Tasty treats

Rumtopf and Hot Pepper Jelly
Spring is really the ideal time to begin your own German rumtopf (rum pot) for the holiday, but you can still make a holiday rumtopf now.
Although you’ll use the fruit available in the store, traditionally, folks began a rumtopf with the first strawberry harvest and layered in other fruits as they ripened throughout the year.
Use rumtopf to toast in the New Year, but savor the fruit any time as a wonderful sauce for pound cake or ice cream. The fruit, pale once soaked, is rich with the flavor of rum. You can start using the fruit just a few days after you create your rumtopf. Just make sure to replace what you take with more fruit, sugar, and rum.

Rumtopf

Stone fruits and berries are really the best. Citrus, apples, and pears grow bitter. Wash all the fruit. Peel peaches and any stone fruit except plums. Cut large fruits into quarters, and halve all but the largest plums. Quarter those. Leave berries whole. You can use fresh pineapple, but we never had it when I was growing up. Make sure everything is dry before assembling the rumtopf.

The amount of fruit you use depends on the size of your container. A large ceramic container with a lid is best. Opaque glass works as well, but avoid clear glass. A gallon-size container would be perfect, but I use one that’s only 2½ quarts.

Start with a half pound to 1 pound of strawberries, matching the amount of sugar to the amount of fruit. So, for a half pound of strawberries, you’ll use a half pound of sugar, about one heaping cup.

Toss strawberries and sugar in a bowl and transfer to your rumtopf container, scraping in all the sugar and liquid. Cover with rum. I prefer spiced rum, but it’s not required.

Toss each fruit with its equivalent weight in sugar before putting it into the rumtopf container and covering with rum. Proceed in the following order:

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, nectarines, grapes, and plums.

When fruit is assembled, cover with rum to about an inch above the fruit. Weight the fruit if you have room with a small lid or plate. Cover the container and put it in a cool dark spot. The first several days, stir the pot to help the sugar dissolve, making sure you stir all the way to the bottom.

Let this sit three months, if you can, to enjoy the delights of this liqueur.

Hot Pepper Jelly
My Grandma made all kinds of jellies and chutneys for the holiday season, but I discovered the delights of this jelly while living in New Orleans. It became a year-round favorite to pull out for a fast appetizer when company dropped by. I pour the jelly over a square of softened cream cheese and serve it with wheat thins. It’s addictive.

Be careful when making this jelly. Wear gloves and clean up well with warm soapy water. You don’t want to get the pepper oils in your eyes. Ouch!

Place first four ingredients in a large heavy-bottom saucepan or Dutch oven. Stir and then bring to a boil, boiling for 1 minute. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the Certo and a few drops of food coloring.

Run jelly jars through the dishwasher rinse cycle and use them when they’re hot. Put the jar lids in boiling water. Pour jelly into the warm jars to within a half-inch of the top. Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp paper towel. Put the hot lid on the jars, then the ring. As the jelly cools, you’ll frequently hear a popping sound from the jars, which means the jars are sealed. The lid should have no give when you press it. I process the jelly in a hot water bath: Put a wire rack in the bottom of a Dutch oven or canning pot. Fill the pot about three-quarters with water and bring to a boil. Place the sealed jelly jars on the rack — not touching. There should be at least an inch of water above the jars. Cover, return water to boil, and boil 10 minutes. Remove jars from the water and set on a towel until completely cool. I also cover the jars with a towel. The jelly can be stored on a shelf for up to a year. If you don’t process the jelly in boiling water, it must be stored in the refrigerator.

This jelly is great with ham and turkey and wonderful on green beans.

Oma’s Christmas Cookies

Before rolling dough pre-heat oven to 375°

Cream butter, sugar, and salt until the mixture is very light and fluffy. This can take up to 10 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Separately add the yolk, egg and vanilla, beating after each addition until well incorporated. Whisk together the flour, cardamom, and mace. Reduce the speed on your mixer and add the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least one hour or up to two days, or double wrap and freeze for up to a month.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Divide one disk in half and roll on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired cookie shapes. Sometimes if I’m in a hurry I use a pastry cutter and a ruler and turn these into scallop-edge diamonds. It’s quick and there’s no waste. Limit rerolling to once or the dough will toughen. Oma made brötchen or little breads by shaping small pieces of leftover dough into tiny loafs then scoring them with the back of a knife. These were a real favorite with us kids.

The cookies can be iced or sprinkled with sugar, but Oma used just egg yolk beaten with water brushed on the cookies right before baking.

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Pull the parchment paper onto a wire rack to cool.

Rosettes
Back when it was safe to take things like popcorn balls and candy apples at Halloween, my Oma would pull our her rosette irons and make these delicate cookies and sprinkle them with powdered sugar. The ghouls and goblins who came to our house would be munching on these before they reached the sidewalk. Oma used a deep cast iron skillet to heat the oil for these cookies.

Beat the eggs to break up and add the sugar, nutmeg and salt. Beat this well. Alternately add the flour and milk stirring each until smooth, then stir in the vanilla.

Heat at least 3 inches of oil to 365°. Heat the rosette iron in the oil until hot, about a minute. Dip the hot iron into the batter only up the edges. Do not cover the top of the iron or the rosette won’t fall off when finished. Immerse iron in hot oil and hold it there 25 to 30 seconds. The rosette will probably fall off. You can take it out carefully with a fork. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

This makes about 4 dozen rosettes.

Chocolate Almond Rosettes

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl. Add ½ cup of milk, oil, almond extract, and egg. Beat with a fork until it is smooth.

Follow the directions above to cook the rosettes.