The older I get, the closer I want to cling to family and traditions. This is especially true at Christmas. Like most families, Christmas was always the biggest holiday of the year. No matter how tight the money was, we always managed to buy a real tree and decorated the entire house. I even remember stringing popcorn and cranberries into festive homemade garland to decorate our living room. Even when there weren’t presents under the tree (we were poor, not naughty), we still shared letters we had written to each other, sang carols, watched Christmas movies recorded on VHS from live TV, and celebrated together.
But of all the family traditions that I still observe to this day, the Santa Claus Table is my favorite. I’m not 100% sure how or when it started but I know there are photos of my Great Great Grandpa, Papa Bill, sitting next to his Santa Claus Table with a shotgun in the corner. He was born in Oklahoma before the land rush of 1889, so having a rifle by the door was a practical security measure. The Santa Claus Table in its truest form is a small table set in the living room, decorated in a Christmas theme. Throughout the holiday season, it slowly fills up with all the goodies that we’d accumulate over the holiday - candies, baked goods, food gifts from friends and neighbors, homemade fudge, fruit, and a big bowl of mixed nuts in their shells. The whole family would feast on it all season long, and keep refilling with fresh sweets as they were received or baked. We never set out any cookies and milk for Santa. No need at our place! He was welcome to graze the table and take anything he’d like for himself, his wife, or the reindeer. I mean, it was the SANTA CLAUS TABLE! Technically, we were imposing on him.
My family has added their own little changes to the table throughout the years. My immediate family added a savory spread of meats, cheese, and crackers. That’s because my Momma decided pretty early on that a giant Thanksgiving feast for the whole family immediately followed by a Christmas feast was a lot (and believe me, she was right!). One of the highlights was always a Kentuckian ham, which I remain in desperate need of out here in the desert of California. When you were hungry, you just grabbed something off the table and sat back down by the fire for more quality time with the family.
Marzipan was another addition my Momma made so long ago I can’t remember. I remember she would have all three of us kids sit at the dining room table. Then she would set out little bowls of watered down food coloring that looked like jewels, and there would be little paint brushes too. Momma would carefully show us how to shape the little balls into various fruits. How to use a whole clove as the stem on peaches. How to use the side of a cheese grater to give the orange texture. How to cut and shape little leaves for the tops of the fruit. The right mix of red to make the strawberries shine. We followed pretty well, but as kids, we mostly liked eating the marzipan and making a mess. Once we finished Mom would put them on wax paper so the paint could dry. Then, and only then, would they be moved to a place of honor on the Santa Claus Table. I never remember them lasting too long, especially for the amount of work that everyone put in. But I looked forward to it every single year. For the last few years since the family is a little spread out, I try to send some Marzipan to Momma and Dad for their Santa Claus Table.
Then, of course, there’s my own Santa Claus Table! For one thing, I always have marzipan. I also try to make my Momma’s Molasses cookies, which have become a staple at my bakery. My table is never complete without the drug store chocolate-covered cherries that I’ve always loved and my Mom craved while she was pregnant with me. I cover some potato chips and peanuts in chocolate to honor my Grandma Reba. I put peanut brittle on the table to honor both Grandma and my Daddy. I like to put whole nuts on the table because I think of my Dad sitting in his chair and sneaking me the brazil nuts when he could. In recent years, Mr. Marie and I have added Italian cookies and struffoli to honor his Mom and Nanny. Our touch is a big tin of Garrett’s popcorn to remind us of our time in Chicago. This year we added Ghirardelli Chocolates to remind us of our little dates for their ice cream sundaes. It’s a tradition that is personal, ever-changing, and always full of love.
In honor of the Santa Claus Table and the family history that came with it long before I was jockeying for attention on the internet, I wanted to close with a wonderful story my Daddy wrote a few years back of his first memory of the “Santa Claus Table’…
“The first time, I remember being conscious of the Santa Table was a Christmas a lot of us spent on The Hill. I can’t remember who all was there, but the house was full (before the additions). The adults had the beds that were available, and all us kids were on pallets on the floor. I remember thinking I hope no one has to go to the bathroom because it seemed to me that we were wall to wall kids. On Christmas morning, there was a fully decorated cedar tree in the old picture window and the Santa Claus table was set up. I could not believe someone could get the tree into the living room, much less get it set up and decorated. And the Santa table looked resplendent with goodies. I had been told the “so-called truth” about Christmas, but this made me wonder. I started questioning the cousins who were in the living room if they had seen anything, but no one said anything. When the Christmas magic is all gone and I just don’t have it in me for this year, I go back to this Christmas for one of the most magical, blessed times of my life.”
I hope you start a Santa Claus Table yourself this year! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Marzipan
1 ¼ cup blanched almond flour
1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
Zest of 1 orange
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2-3 tablespoons of room temperature water
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the almond flour, powdered sugar, orange zest, and almond extract to combine.
Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture resembles pie dough and can be easily squashed together to form a ball.
Pour onto a non-stick surface like a silicone mat. Knead together until the mixture comes together in one ball. Wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Marzipan Filled Apple Dumplings
4 small apples (I prefer gala)
1 pack of all butter puff pastry defrosted in the fridge overnight (I use Dufour)
1 batch of marzipan (recipe above)
Lemon water to prevent apples from oxidizing
1 egg
2 tablespoons of heavy cream
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and move the middle rack as low as you can while not removing the bottom rack.
Core and peel the apples, placing them in the lemon water as you do. Remove apples from the water and allow to dry. Be sure to completely dry the apples before moving onto the next step.
Fill apple cores with marzipan.
Make egg wash by combining the egg and heavy cream until it is one color.
Remove puff pastry from the refrigerator and roll into a rectangle. Cut 8 small leaves and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Return the leaves to the refrigerator.
Working quickly so that the puff pastry stays cold, cut into 4 equal squares. Place three of those squares on the sheet pan with the leaves while you work.
Place 1 apple in the middle of the square of puff pastry. Use a brush to add egg wash to all four sides of the pastry. Going 1 corner at a time, place the puff pastry on the top of the apple to envelope it. Make sure all sides are sealed. Use egg wash to add 2 leaves on each apple.
Place the completed apple on the sheet pan in the fridge.
Repeat with the remaining 3 apples.
Once finished, let the apples in puff pastry sit in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
Remove apples in puff pastry from the refrigerator and place on a new sheet pan lined with parchment. Egg wash the puff pastry.
Bake for at least 40 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown.
Serve warm with heavy cream
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