Getting into the holiday baking

When Ben and I became engaged, his mother gave me a recipe box

filled with his “favorite” foods. As I flipped through the cards I

remember thinking that I had never heard him talk about any of these

“favorites.”

Of course, with names like “Wetback Stew” and “Lemon Jell-O

Cheesecake,” I wasn’t surprised that he never made a special request

for the childhood menus.

But just to cut his mother a little slack ... he did grow up with

seven brothers and sisters, most of them brothers. They were all

athletes and ate a tremendous amount of food, hence recipes with

“volume.”

Ben likes to tell our kids that every morning he and his next

oldest brother would sit at the breakfast table and go through an

entire loaf of toasted bread, complete with condiments. Ugh.

The thing that Mrs. Wight did very well was bake. She really

pulled out all the stops at Christmas. She spent days and days making

cookies, cheese straws, cakes and candies. The best meal at the Wight

House was always around the holidays, because there was sure to be an

abundance of treats.

My cookies of choice were her nutmeg logs. These butter cookies

are shaped like little logs, frosted, striated with a fork and then

dusted with nutmeg. Tres chic for the woman who’s meal-of-choice was

Texas Hash.

My next pick was the Welsh cakes. With a name like Wight (as in

Isle of Wight), I knew these little treasures would be good.

From our Wight House to yours, enjoy.

NUTMEG LOGS

Makes 6 dozen

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons rum extract

Frosting (see recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients and shape

into long rolls approximately 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 3-inch

lengths. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15

minutes. Cool. Spread the frosting on top of the logs. Then drag a

fork on top of the frosting to resemble bark. Dust with nutmeg.

Frosting

3 TBS butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. rum extract

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix ingredients, add additional 2 cups powered sugar with 2-3 TBS

cream.

WELSH CAKES

Makes 50 to 60

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 cups butter

1 1/2 cups currents

1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoons nutmeg

3 to 4 tablespoons milk or more

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut butter into flour. Add the dry

ingredients, then stir in egg and milk. Roll out to 1/4-inch

thickness and cut into rounds. Bake approximately 12 minutes.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Happy Holidays.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs

Sundays.