Just a
Spoonful of Sugar
Journalism staff shares their favorite holiday dessert recipes katherine Tsvirkunova Calling all baking enthusiasts! With the holiday season coming up, the kitchen is usually filled with the familiar scents of earthy spices and warm, buttery treats. Traditional recipes like sugar cookies and fruity puddings are already well known around the season, but how about other unique takes on holiday recipes? Join the Highlander staff as they share their favorite holiday recipes from around the world and the traditions they hold. Khalid Kishawi, a Highlander writer, takes pride in his family’s own recipe of the dessert known as Kanafeh. Kanafeh is a Middle Eastern pastry made from phyllo dough, Akawe cheese, and mozzarella. Once baked, it is often drizzled in an Attar mixture and sprinkled with chopped pistachios or walnuts. Kishawi’s grandfather would spend hours during the holidays making this traditional pastry, making it very special to Kishawi’s family. Maya Kornyeyeva, a Highlander writer, makes the traditional Ukrainian snowball cookies with her family around Ukrainian New Year’s, which is celebrated on January 6. These snowball cookies are known for their snowball-like appearance because they are rolled in powdered-sugar once prepared. Snowball cookies are quick and easy to make, so they are perfect to bake with kids. Amber Chia, a Highlander editor, brings a Malaysian pandan-chiffon cake to the table. Chia’s grandmother makes this light and fluffy green-colored sponge cake every year around the holiday season upon her visits to Chia’s family in the Bay Area. The cake is very well-loved in Southeast Asia, and it is made out of pandan leaves, which are also known as screwpine leaves. The pandan leaves give the cake a slightly earthy or musky flavor, that reminds some people of the taste of vanilla.
Art by Claire Tseng
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