by Kristie Cook
I leaned in for a long, languishing kiss that would have to hold us over until then. “Meet me at midnight?”
“Of course.”
As if in response, somewhere in the distance, the sound of church bells carried over the water, ringing in midnight.
“It’s officially Christmas. Thank you for my presents. The paintings couldn’t be more perfect.”
“Ah, thank you,” I said, and I kissed her temple. “You made them perfect. But time with you, being in your presence, especially like this, is always the best gift.”
She sighed again, this time the sound one of agreement and content.
“Merry Christmas, my sweet Tristan,” she said softly.
“Merry Christmas, ma lykita.”
CHRISTMAS RECIPES
Were Brownies
Submitted by Kelly Victorine
This is for Tony, who just stuck with me. This recipe is my husband’s that he made when he was a child, and still makes today, so I thought it was something Tony would like.
Ingredients:
4 Eggs (slightly beaten)
1 cup Sugar
¾ cup Brown Sugar
2/3 cup Oil
½ cup Cocoa Powder
1 ½ cup Flour
½ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Water
2 tsp. Vanilla
1. Mix by hand in order given.
2. Bake in 10 x 13 greased pan at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes.
3. Cut while warm. Enjoy!
Vanessa’s Old Time Oyster Stew
Submitted by Wendy Jahnke
A favorite stew at Christmas time, so perfect for Vanessa’s Miracle story.
Ingredients:
1 gallon milk
¾ stick butter
½ tsp. pepper
2 small cans oysters
1. Pour milk and both cans of oysters into pot.
2. Once milk is warm, add butter and pepper. Stir until boiling.
3. Remove from heat and cover for 15 minutes.
Enjoy!
Vanessa’s Sweet as Blood Meatballs
Submitted by Heather Brandt
A delicious, blood-like sauce that Vanessa would love in Miracle.
Ingredients:
1 lb. uncooked ground beef
1 egg
1 ¼ cups bread crumbs
2 tsp. allspice
2 tsp. ground cloves
1 can pineapple chunks or rings
24-oz bottle ketchup
1 cup of brown sugar
2 large mixing bowls
1 cooking pan with lid
Cooking spray
1. In a mixing bowl, add ground beef, egg, allspice, ground cloves, breadcrumbs, and quarter of pineapple juice (save rest of pineapple juice for later). I usually mix by hand, but you may do this however you like. Add more breadcrumbs, if necessary, to make sure meat will stick together for meatballs.
2. After everything is mixed, spray pan with cooking spray. Make meatballs to desired sizes and cook on medium heat until outsides are completely brown.
3. While meatballs are cooking you will make the sauce. In another mixing bowl, pour the rest of the pineapple juice, brown sugar, and ketchup. Mix together and add brown sugar or ketchup as necessary to achieve your preferred sweetness in sauce.
4. Once meatballs are cooked on the outside, add sauce to pan and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, covered. This should cook the meatballs the rest of the way on the inside.
I normally serve this with beef rice, corn, and sweet Hawaiian rolls.
Snow Dusted Poffertjes (Tiny Pancakes)
Submitted by Jessie deSchepper
These are a yummy treat that are sold on street corners here in the Netherlands to warm you up during the Christmas season, or something lovely to come home to after a day of shopping. Dorian would love them.
Ingredients:
½ cup self-raising flour
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
salt
dairy butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla sugar
Icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1. Mix the flour, eggs, sugar, milk and a little salt to a smooth batter
2. Put the pancakes cast iron pan (poffertjespan) on the stove slowly, to warm up. If this is done too fast, the plate will not be uniformly heated, making for poor baking results.
3. When the pan reaches normal operating temperature, you place in each cup a little melted butter, then you can pour batter in it.
4. Bake the poffertjes until brown and then flip.
5. On each serving of about 10 pieces, add a knob of butter, and lay thick dust of icing sugar.
Vanessa’s Veggie Treat
Submitted by Debbie Poole (the faerie)
A vegetable side dish for a Christmas meal. This is an alternative to vegetables with a meal.
Ingredients:
Large cabbage leaves, green cabbage is best (2 per person)
Other vegetables you enjoy
1. If using carrots or sprouts, boil for 5 minutes first. I use parboiled carrots and sprouts with sweet corn in one parcel, and broccoli and cauliflower in the other. The choice is yours.
2. Put enough vegetables in each cabbage leaf to make a fat parcel without it splitting.
3. Fold in the top and bottom then the sides. Secure with cocktail sticks.
4. Steam the parcels for 7 minutes if you like your vegetables with a crunch, 10 minutes for softer veggies.
5. Remove the cocktail sticks and serve.
To make a little difference, you can add spices/herbs to the parcels before steaming. I have had them with curried sprouts. Very nice.
Blossom’s Magical Christmas Jam Pop Up’s
Submitted by Char Wilcoxson
These delicious flaky pastries have always been my favorite thing to look forward to at Christmas. My sister would always make sure to make plenty of apricot and raspberry filled ones just for me. I figured that since Blossom was the baker, these would be a fitting cookie for her to make for the family. They pop up like magical tasty treats!
Ingredients (can be doubled to make more):
1 cup real butter
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup sour cream
Favorite jams
1. Cut butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or two knifes. Add sour cream and mix.
2. Divide in half to form two balls. Wrap them in wax paper and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
3. Remove from wax paper and roll out one ball at a time onto a floured cutting board. Cut into circles. (If batter becomes too sticky, return to fridge to chill for a little bit). Place circles on cookie sheet.
4. Next ,cut more circles, only this time use something smaller to cut another circle within the circle to form a ring.
5. Mix 3 Tbsp. sugar and 1 Tbsp. water to make a sugar paste. Brush this paste onto the circles that are on the cookie sheet then place the ring on top. Put one spoonful of your favorite jam into the ring.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes then remove and let cool.
Owen’s Quick Farmhouse Fruit Cake
Submitted by Katherine Murphy
Ingredients:
8 oz self-raising flour
2 oz caster sugar
2 oz brown sugar
6 oz dried fruit
4 oz butter
2 eggs
6 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. mixed spice
Little extra sugar
1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Put into a cake tin and sprinkle with a little extra brown sugar (or white).
3. Pop in oven and cook till golden brown and when you poke in a knife it comes out clean.
Claire’s Wonderful Winter Christmas Cake
Submitted by Claire Downes
This is a super easy Christmas cake that has been used by my family for decades. It keeps Kath and Inga distracted, leaving me time to escape and create my own kind of havoc.
Ingredi
ents:
2 cups Self-Raising Flour
1 tsp. Mixed Spice
1 cup Margerine or butter
3 Tbsp. Brandy
2 cups Dark Muscavado Sugar
½ tsp. Vanilla essence
4 eggs
2 cups bag mixed dried fruit
2 cups glace Cherries
Grated rind of 1 orange
1 Tbsp. Syrup
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Sift the flour and spice into a large bowl. Add 1 Tbsp. brandy and all of the remaining ingredients.
2. Beat with a wooden spoon for 3–4 minutes. It helps the magic if you ask your Daemoni brethren to have a stir as well.
3. Spoon the mix into an 8-inch round, lined tin and spread level. Bake for 2-2 ½ hours.
4. Remove from oven when a stick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
5. Pour the rest of the brandy over the hot cake and leave to cool.
This cake will keep for up to 3 months, but never lasts that long! Ice when needed.
Claire and Tony’s Cuddle Up Anti-Christmas Casserole
Submitted by Claire Downes
Who has loads of time for cooking? I know we have far better things to do than spend hours stood at the stove. This spicy Christmassy casserole is perfect served in bowls with a big chunk of crusty bread, and guaranteed to satisfy the biggest bear’s appetite! Snuggle up and enjoy!
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Good quality beef, cut into large cubes (you can vary the amount depending on how many you want to feed)
2 Onions
3 cups mushrooms, cut in half
1 cup carrots, cubed
1 cup swede (rutabaga), cubed
A dash of Worcester Sauce
2 cups red wine
1 beef stock cube
1 Tbsp. English mustard powder
1 tsp. mixed herbs
2 Tbsp. Demerara (or brown) sugar
3 garlic cloves chopped
2 Tbsp. oil
Salt and pepper
2 red chiles
A handful of small potatoes, chopped in half
1. Coat the beef in the flour and some salt and pepper. Brown off in a pan with the oil.
2. Put beef and all the other ingredients in a crockpot/slow cooker or large casserole dish and cook on low for 8 hours. Use the 8 hours wisely, do something naughty!
3. Serve in bowls with a large dollop of horseradish sauce, English mustard, and a large chunk of bread on the side. Yummy. Curl up on the sofa with the man of your dreams and enjoy!
Claire’s Warlock Cookies
Submitted by Claire Downes
I know, cookies you ask. What is a powerful warlock doing baking cookies? Well, these are truly magical, and are bound to enchant anyone who tastes them. I’ve lost count of how many of these I’ve made. The smarties can be substituted with anything.
Ingredients:
½ cup butter
½ cup Light muscavado (or brown) sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup smarties (or any other sweets, chocolate, or dried fruit)
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat butter and sugar together then beat in syrup. Work in half of the flour.
3. Stir in the smarties/sweets/dried fruit and remaining flour.
4. Work together with your fingers.
5. Divide into 14 balls.
6. Place well apart on a lined baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.
7. Take out of oven and cool on a wire rack.
Blossom’s Sassy Spice Cookies
Submitted by Felicia Semmler
Soft gooey cookies that just warm the heart. They remind me of Blossom because she is always so sweet but has a spicy side that comes out. In Miracle, she was in the kitchen yet again.
Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ginger
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cups butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
3. Cream together butter and sugar then beat in egg and molasses until light and fluffy.
4. Stir in dry ingredients.
5. Shape into balls and roll in sugar.
6. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes or until done.
It Sucks To Be a Vampire Brownies
Submitted by Michele Luker
Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 box chocolate pudding
1 bag of Chocolate chips
1. Make the pudding as instructed on the pudding mix.
2. Add this and the dry cake mix together.
3. Add in the whole bag of chocolate chips.
4. Bake in a pan 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
That is it. Best brownies EVER.
Dingle–Barrys: Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Balls With a Kick
Submitted by Christina Silcox
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
6 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1. Mix peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, and cayenne pepper together in a large mixing bowl.
2. Form into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
3. Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour.
4. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler over medium heat.
5. Dip the chilled peanut butter balls completely into the melted chocolate, drain, and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet until chocolate hardens.
Pinwheel Cookies Recipe
Submitted by Zee Hayat
Ingredients:
½ cup or 100g Butter
½ cups or 100g Granulated sugar
2 Eggs beaten
1 Tbsp. of vanilla extract and banana extract
3 Tbsp. milk
2 cups Wheat flour (all-purpose flour)
¼ tsp. baking powder
4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 drops of any food coloring you want
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter and sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
2. Divide the Mixture in Step 1 above into 2 equal parts. Add the vanilla extract into one of the halves and maybe food color if you want. Mix thoroughly then gradually stir in 1 cup of the flour mixture until evenly blended. Mix into a semi-hard dough. Make sure the dough doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the cocoa powder and banana extract into the second half. Mix thoroughly, and add 1 cup of flour into the mix and make a semi-hard dough.
4. Place each dough in separate plastic bags and roll out.
5. Once rolled out individually, cut open the sides of the plastic bags with a scissors or knife and place the rolled out chocolate colored dough on top of the plain dough making sure they are perfectly aligned on all sides. Lightly press the dough on top so it aligns with the one at the bottom.
6. Beginning on one edge, gently roll the dough into a log, so the two colors spiral inside each other. Wrap in another bag and cool in a refrigerator for about 45 - 60 minutes.
7. After the 45 - 60 minutes is up, take the log out of the refrigerator and slice to about ¼ thickness with a sharp knife.
8. Lightly grease a baking sheet, and place the sliced pinwheel dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a oven for about 15 - 20 minutes.
9. Watch carefully to prevent edges from browning.
10. Remove from oven, and cool on racks.
Sheree’s People Chow
Submitted by Kristie Cook
My sister-in-law Sheree was the best at making sweet treats. She loved children, especially her own and her ni
eces and nephews, and enjoyed the smiles they gave her when she whipped up something yummy. She’s greatly missed, but she left me with many family-favorite recipes, including this one for what’s usually called Puppy Chow. Sheree the were-tiger has a big heart (just like her namesake) and would probably be happy to make treats for the wolves. However, I think she would more likely call this People Chow and make this for Dorian so he could have a snack with Sasha at Christmas time.
