Recipes

An Economical Yet Tasteful Way To Make The Most Of The Holidays

Posted: 12/3/2010

(NAPSI) - The state of the economy doesn’t have to leave you feeling like Ebenezer Scrooge this holiday season. Instead, you can celebrate with the warm and delicious tradition of giving gifts of great food to friends, family and guests.

For example, consider a Christmas pudding Mrs. Cratchet would have been proud to serve. It’s been not only a highlight of holiday meals for centuries, but it can also be very economical. The pudding is generally prepared using breadcrumbs, raisins and other fruits and spices available around the house.

Given the investment many holiday bakers make in ingredients, such as nuts and dried fruits, it’s usually wise to invest in fresh ingredients to help your holiday treats turn out as intended.

April Osburn, Culinary Classroom Manager for Clabber Girl, stresses that using outdated or near-date ingredients in your recipe can dramatically affect the finished product. “The holiday season is a time when you are baking to impress, and time, as well as money, is at a premium. The last thing you want to do is let an expired ingredient cause your recipe to fail. Using old baking powder can make your baked item flop. Not only is the rise of the product affected, but using old ingredients can compromise taste and the integrity of your baked goods.”

It’s important to be sure all your ingredients are fresh, especially baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, flour and spices. Replace any that are a year old or more. If in doubt, start anew and date each item to be sure you’ll know each time you bake.

This holiday season, impress everyone with the Christmas pudding that can make a great addition to a neighborhood cookie exchange, a visit with family or as dessert for your own holiday dinner.

Christmas Pudding

2½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon Clabber Girl Baking Powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cloves

1 cup milk

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1½ cups raisins

½ cup currants

⅓ cup chopped citron

1 cup packed brown sugar

¾ cup margarine, softened

2 eggs

Mix and sift dry ingredients. Add fruits and stir until they are well coated. In a separate bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and add flour/fruit mixture alternately with milk. Mix well. Turn into greased 1½ quart mold. Cover and steam 2 hours. (To steam, set mold on a rack in large kettle/saucepan. Keep boiling water to half the depth of the mold, adding water during steaming process when necessary.)

Makes 8 servings.

Learn More

You can find more recipes and food ideas at www.clabbergirl.com.

For a taste of tradition, serve or give an elegant Christmas Pudding during the holidays. It could make your get-togethers more fun than the Fezziwig’s ball.