St. Nicholas Recipes

Well, I managed to pull off both a special St. Nicholas cookie and a Turkish style dinner. Here are the recipes we used:

Speculaas Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups dark brown sugar

2 eggs

grated rind of 1 lemon

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

1/8 tsp salt

4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

Optional: Icing

In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition. Stir in the lemon rind. 

Sift the spices and salt with the flour and baking powder, and stir gradually into the butter mixture. Wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for several hours or overnight. (If you are like me and forget to read ahead that the recipe calls for chilling, you can speed the process up by sticking the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes). 

On a floured surface, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick. If you are going to make large cutouts, you may want to make the dough a little thicker. Cut out with cookie cutters, or with a sharp knife. You can also just cut the dough in squares. You can even use a cookie mold with this dough- or shape the dough by hand. 

Place the cookies on greased baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Larger cookies will take longer. I like my cookies soft- so I remove them when they just set. 

You could decorate these cookies with your favorite icing or glaze when cool. Makes about 3 dozen. 

Adapted from: A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz

This was my first attempt at making cut-out cookies with a toddler- and it proved more challenging than I anticipated! Jonathan was more interested in eating the dough than anything else and threw a little mini-fit when I wouldn't let him. So we made about half of the cookies, and then I stuck the rest of the dough in the refrigerator to finish later. There's no point in making cookies if it isn't fun for all involved!

There are some nice St. Nicholas cookie cutters out there (which was recommended by the recipe). I think I may try to obtain one for next year. This year, we used angels and stars to cut out our gingerbread cookies. They were fairly good-- but I think I may increase some of the spices next year as the gingerbread was somewhat mild.

For dinner, I made a variation of this dish. I'm not a mushroom fan, so I omitted the mushrooms. I added green pepper as well as red and used a can of diced tomatoes since I didn't have any fresh on hand. I served the chicken on a bed of brown basmati rice. My husband really liked it so it's going into our family cookbook.

It was a fun St. Nicholas Day celebration! I hope we can continue and add to these traditions in the years to come!

It's Saint Nicholas Day!

Growing up, I attended a Catholic elementary school. Not only did we celebrate Advent, but we also celebrated Saint Nicholas Day! In the morning when we arrived at school, we would leave one of our standard uniform shoes outside the classroom door. At some point during the morning, "Saint Nicholas" would come and leave a treat in each child's shoe. It was usually a little candy cane-- but it was quite a fun tradition as a child.

When I attended college my roommate's mother had a tradition that interested me. She wanted the focus of Christmas to be celebrating the birth of Jesus. Therefore, "Santa" came on St. Nicholas Day and filled each child's Christmas stocking. Presents were still exchanged between family members on Christmas Day, but they  would also make a birthday cake for Jesus and have a present for Him. It struck me as a good way to still have some Santa-style fun, but keep the focus of Christmas on Christ, where it belongs.

Now that I have my own children, I'm excited to begin our own Saint Nicholas Day traditions! This year, our celebration is going to be quite simple, but I hope to add some traditions as the children get older.

Who was Saint Nicholas?

Saint Nicholas is the real man behind the legends of Santa Claus.He lived from about 280-343 AD. He was from the town of Myrna, which is in present day Turkey. He dedicated his life to serving God and became the Bishop of Myrna while still a young man. He was well known for his acts of generosity and many stories are told about his kind deeds. You can read a full biography here. Nicholas is an excellent hero of the faith to introduce children to and a way to talk about being merciful to those in need.

Celebrating Saint Nicholas


We have had a simple celebration this year. I've ordered stockings for the kids, but they haven't arrived yet. so this year, Jonathan came downstairs to find a little gift at the breakfast table. He got a little train to go with his new train table that some friends gave us this weekend. Gracie had a new little rattle.

This afternoon, we are making some traditional German cookies and, if I have time, I may try to make a Turkish chicken dish for dinner.

So it's a very simple celebration this year for us-- but I look forward to adding new traditions as the children get older! Do you celebrate Saint Nicholas day?

Toddler Friendly Nativity Scene

Last year was Jonathan's first Christmas. We were in the midst of moving back to Chicago, so we didn't decorate or do very much to celebrate. The only thing I did was display my Willow Tree nativity set. This year, I'm so excited to be able to decorate- especially since Jonathan's a bit older and will be able to understand a little more of what's going on around him.

Last year, I spotted this Fisher Price Little People Nativity set and I knew I wanted it for Jonathan. I love my Willow Tree set, but I believe it's important for children to have a nativity set they can play with and manipulate. We had the Little People Noah's Ark set, and I knew the nativity would be perfect for a toddler to handle.

This year I was delighted to receive it from a dear friend shortly after Grace's birth. We pulled it out yesterday and Jonathan loved it.  I used the people to reenact the Bible story and then I let him play with the figures as he wished. We repeated the story again today. His favorite part is pressing the button to hear "Away in a Manger"! I'm ordering the three wise men set for him as well.

Playing with his nativity

He likes it!

Advent

Yesterday was the official beginning of Advent. Many Protestant churches do not emphasize Advent, but I love this time of year! I grew up going to Catholic schools where Advent was celebrated and it always seemed like a magical time of the year. Now, as an adult, I've come to appreciate the meaning behind Advent. 

Objectively, advent remembers Israel's longing for the Messiah. The prophets had foretold a Messiah would come to deliver Israel, and Israel was hopefully waiting for the Messiah to come. 

But for us, as Christians, it also should inspire longing in our lives. Longing for Christ to come anew into our busy lives. In the midst of a busy season full of Christmas preparations, advent calls us to reflect. It's a time to prepare spiritually to celebrate His coming. It is also a time to reflect on the expectation that at the end of history, Jesus will rescue the world and establish His kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. We, like Israel, are waiting for the Messiah to come. 

There's a lot of meaning to this season. And I want to share and create traditions for my children. Right now, they are to young to fully understand the significance of Advent and Christmas. But I can be planting seeds. 

Here are some more Advent articles, if you are interested in learning more about this season:

What Every Christian should Know about Advent Season

Five Reasons You Should Celebrate Advent