You may have noticed the barrage of holiday food items in supermarkets. The towers of garishly colored fruitcake, rows and rows of pale frozen shrimp rings, and battalions of eggnog cartons.
As most of these once-a-year items tend to be highly processed and contain unrecognizable ingredients, they never make it into my shopping cart. That is not to say I don’t enjoy eggnog, butter tarts or other Christmas-time specialties, I just try to make them myself, from scratch, when I can, because they taste that much better and I know what they contain.
Take fruitcake, for example. My mother’s recipe (which was also her wedding cake) contains ingredients like fresh lemon zest, dried figs, currants and apricots, apple cider and rum, and freshly ground spices. It’s a confection that makes you weak in the knees and momentarily lose your train of thought.
My mother’s Christmas fruit cake simply cannot be compared with a commercial product, which – in a perfect example of mystery ingredients – contains those candied ‘fruits’, fruits that are actually pieces of dyed rutabaga. Yep, turnip.
We know homemade is better, so why spend a penny of your Christmas budget on less than stellar products when, with a little planning, you can make many, if not all of your favorite holiday foods?
Today I’ve rounded up some recipes for traditional and popular holiday foods. As we all come from different backgrounds, cultures and family traditions, my favorites may vary from yours. Feel free to share your holiday eats, recipe notes, or personal must-haves in the comments!
Savory
- Classic Tourtière (Québec Pork Pie)
- Cheddar Cheese Fondue
- Bacon, Leek and Cheddar Mini Quiches :: Tracey’s Culinary Adventures | With do-ahead freezing instructions.
- Yorkshire Pudding
- Chicken Pot Pie :: Sugarcrafter
- Herbed Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Barbecue Sauce :: Spoon Fork Bacon
Photo by Katie
Sweet
- Canadian-Style Mincemeat
- Gingerbread Cookies :: Food for My Family
- One Bowl Gingerbread Cake
- Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows :: A video demo from Denver Bargains
- Chocolate Bark
- Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels :: Good Life Eats
- Basic Vanilla Shortbread
- My Mother’s Butter Tarts :: Under the High Chair
- Brown Sugar Molded Cookies
- Traditional Fruitcake :: UTHC
Breads
- Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls :: Good Life Eats
- Panettone :: Under the High Chair
- Pumpkin Challah
- Christmas Stollen :: UTHC
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls :: Good Life Eats
- Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Rolls with Rosemary
- Christmas Morning Muffins with Cranberries :: UTHC
Snacks
- Maple-Roasted Almonds :: Fresh Tart Steph
- Fruit & Nut Crisps
- Parmesan Pigs in a Blanket :: Babble Food
- Rosemary Maple-Glazed Nuts :: Food in Jars
- Wheat Thins :: Kitchen Simplicity
- Marinated Olives with Garlic, Thyme and Rosemary :: Good Life Eats
Beverages
- Classic Eggnog
- Spiced Pomegranate Apple Cider :: Good Life Eats
- Hot Cocoa Mix :: Food…Your Way
- Homemade Coffee Liqueur :: Food in Jars
- Hot Spiced Apple Cider
- Hot Mulled Cranberry Juice :: Kitchen Simplicity
Condiments
- Pear Cranberry Compote
- Cranberry Orange Walnut Relish :: Good Life Eats
- Cranberry Ginger Jelly :: Kitchen Simplicity
Be sure to check out the other Eat Well, Spend Less participants for their holiday tips!
- Alyssa from Kingdom First Mom
- Carrie from Denver Bargains
- Jessica from LifeasMOM
- Katie from Kitchen Stewardship
- Mandi from Life Your Way
- Shaina from Food for My Family
- Tammy from Tammy’s Recipes
What is a dish you cook or bake from scratch over the holidays?
About Aimee
Ha! We both talked about those scary premade shrimp appetizers in our posts today. I guess they strike fear into every DIY-er’s heart.
Casey@Good. Food. Stories.’s last post: Bloody Mary Tomatoes and More No-Cook Appetizers
Funny! They terrify me, all icy and pale. *shiver*
After reading your very descriptive description of your mother’s fruit cake it also made me weak in the knees! I looked on your site but couldn’t find the recipe. Are you going to share it with us? Also, is there an alternative for citron? Thank you!
Thanks, Susan! I haven’t shared the recipe yet; it just hasn’t felt right. If I ever publish a cookbook, you can bet it will be included, though!
I do love making homemade caramels, especially gingerbread caramels. Of course the kitchen is filled with homemade breads and cookies this time of year. And it doesn’t seem like Christmas until I slather some lemon curd onto a piece of gingerbread!
And yes, your mother’s fruitcake seems amazing. I have only made fruitcake once and it was VERY strong. One could get intoxicated with just a sniff of it! Yikes!
Melissa @ Baking For The Boys’s last post: Merry Little Christmas Breakfast: Maple Glazed Sausage Links
Love the picture of your kitchen that you’ve painted! I made eggnog caramels for the first time this year. The texture came out pretty amazing.
The two things I do buy are eggnog–since my one attempt at homemade eggnog ended up in a runny liquid with tiny bits of scrambled egg in it, yuck–and those tiny sausages (‘lil smokies’) because I grew up eating them as an appetizer this time of year, and I have to buy them at least once.
But I make most other things from scratch. All breads, cookies, and cakes are made in my kitchen!
Jessica @ Quirky Bookworm’s last post: A Quirky Bookworm’s Gift Guide (and a giveaway!)
Last year we made our own eggnog for the first time and now we can’t go back! If you ever want to attempt it again, I have to recommend the link above.
I have never had mincemeat……for some reason, it scares me. LOL
Stacy’s last post: 10 Frugal and Practical Ideas for Christmas Stocking Fillers for Children and Adults
I have never been a great cook and the basic fare with convenience foods was our staple diet for years. This year I have begun to cook more, mainly to control better what we are eating as with prepared foods you never really know what you are getting. You have given so many good suggestions here, I will definitely be giving some of them a try!
Bernice
Successful Woman’s Resource Center’s last post: Divide and conquer to get more done
I always want a loaf of cardamom bread every year – my grandmother used to make THE best loaf around, and I miss it and her every year! What a fabulous round up of recipes!
Jen at The Three Little Piglets’s last post: Top 10 Cooking Baking Tips and $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway
I’m really getting hungry now!! And I must try the pumpkin challah recipe. {I’m going to admit that I’ve never even tried eggnog; for some reason it has always intimidated me, and the premade stuff scares me.} This time of year I love stopping to get a peppermint mocha at Starbucks. It’s a weakness. However, last year I started making my own. They are very good, and save my wallet! I’ll still stop and get one on occasion as a treat; just not everyday.
If you let the Starbucks get cold in your cup and then have a peek, it may be the last flavored Starbucks drink you buy. I had a pumpkin coffee go cold on me once, and the scum that rose to the top freaked me out. Try it and it may change your mind on what a “treat” it is.
I am all over making things at home from scratch rather than buying the mystery the versions at the store, especially during the holidays! And, thanks for including me in your roundup; I am in wonderful company.
Tracy’s last post: Eggnog Scones
A big yum to everything! I remember reading about Martha Stewart’s fruit cakes one year and tried making them. They came out pretty well. The panettone was delicious, too. I should make some of that to give out after Christmas.
Another favorite is Angry Chicken’s Swedish Bread. If we have leftovers, it makes great French toast.
Is panettone a New Years thing? I don’t know the tradition behind it, but DO know that it is delicious!
I don’t know if it is. I’ve just heard of it as an Italian Christmas bread. When I googled it, I found that the panettone has a long rising process. Depending on the recipe it could rise 2 to 3 times. Whew! I had forgotten about that, or maybe Martha’s recipe shortened the process.
Barb @ A Life in Balance’s last post: 50 ways to leave debt behind: family photographer
Everything sounds wonderful. I ended up with $45 worth of raw swiss cheese. I’m trying to make it breakfast lunch and dinner. (without it being obvious) I bet I could make some fondue or even sneak it into little savory quiches or tarts! So many good ideas.
cat @ NeoHomesteading.com’s last post: Naturally Fermented Beets (and Spiced Beet Eggs)
I’m sorry to not get it, but can you please let me know what is wrong with shrimp cocktail? Now I don’t buy the ring of shrimp from the market…I buy it frozen/raw and roast it in the oven (a la Barefoot Contessa), and mix up my “own” sauce. Would that pass as not scary? I’m sincerely just wondering, because I do try to be careful about what we eat.