I think this is finally the end of my Christmas Eve dinner posts, at least until next year!

As you can see, my parents have a wood-fired pizza oven, which makes for a nice party centerpiece as well as some absolutely delicious pizzas, and also other dishes including breads, meat, and roasted vegetables.

These are not so much recipes as lists of some combinations of toppings we enjoy for pizzas. As I said, we served them as appetizers, but they can definitely make a good main dish instead. Most of these are based on ideas from Mugnaini, the company where my parents bought their oven and where they recently went to cooking school. The last one is based on something we had at Myth, a restaurant in San Francisco.

Sometime I promise to share my parents’ delicious new recipe for pizza dough as well (assuming they’ll share it with me first!).

What are some of your favorite pizza toppings? I’d love to hear more suggestions in the comments section!

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This is another recipe that we always make at Christmas and that I don’t remember having any other time of year. They are a pecan shortbread cookie rolled in powdered sugar (the ones on the left in the picture). I’ve also seen similar cookies by other names, such as Mexican wedding cookies. We make ours in a skinny finger shape though, so we call them nutty fingers or lady fingers.

The recipe makes a bunch, but they are small and tend to go fast. They are slightly more labor intensive than some cookies, but they are absolutely delicious. The recipe comes from my grandmother, who always made them when my mom was growing up.

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This recipe comes from my grandmother Pat, who I think got it from her mother as well. I’m not putting in a picture, as the only one I have is also in the Nutty Finger post. Mom and I often make them for Christmas, although this year we had some that Pat made instead. They are one of Matt’s favorites, and another that we only have at Christmastime. It makes a bunch of cookies, but you can keep the dough in the fridge if you don’t have time to make them all at once. They are a dense chewy cookie with lots of dates, nuts and raisins — delicious!

You might also like:

• Nutty Fingers
• Pecan Toffee
• Mocha Peppermint Bark Cookies
• Peppermint Bark
• Christmas Cookies

Date Rock Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
3 c flour
1 t baking soda in 3 T boiling water
1 t cinnamon
1 lb chopped dates
1 lb chopped pecans
1 lb raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all ingredients together. This will give you mixer a real workout! Drop by teaspoons on ungreased cookie sheets and bake for about 9 minutes.

These are a tradition in our family, and especially one of my Dad’s favorites. Even better, they’re super easy, and only have a few ingredients that you’re likely to have on hand. I made some tonight as a little different holiday gift than the usual cookies, but they make great appetizers or snacks, too, and they never stay around too long at our house.

I didn’t have a cookie press, but I managed to find a cheap one at Bed Bath and Beyond for $6, so I enjoyed using my new toy. A cookie press makes these more fun, but I expect they would taste just fine made like drop cookies too. Or, I think a pastry bag with a star tip would make a fine substitute as well.

As a side note, I made another 101cookbooks recipe tonight, Heidi’s recent Hazelnut and Chard Ravioli Salad, except I used spinach, pumpkin ravioli, and acorn squash, and I added a bit of pancetta too, although it definitely didn’t need it. It was absolutely delicious, and I highly recommend it.

You might also like:

Cheese Straws

Ingredients:
8 oz. Sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
1 3/4 stick margarine
2 c flour
1/2 t Cayenne pepper

Cream margarine and cheese. Add flour and pepper. Mix well. Fill cookie press with desired shapes on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.