Wacky Anne's Christmas Kitchen: Puddings and Pastry

Christmas Pudding

2 cups pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups raisins
16 oz whole candied cherries
16 oz cut mixed peel
1-1/2 cups currants
2 cups chopped suet (1/2 lb)
2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup molasses
2 cups fine dry bread crumbs
2 cups buttermilk OR sour milk
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds

Grease one 2-quart or two 1-quart pudding moulds. Sift or blend flour, baking soda and cinnamon together. Combine the fruit, sprinkling with 1/2 cup flour mixture. Beat together suet, sugar, eggs and molasses. Combine remaining flour mixture with bread crumbs. Add dry ingredients to suet mixture alternating with buttermilk. Stir in floured fruit along with the almonds. Turn batter into prepared mould. Cover with wax paper and foil and tie tightly. Steam for 3 to 4 hours. Turn out of moulds immediately and allow to cool. To reheat for serving, return to mould, cover as before, and steam 1-1/2 hours.

Hastie Pudding

1/2 pint heavy cream
3 oz bread in small pieces
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 crushed clove
1/4 tsp ground mace
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp flour
2 oz butter
1 egg
1 egg white, beaten
1 tbsp sugar

Put cream, bread, spices and flour in a saucepan; boil. Add butter, beat in the egg and egg white, and sugar. Boil again; take off heat almost immediately. Place in dish, and place under grill to brown.

Plum Pudding

The first plum puddings were made around 1670. They were a stiffened form of the earlier plum porridge. Plum puddings do not contain any plums. To the early mild porridge were added lumps of meat, dried fruits such as raisins and currants, rum and brandy, butter, sugar, eggs and many spices. They were made in large copper kettles and prepared several weeks before Christmas. The making of the pudding was attended by the entire household and each family member took turns at stirring the thick steaming stew and each made a wish. A coin, a thimble, a button and a ring were mixed into the pudding. Later when it was eaten, each object would have significance for the finder. The coin would mean wealth in the new year, the button meant bachelorhood, the thimble spinsterhood and the ring was marriage.

3 eggs
1/2 lb raisins
1/2 lb currants
2 oz chopped citron
4 cups flour (1 lb)
2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 lb sugar
1/2 lb suet, chopped fine
milk, enough for stiff batter

Separate egg yolks and whites. Dredge fruit with flour. Combine all dry ingredients. Add yolks, mix thoroughly; then add enough milk for stiff batter. Fold in beaten whites. Pour into thickly floured square of unbleached cotton cloth, tie securely, leaving some space for pudding to swell, and plunge into boiling water. Boil gently for five hours. Use drawn butter and sweet sauce of your choice.

Risgrynsgröt

(Rice Pudding) Serves 4 to 6

3 cups water
1-1/2 cups arborio or other short-grained rice
2-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp cinnamon, optional
1 tbsp brown or raw sugar

Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add rice. Stir once, cover. Turn heat down to lowest setting and simmer 20 minutes without removing cover.

When rice is done, stir in the milk and cream over low heat, adding more liquid if necessary to reach creamy consistency. Remove from heat.

Let rest for about an hour, preferably on a thick wooden cutting board. Pour into serving bowl, sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar in a cross-hatch pattern on top, serve immediately or refrigerate until serving time.

Pastry for Two-Crust Pie

Makes one 8-9" two crust, two 8-9" one crust, or ten tarts

2-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup shortening
1/3 cup cold water

In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, salt and shortening. Cut shortening into flour with a pastry blender or two knives until it resembles corn meal. Sprinkle in water, 1 tbsp at a time, and toss until all particles stick together. Form into two (2) balls. Wrap in waxed paper and chill.

Cranberry Cider Pie

Serves 8.

1 recipe Pastry for Two-Crust Pie
1 cup apple cider
2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
5 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 cups cranberries
1 tbsp brandy (optional)

Prepare the Pastry for Two-Crust Pie, divide in two, and cool in refrigerator. Boil cider over high heat and reduce to a 1/2 cup. Combine and stir in the sugar, flour, and salt and mix well. Add cranberries and blend in brandy, if used; cool.Bake in a preheated 425°F oven until crust is golden, about 30 minutes. Roll out remainder of dough 1/8" thick and cut into any desired shapes, such as bells, Christmas trees, or stars. Place cutouts on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake until golden. Arrange on top of the baked pie before serving.

Mincemeat Pie

Serves 8.

1 recipe Pastry for Two-Crust Pie
2-9oz. pkg. NONE SUCH condensed Minced Meat, crumbled
3 cups water
1 egg yolk plus 2 tbsp. water, opt.

Prepare the Pastry for Two-Crust Pie, divide in two, and cool in refrigerator. Place rack in lower half of oven. In sauce pan, combine mince meat and water; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Cool, and pour into a 9-inch pie pan lined with half the pastry. Cover with top crust; cut slits near center. Seal and flute. For a more golden crust, mix egg yolk and water, brush over entire surface of pie. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven until crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly. Garnish as desired.

My Christmas Kitchen: Christmas Recipes

Christmas Puddings and Pastry

Christmas Pudding

Hastie Pudding

Plum Pudding

Risgrynsgröt

Pastry for Two-Crust Pie

Cranberry Cider Pie

Mincemeat Pie