Holiday Recipes Conference staff share some of their favorite family recipes

Tasty Pumpkin Muffins

Quick & easy! from Jan Polson

1 can pumpkin puree

1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist (or Spice) cake mix

Hershey’s cream cheese chips (you decide how many) from Wanda Clark

Mix pumpkin into dry cake mix.

Add cream cheese chips and stir.

Scoop into muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

“I think we all have a version of this “salad” that we grew up thinking is a family recipe. I thought mine was the invention of my greatgrandmother’s until high school. No matter where the recipe came from it is still one that we have at all family holidays to this day.”

1 pack pistachio Jell-O instant pudding mix

20 oz can crushed pineapple (with juice, do not drain)

Tryon Palace Ginger Cookies

from Diane Lippitt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine oil and 1 cup sugar in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until well blended. Add egg, and beat well. Gradually stir in molasses.

Sift together flour, soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl; gradually add to creamed mixture, stirring well after each addition.

Place remaining sugar in a small mixing bowl; drop dough by teaspoonfuls into sugar, rolling to coat well.

Place balls 3 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes. (Cookies will flatten and crinkle.) Cool slightly on cookie sheets. Remove from cookie sheets, and cool completely on wire racks.

1 cup miniature marshmallows (or however many your heart desires)

1/2 cup chopped pecans (or any nuts, but it is not ours without pecans)

1 container Cool Whip, thawed

Mix everything besides the Cool Whip together until combined. Make sure to include the pineapple juice!

Fold the Cool Whip in and keep refrigerated until you are ready to serve!

Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole

from Jena Barber

“Years ago, my neighbors brought this when my daughter was sick, and I fell in love. Over the years, we’ve added scrambled eggs, doubled the recipe, and more.”

1 pkg. crescent rolls

8 oz. block cream cheese, cubed and softened

8 oz. breakfast sausage

3/4 cup sharp cheddar

1/2 bunch green onions

Fry sausage into crumbles and set aside too cool a bit. In a greased 8-inch square baking dish, lay out 1/2 sheet of crescent rolls. Add sausage crumbles, then layer on cream cheese, cheddar, and green onions. Top with other half of the crescent rolls. Bake using crescent roll directions.

Cranberry Salsa

from Lori Foster & Wanda Clark

“This is an appetizer dip that I have used over the years at Christmas time. It is different and I always get lots of fun reactions from it.” - Lori

“Some of my family’s holiday staples came from ideas that we tried off of Pinterest. We were never big cranberry sauce eaters, but my cousin introduced this as an alternative to traditional cranberry sauce (of course, from Pinterest!).”

- Wanda

12 ounce bag fresh cranberries

¾ cup white sugar

1 bunch cilantro, chopped 1 bunch green onions, cut into 3 inch lengths

1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 medium limes, juiced

1 pinch salt

Combine cranberries, sugar, cilantro, green onions, jalapeño, lime juice, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a medium blade; process to medium consistency.

From Wanda: I like mine fairly fine. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours (preferably overnight) to allow the salsa to macerate. Serve over cream cheese and with crackers.

This makes enough to cover two blocks of cream cheese. Some people prefer to spread the cream cheese on a serving dish with the salsa on top. I prefer to just pour it on top of a block of cream cheese. Depending on how tart your cranberries are you may want to add more sugar. This last batch I added a total of 1 cup of sugar. Note: You will want to serve this with crackers! We typically use Wheat Thins and Ritz.

THE FAMILY CHEESEBALL from Jena

Barber

“My aunt Karen brought this to our house in the 1980s (so you know it’s bad for you but oh so yummy). It has been a tradition for the holidays ever since. It also looks a bit festive!”

8 oz. block of cream cheese, cubed and softened

1/2 jar of dried beef, cut into small pieces (approx 1 cm square)

1/2 bunch green onions, diced

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce Pinch garlic powder

Add green onions and beef to a medium mixing bowl. Drop cream cheese cubes in and fold together with a wooden spoon. Add Worcestershire and garlic powder and stir until well mixed. Turn out onto cling wrap. Using the cling wrap, shape the cheese mixture into a ball. Place into a cute serving bowl or tray and serve with crackers. This recipe easily doubles by adding another block of cream cheese and using up the rest of the other ingredients.

Note: The garlic powder makes the texture easier to mix. I’m no scientist, but there has to be some alchemy to it. I use my kitchen scissors to cut the onions and dried beef.

from Diane Lippitt

3 oz. package of strawberry Jello

1 package unflavored gelatin

1 large can pears

1 1/2 cups pear juice (from can)

1 cup cold water

8 oz. package cream cheese

2 cups Cool Whip

Combine powdered Jello and gelatin. Heat pear juice and add to Jello, stirring to dissolve. Add cold water. Cool until thickened slightly. Put pears into blender and blend. Add Jello mixture. Cut cream cheese into small pieces and add to blender. Blend. Add Cool Whip and blend. Pour into salad mold or bowl. Refrigerate to set.

Company Potatoes

from Kathryn Witzel

“This dish is a church favorite often served at community meals or potlucks.”

1 24 oz. package frozen has brown potatoes

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups sour cream

1 8 oz. shredded colby/jack cheese

Topping

1/2 c melted butter

2 c. crushed cornflakes

Mix thawed has browns, soup, sour cream, cheddar cheese and place in buttered 9x13 casserole dish.

Top with corn flakes mixed with melted butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.