Our family-favorite recipes for holiday gatherings.

Some old-fashioned cheer from the Window World of Athens family to you.

The holiday season is one of new beginnings, old friendships, and nostalgia for the good old days. The sight of Christmas lights, sound of favorite carols and songs, and scent of something delicious cooking in the kitchen put us in a festive mood at Window World of Athens.

To share the fun and to say thank you for your friendship, we thought we’d share a few of our family’s favorite recipes for holiday nibbling — a couple sweet, a couple savory. You may notice some added advice handed down through generations. (We’ve made these a time or two.)

Pecan Puffs

Easy to prepare and melt-in-your-mouth good. Is that a little powdered sugar on your chin?

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine (do not use “spread” Butter be better!!!)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla (a little more is okay)
• 2 cups ground pecans
• 2 cups flour (all-purpose Gold Medal)
• Powdered sugar (separate)

Steps

1. Cream butter, add sugar, stir in flour and nuts.
2. Mix thoroughly. Roll into balls and place on greased baking sheet.
3. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.
4. Roll cookies in powdered sugar while hot.
5. Yield: 64 cookies

12/19/19 recipe update note: White Lilly Flour makes them lighter. They roll ugly, but taste better. (Add a little extra flour.)

Icebox Cookies

It’s a good idea to keep a roll or two of this dough in the freezer to slice off a few whenever the mood strikes. That is, if your family can keep from eating it all up at once.

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 sticks butter or margarine (room temperature)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans

Steps

1. Cream well butter, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, and eggs
2. Add flour, stir well
3. Add pecans, stir well
4. Roll into a long log, wrap in wax paper, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Or freeze for later.
5. Slice log into 1/2-inch cookies
6. Bake at 425 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet immediately.

Fruitcake Cookies

What’s better than traditional fruitcake during the holidays? These wonderful cookies. Easier to make. Even easier to enjoy.

Ingredients

• ½ cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup buttermilk or sour milk
• 2 cups plain flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup chopped pecans (save some pecan halves to top cookies)
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup candied cherries, cut in fourths (save extras cherry halves to top cookies)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Steps

1. Mix shortening, brown sugar, and egg well.
2. Add buttermilk.
3. Sift together dry ingredients and add to shortening mixture a little at a time.
4. Mix in pecans, dates, and candied cherries.
5. Chill dough for 1 hour.
6. Drop teaspoon-size cookies 2 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheet.
7. Top each cookie with a pecan or half of a candied cherry.
8. Bake at 400 degrees 10 – 20 minutes.
9. Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Sausage Balls

Yummy with drinks at any gathering. Just enough spice and creamy cheddar. Make ahead and freeze a few so you’re always ready when family and friends drop by.

Ingredients

• 3 cups Bisquick
• 1 pound hot sausage
• 10 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese (Try jalapeno palmetto cheese spread for an extra kick)

Steps

1. Mix together and roll into one-inch balls.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

We, at Window World of Athens, wish you a happy and healthy holiday season with family and friends. Here’s hoping our paths cross in the new year.