The staff of The Winona Times and The Conservative shared a few of their favorite holiday recipes.
Enjoy!
German Chocolate Cake
1 pkg. (4 oz.) Baker’s German Chocolate
1/2 cup water
4 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
Instructions
Heat oven to 350°F.
Cover bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round pans with parchment; spray sides with cooking spray. Microwave chocolate and water in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
Beat egg whites in small bowl with mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form; set aside. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition.
Add egg whites; stir gently until well blended. Pour into prepared pans.
Bake 30 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Immediately run small spatula around cakes in pans. Cool cakes in pans 15 min. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely.
Prepare Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting; spread between cake layers and onto top of cake.
Monkey Bread
3 (8 ounce) packages of buttermilk biscuit tubes
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Instructions
Prepare Bundt pan by heavily greasing with butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut each biscuit into four equal sized pieces.
Combine 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a bowl or plastic bag. Drop roll the pieces of dough in the sugar cinnamon mixture and gently arrange them into the prepared Bundt pan.
In a small sauce pan, combine 1/2 cup of the remaining sugar cinnamon mixture with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup butter. Bring mixture just to a boil and then immediately remove from heat. Carefully drizzle the mixture over the rolled dough balls in the Bundt pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Allow pan to rest for about 5 minutes, then cover with a large plate and invert bread. To eat, pull desired amount off with your fingers and enjoy the gooey sweet sinful treat.
Lemon Icebox Pie
For the crust:
14 whole graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm
For the filling:
2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
1 1/4 cups strained lemon juice (from the 2 zested lemons below plus an additional 4–6)
Zest of 2 lemons
8 large egg yolks
To make the crust:
Heat the oven to 325°F. Break the graham crackers into small pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor along with the sugar and salt. Pulse 8 times, until the cracker crumbs are semi-fine (they shouldn't be powdery but not in large shards either) and the crackers and sugar are combined. Pour in the butter and pulse until the butter is blended in and the mixture isn't crumbly and holds its shape when you squeeze it, about twelve 1-second pulses. Transfer the crust to a 9-inch springform pan and push and press the crumb mixture into the bottom and two-thirds of the way up the sides of the pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crust into place. Set aside.
To make the filling:
Whisk the condensed milk with the lemon juice and set aside. Whisk the zest with the egg yolks in a medium bowl until pale, 30 to 60 seconds, and then whisk in the lemon juice-condensed milk mixture.
Place the springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet, pour the mixture into the crust, and carefully transfer the baking sheet to the oven. Bake until the center jiggles slightly, like a soft-setting custard, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 1 hour on a cooling rack. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap (be careful not to let the plastic wrap touch the top of the pie) and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
