Happy Holidays from the Team at Litherland, Kennedy & Associates. This holiday season, we are sharing some of our team’s favorite dishes and traditions. What are some of your favorite dishes?
Attorney Justin M. Kennedy – French Silk Pie
For special occasions my family used to go to Baker’s Square, and this was the pie that my dad would order for a special treat if we were good. Then the restaurant near our house closed, so I took to the internet to learn how to make the pie myself so that I could revisit those happy memories. – Justin
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs pasteurized
Whipped cream
Bake pie crust according to package directions.
Beat sugar and butter until sugar is not grainy. Add chocolate and vanilla. Add pasteurized eggs, two at a time, beating 5 minutes after each addition. Pour into cooled pie crust. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Before serving, top with whipped cream
Attorney Maggie A. LaBranch-Gonzales – Snickerdoodles
Cookie baking and decorating is one of our favorite holiday traditions. Some years we bake and decorate all day and some years we bake a different cookie over a period of days to hit our favorites all season. While I can’t give away all our holiday cookie secrets, I am willing to share my Snickerdoodle cookie recipe with ALL of you! – Maggie
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temp.
¾ Granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg, PLUS 1 yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 ¾ cup flour
Cinnamon Sugar Mix:
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Mix Butter and Sugars until light and fluffy (key is to make sure you are mixing enough here)
- Add in egg, yolk, vanilla, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and cinnamon. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- On low, mix in the flour, mixing just until combined. (Do not overmix!)
- In a separate bowl mix the Cinnamon Sugar Mix, stirring until combined.
- Roll dough into balls and then roll into Cinnamon Sugar Mix
- Bake 12-15 minutes (roughly I usually err on the 11-12 minutes, every oven is different) turning cooking sheet about halfway through.
- Allow to cool 3-4 minutes before transferring to rack to cool
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes from Maggie: If they didn’t turn out right, it’s probably your fault and not the recipe. Remember, cookies are best shared with your favorite Attorneys.
Paralegal Jennifer Ness – German Spice Cookies; Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole
German Spice Cookies
These cookies are a fun spin on gingerbread. Traditionally, they are dipped in the icing, but my family puts a generous amount on the top instead. – Jennifer
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup molasses, unsulfured
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon anise seed, crushed (optional)
1 egg
For Frosting:
1 egg white
1 teaspoon honey
2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
3 – 5 tablespoons pure lemon juice
- Measure sugar, honey, molasses, and butter or margarine into large saucepan and heat on stove over medium heat. Stir with wooden spoon until sugar melts. Do not let mixture boil. Remove from stove and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, spices, pepper, lemon peel and optional anise seed.
- Use a fork to beat egg in a teacup, then beat egg into cooled honey-sugar mixture.
- A little at a time, add flour-spice mixture into honey-sugar-egg mixture. Stir well. The dough will seem very soft.
- Chill dough for 30 minutes until stiff and easier to handle.
- While dough chills, preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets.
- Prepare frosting by beating together all ingredients. Frosting should have a soft consistency, similar to sour cream. Add more lemon juice if too stiff. Cover with plastic wrap until needed.
- To form cookies, dampen hands and roll dough into balls the size of small walnuts. Set dough balls on greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until light golden in color. Cool on wire rack.
- Frost cookies while slightly warm. Use the back of a spoon to smooth glaze-like frosting onto cookies. Cookies can also be gently stirred into frosting for a coating on all sides. Dry cookies on wire rack until frosting hardens. Store in an airtight container.
Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole
This recipe is my family’s favorite winter side dish. We usually double the recipe and enjoy the leftovers! – Jennifer
Ingredients:
4 boiled sweet potatoes (or yams), cooled
4 cooking apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Butter or margarine
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Peel and cube boiled potatoes.
- Peel, core and thinly slice apples
- Put potatoes and apples in mixing bowl and sprinkle with brown sugar and salt. Gently mix to blend. Transfer mixture to a greased baking pan and dot top with butter.
- Bake in oven for 1 hour or until apples are tender and top is browned.
Director of Marketing and Client Relations Wendy Harshbarger – Mac and Cheese
We love to play games and visit during the holidays, so we do our best not to spend all day in the kitchen. This is one of my daughter’s favorite side dishes. I get everything ready the evening before which allows me to avoid cleaning all the pots and pans and gives us one less thing to prepare the day of the holiday meal. – Wendy
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for casserole dish
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4 inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk (I use 1% and it comes out great – there’s already so much richness from the cheeses)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 pound elbow macaroni
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish and set aside.
- Breadcrumbs: Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside.
- Spices: I like to mix all the spices before cooking so I don’t need to measure while I’m cooking. Mix the salt, nutmeg, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
- Roux: In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a large deep skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook and whisk about 1 minute.
While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick. - Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 cup Pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside.
- Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than directions on the package, until the outside of pasta is cooked, and the inside is underdone. Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well.
- Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce
- Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs over top.
- Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.
Tip: If you make this the evening before, complete steps 1-7 above, then cover with aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator. The next day, bake with the foil on in preheated oven for 35 minutes, then remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
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