{"id":5996,"date":"2018-12-04T21:16:20","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T02:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eatrightpa.org\/?p=5996"},"modified":"2021-10-30T03:37:51","modified_gmt":"2021-10-30T03:37:51","slug":"traditional-holiday-sweets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/2018\/12\/04\/traditional-holiday-sweets\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditional Holiday Sweets"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Laura Ali, MS, RDN, LDN<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe children were nestled all snug in their beds while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads<\/em><\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 Twas the Night Before Christmas, Clement Moore<\/p>\n

You may think this post about traditional holiday sweets is going to be about holiday cakes, cookies, and candy, but if you look through history and talk to people from other countries you\u2019ll find that fruit, or a dish made with fruit, was the sweet treat traditionally given or served during the holiday season.\u00a0 Many people still incorporate these naturally sweet treats into their celebrations and traditions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Oranges:\u00a0 <\/strong>One of my vivid memories growing up is always finding an orange or clementine in the toe of my stocking each Christmas morning.\u00a0 I used to think that it was just my family that had that tradition but later learned that it\u2019s a long-standing Christmas tradition for many North American and European households. The orange may represent gold or wealth to come. \u00a0Some also believe the segments of the orange represent the gifts we have to give each other.\u00a0 Or, it may have a much simpler meaning – fruit was not readily available in the winter months and an orange was a delicious treat!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plum pudding:<\/strong>\u00a0 Or often known as \u201cChristmas pudding\u201d is an old English tradition that dates back to Medieval times.\u00a0 Beef suet, meat, and fruits were combined with soft breadcrumbs and spices including cinnamon and cloves.\u00a0 The pudding was tied in a cloth and boiled for hours and served with a rum butter sauce.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mincemeat Pie:<\/strong> This fruit and spice pie that is served today only mildly resembles the original mince pies.\u00a0 These pies were made with minced mutton, fruit, and three spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves) representing the 3 gifts of the Magi.\u00a0 Over time, meat was replaced with a mixture of dried and fresh fruit along with the traditional spices.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fruitcake:<\/strong> Of course, we cannot forget the object of many jokes at holiday parties and gift exchanges \u2013 the fruitcake.\u00a0 While the dense, dried fruit and nut cake is what most people think of, there are a number of delicious variations of a fruitcake including German Stolen, the Italian Panaforte, and the Caribbean rum soaked Black Cake.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Which brings me to Clement Clarke Moore\u2019s poem, \u201cTwas the Night Before Christmas\u201d where we hear about sugarplums.\u00a0 I was all set to start this article about how sugarplums were one of the traditional fruits found on Christmas, and while sugarplums were a traditional dessert for the wealthy, they are not fruit!\u00a0 No, they started as a spice, coated in sugar and rolled into a plum like shape \u2013 but not a fruit could be found inside!\u00a0 Today, they are just hard sugary candy, in an oval shape.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ah well, a variety of sweets including fruit and our more common cookies, candy and cakes are all an important part of the season! \u00a0This year see if you can include a little of each into your celebrations.\u00a0 These little fruit tarts are a nice way to combine both!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Holiday Fruit Tarts<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00bd cup small dice dried pears<\/p>\n

\u00bc cup diced figs<\/p>\n

\u00bc cup diced dates<\/p>\n

\u00bc cup raisins<\/p>\n

2 Tbsp. dried cranberries<\/p>\n

\u00bc cup whiskey<\/p>\n

\u00bd\u00a0 cup chopped walnuts<\/p>\n

1Tbsp. orange zest (~ 1 orange)<\/p>\n

3 Tbsp. fresh orange juice<\/p>\n

1 apple peeled, cored and diced (tart apple like Granny Smith)<\/p>\n

1\/2 tsp. cinnamon<\/p>\n

1\/4 tsp. nutmeg<\/p>\n

2 Tbsp. brown sugar<\/p>\n

2 Tbsp. butter, cut into dices<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1, 9- inch piecrust<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Directions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Mix pears, figs, dates, raisins and cranberries in medium bowl. Add whiskey and toss.\u00a0 Allow to sit, tossing periodically for 4 – 8 hours.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Preheat oven to 425\u00b0F. Roll piecrust into ~11 inch round.\u00a0 Cut 6, 5-1\/2 inch circles out and gently place in 4-inch tart ( or individual pie tins).\u00a0 Prick all over with a fork.\u00a0 Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. While shells cool, mix walnuts, orange zest, juice, apple, spices, and sugar into the dried fruit mix. Mix thoroughly.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Fill shells evenly with fruit filling. Dot each tart with 4-6 dices of butter. Bake in 425\u00b0F oven for 10 – 15 minutes until just warm.\u00a0 Serve warm, with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          \"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Laura Ali, MS, RDN, LDN is <\/em>a <\/em>food and nutrition communications professional, recipe developer and brand ambassador for the StarKist Co. <\/em>She loves learning about food, exploring how food has shaped our culture, and teaching people how to enjoy the food they eat.\u00a0On weekends she can be found exploring local food shops, wineries, and walking trails with her husband.\u00a0 You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter @LauraAli_RD<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          By Laura Ali, MS, RDN, LDN \u00a0 \u201cThe children were nestled all snug in their beds while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads\u201d\u00a0 Twas the Night Before Christmas, Clement Moore You may think this post about traditional holiday sweets is going to be about holiday cakes, cookies, and candy, but if you look through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":5993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,96,1],"tags":[92,153,94,95,154],"class_list":["post-5996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-103","category-december-2","category-uncategorized","tag-christmas","tag-desserts","tag-holiday","tag-holiday-recipes","tag-treats"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5996"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10481,"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5996\/revisions\/10481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}