Alumnae Relations Director, Rebecca Gentry, asked a few ADPi leaders to share some of their favorite holiday recipes in the Alpha Delta Pi Cooking Club Facebook group. These recipes were too good not to share, so keep scrolling to try them for yourself and maybe even add a new dish to your holiday table.
Rolled Sugar Cookies – by Emily Erkel, International President
Emily enjoys making these cookies with her nieces!
Ingredients:
Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Directions:
- Beat butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg and vanilla, beating well.
- Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until blended. Shape into a ball. Cover and chill for 90 minutes.
- Divide dough into thirds. Work with one portion of dough at a time, storing the remaining dough in the refrigerator. Roll each portion into a 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a cookie cutter and place on cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.
Buttercream Icing:
- 1 pound confectioners’ sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk
- food coloring if desired
Directions:
- Beat together all ingredients until smooth.
- Add more milk until desired consistency is reached.
- Place in a pastry bag and pipe onto cookies.
Grandma Topoulos’ Potato Kugelis – by Amanda Sloan, Executive Director
According to Amanda, “My Lithuanian grandmother always made this potato dish at the holidays. Mostly at Thanksgiving, sometimes at Christmas. We are a bit of a strange family in that if we had this at Thanksgiving we would forgo mashed potatoes. That is always a topic of conversation when new guests join us for the holidays!”
Ingredients:
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5 lbs Russet or Idaho potatoes
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1 medium onion
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8 slices of bacon
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1 can evaporate milk
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3 eggs
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2 tsp salt
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¼ tsp pepper
Directions:
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Preheat oven to 400.
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Peel potatoes and grate into hashbrown-style strips in the food processor.
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Peel onion and also run through the food processor.
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Cook bacon until crisp, reserve drippings.
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Mix milk, eggs, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
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Add potato and onion mixture to the milk and egg mixture and stir well to incorporate
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Add 1-2 tbsp of bacon drippings to the mixture. Use remaining drippings to grease a 13×9 pan.
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Use a fork to evenly spread out the mixture.
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Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and cook for 75 minutes.
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Let cool for 5-10 minutes and cut into squares or rectangles.
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Serve with sour cream or apple sauce.
Shrimp with Artichoke Hearts and Feta – by Tracy Garner, President of the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation
Tracy hopes you enjoy the yummy recipe and loves to add extra feta at the end!
Ingredients:
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3 cloves of garlic, minced
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3 tablespoons of olive oil
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1 ½ pounds of jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
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1 (16 ounces) can chopped tomatoes
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3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
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2 (9 ounce) cans artichoke hearts, drained
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1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
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1 (12 ounces) package fettuccine, cooked and drained
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2 ounces of feta cheese, crumbled
Directions:
- Sauté garlic in olive oil in a large skillet. Add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink, stirring frequently. Remove shrimp to warm platter.
- Stir undrained tomatoes and 3 tablespoons of parsley into pan drippings.
- Cook for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Add artichoke hearts, shrimp, and 1 tablespoon parsley; mix well. Cook until heated through, but do not overcook.
- Arrange fettuccine on serving platter; top with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese.
Yields 4 servings
Mom’s Date Pinwheels – by Jen Webb, Executive Director of the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation
According to Jen, “The year that my mom passed away, I realized that Christmas that we were missing ALL of the Christmas cookies. They were all store-bought {GASP} and then it dawned on me that my mom was the baker and always made sure we all had our favorites. So that year I asked each family member what their favorite Christmas cookie was that my mom always made. My sister Julie said it was the date pinwheels. I don’t know if you’ve ever made a pinwheel anything, but they are time-consuming and a bit labor-intensive. Honestly, my pinwheels NEVER look perfect, but they always taste good. (And, in some ways I think Julie picked this cookie as a way to torture me each year at Christmas.)”
Ingredients:
- 2 ¼ cups Chopped Pitted Dates
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 3 eggs (well beaten)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Directions:
- Combine dates, sugar, and water and cook over low heat until thickened. Add chopped nuts.
- Combine shortening, brown sugar, eggs, flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Divide the dough in half. Roll into rectangles about ¼” thick.
- Spread on date filling and roll like a jelly roll into 2 logs. Chill overnight.
- Slice into ¼” cookies. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.
Yield 5 dozen cookies.
For more great recipes and to dive into the kitchen with sisters, join the Alpha Delta Pi Cooking Club Facebook group today!