into rectangles. Slice with a sharp knife.

Let cool, then cut again in same indentations if you need to.

 Remove from parchment paper when cool. 

  **These freeze perfectly. Can be dipped into melted chocolate.

                                             

"Find yourself a cup of tea. Now tell me hundreds of things...." 

                                            - Saki ( H.H.Munro, British writer)

Photographs 2023