From our table to yours: Reporter staff shares favorite recipes

The staff of Reporter shares their favorite holiday recipes. Merry Christmas!

Note: All temperatures are in Fahrenheit.

Ochsenaugen (“Ox Eye”) Cookies 

Shortbread 

• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 
• Pinch salt 
• 1 egg 
• 2 egg yolks
• 12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cubed 

Marzipan mixture 

• 250 g. marzipan
• 2 egg whites 

Jam filling 

• 1 cup seedless raspberry, red currant or apricot jelly

Shortbread dough 

• Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl or a stand mixer.
• Add egg, egg yolks (save the whites for later) and cubed butter.
• Beat with stand mixer or knead with hands until it comes together into a shortbread dough. 
• Cover dough and put in the fridge while you work on the next step. 

Marzipan mixture 

• Cut marzipan into cubes and place in a medium bowl or a stand mixer.
• Add egg whites and beat mixture on high until all chunks of marzipan (or as many as possible) are dissolved. If the mixture will not come together, another egg white can be added, though this may make the mixture lose its shape during baking. 

Assembly and baking 

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the shortbread dough to about ¼ inch thick. Cut out round cookies about 7 cm (2-¾ inch) across with a biscuit cutter or a glass. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. 
• Fit a piping bag with a medium-sized star shaped tip (or cut a small hole in the corner of a freezer bag). Spoon the marzipan mixture into the bag. Pipe the marzipan in a ring around the outer edge of each cookie. 
• Bake the cookies at 350° for about 13 minutes, or until the marzipan mixture is just beginning to brown.
• While the cookies bake, place the jam into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil. Continue to stir for 1–2 minutes until jam is slightly thickened. 
• Spoon some jelly into the center of each baked cookie, spreading it around to fill the top of the cookie. Cool and enjoy!  

“I tried one of these cookies at a German Christmas market a few years ago, and have been trying to decipher and perfect the one recipe I could find online (in German, a language I do not know) ever since. If anyone has a better recipe for these (in English units and with ingredients available in America), please send it my way!” — Stacey Egger, staff writer

Honey Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 lb. brown sugar
• 2 cups honey
• 8 cups sifted flour
• 1-1/2 cups chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 tbsp. baking soda dissolved in 1/8 cup of water
• 3 eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1-1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Directions

• Beat eggs very well in a large bowl. Then beat in sugar. Beat in honey, and fold in the rest of the ingredients. Let the mixture stand overnight.
• Roll out the dough in a single layer, about ¼ of an inch thick. Don’t roll it too thin! Cut into rectangles and bake in a slow oven (375 degrees) for 10 minutes.

“My aunt, Rebecca Schilling, shared this heirloom recipe with me. She remembers eating these as a little girl and loving them. My great grandma, Clara Maassel, was a pastor’s wife and mother of nine, so naturally, the original recipe made 16 dozen cookies! I halved the recipe for ease of mixing and baking.” — Sarah Reinsel, staff writer

Gooey Butter Cookies

Ingredients (makes 60)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions

• Beat first four ingredients until fluffy. Mix in cake mix. Chill dough for 30 minutes. Form into teaspoon-sized balls (batter is very gooey). Roll balls in powdered sugar.
• Bake on greased cookie sheets at 350° for 12 minutes.

“Gooey butter cake is a St. Louis tradition, and these bite-size versions always graced my Grandma’s amazing Christmas cookie platters.” — Megan K. Mertz, chief copy editor

Burnt Offerings

Ingredients

• Sliced white bread
• 2 tbsp. butter, melted
• 2 egg whites, beaten stiff
• 1-1/4 cups Swiss cheese, coarsely grated
• 2/3 cup green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 5 slices bacon, finely diced
• Dash of pepper

Directions

• Cut bread rounds or trim crusts, then quarter bread slices. Toast on one side; brush untoasted side with melted butter.
• Fold cheese, green pepper, parsley, salt and pepper into egg whites. Spoon on buttered side of bread. Sprinkle bacon over top of each. Place on cookie sheet. 
• Broil 4” or 5” from heat for 10 minutes or until bacon browns and cheese melts.

“These are called ‘burnt offerings’ because the family friend who first prepared them for us could never get it quite right … always ‘burned’ the ‘offerings.’” — Bonnie Parker, office and business coordinator

Roast Turducken

• Purchase a turducken from your local Cajun butcher. 
• Cook according to the butcher’s instruction.

“While turducken is not a traditional dish, it brings a new flavor and a spicy respite from the same, old recipes you have every year. Enjoy this Cajun take on a traditional holiday meat. For even more flavor, add a bacon weave over the top.” — Roy S. Askins, director of Editorial

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

• Mix sugar and flour.
• Beat eggs on low until fairly thick (not foamy).
• Stir buttermilk into eggs.
• Mix together sugar and egg mixtures; beat thoroughly.
• Add lemon and vanilla.
• Pour into unbaked pie shell.
• Bake 10 minutes at 400°, then about 45 minutes at 350°. Check for doneness by inserting a knife in middle of pie. This recipe makes one large, deep-dish pie but can be divided to make two smaller pies.

“Buttermilk pie is a Southern tradition, a member of the category of pies known as ‘desperation pies’ because of their simple, economical ingredients. This is my mother’s recipe.” — Cheryl Magness, managing editor

Posted Dec. 18, 2023