food
Photography by Sarah Onken
Make the Season
A Little Sweeter
A bounty of delicious Christmas and holiday dessert recipes
from local culinarians and the sweet stories behind them
T
Recipes Compiled by Sarah Onken
he Holidays are so close you can almost
taste them and we did a local recipe recon to
find you some delicious inspiration for the
most important part of each meal—dessert.
Each tasty recipe we gathered, whether carefully tweaked
through the generations or just recently discovered, has a
distinct flavor and a story.
This fruit cake recipe, originally prepared every Christmas by Nancy Haithcock's grandmother, has received the
stamp of approval from three generations of her family.
When both of Nancy's parents passed away in 1982, she felt
it was important to continue the family tradition herself.
"I make it for my [older] brother every year, and that is
my Christmas gift to him. If he is not close by, I send it to
him," she explained.
And send it she does, soaked in bourbon and carefully
tucked into a 50-year-old cookie tin. The tin features Little Miss Sunbeam, long-time symbol of the Sunbeam Bread
Company, whose baked goods were carried in their father's
general store, along with everything from sewing supplies,
to feed, seed and gasoline.
"It is a tangible memory of our childhood and our parents," she continued, "It is something that combines us together to that past that we have and share."
By Miriam cookie tin,
When her brother receives the Landru given to their
father's store by the bread company, he enjoys every last bite
and then mails it back when the holidays are over.
"This fruit cake is exceptional. Even fruit cake skeptics
love this cake!" She added that her mother always liked to
pair it with freshly cut oranges or pineapple.
CityViewNC.com | 19
