The Best Texas Christmas Recipes

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! What’s your favorite part of the holidays? The presents? Spending time with loved ones? Decorating the Christmas tree? Playing in the snow? Wait, we’ve got it…the food! There’s nothing like enjoying some down home Texas country cookin’ during the Christmas season. If you happened to read The Best Texas Thanksgiving Recipes that was published in November, then you’re in for a treat. Here are the Best Texas Christmas Recipes! Try not to drool all over your keyboard as you navigate through the list…

Guacamole Granada

My Recipes explains that “Granada is the Spanish word for pomegranate.” This Spanish inspired recipe is sure to please in South Texas.

Ingredients:

• 4 large ripe avocados, halved
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1 (4-oz.) can roasted diced green chiles, rinsed and drained (optional)
• 1 large pomegranate, divided
• Garnish: pomegranate seeds
• Serve with Tortilla chips

Preparation:

1. Scoop avocado pulp into a medium bowl, and mash into small chunks.
2. Stir in lime juice, garlic salt, onions, and, if desired, green chiles. Set mixture aside.
3. Cut off crown of pomegranate. Using a small paring knife, score the outer layer of skin into sections.
4. Working with pomegranate fully submerged in a large bowl of water, break apart sections along scored lines. Roll out seeds with your fingers (The seeds will sink to the bottom, while the white membrane will float to the top).
5. Remove and discard membrane with a slotted spoon. Pour seed mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer. Reserve 3 Tbsp. seeds for garnish, if desired.
6. Stir remaining seeds into avocado mixture.
7. Sprinkle evenly with reserved seeds to garnish, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips.

This recipe was gathered from My Recipes’ “Christmas Eve, Texas Style Menu.”

Christmas Pickles

Christmas Pickles are a true Texas Christmas Tradition, and while it may take a little more work than some of the other recipes, we’ve heard it’s worth the wait.

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon dill pickles
• 15 oz bottle hot pepper sauce
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 5 lbs white sugar

Preparation:

1. Drain brine from the pickles and discard.
2. Slice pickles lengthwise and return to the jar (Or buy dill pickles already sliced).
3. Pour in hot sauce and add garlic.
4. Pour in about 1/3 of the sugar. Close the lid tightly.
5. Gentle tip the jar back and forth several times to allow everything to mix well.
6. Leave out on the counter at room temperature for about 1 week.
7. During the week add more sugar whenever all the sugar in jar has dissolved.
8. Gently tip back and forth to mix well. Do this each day until all the sugar has been added.
9. When the sugar has completely dissolved the pickles will be dark green and crispy. Transfer to smaller sterile jars and divide syrup between jars.
10. Seal with lids and rings. Store in refrigerator and consume in a month.

This recipe was gathered from Key Ingredient’s “Texas Christmas Pickles Recipe.”

Cajun Ham

Deep South Dish describes this recipe as “A baked ham, glazed with a mixture of apple cider, mustard, brown sugar, cane syrup, Cajun seasonings and additional holiday spices, if you like.”

Ingredients:

• 1 (6 to 8 pound) fully baked bone-in ham
• 1/4 cup of apple cider or juice
• 1/2 cup of Creole mustard
• 3/4 cup of light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup of cane syrup
• 1 tablespoon of freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), or to taste

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Prepare a roasting pan by double lining it with heavy aluminum foil. Place two to three additional pieces in the pan to form a tub for the ham.
3. Place the ham cut side up in the pan.
4. Whisk together all of the remaining ingredients and pour about 1/4 of the mixture over the ham.
5. Turn the ham over, cut side down and pour the remaining glaze mixture all over the ham. Pull foil up the sides of the ham, but do not cover.
6. Bake at 325 degrees F. for about 15 minutes per pound, or according to the package directions, basting about every half hour.
7. Slice ham around the natural seams, and spoon the pan sauce over the slices.

This recipe was gathered from Deep South Dish’s “Southern Christmas Dinner Menu and Recipe Ideas.”

Spice Cake

This recipe comes straight from Traditional Texas Cooking and its founder John Raven, Ph.B., who calls this recipe “my favorite cake came to be one that was out of my mother’s antique cookbook. It is a spice cake with raisins and pecans.”

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 cups raisins

Preparation:

1. Cream butter and sugar together.
2. Add the eggs and combine well.
3. Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately with the water.
4. When everything is combined, add the raisins and nuts that have been dredged in a little flour. Mix well.
5. Place in a greased loaf pan, and bake in a preheated 320°F oven about two hours.
6. Additional notes: Don’t even try this without real butter. It makes all the difference in the world. Also, make sure your spices are fresh.

This recipe was gathered from Traditional Texas Cooking’s “Texas Christmas Fare.”

Christmas Cookies

According to Food.com, “If you like a lightly spiced batter clinging to chunks of walnuts, dates and raisins, this cookie is for you!” This recipe makes 13 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 2 lbs nuts, chopped
• 1 1⁄2 cups melted butter or 1 1⁄2 cups margarine
• 1 lb raisins
• 1 lb dates, chopped
• 1 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in hot water
• 3 cups flour

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven 325F or 350°F
2. Beat eggs well; Gradually add sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nuts, butter, raisins, dates, baking soda and flour, in order; Mix thoroughly.
3. Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake in slow oven: 12 minutes at 350F or 15 minutes at 325F for a softer cookie.

This recipe was gathered from Food.com’s “Texas Christmas Cookies.”

Editor’s Note: All recipes were gathered from a variety of different sources and shared in this article. These are not original recipes created by the San Antonio Daily Sun.