Celtic Knot Graham Cookies

This graham flour cookie is a festive treat for St. Patrick's Day or any other Irish saint feast day tea party. 

Celtic Knot Graham Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups graham flour
3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Sift flours, baking soda and salt into large bowl.  Beat butter in another large bowl at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add brown sugar and beat together. Add molasses and beat until fluffy.  Add egg and beat until well blended.  Reduce speed to low and add vanilla.  Add flour mixture and graham cracker crumbs and beat on low speed just to blend.

Wrap ball of dough in plastic wrap.  Chill until firm, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

Sprinkle work surface with flour and roll out 1/2 of dough. Refrigerate unused portion.

Roll lengths of dough into ropes and, working on a parchment-lined baking sheet, twist them into knots as shown.  I printed out a 3 inch celtic knot clipart to use as a template and place under the parchment paper. 

Bake in pre-heated oven (350° F) for 8-12 minutes.  Let cool on pan until firm enough to transfer to wire racks. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool completely.  Makes about 2 dozen, 3-inch knot cookies.

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Tacos for Trinity Sunday

The following menu suggestions for Trinity Sunday, along with the pictures, were submitted by Angie from Jesse Tree Treasures.

To celebrate Trinity Sunday (last year) we had Trinity tacos!
The menu included a trio of fresh berries.
Three types of tortillas (soft flour, soft corn and hard shell corn)
A trio of dips and salsas (homemade guacamole, seasoned sour cream, and salsa)
Tri-color peppers
Three cheeses
And if you really want to go all out, you could do three meats with taco meat and fajita chicken and steak. We just stuck with taco meat.

This is a fun and healthy meal that the kids love. The best part is... It is allergy friendly. It is extremely difficult to find a meal the whole family can eat because of the various allergies. Tacos are a favorite, because everyone can stay away from their offending food. If you still have room for dessert, you can have a "Trinity Sundae" with 3 scoops of ice cream and 3 toppings or 3 cherries. Enjoy!  (Editor note:  You can also find a Trio of Sundae Solemnities in the archives!)

Guacamole Recipe
I used to be intimidated by the thought of making homemade guacamole, now I make it all the time, it is so simple.
All you need are: 2-3 avocados (they should yield a bit to your finger pressure, but not feel hollow).
Mash with a fork or two knives. If it is a little chunky that's fine, I like it better that way.
Add sea salt, chili powder and lime juice to taste, and that's it! Yum!
If you like to add things to it, try red onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and red peppers.

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Tres Leche Cake for Trinity Sunday

Earlier this month we made an easy and delicious Tres Leche cake as part of our Cinco de Mayo dinner.   It would be a great option this coming weekend in honor of "Trinity Sunday!"

I based it off of this recipe but made some alterations (mostly to make less sugary and cut out some unnecessary fat) so my version is below:

Tres Leche Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup white sugar

5 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups skim milk

1/2 of a 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

1 and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1-2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

sprinkling of cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
3. Cream butter or margarine and the 1 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; beat well.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 2 tablespoons at a time; mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Pierce cake several times with a fork.Cool cake.
6. Combine the skim milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.
7. Whip whipping cream, 1-2 tablespoons of sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla together until thick. Spread over the top of cake. Sprinkle top of cake with cinnamon. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated, enjoy!

This cake would also be good for celebrating the feast of our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego.

Our Lady of Guadalupe & Saint Juan Diego, 

patron saints of Mexico, 

Pray for us!

*Additional recipes for Trinity Sunday can be found in the archives. Pin It

Cinnamon Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day

Here is a fun and easy recipe for the upcoming feast of St. Patrick.   This recipe calls for Rhodes™ Anytime! Cinnamon rolls, but it could be made with your favorite homemade cinnamon rolls as well, though it might take just a little longer.  :)   For those with allergies, you can find a gluten-free cinnamon roll recipe in the archives.   We have made smaller Shamrock Cinnamon Rolls in the past, but I love the look of this larger shamrock made with three heart shaped cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon Shamrocks

adapted from Rhodes Bread

Ingredients: (For each large 2 serving Shamrock)

• 4 Rhodes™ Anytime! Cinnamon rolls
• Cream Cheese Frosting (included with rolls)
• Green Sugar Sprinkles

Directions:

Defrost the cinnamon rolls.   To do so quickly, place one frozen roll at a time on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 12 seconds.

Unroll one half of the roll then start rolling the dough from the unrolled end to form a matching spiral. When each spiral looks the same, pinch the dough between the two spirals to make a point at the bottom. Repeat with two more rolls.

Cut off a piece from the last remaining roll to use for the stem. Arrange the 3 heart shaped rolls and the stem into a shamrock shape (use the leftover part of the last roll for additional shamrock stems).

Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. Glaze with cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with green sugar sprinkles.

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Tri-color pasta salad for Trinity Sunday

I came up with this recipe on my way to Mass yesterday morning. I was hoping to add three different kinds of cheeses, but I wasn't able to get the ones my kids liked, so I just bought one kind, although I included three of them in my recipe below.

1 box of tomato, carrot and spinach blend pasta
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pound of Cheddar cheese, cubed
1/2 pound Jack cheese, cubed
1/2 pound Mozzarella cheese, cubed
1 pound of sliced boneless ham, cubed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Salad Supreme seasoning mix
2 tablesspoons olive oil

Boil the pasta, drain it and drizzle it with olive oil. Put it in the refrigerator to cool. Chop the peppers, cube the ham and cheese and add the remaining ingredients to the pasta salad. Enjoy! Pin It

A Trio of Sundae Solemnities

When the Church enters Ordinary Time after the feast of Pentecost, our time to celebrate is gratefully not over. The two Sundays following Pentecost are solemnities honoring the Most Holy Trinity, and the Corpus Christi , or Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The following Friday, the Church celebrates the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which our family likes to honor after Mass on the Sunday of that week. I have always wanted to come up with an idea for an ice cream treat, or sundae, to celebrate each of these Sundays as, in my mind, they sort of usher in the beginning of summer. With a little help from a friend, I was able to come up with a trio of sundaes to celebrate these upcoming feasts. I am delighted for the opportunity to share them here at Catholic Cuisine.

For Trinity Sunday:

Three in One Sundaes

• Neapolitan Ice Cream: The three flavors in one represent the Three Persons of our One God.
• Chocolate Syrup, Strawberry Topping, and Whipped Cream: These represent each of the three flavors of the ice cream individually, just like the Father, Son and Holy Spirit each manifest one of God's Three Persons.

For Corpus Christi Sunday:

Bread and Wine a la Mode

• white chocolate bread pudding (recipe follows): to represent the bread
  
• warm blueberry or blackberry syrup (homemade or store bought) in wine glasses: this can be poured over the bread pudding after it is served to represent the wine
  
• coconut ice cream or sherbet: this can be placed on top the bread pudding, and used to surprise your family...what looks like vanilla ice cream is actually something else--a reminder that the bread and wine we receive at Mass appears to be bread and wine, but has actually become the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus

White Chocolate Bread Pudding:

Ingredients:
6 c whipping cream
2c milk
1c sugar
12 oz white chocolate
15 egg yolks
4 whole eggs
Sauce:
1/2 c whipping cream
8 oz white chocolate

Cut or tear 24 in of french bread into chunks. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 275 for ten minutes.

Heat whipping cream, sugar and milk just until bubbling at the edges. Add white chocolate and stir until melted.

Slowly add hot mixture to eggs while whipping steadily.

Place bread into a 9x13 baking dish and pour half of the liqid mixture over bread and press until absorbed. Pour remaining liquid over bread and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour on 350. Remove foil and bake an additional 30 min until golden brown. Let cool and set for a little while before slicing.

For the Feast of the Sacred Heart:

Heart Aflame Sundaes

• Strawberry ice cream or sherbet (to represent Jesus' heart)
• peach slices arranged like flames on top (I used canned peaches in the photo above, but fresh would give that red edge to make it ever so much more flame like)
  
• chocolate chips or sprinkles across the middle to represent the crown of thorns

I hope you enjoy the chance to step into summer with the Church as we rejoice in the goodness of our God! Blessings to you all.

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Sweet Shamrock Pretzels

Here is another fun and easy shamrock snack, inspired by Family Fun, for St. Patrick's Day.  We recently made these during "P" week and plan to make them again on the 17th!  

Ingredients:

• Canned refrigerated bread stick dough (we used Pillsbury Original Breadsticks)
• Colored sugar (we colored our own, using a couple drops of green food coloring)
• Cinnamon

Instructions:

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat it with cooking spray.

To create the clover shape, mold 3 sections of bread sticks into hearts and press them together as shown. Attach a small stem, decorate (with a sprinkling of colored sugar and cinnamon), bake according to the package directions, and serve. Pin It

Shamrock Toasties

This recipe is from originally from Family Fun and would be a fun snack to serve on March 17th, the Feast of St. Patrick.

Ingredients:

Green Pepper
Cheddar Cheese
English Muffins

To make one, slice a green pepper crosswise near the pointed end to get a small, three-lobed shamrock shape. (If your pepper has four lobes, you've got a lucky clover instead.) Cut a small slice for a stem.

Toast half an English muffin, then top it with a slice of Cheddar and the pepper shamrock. Place the muffin on a tray, then broil it in a toaster oven until the cheese is melted.

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Trinity Cake and Ice Cream

The mystery of the Holy Trinity is not one that we will ever "solve." But just because it's not a solvable mystery doesn't mean we shouldn't continually explore it. Like the other moms who contribute here, I frequently explore our Church's liturgical year with food -- I think food provides a most teachable and memorable moment, especially for children -- even when it's a simple chocolate cake.

To illustrate the three equal, but different natures of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity today, I decorated the top of a simple box-mix chocolate cake. While there is no one official symbol for the Holy Trinity, there are many possible symbolic designs to use. I used three circles together -- the Borromean rings -- to illustrate the Holy Trinity on our dessert cake. In each circle, I placed a letter, P for Pater, F for Fillius, an S for Spiritus.

I also made a batch of vanilla ice cream and folded in some chopped Kit Kats after it finished churning. I found a bag of mini Kit Kats at the store and thought they made a perfect teaching tool for the kids. I know they're only Kit Kats, and I apologize if my method offends your sense of reverence for the Trinity, but really, it worked. The mini Kit Kats were white, dark and milk chocolate. Just like the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father, the white is not milk, and the milk is not dark, and the dark is not white. And just as the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Spirit is God, the white is a Kit Kat, and the milk is a Kit Kat and the dark is a Kit Kat. Maybe too simple for your taste, but it was very tasty! Pin It

Trinity Sunday

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is probably my favorite religious lesson to teach to the children. There are just so many excellent examples to help us understand this article of our Faith. St. Patrick used a shamrock. Others have used the example of the family. St. Anselm of Canterbury compared the Trinity to a spring, a stream and a lake and St. Bonaventure applied St. Augustine's three powers of the soul to the processions of the Holy Trinity.

Today, we used some cookies to demonstrate in a very small and imperfect way the mystery of this doctrine to our children.
I divided some sugar cookie dough into three parts and colored them red for God the Holy Spirit, gold for God the Son, and blue for God the Father who made heaven and earth. (You could also use green, purple and gold.) The children shaped them into small balls and placed them on the cookie sheet.

We flattened them with a sugared glass bottom so that they would cook evenly. Judging from the squishing noises being made, I think this was their favorite part!


Another simple dessert for today would be a Rainbow Sherbet Cake. I once had a theology professor use Rainbow Sherbet as an analogy for the Triune God and while it might have been an imperfect analogy, it certainly made us sit up and listen.

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Staples of Our Feastday Celebrations Part One: Bread

There is so much inspiration here at Catholic Cuisine! Mary's Bread - A Staple of Liturgical Year Celebrations and then Mary Ellen's Feeling Wine-y, a practical guide to experimenting and enjoying wines, got me all excited -- these ladies share my enthusiasm! I had sketched an outline for an article years ago on some how-to pointers celebrating with bread and wine for the Liturgical Year (on the back of two envelopes, no less -- my greatest brain storms are always sketched on the backs of envelopes). After being inspired by Mary and Mary Ellen, I thought this might be a good time to flesh it out!

While some of these ideas can be incorporated in the family, you might also say this series could be entitled "Feasting for Adults through the Liturgical Year."

Like Mary Machado mentioned, "Bread is such a significant image in our faith...and it is a staple of life." I find breaking bread (literally and figuratively) and sharing wine together is such a wonderful social experience. I enjoy baking bread, although I've had to shelve most of my interaction with wheat flour because of my older son's food allergy to wheat. There might be a chance he'll outgrow the allergy, but for now I enjoy talking recipes and eating other people's masterpieces.

Mary gave some excellent tips about incorporating bread into feast days. Since it is "the staple of life" it seems so natural to work bread into our celebrations around the year. I mentioned some ideas here on First Communion breads. Some further extensions of incorporating bread for feastdays:

Liturgical Feasting With Bread: 

• This is the most obvious: bake breads that are traditionally linked with a feast or saint, such as the German Christmas Christollen or Stollen which resembles the Christ Child in swaddling clothes. Or St. Catherine’s Wigs for St. Catherine of Alexandria’s feast on November 25.
• Don't be limited by yeast breads, but remember there are a vast array of recipes for sourdough breads, rolls, quick breads, muffins, gluten-free and wheat free baking, scones, (American) biscuits, etc. In our family dinners I mark the special feasts with some kind of bread, as I don't serve it every day.
• Use bread recipes from a geographic area, region, or culture. For example, for the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Italian bread would be appropriate, but you could also delve deeper and use a bread recipe from the Umbrian region or specifically a recipe from the city of Assisi. The same principle applied elsewhere, such as not confusing Spanish with Castilian saints (St. Ignatius of Loyola was Castilian). France is divided into various regions, each with unique flavors, such as bread from Provençal. Our Holy Father, Benedict XVI is from Germany, but he's specifically from Bavaria.
• Use regional ingredients (grains, fruits, etc.) to mark a feast. Is a saint from Scotland? Oat cakes or scones or bannocks would be a perfect touch. For example, serve the native corn in the style of cornbread on Saint Kateri Tekakwitha's feast on July 14. For St. Barnabas the Apostle (June 11), incorporate some olive bread, since one of his symbols is the olive branch. Or mix in some appropriate vegetables, fruits, and/or nuts into your usual bread dough to mark the feast.
• Use inspiration from other traditions and customs around the world. The food doesn't have to be applied to the original feast, like Symbolic Breads, which were originally from St. Joseph's feast day, but the shaping of breads can be applied to various feasts, including this upcoming Corpus Christi Sunday. Also look at historical recipes, like biblical, Ancient Mediterranean, medieval, etc. Try medieval baking for a saint or feast from the medieval era, or biblical breads, such as Ezekiel fasting bread for ember days and unleavened bread for some New Testament saints. And how about some Jewish kosher cooking for saints like Martha? A Jewish challah bread would be perfect for her day!
• Play with words! Sometimes recipes have unique or fun titles, or use proper names. If a bread has a name that fits with the saint of the day, use it! I keep thinking of the story of panettone, Tony's Bread by Tomie dePaola. Since it's named after Tony, it would be perfect to serve on St. Anthony Abbott's feast on January 17th, whose daily bread was brought to him by a raven. Most Italians don't bake this bread but buy it, so purchase an extra box at Christmas and save it for this feast.
• Be inspired by the shapes and colors of breads. A fabulous Easter bread is the Italian Colomba di Pasqua or Colomba Pasquale (Easter Dove). My husband and I have bought this for two Easters from our favorite local Italian restaurant. Although it's originally an Easter bread, the dove shape makes it perfect to serve Columba Pasquale for Pentecost or Confirmation celebrations.
• And the same can be applied to Greek Trinity bread -- an Easter bread, but triangular in shape would make it perfect for the Feast of the Blessed Trinity (yesterday's feast). Cloverleaf and Shamrock Rolls can be used for the feast of St. Patrick and the feast of the Blessed Trinity.
• Have a blessing of bread when everyone is gathered before eating. The older form of the Roman Ritual has a delightful collection of blessings of foods, particularly breads.

• Lord Jesus Christ, You live and are King forever. Bread of angels, Bread of everlasting life, be so kind as to bless this bread as You blessed the five loaves in the desert, that all who taste of it may through it receive health of body and soul. R. Amen.

This page has a compilation of the Blessings of Food. Note there are three specifically for bread!

Cookbook Recommendations: The following books are my favorite bread cookbooks, great for inspiration on bread baking throughout the year:

The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking by Brother Rick Curry. For me there are two types of cookbooks, one is wonderful reading AND good recipes, and the other a great compilation of recipes. This falls into the former. Brother Rick shares the spiritual side of baking bread. He follows St. Ignatius' rule to make a daily Examen of Conscience, and does it while he bakes bread. "Radical or not, I consider it to be one of the secrets of Jesuit breadmaking." This is a delightful cookbook, with such personal anecdotes and practical baking advice. He uses recipes from Jesuits from all over the world, with breads for all the seasons: Advent, Lent, Christmas, Easter, and also daily breads, rolls, muffins and corn breads.

The Festive Bread Book by Kathy Cutler. This is an out-of-print cookbook, but very easy to find used copies. It has the most delightful collection of festive breads for all sorts of days, both secular holidays (Lincoln and Washington's birthdays, Election Day, for examples) and some religious feast days, including ones like St. Barbara (December 4), St. Lucia, and St. Joseph. Not every recipe is illustrated, but the book does include several mouth-watering photographs.

Celebration Breads: Recipes, Tales, and Traditions by Betsy Oppenneer is an excellent, step-by-step cookbook for baking bread. Each recipe has alternative directions for mixing by hand, by mixer and by food processor. The book is organized by country and then breads for various celebrations of that culture, with descriptions and tales for each. It's a delightful book, with hand drawn illustrations throughout. Check out a preview at Google Books.

Stayed tuned for Staples of Our Feastday Celebrations Part Two: Wine. Pin It

Annunciation pineapple upsidedown cake

I was inspired to make this for the Feast of the Annunciation. I was reading about this Feast Day here. In that link they describe how this Feast Day forecasts the blessed event of Christmas, and illustrates how the liturgical year is an endless circle of days. So, I thought it would be great to use a cake mix I got for free and make this a simple, easy way to incorporate the circle theme. As you are putting on the pineapples, use it as a chance to talk about the Holy Trinity ;)

When you buy the cake mix. There is a recipe on the side of the box for making it the upside down way. Basically you just add 1/2 cup of butter into the baking pan after you grease the pan with Crisco. Then put 1 cup packed brown sugar evenly covering the bottom of the pan. Then add the pineapple circles and cherries however you like. Then mix the cake mix as directed and pour it into the pan, covering the pineapples and cherries. Bake as directed according to your pan size. I used 2 circular 8 inch baking pans and baked it for about 35 minutes at 350.

It is that easy!

We also ate circle waffles that morning, I cut pb&j's with my circular cookie cutter, and we ate a circular pizza with pepperoni for dinner. For snacks in between, we had circle crackers and cheese and sliced bananas. Circle's and more circle's ;)

This is great if you have one of those busy days and can't spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You can still use easy meals to teach about our liturgical year!

Happy Feast Day!

P.S.- This is also a great time to teach a toddler or pre-schooler about circles, the letter O or the number zero. Have fun!

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