This is not a traditional fruit cake, but does capture the spirit of fruit cake and has a flavor with wider appeal. I made this cake over the weekend for my “Festive, Frosty, Fruitcake” holiday party. It’s sweet, buttery, and moist. Even better is that it tastes great for days after baking so it is perfect for a party where you want to prepare food in advance.
I remember the first time I ever had pecan sandies. I was ten and at a family reunion. They weren’t homemade, just the Keebler brand, but I thought they were the most delicious cookies I’d ever eaten. I kept going back to the bag and getting 2 more. I probably ending up eating half the bag. Despite my initial love-at-first-taste I never really had them much after that. My Mom is diabetic so it wasn’t common for us to have sweets around the house. And now, as and adult, when I can buy as many cookies and candies as my heart desires, I don’t, because I make my own. When I got a request for pecan sandies this week I was excited – I love trying new recipes and this is a cookie that I thought I would really enjoy eating. And oh my gosh – they are so good. Really nutty and buttery and only subtly sweet. If you have any cookie exchanges coming up I highly recommend them. And if you want to make the really decadent for the holidays I imagine they would be delicious drizzled with chocolate.
Last night marked the first night of the Jewish festival of lights!! I realized I didn’t have a menorah in my new apartment so I got out a butternut squash, a phillips flathead, and candles. This is what I came up with.
Butternut Square Menorah
Yay for creativity in the kitchen. I also came across a recipe for Butternut Squash Curried Latkes. Yum!! I’ll be working on those later this week. Have a great holiday!
