It’s time again to indulge in Clear Capper’s favorite holiday recipes. Dig in and enjoy beverages, savory fare, and desserts from the Clear Capital team. Happy holidays!
Beverages
Apple Cider Margarita
Hot Cocoa in a Jar
Cranberry Mule
Savory Fare
New England Clam Chowder
Citrus and Herb Turkey
Bacon Gouda Mac and Cheese
Baked Brie Bites
Sweets
Aunt Dee’s Sugar-Coated Walnuts
Grinch Fruit Bites
DA BOMB Chai Banana Bread
EPIC Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
Apple Upside-Down Cake
Bourbon Balls
Bonbons
Layered Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
Chocolate-Dipped Mandarins
Beverages
Apple Cider Margarita
Submitted by Shirleen Chen / Senior Marketing Operations Manager
Ingredients
4 ounces unfiltered spiced apple cider (Trader Joe’s version tastes delicious!)
1 ounce of Reposado tequila (Use non-alcoholic tequila to make it a mocktail)
Ground cinnamon
1 Cinnamon stick for garnish
½ ounce fresh lime juice (optional)
Ice
Instructions
- Add ice to a glass.
- Pour the tequila, lime juice, and apple cider into the glass and stir.
- Sprinkle some ground cinnamon over the top.
- Garnish with a cinnamon stick and enjoy!
Hot Cocoa in a Jar
Submitted by Sherri Kirbis / Customer Support Specialist II
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup powdered milk
½ cup miniature marshmallows
½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
This recipe creates a large volume of drink mix. Put into smaller containers to freeze or gift to friends!
- Using a clean quart jar, layer the ingredients starting with the unsweetened cocoa.
- When ready to serve, store in an air-tight container.
- Add ⅓ cup of mix to one cup of hot water.
- Attach an instruction tag to each jar.
Cranberry Mule
Submitted by Jancy Ulch / Content Marketing Manager
Ingredients
2 ounces vodka
Fresh cranberries
Ginger beer
Lime
Ice
Instructions
- Muddle fresh cranberries into a glass or copper mug and fill ⅔ with ice.
- Add vodka and top with ginger beer.
- Squeeze fresh lime juice over the drink and garnish with cranberries. Cheers!
Savory Fare
New England Clam Chowder
Submitted by Melissa Barclay / Team Lead, Broker Product Solicitations
Ingredients
4 – 5 strips of bacon
1 large celery stalk, chopped
1 large yellow or white onion, diced into bite-sized pieces
4 – 5 large potatoes, chopped
4 cans minced clam meat (separate meat and juice into separate containers)
1 bottle clam juice
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
3 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 pint whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Crushed red pepper to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Fry the bacon in a pan or Dutch oven. Set aside to degrease and cool. Save 2 – 3 tablespoons of grease for cooking.
- Place bacon grease in a warmed Dutch oven or large pot. Add chopped celery and diced onions. sauté to soften for approximately 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, bottle of clam juice, and clam juice from the canned clam meat and bring to a boil — the juice should cover the potatoes, onions, and celery.
- Turn down the heat to simmer. Add celery seed and fresh thyme. Let simmer for 15 minutes to soften the potatoes.
- Add the clam meat, old bay seasoning, cream, chopped parsley, crushed red pepper (optional), salt, and pepper to taste. Let it simmer to the desired thickness.
- Chop the bacon into bits. Place bacon bits and remaining chopped parsley in small serving dishes to be used as toppings.
- Add a splash of hot sauce for extra spice and enjoy!
Citrus and Herb Turkey
Submitted by Sherri Kirbis / Customer Support Specialist II
Ingredients
1 whole turkey (about 14 pounds), patted dry
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 orange, halved
1 lemon, halved
1 small yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1 head garlic, halved
6 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs sage
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chicken stock, warm
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° with the rack in the lower third position.
- Season the cavity of the turkey with 1 tablespoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stuff cavity with orange, lemon, onion, garlic, and herbs. Tie legs with twine and transfer turkey to a rack set inside a roasting pan.
- Rub skin with olive oil and season with the remaining salt and pepper.
- Pour 2 cups of chicken stock into the roasting pan and transfer to the oven. Roast turkey for two and a half hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees. After the first hour of roasting, baste the turkey every 30 minutes, and tent with foil if skin becomes deep golden brown before the turkey is cooked.
- Remove the turkey from the oven and transfer to a carving board. Let stand at least 15 minutes.
- Place the roasting pan on the stovetop over medium-high heat and bring pan drippings and remaining 1 cup of chicken stock to a simmer.
- Combine milk and flour in a mason jar and shake vigorously to combine.
- Whisk milk mixture into gravy and simmer, whisking constantly, until gravy thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.
Bacon Gouda Mac and Cheese
Submitted by Jancy Ulch / Content Marketing Manager
Ingredients
16 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked until al dente and drained
4 tablespoons butter
2 ¼ cups milk
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound smoked gouda cheese, shredded
½ pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 cups bread crumbs (Panko works well)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
½ pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- In a large pot, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat.
- Add milk and bring to near boiling.
- Reduce heat to medium and sprinkle in flour. Whisk vigorously over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. The mixture should be thick and boiling.
- Slowly add cream, while whisking.
- Add in salt, pepper, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to low and continue to stir for about 5 minutes.
- Add both cheeses to the pot and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Add cooked macaroni to the cheese mixture and coat.
- Pour the macaroni into a 13×9 baking dish.
- In a separate bowl, mix bread crumbs with 3 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the macaroni. Top with crumbled bacon.
- Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes. Enjoy!
Baked Brie Bites
Submitted by Allison Miley / Partner Support Specialist
Ingredients
2 sheets puff pastry, semi-thawed
Nonstick cooking oil spray, for pan
Flour, for work surface
1 8-ounce wheel of Brie cheese
6 teaspoons whole berry cranberry sauce, or cranberry jelly
6 teaspoons cooked diced bacon
6 pecans, crushed
6 teaspoons walnuts, crushed
2 tablespoons maple syrup
6 teaspoons apricot preserves
8 teaspoons butter, melted
1 clove garlic, crushed or minced
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves torn off stem
Salt
Cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Lightly grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out crescent dough.
- Cut the dough into 24 equal squares. Place squares into muffin tin holes.
- Cut brie into 24 small pieces and place inside the dough cups.
- Top with various toppings to taste:
- Cranberry: A spoonful of cranberry sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
- Maple bacon: A spoonful of cooked diced bacon, 2 pecan halves and a drizzle of maple syrup. Season with pepper.
- Apricot walnut: A spoonful of preserves and crushed walnuts. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Garlic butter herb: Mix the butter and garlic together. Top each bite with just over 1 teaspoonful of garlic butter mixture and 2 – 3 rosemary leaves. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake until the crescent pastry is golden, about 10-15 minutes.
Sweets
Aunt Dee’s Sugar-Coated Walnuts
Submitted by Lindsay Crone / Director of Marketing
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon Karo syrup
1/3 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shelled walnuts
Wax paper
Instructions
- Add sugar, cinnamon, Karo syrup, and skim milk to a medium-sized pot. Boil slowly until ingredients melt, stirring constantly until a drop of it forms a soft ball in cold water.
- Remove from the stove and add the vanilla and walnuts. Stir until the mixture thickens over the walnuts.
- Place the walnuts on the wax paper. Separate into the walnut pieces and allow to cool.
- Repeat until you have the desired amount of walnuts and enjoy!
Grinch Fruit Bites
Submitted by Lindsay Crone / Director of Marketing
Ingredients
12 large green grapes
2 bananas, sliced
12 large strawberries
12 miniature marshmallows
12 toothpicks
Instructions
- Wash grapes and strawberries.
- Cut bananas into 12 slices.
- Cut tops off of strawberries.
- Slide a grape onto the bottom of a toothpick.
- Slide a banana slice on top of the grape.
- Slide a strawberry on top of the banana, ensuring the tip is pointing away from the grape.
- Put a marshmallow on top of the strawberry tip.
- Repeat steps four through seven until you have 12 completed fruit bites. Enjoy!
DA BOMB Chai Banana Bread
Submitted by Eric Gladding / Customer Support Specialist III
Ingredients
1 ½ cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
⅓ cup plain fat-free yogurt
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
Cooking spray
⅓ cup powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons low-fat milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Combine the bananas, yogurt, butter, and eggs in a bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until just blended.
- Add both sugars and beat until combined.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and beat until just blended.
- Combine the cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. Stir 1 ½ teaspoons of the spice mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla into the batter.
- Pour the batter into a 9×5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Combine the remaining spice mixture, remaining vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk. Drizzle over bread and enjoy!
EPIC Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
Submitted by Eric Gladding / Customer Support Specialist III
Ingredients
Cookies
⅔ cup granulated sugar
⅔ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
Browned butter frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 – 4 tablespoons milk
⅓ cup butter
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla until combined.
- Add pumpkin and eggs until well blended.
- Gently beat in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt.
- Drop heaping tablespoons of dough balls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in the center. Immediately remove the cookies from the baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Browned butter frosting
- In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.
- Heat butter in a one-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until butter is light brown.
- Pour browned butter into the powdered sugar mixture. Beat on low speed until smooth, about one minute.
- Gradually add just enough of the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk to make the frosting creamy and spreadable.
- Generously frost cooled cookies and enjoy!
Apple Upside-Down Cake
Submitted by Karin Gardner / Customer Support Specialist II
Ingredients
Topping
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing pan
4 apples, peeled and cored
⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Topping
- Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round, 2-inch deep pan. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat to 350.
- Slice apples into thin slices (¼ to ½ inch thick).
- Heat butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add apples and cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Add brown sugar, lemon, and cinnamon and mix to coat apples. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes, stirring as needed, or until the apples start to caramelize.
- Transfer the apple mixture into the prepared pan. Arrange apples in a circular pattern or simply place them in an even layer.
Cake
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until combined. Slowly whisk in the melted butter and mix well. Add sour cream and vanilla; whisk until combined. Add the flour mixture and whisk until combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly over the apples. Bake until cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, 35 – 40 minutes.
- Cool pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a paring knife around the sides of the cake to loosen it. Unmold cake and let it sit and cool for 20 minutes.
Bourbon Balls
Submitted by Jen Hoekman / Team Lead, BPO Milestone Management
Ingredients
2 ½ cups crushed vanilla wafers
⅓ cup bourbon, or to taste (whenever we make these, my Pop always adds a bit more!)
½ cup honey
1 pound pecans, ground
Confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Combine crushed wafers, bourbon, honey, and pecans in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Shape into balls with a one-tablespoon measure.
- Roll balls in confectioners sugar.
- Store in a covered container to “ripen” for at least a few days before serving.
Bonbons
Submitted by Gayela Emory / Accounting Coordinator II
Makes 24 cookies
Ingredients
1 stick butter
2 pounds sifted powdered sugar
½ pound coconut flakes
4 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans)
2 12-ounce packages chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ pound paraffin
Instructions
- Melt butter and pour over finely chopped nuts.
- Shift powdered sugar into the mixture.
- Add vanilla and milk, mix well, and shape into small balls.
- Refrigerate to harden (at least an hour).
- Once hardened, melt chocolate chips with the paraffin (this makes the chocolate smooth), dip balls into chocolate and let set.
- This can be made into an almost sugar free version — replace the coconut with unsweetened flakes, replace chocolate chips with sugar free chocolate chips and you can make sugar free powdered sugar by mixing Splenda (sugar substitute) with cornstarch.
Layered Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
Submitted by Sherri Kirbis / Customer Support Specialist II
Ingredients
Cinnamon pecan coffee cake
10 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup buttermilk or sour milk
Streusel topping
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoon cinnamon
Filling
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup whipped topping
Instructions
Cinnamon pecan coffee cake
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add to the mixing bowl alternately with the buttermilk, beating until just combined.
- Line two 9-inch round baking pans with parchment paper, and extend it slightly over the edge in two places, so that you can lift the coffee cake layer out of the pan easily after baking.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans.
Streusel topping
- In a small bowl, stir together sugar, pecans, and cinnamon.
- Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the two cake pans.
- Lightly swirl with a knife.
- Bake at 350° for 20 – 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely.
Filling
- In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until creamy.
- Add vanilla and powdered sugar, beating until smooth.
- Fold in whipped topping.
To assemble
- The cakes are pretty fragile and crumble easily. Gently remove one of the cake layers from the pan, and set it immediately onto a serving plate. Carefully remove the parchment paper from underneath.
- Spread the cake with filling.
- Gently remove the second cake layer from the pan, remove the parchment paper, and set it over the filling.
- Cut, serve, and enjoy. Store leftovers in the refrigerator!
Chocolate-Dipped Mandarins
Submitted by Sherri Kirbis / Customer Support Specialist II
Ingredients
4 Sunkist mandarins
4 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
Sprinkles or sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel and segment mandarins and set aside.
- Melt the chocolate morsels in a double boiler or microwave on low heat.
- Stir chocolate to smooth.
- Dip one half of each mandarin segment in the chocolate and lay on parchment paper to cool.
- Optionally, add sprinkles or sea salt before the chocolate cools for an extra special touch.
- Also great as a cake decoration!
