Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Christmas in Texas: ‘From Thanksgiving on, the food is non-stop’, says Scottish baker

Kelly Breese.

Kelly Breese lived in Houston, Texas for around three decades until relocating to Scotland in February last year.

It comes as no surprise that Texas is known for its mouth-watering pastries and pies, Tex-Mex and, of course, its fall-off-the-bone barbecued meats.

Kelly, who moved to Aberdeen with her husband Jordan and their two daughters, Kennedy and Henley, just nine days before the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, was quick to reveal that she has, and always will, admire traditional southern food.

A Texas-style barbecue tray.

But the list doesn’t end there, as the festive season in Texas gives communities the green light to place a wealth of delicious sweet and savoury dishes onto their dining tables.

All things sweet

Kelly, 32, launched her own baking business Cookie Cookie in April this year.

She produces custom-decorated royal iced sugar cookie boxes, currently available in an original flavour, and cookie cakes.

Speaking of cookies, they happened to be one of the talented baker’s favourite comfort foods over the Christmas period in Texas.

“My family had about 20 cookie recipes that we made every year,” she said.

Sugar cookies.

“Christmas is all about family, so cooking and baking with mine from Thanksgiving to the New Year was – and is – one of my favourite things about the season.”

Other than cookies, ham, cheesy potatoes, pepper bread, pecan pie, peppermint meringue and eggnog are all common foods and drinks to tuck into in the state.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is an annual national holiday in the United States and Canada, celebrating with thanks given during a major feast.

Modelled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people, it continues to take place on November 25 every year.

Kelly says that “from Thanksgiving on, the food is non-stop”.

“There are parties every weekend, neighbours exchange cookies and tons of butter and cream cheese is put into every dish,” she added.

Kelly Breese of Cookie Cookie.

Comparing Christmas in Texas with Christmas in Scotland, the baker went on to say that her former hometown is much more extravagant when it comes to celebrating.

And rather than whipping up a Christmas Day dinner from scratch, Texans simply tuck into Christmas Eve dinner leftovers, instead.

“In Texas, the season is very large and over the top. There are constant activities and big get-togethers.

“If I had to say a few things I missed most about Christmas in Texas, it would be how much earlier it starts and how much people decorate their houses.

Pecan pie.

“It’s not done as big here, I’d say. Most Scots wait until December 1 to start decorating.

“As for the food, Scotland has more traditional roast dinner foods like things in storybooks. For example, fruit pies.

“A favourite of mine here has to be Christmas cake. I love marzipan!”


Traditional eggnog

Serves 4-6 

Ingredients

  • 75g sugar
  • 2 eggs, separated yolks
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 litre milk
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 120ml whipping cream, whipped (optional)
  • Ground nutmeg (optional)

Method

  1. Beat 75g of sugar into egg yolks. Add salt and stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture coats spoon. Cool.
  2. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until foamy. Gradually add 3 tablespoons of sugar, beating to soft peaks. Add to custard and mix thoroughly. Add vanilla. Chill.
  3. Serve with dots of whipped cream (optional) and a dash of nutmeg (optional). Rum can also be added.

For more like this…