Combine Christmases Past And Present - Comforting Taste Of The Past With Special Seasonal Spin Of Today

These hearty solutions are inspired by harvest season, offering comforting taste of the past and mouth watering flavors to make your holiday meal truly memorable. There's nothing wrong with the classics - Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole and the like - but these recipes from "Cookin' Savvy" can give your gathering a special seasonal spin.

For dessert, wow your crowd this year with a mouth watering Hummingbird Cake or Coconut Cake that call to mind holidays past without requiring hours spent in the kitchen (like grandma used to do). Or for a classic take on an old favorite, these Christmas Cinnamon Cookies can even let the kiddos get involved - just make the dough then have your little helpers use their favorite cookie cutters to make festive shapes before the oven does the rest of the work.


Hummingbird Cake
Recipe courtesy of "Cookin' Savvy"

1 Spice Cake Mix
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Banana Cream Greek Yogurt
3 Eggs
1 Cup of Crushed Pineapple
1 Cup of Crushed Pecans
1 Cup of All-Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons of Melted Butter

Frosting:
1 Stick of Butter, softened
1 8 Ounce Package of Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
5 Cups of Powdered Sugar
1 Package of Pecans (optional)

Heat oven to 350 F.

In a mixing bowl, mix the Spice Mix and the Sugar. Blend in the Yogurt, the Eggs and the Pineapple. In a separate bowl, mix the Pecans, the Flour and the Butter then add it to the Cake Mixture.

Grease the two 8-inch cake pans with the Butter. Pour half of the mixture into each pan then bake them for 45 minutes, then cool them on the rack before icing them.

To make the Frosting: In a mixing bowl, mix the Butter, the Cream Cheese and the Heavy Whipping Cream. Slowly blend in the Powdered Sugar.

Ice the Cake then decorate it with the Pecans, if desired.

Coconut Cake
Recipe courtesy of "Cookin' Savvy"

1 Vanilla or White Cake Mix
1 Cup of All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Coconut Greek Yogurt
1 Cup of Milk
2 Tablespoons of Melted Butter
3 Eggs

Frosting:
1 Stick of Butter, softened
1 8 Ounce Package of Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
5 Cups of Powdered Sugar
2-4 Cups of Shredded Coconut

Heat oven to 350 F.

In a mixing bowl, mix the Cake mix, the Flour and the Sugar. Blend in the Yogurt, the Milk, the Butter and the Eggs.

Grease two 8-inch cake pans with the Butter. Pour half the mixture into each pan and bake it for 45 minutes. Cool on the rack before icing it.

To make the Frosting: In a mixing bowl, mix the Butter, the Cream Cheese and the Heavy Whipping Cream. Slowly blend in the Powdered Sugar.

Ice the Cake then pat it with the Shredded Coconut gently into the Icing.

Christmas Cinnamon Cookies
Recipe courtesy of "Cookin' Savvy"

1 2/3 Cups of Self-Rising Flour
2 1/2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon of Ginger
1/8 Teaspoon of Cloves
1/2 Cup of Sugar
1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
1 Egg
2 Tablespoons of Water (optional)
1 Cup of Powdered Sugar (optional)

In a mixing bowl, combine the Flour, the Cinnamon, the Ginger, the Cloves, the Sugar, the Brown Sugar and the Egg to make the Dough. If the Dough is too dry to form into a ball, add the Water. Form it into a log and wrap it into the parchment paper and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350 F.