Eggnog Custard Pie for a Merry, Mary Christmas!

Christmas is here, and I'm sure you're feeling that panic of having too much to do, still, in too little time. Have no fear - I'm here to help! This is an easy but festive dessert, and you can even cheat by using a prepared pie crust to make your life a bit less stressful. The rich, luxurious filling more than compensates for it. And really - those who would judge you for being efficient deserve to have found coal in their stockings this morning!

This takes about 5 minutes of prep, followed by an hour of baking while you putter around wrapping gifts or brushing up the crumbs that Santa left or shoving clutter under the bed before guests arrive. And your house will smell of holiday happiness at the same time.

I want to wish every one of you a joyous Christmas filled with love and abundant blessings!

Look for my annual Top 10 (and more!) list next week ....


Eggnog Custard Pie
(modified from the recipe for Velvet Custard Pie in Marcia Adams' Cooking From Quilt Country)

1 9" prepared deep dish pie crust in a pie tin
2 cups eggnog
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
pinch of kosher salt
pinch of nutmeg
whipped cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350F. Place the pie crust onto a baking sheet, to catch any drips.

In a medium saucepan, scald the eggnog over medium heat just 'til it starts to form a film.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, extract, and salt. Slowly whisk in the eggnog, then pour the custard into the prepared pie crust. Sprinkle top of pie with a pinch of nutmeg.

Bake for 1 hour until the filling has puffed up a bit and wiggles slightly when jostled gently; it will deflate as it cools. Let cool completely to set (so it slices beautifully), then refrigerate. Serve chilled with whipped cream.

Makes 8-10 slices.

Bacon-Filled Cinnamon Rolls + Giveaway Winner

First things first: I was giving away a $75 Whole Foods gift card last week, and had lots of friends hoping they'd be chosen. But there could only be one ... oh, if only I were Santa and could generate bunches of 'em! But instead, I went to Random.org to generate a winner, and here are the results (with apologies for it not formatting properly, techno-dolt that I sometimes am, such that I simply had to type in the information):

True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 55
Result: 4
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

MAZAL TOV to Nikki K.!!! Put the card to good use and be sure to tell me about the fabulous dishes you cook with the goodies you buy!

Okay, now on to the food ... :)

My friend Beth frequently sends me recipe ideas, and they always seem to include bacon. Considering that we work together at a synagogue, this is fairly amusing to us! You hire shiksas, and look what happens ... oy!

So, Beth recently sent me an idea she'd found online in which a commercially-prepared refrigerated cinnamon roll dough is unrolled, a strip of bacon is laid over it, and the entire thing is wrapped up again into a spiral and baked into salty-sweet, pork-filled goodness. We drooled over our keyboards.

But as I thought about it, I thought the strip of bacon might not cook fully since it was buried in the dough; and as it cooked, to whatever degree of done-ness, it would ooze bacon fat and possibly make the cinnamon rolls soggy. So, I took the inspiration and I tweaked it a bit. I pre-cooked the bacon 'til crispy, rolled the crumbles into the dough, then baked away. The fragrance in the kitchen was astounding!

And so, for a Christmas breakfast, a weekend brunch, or "just 'cause," I give you Bacon-Filled Cinnamon Rolls - ridiculously easy to make and worth far more than their weight in gold. How can you not love a 2-ingredient recipe at this busy time, especially when it includes BACON???


Bacon-Filled Cinnamon Rolls

1 12.4-ounce can refrigerated cinnamon rolls
4 strips of bacon

Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease an 8"-round baking pan.

Open the can of dough and reserve the icing. Unroll the dough and lay it onto a countertop or cutting board.

Cook the bacon until crisp, then chop it into crumbles. Sprinkle the crumbles over the cinnamon roll dough, then roll each strip into a spiral and place it into the baking pan.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the cinnamon rolls are golden. Remove from the pan and let cool a bit, then drizzle with the reserved icing.

Makes 8 bacon-filled cinnamon rolls.

Christmas Eve Pork Pie

I'm a mutt: Austrian and Irish on my father's side, and Scottish, French and Canadian on my mother's.

Sometimes I think I must be related to half of Canada. My maternal grandfather's family can be traced to the late 17th century, when the first ancestor left France and set foot on this side of the Atlantic. For generation after generation, it shows that virtually every surviving male married, fathered perhaps 16 children, remarried after his wife died, and had another 13 or so children with his second wife. I violated the tradition by having only one child!

But I continue the French Canadian tradition of serving pork pie - known as Tourtière [tohr-tee-AIR] - on Christmas Eve.

Yes, I also eat Chinese food on Christmas Eve like every good Jewish person who's not celebrating the big holiday (even though I do still put up a tree and exchange gifts with loved ones). But everyone knows I'm always here for the food; enjoying two wildly different cuisines just makes things more fun!

This is not a family recipe handed down through the decades, but rather one I've cobbled together myself. My mother's version had great flavor; but the meat was very loose and fell out of the crust, which is typical of every other recipe I've seen for this classic dish. So in addition to tweaking the filling by combining both pork and sausage, I've also added egg to bind everything together.

I'm sharing this with you a bit early because you need to make the filling and chill it before placing it into the pie crust and baking it. According to lore, wives' tales, or whatever else you'd like to call it, the pie is also best if made, frozen, and then reheated. I'm not usually efficient enough to do that, and this pork pie is still a family favorite ... start your preparations a day ahead, serve it for Christmas Eve, and you'll love it anyway!

Tourtière (French Canadian Pork Pie)

1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
1 pound ground pork
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Spike Salt-Free All-Purpose Gourmet Natural Seasoning (a lovely marketing gift) or Mrs. Dash
2 large bay leaves
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 pie crusts (for a double-crust pie)
2 eggs
1 egg yolk + 2 tablespoons water

In a large saucepan, combine the sausage and the pork; brown the meat, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the onion, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and seasoning; cook until the onion is translucent, stirring frequently. Add the bay leaves and the chicken stock; bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed. Place filling into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until cold.

Preheat oven to 425F. Roll out one crust and place it into a 9" pie dish.

Stir the 2 eggs into the pork filling, then spoon filling into the pie dish. Cover with the remaining crust, crimp edges, and cut slits into the top.

Beat the egg yolk with the water and brush the egg wash over the pie.

Bake for 10 minutes, then lower heat to 350F. Bake for 40-45 more minutes until the pie is golden. Let the pie rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Makes 8 servings.

Cookie Week: Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

I adore orange marmalade! The sweet-tart combination, the texture, the gorgeous color ... I love all of it.

I have two favorite ways to eat marmalade:

1) With peanut butter in a PB&J, which my friend Susie recently served to me in charming finger sandwiches at afternoon tea without even knowing how much I love this combination!

2) In these cookies, where the flavors of the orange and the chocolate chips marry to form a perfect union.

With only a few basic ingredients, these cookies can be mixed, baked, and ready to give or serve with virtually no notice. But they're so delicious and fragrant, with their amazing citrus aroma, that they seem very sophisticated even though they're so simple.

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
6 tablespoons orange marmalade
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet

In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar and egg; stir in marmalade, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the flour and the chocolate chips.

Drop batter by measuring tablespoons onto the baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden on the edges. Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Makes 48 cookies.

Don't forget these oldies but goodies - they're fabulous!

Ginger Shortbread Cookies

Holiday M&M Cookies

Cookie Week: Toasted Coconut Haystacks

This is one of those old-fashioned recipes that everyone in the Midwest seems to have some variation of. I had never seen them, though, until I moved to Michigan in 1978. Having grown up in New York City with a Canadian mother and a father whose own mother had emigrated from Ireland, my family didn't have this recipe.

But my ex-husband's did.

Stuart's Great-Aunt Ina created the cherished instructions for making Haystacks - a chocolatey coconut-oat no-bake cookie. She passed the recipe down, and now it is a favorite for a fourth generation. Jeremy could truly devour an entire batch of these when I make them.

Haystacks are ridiculously easy to make, as the most difficult step is merely waiting for them to cool and set. They're a great treat to give as holiday gifts, or to make when you're given last minute notice of bake sales. Butter, sugar, cocoa powder ... two minutes of stirring ... that's it!

Jeremy and Stuart are purists who never want to change anything; they want the same meals served at holidays, the same graham cracker crust at the base of their cheesecake, the same version of Haystacks that they've eaten all their lives.

I, however, like to tweak things a bit.

So I toasted the coconut rather than just stirring it in "as is." And I have to say that the boys loved them! This step offers just an extra bit of depth to the flavor.

Traditions are important at the holidays, and serving Haystacks has been a tradition in the Bilyeu family for decades.

Toasted Coconut Haystacks

1 cup coconut
3 cups quick-cook oats
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

Place coconut into a large skillet; toast it over low heat just until it starts to turn golden. Place into a large mixing bowl and add the oats.

In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar, butter, milk, cocoa powder and vanilla to a boil; boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then pour the chocolate mixture over the coconut and oats. Stir to combine well. (Add another 1-2 tablespoons of milk if the mixture seems a bit dry and isn't cohesive.)

Drop golf ball-sized dollops of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, pressing lightly to help the cookies hold together as they set. Let cool on the counter or in the refrigerator until set.

Makes 2 dozen cookies, though you could make them smaller to make more.

By the way - don't forget these treats, too:

Oatmeal Shortbread

Blueberry Walnut Rugelach

Cookie Week: Stoplight Cookies

Yesterday was National Cookie Day. So I thought I would use that festive occasion as inspiration for this week's offerings, and provide recipes for holiday treats so that you can get started on your Christmas baking.

Yes, Christmas is 20 days away. And there are cookie exchanges, parties, tree trimming, and all sorts of other events coming where treats will be required. Santa will be expecting a little nosh, too, once he gets down that chimney.

But before you succumb to feeling overwhelmed and overstressed, let me assure you that I'm way behind on my own baking ventures. This is as much a nudge for me as it is for you.

So let's get started! Welcome to Cookie Week!

Our first feature is Stoplight Cookies, one of Jeremy's all-time favorites. They began life as a variation on thumbprint cookies, with candied cherries placed in the center of the cookie rather than it being filled with jam.

But one time, I tried to cram too many cookies onto the baking sheet; they bled together rather than remaining as individual rounds. When Jeremy - who was very young at the time - saw them, he was absolutely giddy: "They're stoplight cookies!"

Oh, okay. They're not a mistake anymore - they're a new creation!

Jeremy asks for these simple but festive cookies every year. And I remember - as only a mom whose son is now 6'3" and almost 21 years old can - how little and sweet and innocent he was when he redeemed my baking disaster with his glee.

Stoplight Cookies
(adapted from a recipe in The Taste of Home Cookbook)

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons milk
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
18 red candied cherries, halved
18 green candied cherries, halved

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and shortening together; stir in the confectioners' sugar 'til light and fluffy. Stir in the milk and the eggs. Add the flour and salt, and combine well.

Form 3/4" balls of dough and place two next to each other - mushed together just a bit - on an ungreased cookie sheet.


Place a red cherry piece onto one half of each cookie and a green cherry piece onto the other half of each cookie.

Bake for 12 minutes until the cookies are just set. Remove to a rack and cool completely, repeating with remaining dough and cherries.

Makes 36 cookies.

And don't forget these oldies but goodies:

Applesauce Bars

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Merry Mary-ness

"4 Candles to Illuminate the Christmas Cookies I'll Sneak from the Kitchen and Eat in a Closet"

by Thomas Boulan

Today is Christmas Eve, a day on which people will engage in activities as varied as attending Midnight Mass, shopping at gas stations and drug stores for last-second gifts, eating Chinese food, cursing while trying to put toys together according to incoherent schematics, watching "A Christmas Story," making pierogi or serving 7-course seafood feasts, stuffing stockings and leaving cookies for Santa ... an entire buffet table of choices, each continuing a tradition whether cultural or religious or individual.

And so, in honor of that variety (and because we all know how notoriously bad I am at making decisions!), today I'm offering an assortment of my own: one of Tom's beautiful artworks, which began life as a simple photo of our menorah at Chanukkah, as well as a most festive and fabulous song. These are bestowed as gifts to my friends and followers, albeit without a bow or curling ribbon or wrapping paper.

In closing, let me also share a strikingly poignant note that I found while perusing a display of Christmas cards as I waited for a friend who works at an office which serves the homeless and mentally ill; this was written in one of the cards, and it truly brings tears to my eyes each time I read the words:

"Thank you all for helping me find & keep a Home where I can have a Christmas."

How many Christmases did he wake up, knowing what day it was and feeling alone, forgotten, heartbroken ... and cold??? (His card also offered prayers for those who are still outside or in tents.) How many times did he feel isolated, not a part of the festivities and the joy of a day which clearly means so much to him??? If only we could all be so grateful for our blessings and for the important people in our lives, and have such a deep appreciation of the specialness of the season! I do hope that all his hopes and dreams come true, however simple or grand his plans are for celebrating.

May all of you receive the most precious gifts this Christmas: peace, love, health and happiness. Each is more priceless than any material item, and I wish them to you with all my heart ... :)

O, Christmas Tree ....

Tom proudly displaying our tree, fresh from the Washtenaw Alano Club which supports the recovery community in more ways than I can express gratitude for; I buy my Christmas tree at their fundraising sale every year.


The angel tree-topper that Jeremy made years and years ago, when he was little, which is my very favorite ornament of all.


Tom's and my first Christmas tree together, in all its glory ... :)

Blueberry-Walnut Rugelach

When you're behind on your Christmas baking, you want the most bang for your proverbial buck; so rather than making a batch of cookies in an 8"x8" pan that will give you 16 or maybe 24 cookies, you go for the gusto -- a batch that will make 64 cookies!

These are ridiculously easy to make, even though they look complicated. Make a dough that doesn't even require refrigeration, roll it into a circle (no measuring of 1/8" depth or any of that nonsense), no cutting, no re-rolling scraps, no scraping dough and flour off your countertop when you're done. Really, you can impress people with very little effort if you make these!

It's up to you whether you coat them with confectioners' sugar once they've cooled; Tom likes them plain, but I can eat them either way ....

Blueberry-Walnut Rugelach

1 cup butter, softened
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup blueberry jam
1-1/3 cups chopped walnuts
confectioners' sugar for coating (optional)

Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and cream cheese; stir in egg. Mix in sugar, flour and salt -- dough will not come together entirely. Empty the dough and remaining scraps onto the countertop and knead until the dough comes together. Divide dough into 4 portions. Roll one portion at a time into a 12" circle.


Spread 1/4 cup jam over the circle, then sprinkle with 1/4 of the walnuts. Cut the dough into quarters, then cut each quarter into quarters to make 16 pieces.



One at a time, starting with the outer edge, roll a portion of dough towards the center to form a spiral. Place on the cookie sheet, and repeat until the entire circle of dough has been rolled.


Bake for 25 minutes until the cookies are golden and are set when pressed. Remove to a rack to cool completely, and repeat until all of the dough has been used.

Optional: When the cookies are completely cool, place some confectioners' sugar into a large baggie. Toss in a handful of cookies at a time and shake to coat them in the sugar. Remove to a tray and repeat until all of the cookies have been sugared.

Makes 64 cookies.

Ginger Shortbread Cookies

Given that I'm way behind on my Christmas baking, I'm trying to focus on the essentials. And so I asked Jeremy, "If I could only bake one kind of cookie this year, what would you want me to make?"

"Ginger Shortbread." He didn't even have to take a breath before uttering the words, it was such an immediate response!

Good boy! That was my choice, too ... :)

These are rich, crumbly, chocolatey, and feature the fabulous flavor of two kinds of ginger -- powdered and candied. If you love ginger, you will adore these cookies; if you're not such a fan, I promise you'll like these anyway. There is something about their simplicity with a twist that is simply addictive. And their aroma is absolutely heavenly!!!

Ginger Shortbread Cookies

(adapted from a Martha Stewart shortbread cookie recipe)

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Grease a 9"x9" baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar; mix in salt, powdered ginger and vanilla.

Stir in the flours; the mixture will be crumbly.

Stir in the candied ginger and the chocolate chips; combine well, until a portion of it can be pressed together and stick.




Press mixture into the prepared pan and smooth it out. Refrigerate for 1 hour.


Preheat oven to 325F. Bake the shortbread for 40 minutes, until golden at the edges. Let rest for 15 minutes.


Trim 1/4" from the edges of the shortbread; the scraps are a tremendous treat for the ravenous baker, by the way!

While the shortbread is still warm, cut it into squares.

Peanut-Butter No-Bake Treats

Peanut butter is one of the great foods in the universe. Whether used in a savory meal with coconut milk and chili sauce over noodles, or forming an integral half of the work of art that is known as a PB&J, peanut butter is a beautiful thing. And it is especially fabulous, I think we can all agree, in cookies!

But sometimes you don't feel like baking, or you want something a bit different than a traditional peanut butter cookie with the cross-hatching. What's a girl to do then???

Make these no-bake treats that are a hybrid of cookie and candy, that's what!

These could be made with butter, but one of my goodie recipients has a severe dairy allergy; so I made these with Earth Balance butter substitute -- it's the only one I'll use that has a reasonable taste and the proper consistency. And I used dairy-free chocolate chips for dipping them. Nothing particularly difficult or hard to find -- yay!

No one will know they're non-dairy, trust me ... :) These are delightful, delectable, delicious ... try them and choose your own adjective!

Peanut Butter No-Bake Treats

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup Earth Balance butter substitute, softened
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1-1/4 cups non-dairy chocolate chips
1 teaspoon oil

Lightly grease a sheet of foil and place it on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, graham cracker crumbs, Earth Balance and peanut butter.




Stir everything together, using your hands if necessary, until the mixture holds together.


Roll into 3/4" balls and set on a tray. (Some are darker than others because, near the end, the mixture became a bit dry. I added a touch of almond milk, then it was too soggy; so I added a few more graham cracker crumbs and was back to work!)


Melt the chocolate chips and oil together in a small saucepan over low heat. One by one, drop the peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate; roll the ball with a fork to make sure it's completely covered, then use the fork to lift it out of the chocolate. Wipe excess chocolate off on the side of the saucepan, then place the dipped treat onto the prepared sheet of foil. Continue until all of the peanut butter treats have been dipped.






Refrigerate the treats for 15 minutes to help set the chocolate, then serve.

Makes about 30 treats.

Holiday M&M Cookies

I'm a-catchin' up, slowly but surely, on my Christmas baking. Three kinds of cookies, 2 different quick breads, and a no-bake candy/cookie for the partridge in a pear tree!

And here is one of the easiest, but still festive, cookies possible: Holiday M&M Cookies.

Take your basic chocolate chip cookie batter, mix in Christmas M&Ms instead of chocolate chips -- does it get any easier than that??? I think not! And you can't deny that they look very seasonal ... :)

Here's my standard recipe, which makes a bunch o' cookies. But then, between the parties, the gifts, the needing sustenance while you do the rest of your shopping and baking, leaving treats and a glass of milk for Santa ... well, who could possibly have too many cookies?!?!?

Holiday M&M Cookies

1-1/4 cups sugar
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 package holiday M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar, brown sugar, butter and vanilla; mix in eggs and cinnamon.

Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until well combined; add M&Ms.

Roll batter into 1" balls, and place onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or so, 'til golden around the edges. Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Makes about 60+ cookies.

Cafe au Lait Blondies

Tom and I are both coffee addicts. Jeremy even gave me a brand spankin' new coffee press for my birthday last week, knowing full well how much I love my morning fix. So, in the midst of trying to catch up on my Christmas baking, how could I resist making coffee-flavored Cafe au Lait Blondies???

I have so many clippings and scraps of recipes, I can't begin to tell you where many of them came from. But the one with the blondie recipe is clearly from the departed Ann Arbor News, which evolved sorta into AnnArbor.com for which I write once-a-week. The printed recipe was adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.

The house smells like a coffee shop and bakery as these bake, which is always a fabulous fragrance to immerse yourself in! And what better treat to serve with a nice hot cup of coffee than more coffee???

Cafe au Lait Blondies

3 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup instant coffee crystals
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease a 9"x13" baking pan.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and the sugar until thickened. Add the vanilla extract and the butter. Stir in the flour and salt.


Remove 1-1/2 cups of the batter and set aside.

Combine the instant coffee and the cream; stir into the batter that's in the large mixing bowl, then spread the batter into the prepared baking pan.


Stir the walnuts into the batter that you'd reserved, then place dollops of it over the top of the coffee-flavored batter.


Swirl the batters together and smooth the top.


Bake for 30 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely, then cut into small cookies or larger-sized dessert bars.