Fix-It and Forget-It Christmas Cookbook (120 page)

Holiday Cherry Cobbler

Colleen Heatwole

Burton, MI

Makes 5-6 servings

Prep. Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 2½-3½ hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.

16-oz. can cherry filling (light
or
regular)

1 pkg. cake mix for 1 layer white,
or
yellow, cake

1 egg

3 Tbsp. evaporated milk

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ cup walnuts, chopped

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.

2. Spread pie filling in bottom of cooker.

3. Cover. Cook on High 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized mixing bowl mix together cake mix, egg, evaporated milk, cinnamon, and walnuts.

5. Spoon over hot pie filling. Do not stir.

6. Cover. Cook on Low 2-3 hours, or until toothpick inserted in cake layer comes out clean.

Use a special holiday kitchen tool. I use my grandmother’s 100-year-old tin cookie cutters to make sugar cookies from her recipe box. The angel and lady cutters are my favorite. They make the best “dunking” shapes.

Susan J. Heil, Strasburg, PA

Gingerbread Pudding Cake

Katrina Eberly

Wernersville, PA

Makes 6-8 servings

Prep. Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 2-2½ hours

Standing Time: 15 minutes

Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.

half a stick (4 Tbsp.) butter, softened

¼ cup sugar

1 egg white

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup molasses

1 cup water

1¼ cups flour

¾ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground allspice

⅛ tsp. ground nutmeg

½ cup chopped pecans

6 Tbsp. brown sugar

Topping:

¾ cup hot water

5⅔ Tbsp. (⅓ cup) butter, melted

1. Spray interior of slow cooker with cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream 4 Tbsp. butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg white and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl, combine molasses and water until blended.

4. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and spices. Add to creamed mixture alternately with molasses mixture, beating well after each addition.

5. Fold in pecans. Spoon into slow cooker. Sprinkle with brown sugar

6. In a small bowl, combine hot water and 5⅔ Tbsp. butter. Pour over batter. Do
not
stir.

7. Cover. Cook on High 2-2½ hours, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

8. Turn off cooker. Let stand 15 minutes. Serve cake warm.

Note from Tester:

I used blackstrap molasses, and the flavor didn’t overpower the cake.

At the end of our Christmas meal we serve chocolate cake. I write “Happy Birthday, Jesus” on it in yellow frosting. I use extra frosting to make a hay bed for a small baby figurine to rest on. We have one candle for each grandchild to blow out after we sing Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus. Usually amid laughter, we relight some accidentally blown-out candles.

Anne Townsend, Albuquerque, NM

Christmas Apple Date Pudding

Colleen Heatwole

Burton, MI

Makes 8 servings

Prep. Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 3-4 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 2-qt.

4-5 apples, peeled, cored, and diced

½ cup sugar

½ cup chopped dates

½ cup toasted, chopped pecans

1 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

⅛ tsp. salt

½ tsp. cinnamon

2 Tbsp. melted butter

1 beaten egg

1. In a greased slow cooker, mix together apples, sugar, dates, and pecans.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir into apple mixture.

3. Drizzle melted butter over batter and stir.

4. Stir in egg.

5. Cover. Cook on Low 3-4 hours. Serve warm.

Date and Nut Loaf

Jean Butzer

Batavia, NY

Makes 16 servings

Prep. Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 3½-4 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: large enough to hold 2 coffee cans, or your baking insert

1½ cups boiling water

1½ cups chopped dates

1¼ cups sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 Tbsp. melted butter

2½ cups flour

1 cup walnuts, chopped

2 cups hot water

1. In a large mixing bowl, pour 1½ cups boiling water over dates. Let stand 5-10 minutes.

2. Stir in sugar, egg, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and butter.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour and nuts. Stir into date mixture and combine well.

4. Pour into 2 greased 11½-oz. coffee cans, or one 8-cup baking insert.

5. If using coffee cans, cover with foil and tie securely with kitchen twine. If using baking insert, cover with its lid.

6. Place cans or insert on rack in slow cooker. (If you don’t have a rack, use rubber jar rings instead.)

7. Pour 2 cups hot water around cans or insert, up to half their/its height.

8. Cover slow cooker tightly. Cook on High 3½-4 hours. Insert toothpick into loaves of bread to see if it comes out clean. If it does, the bread is finished. If it doesn’t, allow to cook 30 more minutes. Check again to see if bread is done. If not, continue cooking in 30-minute intervals.

9. When bread is finished, remove cans or insert from cooker. Let bread stand in coffee cans or baking insert for 10 minutes. Turn out onto cooling rack.

10. When thoroughly cooled, slice. Spread with butter, cream cheese, or peanut butter.

Banana Loaf

Sue Hamilton
, Minooka, IL

Makes 6-8 servings

Prep. Time: 5-10 minutes • Cooking Time: 2-2½ hours

Ideal slow cooker size: large enough to hold 2-lb. coffee can upright, or a baking insert

3 very ripe bananas

1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda