Many of my fondest Christmas memories are from time spent at my grandmother’s house. She loved the holidays and her home was always decked out in beautiful pine boughs, twinkling lights, and ribbons—a true feast for the eyes and, when it came to her holiday baking, a feast for the stomach as well. A few years ago, overcome with missing the magic of my childhood Christmases, I dusted off her cookbooks intending to recreate her fig pudding, roasted chestnut tart, spiced latkes, and fruit cake. But once I saw the ingredients I recoiled slightly. The idea of using twelve sticks of butter frightened adult-me, and I was at odds with how tasty I remembered her food being with how much I knew that would put me into a food coma. I’m all for indulging in food, practicing moderation and eating in a way that makes me feel healthy both emotionally and physically, but dang—I didn’t want every single dish to be ultra-heavy.

The 1960s cookbooks she willed me were more of an oddity than a useful resource but I was determined to find a way to incorporate the wonderful holiday traditions of my childhood with a more modern approach that wouldn’t leave me filled with regrets.

After some experimentation, I found ways to remodel her classic dishes into ones that fit my adult taste and still satisfied my nostalgia. The important thing for me to remember was my goal: to make Christmas foods that transported me to my youth, while incorporating my grown up palate. For me, that didn’t mean cutting out all the fat and sugar, but lightening things up when I felt like it and indulging when I wanted to. So here are two of the finished recipes I came up with. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Figgy Pudding Cake

My grandma’s fig pudding was incredible, but it’s a tricky recipe and I’ve never been great at figuring out how to boil sweet things. So instead, I took the flavors I dearly loved—orange zest, pure vanilla, rich, earthy figs and transformed them into a cake.

1.5 cups heavy cream
1 cup of dried figs, chopped
¾ cup sugar
1.5 cups flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg, cinnamon, salt
½ tsp pink pepper (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract (you can also use almond)
3 large eggs
1.5 cups breadcrumbs
¾ cup soft butter
1 tbsp fresh orange zest
½ cup crushed almonds
2 tbsp citrus marmalade (I like to use orange-cardamom)

Heat the heavy cream and figs over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the figs are soft. Allow to cool while you sift the flour, sugar, spices and salt. Preheat your oven to 350 and throw a handful of ice cubes in there (the steam helps the cake stay moist.) Beat the eggs, add the figs/cream, butter, almonds, vanilla extract, zest, marmalade, and bread crumbs. You should probably use a stand or hand mixer, since it gets pretty thick. Add the flour slowly until the batter is smooth. Butter up a Bundt cake pan and pour in the batter. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes (depending on your oven) until the cake is firm and slightly pulling away from the sides of the pan. Serve warm or cold. This makes a great breakfast cake, but is equally nice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Roasted Chestnut Tart

Grandma’s chestnut tart still remains a mystery to me. I remember assorted vegetables, a sort of cream sauce, smoky flavors and warm, rich chestnuts. Although I found her recipe, I couldn’t recreate the flavors so I went with something that spoke to my memories of the dish.

1 premade pie crust (the kind in the pan is best for easy clean up)
1 small bunch of cauliflower florets
½ small sweet onion, finely diced
2 Yukon gold potatoes, skinned and mashed
2 tbsp salted butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk (or heavy cream)
½ cup crumbled cheese (I’ve used all sorts, depending on my mood, but my favorite is Emmental)
 1 tsp thyme
1 tsp smoked salt
1 tsp truffle oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ cup chestnuts, chopped

Spread the florets on a cookie sheet, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 375 for about 15 minutes, or until soft. Add the mashed potato, onions, truffle oil and smoked salt. Stir to combine and return to the oven for 5 more minutes. Slice a few small holes into the bottom of your unbaked pie crust and brush with Dijon. Remove veggies from the oven and fill the tart. Set aside. Now melt the butter in a sauce pan, add the flour and whisk to combine. Add the milk and continue to whisk as the mixture thickens. Add the cheese, spices and salt and stir until the cheese has melted. Toss in the chestnuts. Once the sauce is done, pour over the tart. At this point, you can top it with any cheese you have left, or any extra chestnuts. Throw it back in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until the top is brown. 

It’s struck us all in a deep way. Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, the book that eventually became To Kill a Mockingbird, has shown us that Atticus Finch was more than what we saw through Scout’s child eyes.

If you have read To Kill a Mockingbird (and if you haven’t, shame on you), you may have some strong beliefs about Atticus Finch. He was an honorable man. A man who stood up for a negro man who was falsely accused. Scout told us all of this when she was a girl.

In Go Set a Watchman, we see Atticus through his adult daughter’s eyes… and he isn’t as virtuous as we thought. He is a white man of the time period. He abides by the truth, but he is a racist. And this is causing many fans great upset.

Before we talk food, remember this. Go Set a Watchman is NOT an extension of Mockingbird. It is an entirely different book. It is more about the reality of the time than the awareness of a child. I don’t like this newly described Atticus Finch at all. But he isn’t perfect. None of us are. Read it and think past the Finches to ourselves and our own beliefs. We are our own watchpeople.

And after that serious discourse, I’d like to offer a couple of recipes of the time.

Southern Lemonade

You wouldn’t catch Scout drinking some abomination from a can or bottle, would you?

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup lemon juice

3-4 cups cold water

Instructions:

Make a simple syrup with the sugar and water. Place in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon juice (freshly squeezed from about 6 lemons) to a pitcher with the simple syrup. Add cold water to taste. Refrigerate.

Crackling Bread

The cracklings are bits of crunchy bacon. Delicious!

9 ounces (2 cups) cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) buttermilk

1 large egg

1 cup cracklings (or substitute crispy bacon pieces)

1 tablespoon butter or bacon drippings

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Put the tablespoon of fat into a cast iron skillet and put the skillet in the oven to heat. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Whisk the buttermilk and egg together in another bowl, then combine the wet and dry ingredients, whisking just until combined. Stir in the cracklings. Remove the pan from the oven and pour in the batter-it will sizzle. Turn the heat down to 350°F and return the pan to the oven. Bake until golden, 25 minutes. When finished, flip the bread out of the pan so the crispy crust faces up. Slice into wedges and serve. Drizzle with honey if wanted.

Grab your book, a glass of lemonade, and a piece of Crackling Bread and sit down for a read. You might not agree with it, but it will make some great conversation… and great eats!