Christmas Traditions, Part 3--Baking Traditions

I've admitted before that I'm really not a cook. My sister--now she's a cook. My mom--now she makes great candy and treats. Me? My family doesn't starve, and I make food to fill our bellies.


It's taken us a few years to come up with Christmas food traditions of our own. Here are three:

Every Christmas morning, we have Christmas slush, sausage, and Christmas bread ring.

Slush

12 oz. frozen orange juice, diluted

6 bananas

16-oz. frozen strawberries, thawed

1 large can crushed pineapple (not drained)

2 c. sugar

1 1/2 cup water

Mix and freeze. (It fits well in a 5-quart ice cream bucket.) Stir occasionally to prevent it from becoming a huge solid block.
Serve by itself or with Sprite.

This next recipe is hard for me to translate, since I've never ever made it.  This tradition began one year when Grandma and Grandpa Tucker were here, and Grandma took Heidi aside and taught her how to make this.  Heidi will be home this year, so I need to have her show me and Lily how to continue this tradition:

Cinnamon Bread Ring

1 1/2 c. warm water

2 T. yeast

1/2 c. butter

1 t. salt

4 T. Bird's custard powder*

3 T. sugar

3-4 c. flour

Mix all ingredients and knead 12-15 minutes (in mixer or by hand). Divide into 3 balls. Line a large round pizza pan with foil, spray with vegetable oil. Roll each ball into a circle--size of the pan. Place one circle on the pan, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon and pecans (we are a no-nut household, so we omit these little nasties!). Repeat with second circle. Add third circle on top, not sprinkling with cinnamon and sugar. Place a large cereal bowl in the middle like a cookie cutter; leave on the dough. Using a pizza cutter, cut 2-inch pieces of dough up to the bowl, leaving an inch between the cut and the edge of the cereal bowl. Twist each strip. Remove the cereal bowl, and cut and twist the circle of dough underneath. Replace in the center of the dough.
Let rise one hour.
Bake at 374 for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, then glaze with 2 T. milk, 1 t. vanilla and enough powdered sugar to make a runny glaze.

*If Bird's custard is not available where you are, you really do need this kind.  It's available online.  I ordered mine from a darling little British company.

And finally, I do make sugar cookies with my kids.  I give them out to our neighbors as my kids frost and decorate them.  They aren't masterpieces, but they're meant to be eaten, right?
The cookie dough recipe--just my mom's sugar cookies.  But the key to fantastic sugar cookies (or cake, for that matter) is the frosting.  I'm always about the frosting.  I learned how to make perfect frosting as a young girl, under my mom's careful tutelage:

Frosting

1 cube butter (straight from the fridge--this is important)

1 t. vanilla

1/4 c. milk

1/2 t. lemon

1 pound powdered sugar

Beat the butter on high for 2-3 minutes until it's light and fluffy.  Add the wet ingredients, then the powdered sugar a little at a time, watching that it doesn't get too thick.

So yummy.  I have such a frosting weakness.  It's true.

My reasoning behind this post was completely selfish. I would love to adopt a few more baking traditions around here. What are yours?  Link up and let us know!
Next week--Christmas Eve traditions.  These are some of my favorite things I do with my family all year.  I can't wait to share them with all of you!