Now that Halloween has come and gone, it is time for the next holiday! And before some of you bust out the Christmas decor, I mean Thanksgiving. In my family, Thanksgiving is a very important holiday, and everyone is always there no matter what. We all get together at my grandma’s, where she sets up two long tables running through the house to seat everyone, and then brings all different types of dishes to share with each other. Personally, my favorite part of this holiday is definitely the food. I love cooking sides and baking desserts and then getting to share them with everyone around me. So, I decided that I would take my love of cooking and baking, and share a few of my favorite family recipes, both new and old!

First off will be the side dish! One of my favorite things to cook with are potatoes- I love how you can use them in lots of different ways, so I wanted to share my recipe for some Au Gratin Potatoes. They’re really easy to make and taste amazing!

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons butter

• 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour

• 1½ Teaspoons salt 

• ⅛ Teaspoons pepper

• 2 Cups 2% milk

• 1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

• 5 Cups thinly sliced peeled potatoes 
• ½ Cup chopped onion 

Steps

• Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted. Add potatoes and onion.

• Transfer to a large, greased baking dish. Cover with tin foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover, and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Once it’s out of the oven add whatever extra seasoning you like and you’re done!

This recipe is so easy, and it tastes delicious too!

 The next recipe I am going to share is typically a main course type of dish. For this one, I am picking a fan favorite throughout all of my family: my dad’s ham recipe. Yes, I know, ham on Thanksgiving may seem like an odd choice, but trust me, it is amazing. While the prep time for the dish is low, the actual time the ham spends in the oven is almost 2 and a half hours, so make sure you have enough time set aside for the dish. 

Ingredients

• 1 (10lb) Fully Cooked, Bone-in Ham

• 1 ¼ Cup Brown Sugar

• ⅓ Cup Pineapple Juice

• ⅓ Cup Honey

• ⅓ Large Orange, Juiced and Zested

• 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

• ¼ Teaspoon Ground Cloves

• ½ Cup Orange Juice (Aside)

• ½ Cup Pineapple Juice (Aside)

• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar (Aside)

Ham

Steps

• Heat oven to 275°.

• Place your ham in a shallow roasting pan, flat side down. 

• Mix ½ cup pineapple juice, a ½ cup orange juice, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar together in a bowl. Set aside.

• Next, spear the ham, and with a baster, pour about half of the mixture on the ham. Then cover it tightly with aluminum foil.

• Put it in the oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes per pound until the internal temperature reaches 140°. 

• In order to prevent it from drying out, continue to baste the ham with the remaining mixture every 20-30 minutes while cooking. 

• With the ham in the oven, prepare the glaze! (listed below).

• Remove the ham from the oven and raise the temperature to 425°.

• Before putting the ham back in the oven, adjust the ham so that it is no longer laying flat side down.

• Then, brush or spoon the glaze over the whole ham.

• Put it back in the oven for about 10-15 minutes uncovered and then let stand until cooled.

• And you’re done! One delicious ham!!!!!

Glaze

• In a small saucepan, combine the 1 ¼ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup pineapple juice, ⅓ cup honey, ⅓ cup orange zest, ⅓ cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, and ¼ tablespoons ground cloves. Bring that to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer and cover for 5-10 minutes and set aside.

The ham is honestly one of my favorite foods of all time just because of how delicious it is. But now that we have a side and main dish, it is time for dessert! There are so many different fall flavors that mix well with the autumn vibe! So I have chosen a recipe that I introduced my family to all on my own: Snickerdoodles. These are some of my favorite cookies, and they are super simple! 

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Butter, Softened

• 1 ½ Cups Sugar

• 2 ¾ Cups Flour

• 1Teaspoon Baking Soda

• 2 Eggs

• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla 

• 2 Teaspoon White Vinegar 

• ½ Teaspoon Salt

• 1 Cup Sugar (Aside)

• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon (Aside)

Steps

• Preheat the oven to 350°.

• In a large bowl: mix the flour, white vinegar, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.

• In a separate bowl, mix the softened butter and sugar together. While mixing, add in the eggs and vanilla, blend well!

• Add the sugar mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture and mix well.

• Shape/scoop the dough into balls and set onto cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

• Combine the remaining 1 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in a small bowl. 

• Take the balls of the cookie dough and roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

• If the cinnamon sugar mixture gets too low, add whatever amount you desire.

• Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes.

• Let them cool to desired temperature and enjoy!

That concludes my three favorite Thanksgiving recipes! I hope that if you make any of them they turn out delicious and are fun to make surrounded by family, friends, or whoever you spend your holiday with!