Christmas 2022

Is it any wonder that many of our favorite holiday melodies make mention of food?

My happiest holiday memories almost always involve food and music. Special dishes take me back to a

specific season, holiday, or memory. Songs date-stamp a period of time and when I hear a certain tune

the melody ushers me back to a particular moment.

Sweets are always synonymous with the holiday seasons. Thanksgiving and Christmas have historically

been the busiest seasons for Honey Catering and Honey Cheesecakes. I love baking in a kitchen filled

with delicious smells and jolly Christmas music playing.

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” and “bring us some figgy pudding” are both lyrics including tasty-

sounding dishes from popular Christmas songs. Researching these Yuletide songs got my wheels turning

and my stomach growling. I set out to create some new recipes and share a treasured family favorite.

What is “figgy pudding” anyway? I turned to Pinterest, one of my favorite recipe and home project

resources for an explanation. I clicked on several recipes to confirm the ingredients of this often lauded,

but rarely experienced dessert. Most recipes include typical cake ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, and

baking powder laced with spices and diced bits of dried fruits such as figs, dates, and plums. The South’s

more familiar version would be a fruitcake. Similar to southern fruitcake, figgy pudding recipes do

include spirits such as rum or brandy. The pudding part comes into play as the recipe is typically

steamed for long periods of time instead of baked like a cake. My son’s girlfriend Ansley told me about a

fig cake her cousins from Texas shared on a recent trip to Georgia. Ansley’s mom requested the recipe

and was surprised to learn that particular recipe is TOP SECRET! This secrecy led me to create my own

recipe full of figs and spices.

Another spice-filled confection that reminds me of the holiday season are my grandma’s spice bars. My

grandma always kept some type of treat on the sideboard beside her dining room table. The buffet

often held Tupperware boxes filled with small bite-size snacks layered between crinkly pieces of waxed

paper. Cheese straws, fudge, iced brownies, and roasted pecans were sideboard staples, and as the

holidays arrived spice bars would grace the list. Most of us have the basic ingredients for these bars in

our pantry. Whip up a batch!

I like to take traditional recipes and create a “Southern” version of popular dishes using ingredients

synonymous with the South. I remember my mother making a special trip to Augusta to buy

mascarpone cheese and spongy Italian lady fingers to make Tiramisu for her friend group’s monthly

supper club. I replaced the traditional lady finger cookies with Pecan Sandies. The shortbread soaks up

the coffee and the addition of pecans is oh so Southern. The traditional rum or brandy is replaced with a

good Bourbon. The Pirouette cookies make a show stopping presentation fit for your holiday table and

the added crunch is perfection!

I hope this article leaves you with sugar plums dancing in your head and a twinkle in your eye! Happy

Holidays!

Spiced Fig Cake

2 c Cake Flour

1 c Sugar

½ c Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Ground Clove

1 tsp. Apple Pie Spice

1 c Oil

1 c Buttermilk

1 c Fig Preserves

3 Eggs

1 Tbs. Bourbon Vanilla

⅓ c Powdered Sugar (for garnish)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

Place all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour

into the prepared bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.. Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes.

Turn onto a cake plate. Top with powdered sugar.

Southern Tiramisu

4 c Heavy Whipping Cream

8 ounce Cream Cheese

1 c Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 c Strong Coffee (chilled)

3 Tbs. Good Bourbon

1 package Pecan Sandies

4 12oz packages Pirouette Cookies

Cocoa powder for dusting the top

Add whipping cream and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat on medium

speed. Slowly add vanilla and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

Remove 2 cups of whipped cream and set aside for topping. Add

softened cream cheese to remaining whipped cream and mix just until

combined. Set aside.

Line Springform pan sides with pirouette cookies. You can break some

of the cookies for varying heights. The pirouette cookies have a

tendency to fall over. As you line the sides with pirouette cookies use

the coffee soaked pecan sandies to hold the pirouettes in place.

Add coffee and bourbon to a shallow bowl. Dip the pecan sandies in the

coffee (Don't soak them--just quickly dip them on both sides to get them

wet) and lay them in a single layer on the bottom of the springform pan.

Smooth half of the cream cheese mixture over the top. Add another

layer of dipped cookies. Smooth remaining cream cheese mixture over

the top. Add another layer of coffee soaked cookies.Top with reserved

whipped cream.

Dust cocoa powder generously over the top (I use a fine mesh strainer

to do this). Save broken pirouette cookies for garnish. Refrigerate for at

least 3-4 hours or up to overnight before serving.

Grandma’s Spice Bars

1 c Sugar

3/4 c Oil

1/4 c Honey (Vanilla Bean Bear Hug Honey)

1 large Egg

2 c All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Salt

1 c Pecans chopped

Glaze:

1 c Powdered Sugar

2 Tbs. Mayonnaise

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Tbs Honey

1-2 Tbs Water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place all bar ingredients in a bowl and mix until just combined. Pour