Cheers and Happy New Year!

Milk Punch is something we make every year for the holidays, usually around Christmas and New Years. Sometimes we even have it with formal brunches- Easter, Mothers Day etc. There is a restaurant in town that has this every Sunday on their elaborate brunch menu. It is so good. We used to go, just to have the milk punch- seems crazy, I know. But it's that good. Then one year, they printed the recipe in the Wednesday food section of the newspaper. My MIL clipped it and has been making it ever since. But then she gave my husband the recipe and now he makes it.

My husband made this a few days ago for Christmas Eve and between 6 adults and an hour, this boozy punch was completely consumed. It has easily become my mother's favorite drink, and hopefully yours too. Cheers and Happy New Year!

Milk Punch from Green Pastures Restaurant

• 1/2 Gallon Quality Vanilla Ice Cream*
• 1 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Bourbon
• 1/4 cup White Rum
• 1 Jigger (1.5 oz.) Brandy
• Nutmeg for garnish, optional

Allow ice cream to soften (mostly melted, but not all the way) in carton, then pour into a 2 quart pitcher. Pour milk, bourbon, rum and brandy over melted ice cream and stir.

Serve in your favorite cocktail glass and sprinkle with ground nutmeg for garnish.

**Makes 2 Quarts/ Half Gallon**

NOTE: The pitcher may seem really full because you're adding half a gallon of ice cream to a half gallon (2 quart) pitcher, but it will melt down. Once you add the liquid, it will make 2 quarts, exactly. Can be made ahead of time, but it will taste stronger the longer it ferments. If you don't like it too strong, add a bit more milk.

*We prefer using Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla or Natural Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Holiday Must Have

Pumkin empanadas are one of the things we used to make around the holidays when I was younger. Now that we're older we buy them rather than making them. My grandfather and step dad went to the Mexican bakery to buy some goodies and came back with pineapple and pumpkin empanadas, cookies and pan de huevo (egg bread). Mexican pastries are not very sweet, and are usually very simple looking.

The empanadas we bought were okay, but they were a little soft and mushy and didn't have a lot of flavor. So we made some! And they were so much better. They had a nice texture and the filling was so much more flavorful. Even my step dad who says he doesn't like pumpkin had two of them!

Pumpkin Empanadas adapted from Esperanza's Cafe (Fort Worth, TX) via Gourmet Sleuth

Pumpkin Filling:

• 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon all spice

Empanada Dough:

• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 (1/4 ounce) packages dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 generous pinches cinnamon
• 3 cups flour, divided in half
• generous 3/4 cup vegetable shortening

For filling: Mix ingredients together and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the dough: Combine water, sugar, salt, yeast, baking powder, and cinnamon. Using an electric mixer, gradually blend in half of the flour. Add shortening and thoroughly mix, then gradually blend in remaining flour. Divide dough into 4 equal parts, then shape each into 4 dough balls. Slap the dough balls between the palms of your well-floured hands until somewhat flattened, then roll on a floured surface until circles approximately 4 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Put about 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each circle, fold over, and seal edges by pressing lightly with a fork on both sides.

Bake on greased cookie sheet until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes (watch carefully; they can burn quickly).

**Makes 16 empanadas**

NOTE: If the dough is not sticking together when you crimp it with a fork, put a little water on your finger and run it along the edge of the dough before crimping it together. This will give you a better seal so the filling doesn't seep out.

I poked a few holes (using a fork) in the top of the empanadas to help the steam release while baking. And because my mother and grandmother and mother said I should, I put egg wash on them and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar.

Day 7- Holiday Biscotti

These little biscotti are so photogenic. They're so pretty and so tasty and they're chock full of creamy white chocolate, crunchy pistachios and jewel toned cranberries.

I've never made biscotti before, but I am a pro at eating them :-) My favorite biscotti flavor is French Lavender from Jake's Natural Foods. The lavender is subtle and the candied lemon peel inside the biscotti is chewy and it's just so good! But these biscotti are different. They're more like dessert than they are for breakfast. The cookie itself isn't too sweet, but the half dunked part is.

These are the perfect treat for the holidays. The red and green make them festive, but change out the fruit and nuts to your liking. Almonds, dried cherries and dark chocolate would be good, or dried apricots, pecans and milk chocolate! Mmm, I'm gonna have to experiment.

Holiday Biscotti from Shawnda

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. Amaretto or almond extract
• 1 cup shelled raw unsalted pistachios
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup high-quality white chocolate chips (for biscotti)
• 8 oz high-quality white chocolate (for dipping)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs, oil, and almond extract or Amaretto liquor in large bowl until well blended. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in pistachios, dried cranberries, and 3/4 cup chopped white chocolate by hand. Divide dough in half and form into two 12-inch-long strips on prepared baking sheet, spacing strips 3 inches apart. Using wet fingertips, shape each strip into 3-inch-wide log, pressing for even thickness. Logs may look slightly lumpy, but try to make the top as smooth as possible by pressing the cranberries and pistachios into the dough.

Bake logs until lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Cool logs on sheet for a minimum of 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Carefully transfer logs to cutting board and slice about 1/2-3/4-inch thick. Place them back on the same baking sheet with parchment paper (I used the same sheet) standing biscotti upright, spacing about 1/4 inch apart, in 3 rows. Bake until pale golden (biscotti may be soft but will firm as they cool), about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet.

Line another large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place remaining chopped white chocolate in medium glass bowl. Microwave on a low temp for 30seconds at a time, until smooth. Dip one end or 1 side of each biscotti in chocolate; place on baking sheet. Chill until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.

**Makes 2-3 dozen**

NOTE: These can be made ahead of time. Arrange in single layer in airtight container and chill up to 5 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.

I cut mine at a slight angle to make them a bit longer. Also, I only got about 2 dozen biscotti from this recipe because I cut them about 3/4-1-inch wide. Any thinner and they would have crumbled. Allow the biscotti to cool COMPLETELY before cutting. This will help reduce the crumbs.

Also, with all my holiday baking, I ran out of vanilla. Gasp!!! And I lent my almond extract to my mom for her Thanksgiving pie baking, so I used Amaretto instead of almond extract. No wonder these biscotti were so good :-)

Merry Christmas Everyone! See you next year!