Directions:
Pour cider into a large pot on a wood stove, conventional stove or crock pot. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Add cinnamon sticks. Heat at medium temperature until steam starts to appear and serve. Be careful not to burn cider. Remove from heat if it boils - cider creates a residue that is unattractive but has no taste if cooked too long - should last about an hour. Makes the house smell like Christmas with Christmas Recipes

Directions:
Mix flour and salt in large bowl then add water and mix to make the dough. Knead the dough on a counter surface until smooth, using the additional flour to keep it from being sticky. Return the dough to the bowl and cover, allowing the dough to rest for 2 hours. Cut the dough into 8 pieces and form 8 balls. Roll each ball into a flat circle on a lightly floured surface. Keep the dough not being used covered with plastic wrap. Brush the flat loaves with sesame oil. Preheat the oven to 500 Bake on baking sheets just a few minutes until you see the edges curl.


COOKIES
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons cocoa, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3 cups of uncooked , 1 tablespoon of vanilla .

Directions:
Put the butter, milk, sugar and cocoa into a bowl Microwave for 5 1/2 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. Mix in 3 cups oats and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Scoop and drop onto wax paper. Cool in refrigerator overnight like the Christmas Story recipes.


Broccoli Cream Cheese & Pear and Almond Soup
Ingredients:
1 x 250g head of broccoli,1 large onion, 2 white parts of leek, chopped, 40g butter, 855ml vegetable stock,150g low fat soft cheese, 2 x 15ml spoons fine oatmeal, 4 ripe pears, 175g toasted, flaked almonds, 570ml milk, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Directions:
1. Trim the broccoli into tiny florets, chop the stalky parts quite small. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and add the chopped leeks, onion and broccoli stalks (leave aside the florets for later). Stir well and leave to sweat for ten minutes. Then add chopped pears.
2. Stir in the oatmeal, almonds and milk a little at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the milk is stirred in, add the stock and seasoning. Whisk well and simmer gently for ten minutes. While the soup is cooling, steam the broccoli florets for about 5 minutes.
3. Pour the soup and place the soft cheese into a food processor, and blend until smooth. Return the soup to a rinsed out pan, add the broccoli florets and re-heat gently, adjusting the seasoning.
4. Serve with crusty French bread.



Calypso Punch
Ingredients:
1 bottle red wine, ½ pt/250ml apple juice, ½ pt/250ml pineapple juice, ¼ pt/150ml lime juice (optional), 2 cinnamon sticks (broken into 3), 1½tsp freshly grated nutmeg, 1 bay leaf, 1oz/25g soft brown sugar, slices of citrus fruit.

Directions:
1. Warm the wine, fruit juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, bay leaf and sugar over a low heat, stirring frequently until almost boiling.
2. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for at least 1 hour (the longer it is left to infuse, the stronger the flavours become).
3. Return to heat, add fruit slices and bring close to the boil again, adding sugar to taste. (At this stage you can also add 1tbsp/15ml of your favourite liqueur or spirit, if you wish)
4. Pour into a warmed punch bowl and serve in goblets with the slices of fruit and a piece of cinnamon.



EGGNOG
Ingredients:
8 Egg yolks, beaten 8 Tablespoons of powdered sugar 1/2 Cup of Jamaica rum 1/2 Cup of brandy 1 Cup of whiskey 3 Cups of heavy cream 8 Eggs whites, beaten milk nutmeg.

Directions:
Beat the yolks until thick, then add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and keep beating. Add the liquors and let the yolks "cook" for several hours, covered, in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, fold in the whipped cream and stiffly beaten egg whites. If the eggnog is too thick, add a little milk. Serve in sherbet cups with a dash of nutmeg on top.



FRUIT & NUT CLUSTERS
Ingredients:
8 oz. white chocolate, broken into pieces,1/3 cup sunflower seeds,1/3 cup almond slivers,1/3 cup sesame seeds 1/3 cup seedless raisins,1 tsp. ground cinnamon.

Directions:
Put the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Do not allow the water to touch the base of the bowl, or the chocolate may become too hot. Or you can put the chocolate in a microwave-proof container and heat it on Medium for 3 minutes. Stir the melted chocolate until it is smooth and glossy.Mix all the other ingredients together, pour on the chocolate and mix well.Using two teaspoons, spoon the mixture into paper cases and leave to set. Store in an airtight tin. Makes about 24 clusters.


AMARETTI- ITALY
Ingredients:
2 egg whites,1/4 teaspoon salt,1 cup sugar,1 cup chopped blanched almonds,3/4 teaspoon almond extract.

Directions:
1. Add salt to egg whites and beat until frothy.
2. Add sugar gradualy, beating until mixture is stiff but not dry.
3. Add almonds and almond extract and fold in gently.
4. Drop almond mixture on buttered and floured baking sheet by the teaspoon, shape into small mounds, leaving room between each mound.
5. Let stand 2 hours.
6. Bake at 190 degrees celcius for 12 minutes or until they are delicately brown in colour.

More at Christmas Recipes

Directions:
Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Slowly add the buttermilk and stir the mixture into a smooth dough. Mix in the nuts and dried fruits. Place into a loaf pan and bake in a hot oven (350 degrees) for about an hour.


Armenian Sweet Soup
Ingredients:
2 lbs wheat grain, 1 lb sugar, 1 lb walnuts and almonds, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 lb seedless raisins (mix white and red), 2 tbsp cornstarch, 2 qts water.

Directions:
Wash the wheat grains and cover in a pot with 2 quarts of water. Cook until the grains split. Remove from the fire and let it stand for one hour. Add sugar, raisins, nuts, and cinnamon to the grain. Soften and dissolve a the cornstarch in a little lukewarm water and stir into the grain mixture. Add more water as needed and cook for another five minutes. Serve cold.


HOT BRANDY from Upper Hron

You warm-up honey in the pot. When the honey is really warm, you add geese lard or butter. At the end you add clear alcohol or vodka. You can substitute sugar for the honey from which the Hriatuo will get golden color. According to older people Hriatuo is a good medicine against cough or common cold. Hriatuo is often drunk at weddings, christenings and Christmas Festival. Drink hot.

HRIATUO From CAKLOV-ZEMPLIN County

You fry a little butter in the pot, add little of granulated sugar, cook it until it turns to caramel. Add little water, bring the mixture to a boil add a bit of ground coffee and pour in alcohol or vodka or slivovica to taste. Drink Hot.