FReeper Canteen ~ Favorite Christmas Treats ~ 23 DEC 2008

Serving The Best Troops And Veterans In The World | The Canteen Crew

[laurenmarlowe]

 

 

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~

Favorite Christmas Treats

Gingerbread has been baked in Europe for centuries. In some places, it was a soft, delicately spiced cake; in others, a crisp, flat cookie, and in others, warm, thick, steamy-dark squares of "bread," sometimes served with a pitcher of lemon sauce or whipped cream. It was sometimes light, sometimes dark, sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, but it was almost always cut into shapes such as men, women, stars or animals, and colorfully decorated or stamped with a mold and dusted with white sugar to make the impression visible.

During the nineteenth century, gingerbread was both modernized and romanticized. When the Grimm brothers collected volumes of German fairy tales they found one about Hansel and Gretel, two children who, abandoned in the woods by destitute parents, discovered a house made of bread, cake and candies. By the end of the century the composer Englebert Humperdink wrote an opera about the boy and the girl and the gingerbread house.

Cookies appear to have their origins in 7th century AD Persia, shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region. By the 14th century, they were common in all levels of society, throughout Europe, from royal cuisine to street vendors.

With global travel becoming widespread at that time, cookies made a natural travel companion, a modernized equivalent of the travel cakes used throughout history. One of the most popular early cookies, which travelled especially well and became known on every continent by similar names, was the jumble, a relatively hard cookie made largely from nuts, sweetener, and water.

Cookies came to America in the very first century of English settlement (the 1600s), although the name "koekje" arrived slightly later, with the Dutch. This became Anglicized to "cookie". Among the popular early American cookies were the macaroon, gingerbread cookies, and of course jumbles of various types.

The most common modern cookie, given its style by the creaming of butter and sugar, was not common until the 18th century.

The earliest Fruitcake recipe from ancient Rome lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash.

In the Middle Ages, honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added and the name "fruitcake" was first used, from a combination of the words "fruit" (Latin: fructus, Old French: frui), and "cake" (Old Norse: kaka, Middle English: kechel).

Fruitcakes soon proliferated all over Europe, however recipes varied greatly in different countries and throughout the ages, depending on the available ingredients as well as in some instances on church regulations of the use of butter, regarding the observance of fast (e.g. "Butterbrief" or butter letter by Pope Innocent VIII). Pope Innocent VIII, (1432 – 1492), the Holy Father softened his attitude and in 1490, he sent a permision known as the “Butter Letter” to Saxony, stating that milk and butter could be used in the North German Stollen fruitcakes.

Starting in the 16th century, sugar from the American Colonies, and the discovery that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits, created an excess of candied fruit, thus making fruitcakes more affordable and popular.

In the 18th century in some areas in Europe, fruitcakes were made using nuts from the harvest for good luck in the following year. The cake was then saved and eaten before the harvest of the next year.

What is your favorite Christmas Treat?

Merry Christmas!

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT~Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allies military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before. 

Please remember: The Canteen is a place to honor and entertain our troops. The Canteen is family friendly. Let's have fun!

We pray for your continued strength, to be strong in the face of adversity.

We pray for your safety, that you will return to your families and friends soon.

We pray that your hope, courage, and dignity remain unbroken, so that you may show others the way.

God Bless You All ~ Today, Tomorrow and Always

 

 

[Drumbo]

Yummy

[ConorMacNessa]

Happy Christmas 2008!

May the blessings of Christmas fall upon you and remain through the New Year.

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[amom]

I feel claustrophobia coming on....it’s tight in the tank.

Tight indeed. It's hard for me to imagine... 8^D

[laurenmarlowe]

Merry Christmas to you!

Great e-card, know a few folks that will really enjoy that. Thank you!

[MHGinTN]

Yeah! Buckeyes! I love ‘um. Have you ever made them with a touch of Frangelica in the peanut butter mix?

[laurenmarlowe]

Howdy Jinxie! *HUGS* Been missing you!
Merry Christmas to you and your family!

You get the "real thing" and I am sooooooooo jealous! :o)

[HiJinx]

Ah, now, that’s not right. No need to be jealous...we’ll have to figure out a way to treat you guys to one of her Italian dinners.

I think we’re headed for East Texas for Thanksgiving next year. We’ve already started saving for air fare.

[laurenmarlowe]

Thanks for sharing your memories, and your cooking skills!

We are “picture crazy” here in the Canteen!

[laurenmarlowe]

Howdy mware, it’s great to see you this evening!

Awesome pics! :o)

My kiddos used to love those donuts, with a little powdered sugar on top. Very cool!

[luvie]

Favorite Christmas treat?

NOT fruitcake! LOL!

....but I DO love cookies! :D

[laurenmarlowe]

Now that sounds just down-right decadent!

May have to run out and get those ingredients tomorrow, seriously. I’ll let ya know how they turn out! :o)

[luvie]

Homemade doughnuts? mmmmmmm!

No peeps? ;D

[ConorMacNessa]

Hi Luv! Merry Christmas!

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[MHGinTN]

Here's an easy 'cheesecake' recipe for ya.

Use a graham cracker crust, no bake and put it in the freezer. Mix two Instant pudding 'White chocolate cheesecake' mixes with three cups of thick vanilla yogurt. Pour the pudding mix in the crust and return to the fridge. Top with cherry pie filling just before serving. Always tastes best if made up a day before cutting it. You can make the thing by folding the cherry pie filling in with the puddings if you reduce the yogurt to two and 1/2 cups and half can of cherry pie filling. Use other half can of pie filling on top when serving.

[laurenmarlowe]

What a treat to get to have an authentic Nana dinner! I’ll pay. :o)

I do hope you get out this way next year, would love another visit!

[Aliska]

I'll have to find a recipe for pb fudge using marshmallow, found a nice one for saucepan blonde brownies I want to try. Maybe you could sell that stuff and the topping. I make this chocolate fudge that is warm and thickens when it hits the ice cream, have to get it just right.

Now you would have to mention homemade ice cream! I don't have a freezer for it any more, but it was a staple at family gatherings. My job used to be to hand crank that thing! But I never minded because I got to lick the beaters B4 it melted. Now the wooden ones are so expensive.

Then you top it off by mentioning watermelon. We always had that, too, outside. To me they aren't as good any more, but I still eat them. They had to go muck up the seeds. First they changed the corn so you can't find yellow sweet corn at farmer's markets, now we used to get huge Muscatine watermelons. They had a meatier texture, were very sweet, and you had to spit out the huge seeds (part of the fun!). They were solid green. I looked for some heirloom seeds for those melons but not sure I found the right kind. When you got just the right one with a thicker rind, my mom and aunt and then I made watermelon pickles out of it, special recipe for those :-). But I'd share it if I can find it.

I make that red velvet cake but don't use the flour icing, just make a buttercream one. Then my mother used to make lots of stuff with baked meringue, baked Alaska, angel pie (lemon mixed w/whip cream), and flat sheets of it 3 layers from a jelly roll pan. Then she used to put stuff between the layers. My favorite was whip cream with broken up toffee bars. Skor are the best now.

My mother was a terrific cook, but over the years, I've learned how to make some good food she never did. Oh my, this is what happens when I start trippin' down memory lane!

[SandRat]

Oh Mrs.SR........... I got a surprise for youuuuuuuuu......

[luvie]

Those look like the mixed nuts that I buy at Sam’s! LOL!

I eat a few of them every day! (not crazy about the hazelnuts. :D)

[laurenmarlowe]

Howdy LUV! *HUGS* It’s great to see you. Hanging in there?

Those are beautiful cookies!

Wish I could stay and chat more, big silly meeting tomorrow, and I need to be on my toes, LOL!

Y’all have a great day, and I’ll see ya tomorrow!

[Aliska]

Well, I can’t find the double chocolate cookie recipe & photo I found the other day. Drat. And I bought some molasses cookies at the store the other night, they are on the receipt, but I can’t find them. Double drat.