Mrs. Santa's Recipes

 

 I grabbed a vintage international cookbook out of my stash to share with my daughter back in June (it had some Scandinavian recipes I thought she might like to try) and found something very unexpected tucked in the front of it.

I guess it had probably been a school project of mine way, way, back in the day.  It was three index cards stapled together, with the title "Mrs. Santa's Recipes".  I'm assuming it was a project that one of my teachers had us do during December, serving the dual purpose of practicing neat printing and creating a Christmas gift for our moms.  

 
As you see,  the first recipe was for Christmas Sand Tarts, which are actually a cutout sugar cookie flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg.  My mother didn't really make very many cutout cookies that I remember, and I don't recall her ever making these.  But I might try them!

The next recipe was for Spicy Punch, made with cranberry juice, whole spices,  plus citrus juices.  It can be served either hot or cold -- and I think the hot version would be quite delicious.

Lastly,  there's a recipe for Ice Cream Flowerpots.  Ice cream is served in paper cups and decorated with gumdrop leaves and flowers on lollipop stick stems.  This sounds like a fanciful treat straight out of a North Pole kitchen, for sure!

What do you think?  Would you try one of Mrs. Santa's special recipes?

 

USA Christmas stamps I've recently unearthed

 

 Of course you know I had to find some sort of USA tie-in for a Fourth of July post!  These stamps were a recent find, mixed in with other old stamps that had been saved.  I snagged these because the designs are so much fun.

Isn't this sleighing scene so pretty?

 
I love the blue sky and the stately evergreens and all the rest of the wintry farm scene.  This is also the newest of the three stamps, as it cost 25¢!

This little stamp featuring glass Christmas baubles is beautiful too.

It's a little bit older since it cost only 22¢.

And lastly is this one featuring a Christmas tree laden with toys.

 
It's obviously the oldest of the three, since it cost only 8¢!  It has an interesting background that almost looks like cloth.  Maybe it is supposed to look as if it has been cross-stitched.  Very pretty, anyway.

I wish they made Christmas stamps with designs like this nowadays, don't you?

Twelve Treats of Christmas

 

It's so much fun to take a look back at vintage cookbooklets from Christmases past!  This is one I've recently listed in my Etsy shop.  It's by Duncan Hines and is called the 12 Treats of Christmas.  It isn't that old, probably from the 1990s, but it's a vintage one nonetheless.  

Each recipe has a red icon or emblem which relates to one of the 12 days of Christmas.  On the front, that's simply a pair of festive bells with some holly.  The little blurb on the front reads: "To help you bake your moist delicious best,  Duncan Hines is proud to offer you some of our favorite recipes for your family to enjoy.  From all of us at Duncan Hines, we wish you a very happy holiday season!"

 

Peanut Butter Sparkle Cookies are first.  Aren't they festive?

And next there is Rich Double Chocolate Cream Torte.  This is one I've made a number of times, though I didn't know it was a Duncan Hines recipe.  I found it in Taste of Home.  Absolutely delicious.

Brownie Hot Fudge Sundaes offer another festive hit of chocolate.  That's a scrumptious-sounding Fudge Sauce, made with chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk.

Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Bread could be made in several smaller loaf pans to make some impressive additions to a gift basket.

How pretty is this Candy Cane Cake?  The recipe shows you just how to cut a 13x9 cake to make this candy cane shape.  I think it might also be pretty using red (and/or green) M&Ms to decorate rather than the maraschino cherries.

The Gingerbread Men recipe sounds like a good one, starting with a spice cake mix.  But this is the ugliest gingerbread man I've ever seen!  I think they could have come up with a nicer looking one to make this recipe much more appealing.

 

 

  Above, the Cherry Christmas Wreaths are  beautiful cakes -- chocolate with cream cheese frosting and a topping of cherry pie filling.  Yum!  I don't use mixes much anymore, but I'd love to try duplicating this recipe with a scratch cake and frosting.

The Individual Cheesecake Cups are fun little cheesecakes made in regular muffin pans.  It makes 24.  One uses either a chocolate or yellow cake in making the crust.  Notice the milkmaid illustration here!

The Peppermint Marble Angel Cake is so pretty!  Wouldn't this be fun to serve with peppermint stick ice cream?

I think this Blueberry Sour Cream Coffeecake would be wonderful for Christmas breakfast, or for giving as a kitchen gift. 

 The above photo (which is the back cover of the booklet) shows two recipes: Chocolate Cherry Cordial Drops -- essentially chocolate chip cookies with chopped maraschino cherries, coconut, and pecans -- and the Festive Coconut Macaroon Cookies, which start with a sugar cookie mix so are not quite like a traditional macaroon.  They do look good though and I think might be nice with a dab of jam in the center in place of the candied cherry half.

And there you have the 12 treats of Christmas!  They've given me some good ideas for December.

A lovely vintage Christmas card ~ "Merry Christmas"

 

In scanning items to list in my Etsy shop, I came upon this beautiful vintage Christmas card and thought it would be perfect to share for Christmas in July.  It's probably from the late 1950s or the very early 1960s.  What a lovely classic look it has!

The creamy card stock has a slight moire effect.  The die-cut scalloped edge and gold trim give an elegant old-fashioned look.  At lower left is a pretty scene of snow-covered trees and homes, and a red covered bridge.  But it's the lantern at upper right that is the real star of this show.  It's an elegant brass lantern fitted out with a lighted red candle.  It's trimmed with a large red bow, lots of pine branches, red berries and green leaves, small red and green apples (or possibly they're ornaments, but the leaves look like apple leaves) and a couple of pine cones.  This is one of those nostalgic scenes that can almost move me to tears.

But there's more!  Inside the card, amid fancy swirling lines and a simple sketch of a lantern, is this lovely bit of verse:

"A lantern shining in the snowy eve,
Lighting the way to happiness and cheer ... "

 
Okay, if I thought my eyes were misty before, this one really did it.  I have tried to find the source of those beautiful words, but to no avail so far.  And if you know me very well, you know that I also love the idea of being a light shining in a stormy place, lighting the way to true peace and joy with God.

To top it all off, when I saw the signature, this card had been sent by my Great-Uncle Jim and his wife Irene.  Although we saw Jim less frequently than some of the other great-uncles, he was easily our favorite and we all loved it when he dropped by our house for a visit.  On a few occasions we stopped in to visit him and Irene, and that was a delight as well.  I wish I had gotten to know them better, but as a child one isn't aware of the need for such things.  We just knew we loved them, and that they loved us.

Come on into the Christmas kitchen! It's time for Christmas in July!

 

 Welcome to my Christmas kitchen!  I've oiled the hinges on the kitchen door, brushed down quite a few cobwebs, and hope to be here each day in July.  I have a few posts written and scheduled, but many more will just have to appear serendipitously along the way.  And they probably will.

There will hopefully be recipes, vintage goodies and cookbooks, maybe some poems, memories,  craft ideas, and more. 

 One thing I thought I would share today is this Christmas in July crafting challenge from Craftsy.  It starts on July 8, so there's a little time to think about it and consider whether you'll try some of these projects.  I haven't decided yet, myself, but I thought it sounded interesting and worth sharing.  As the description on the sign-up page reads, 

"It's never too early to get started on everything that goes into an amazing holiday season!  Celebrate Christmas in July and join our instructors to craft one-of-a-kind holiday gifts, plan crowd-pleasing recipes, and find amazing DIY decor inspiration all month long."

I did download the holiday craft bundle (it's free!) and will look forward to the emails.  It remains to be seen if I will have time to get involved.  I may be too busy writing Christmas in July posts!

See you all tomorrow!

never too early to get started on everything that goes into an amazing holiday season! Celebrate Christmas in July and join our instructors to craft one-of-a-kind holiday gifts, plan crowd-pleasing recipes, and find amazing DIY decor inspiration all month long.  never too early to get started on everything that goes into an amazing holiday season! Celebrate Christmas in July and join our instructors to craft one-of-a-kind holiday gifts, plan crowd-pleasing recipes, and find amazing DIY decor inspiration all month long.