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Easy holiday treats

© Lee Ward

A traditional Christmas becomes more and more difficult to pull off every year, because traditional means homemade where I come from.

Whether it's a meal or snacks for a party, a dish for an office potluck or food made to give as gifts, life keeps getting busier and busier as the year winds down, leaving little time for the niceties associated with the holidays.

Some people think of fruit cake and sugar cookies when they think of Christmas treats. Not me.

My Grandma Sayers' Date-filled Drop Cookies are my favorite sweet associated with Christmas. Grandma made the filling ahead of time (one batch of date, one of pineapple). Then when I was out of school for the holiday, I spent the days with her while Mom and Dad were at work; she made the buttery sweet batter (with a touch of cinnamon) and dropped it by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet. I followed with a smaller spoonful of filling, then we finished with a tiny dollop of batter to cap the cookies. They were delicious and different.

I still make the cookies, all by myself, but I have added other recipes to my repertoire of holiday must-haves. In some parts of Appalachia, I'm known for a red velvet cake, the recipe which my mother found in a women's magazine several years ago; others think with affection of my truffles, which I package in paper cups in boxes and give to the candy lovers on my list. Yet others get wide-eyed and hungry for a sweet snack mix I call "White Trash," which makes a beautiful holiday gift, especially when given in a beautiful tin or glass cookie jar.

Here, I'll share my recipes for all these. The best part is, not one item is difficult to prepare during this busy time of year.

Grandma Sayers' Date-filled Drop Cookies

1 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix shortening, sugar, eggs. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Sift together flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in dry ingredients. Drop with a teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheet. Place 1/2 teaspoon date filling (recipe follows) on dough. Top with 1/2 teaspoon dough. Bake 10-12 minutes. Makes 5-6 dozen.

Date Filling: Mix together:
2 cups chopped dates
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water. Cook until thick. Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts.

NOTE: If you want to try pineapple, just substitute pineapple for dates. You can use canned, drained pineapple, but you will need less sugar. Proceed according to taste.

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