Childhood favorites plus one maybe two more

December is the month for stocking up on baking supplies. Stores offer many items on sale for the season. It is the best time to purchase spices, as even on sale they can be quite expensive and unless you do a lot of baking, they get old and flavorless before you can use them up. Consider adopting some Spice Buddies. These would be several of your friends. Share the cost and the spices.

For instance, Lebkuchen calls for one teaspoon of ground Anise seed. Three or four bakers could share one jar without leftovers and space saved in your cupboard. This might be a fun idea for a pre-holiday gathering.

My favorite Lebkuchen recipe is from an old Hutterite Cookbook. These cookies get richer in flavor as they age.

Lebkuchen

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1 cup honey

2 Tbsp butter

1 egg, beaten well

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/3 cup finely chopped candied orange peel

1 tsp ground anise seed

1/2 tsp ground cloves or cardamom

4-4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

In a large saucepan combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook to 270 to 290 degrees on a candy thermometer, soft thread stage.

Turn off heat. Stir in honey and butter until melted and well combined. Cool to lukewarm, 110 degrees. Mix in egg, nuts and orange peel.

Combine spices, 4 cups of the flour and baking soda. Stir into the syrup mixture, adding remaining flour if dough is sticky. Chill the dough for 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets and set aside. Form dough into 1 inch balls, place on prepared cookie sheets and flatten slightly. Bake for about 15 minutes until cookies are golden brown. Yield: 4 to 5 dozen cookies.

Sausage Filled Biscuits were a treat enjoyed at a local workplace last month. Amanda McNulty shared the recipe she used to make these delicious treats. Filling must be refrigerated over night so plan ahead when making this recipe.

Sausage Filled Biscuits Sausage Gravy Filling:

2 pounds breakfast sausage

1 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp ground black pepper

4 Tbsp salt

8 ounces flour (1 3/4 cups)

8 cups milk

Dough:

10 ounces butter (2 1/2 sticks)

4 cups milk

2 packages active dry yeast

10 ounces sugar (1 1/4 cups)

6 egg yolks

1 Tbsp salt

Put sausage, oil, salt and pepper in a large skillet or heavy kettle and cook until sausage is done. Turn heat to low and stir in the 8 ounces of flour, cooking until mixture thickens. Add the 8 cups of milk to the pan and cook stirring constantly until gravy thickens and pulls away from the pan.

Refrigerate overnight so the mixture becomes gelatinous.

For dough: In a saucepan melt butter, whisk in milk, then pour into mixer bowl. Add yeast, flour, sugar, egg yolks and salt to mixer bowl and mix on low until fully incorporated. Use a dough hook and knead dough until smooth. Portion the dough into 3 ounce balls immediately and set aside to proof for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Flatten dough ball and place a spoonful of gravy mixture in the center. Pull the outside portion of the dough up and around the filling, pinching the dough to seal. Place seam side down on baking sheets.

Bake until golden brown, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Yield: A lot.

Fruitcake Cookies, such a plain name for this light version, refrigerator, slice and bake, cookie. This recipe comes from the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen. This cookie packs and ships well.

Fruitcake Cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup chopped candied orange or lemon peel

1/3 cup chopped pistachios

1/2 cup dried cranberries

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt

In another large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg, then vanilla. Fold in candied citrus, pistachios and cranberries.

Shape dough into two, 2 inch thick logs. Wrap and flatten slightly into an oval and freeze 20 minutes.

Meanwhile line baking sheets with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice cookies 1/2 inch thick and place on prepared pans and bake until cookies are light golden brown around edges, 10 to 14 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 2 to 4 dozen, depending on the size of the logs.

A number of readers have lamented the difficulty of cooking for one, so I always have my eyes out for any recipes for smaller portions. Recently I started following onedishkitchen.com on Pinterest. The writer has recipes for everything from hash brown potatoes to pumpkin pie for one. I plan to share some of her recipes in future columns.

Last but not least, Duck Egg Buttermilk Pancakes. This recipe is a favorite from my youth, and with duck eggs available locally, I enjoy making them again. Check the Welcome to My Kitchen Facebook page for photos.

Duck Egg Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 large duck eggs

2 cups thick buttermilk

1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer until light and lemon colored, about 5 minutes. Fold in buttermilk, then melted butter.

Add dry ingredients all at once and stir gently until just combined. Batter will be thick and lumpy.

Heat lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat. Drop batter by tablespoons onto griddle and spread with the back of the spoon. Cook until bubbles on top break and don’t fill in with batter. Turn and cook until bottom side is browned. Yield: 12 to 24 pancakes depending on size.

Share your favorite recipes by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, or email therecord@odessaoffice.com, or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Follow us on Facebook at Welcome to My Kitchen. Keep poinsettias out of cold drafts and water sparingly to keep the plants lush throughout the Christmas season.