Doan Family Holiday Recipes

Family time is the best time, and it’s only better when delicious food and snacks are added! The Doans love family get togethers and there’s nothing more special than dusting off those old family recipe cards and sharing a taste of generations past. If you’re looking for some holiday inspiration this year, try out one our own family recipes and start your own traditions today!

Pumpkin Rolls

Perfect for the fall season, Pumpkin Rolls are a delicious treat that can be served anytime between Halloween and Thanksgiving (really any time of the year is fine, they’re just that good).

Beat 3 eggs for 5 minutes. Gradually add 1 cup sugar. Stir in ⅔ cup pumpkin and 1 tsp lemon juice. 

Sift together: 

¾ C Flour

2 Tsp Cinnamon

½ Tsp Nutmeg

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Ginger

½ Tsp Salt

Fold into pumpkin mixture. Spread into a greased and floured jelly roll pan. Top with 1 cup chopped walnuts and bake at 375 for 15 minutes only. Turn out onto a towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Roll together and cool. Then unroll spread with 1 cup powdered sugar and 6 oz of cream cheese, 4 tsp of butter or margarine, 1 tsp vanilla. Beat together and spread over the roll. Roll and chill.

Caramel Popcorn Balls

Just because Halloween is over doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this INCREDIBLY simple treat! If you’ve never had a popcorn ball before you absolutely have to try this recipe, they’re just so good!

1 Package Brown Sugar

1 Cup White Karo Syrup

1 Stick of Butter

1 Can Evaporated Milk

3 Gallons of Popped Corn

Combine brown sugar and syrup and cook stirring constantly until boiling. Add butter and stir until melted. Add evaporated milk and bring to a boil again over medium heat, cooking until it forms a softball (between 235 and 245 degrees Fahrenheit). Pour over popcorn to form balls and let cool.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

How do you make a pecan pie even better? Add a little chocolate of course! This fall classic with just a little twist is perfect for any family gathering you’ve got coming this year – or just make it for yourself, we won’t judge!

½ Cup Sugar

1 Cup light corn syrup

½ to ¼ cup butter – marg ok

4 eggs – beaten

1 tsp vanilla 

⅛ tsp salt

1 cup broken pecans

8-9” pie shell unbaked

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a pan – cook on low heat until butter melts. Remove from heat, pour VERY slowly into beaten eggs. Add vanilla, salt, and nuts. Add chocolate chips into the bottom of the pie shell. Pour mixture into pie shell, bake at 350 for 50 mins. Pecan Pie Recipe but sprinkle some chocolate chips on the crust before adding the rest of the filling.

Pepparkakor

Here’s one you may have never heard of! Pepparkakor is a traditional Swedish cookie that’s very similar to a gingerbread cookie and is a traditional favorite of the Doans. You won’t believe how delicious these thin, crispy cookies are!

¾ Cup Shortening

1 Cup Sugar

1 tbsp Molasses

1 Egg Beaten

2 Cups Flour

2 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp each of Cloves, Cinnamon, and Ginger

Cream sugar and shortening together, add egg and molasses, blend well. Add the spices to the flour and sift, then add it to the creamed mixture. Let cool for 1 hour in the refrigerator covered with saran wrap. Then roll into balls the size of walnuts, put onto a cookie sheet, then with glass covered with saran wrap, roll each ball in sugar then flatten with the glass. Put nuts or raisins on them in the middle and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Pumpkin Joy

Who doesn’t love a little pumpkin? This super simple recipe is so easy, you might just have everything you need in your pantry today!

1 yellow cake mix – put in bowl (remove 1 cup)

Mix w 1 egg and 1 stick butter

Press in a greased and floured 9×13 pan 

Mix together 1 16oz can of pumpkin and 2 eggs 

Pour over

Take the reserved cup of cake mix –

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp butter 

½ cup sugar 

Mix together and sprinkle over top 

Bake in 350 oven for 45 mins 

Top w a dollop of whipped cream

Missing You Quilt

Missing You Quilt by Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

Mamie Irene Crisp met a handsome young Coast Guardsman in 1942, just as the U.S. entered the war. In 1945, they were married.

For 55 years, Jack and Irene traveled the country in their motorhome, stopping at fishing holes all along the way. They wowed friends and family with their jitterbug skills. They adored their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. And then, in 2000, Irene was lost to Alzheimer’s Disease.  

Missing You Quilt by Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

Alzheimer’s Awareness Month is a tender time for Jenny. You see, Irene was her beloved mother-in-law. This year, Jenny has created a beautiful new quilt in Irene’s memory. 

Missing You Quilt by Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

Missing You is a quick and easy layer cake pattern that combines the appliqué flowers of our Forget Me Not quilt and the 36-patch blocks of Goodnight Irene. It’s a sweet tribute to all those who have been touched by this terrible disease. 

Watch the Latest Tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Co!

Sew Fast & Fun: Casserole Caddy

The Casserole Caddy from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

The holidays are coming and it’s time to show off your new found sewing skills at all your family gatherings! If you’re anything like us, your Christmas list is filled with handmade holiday projects that you may or may not have started (don’t panic just yet, there’s still plenty of time). Instead of trying to squeeze in a quilt for each and every person close to you, consider a small yet functional project like the Casserole Caddy that will not only be a beautiful handmade gift, but a handy accessory that will be used for years to come!

Supplies Needed

1/4 yard of six quilting fabrics (each)

2/3 yard quilt fabric for strap and binding

1 yard of quilt backing fabric

4″ length of velcro

1 2/3 yards of webbing

1 Basting Product

This quilt as you go project comes together before you know it using no more than just a little scrap yardage and some products which you most likely already have in your sewing room. Need it before the holidays? No worries! Pick up The Casserole Caddy Quilt as you Go Kit by June Tailor Company to make this project easy to finish in a hurry, too!

Not your style? We’ve got you covered there as well! Flex your creativity and create this gorgeous kitchen accessory with some circle magic! Get the full pattern and instructions to stitch up a Circle Magic Casserole Cozy that’s just as darling and creative as the original Casserole Caddy! This is a great project to practice your circular quilting (we promise it’s not that difficult)! Be sure to check out Courtenay’s full tutorial on the Casserole Caddy below for even more guided instruction to help make your holidays handmade!

Serendipity Quilt

The Serendipity quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Click now to watch the FREE Quilting Tutorial!

When you make the Serendipity Infinity quilt, you’ll end up with scraps. 

The Serendipity quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Click now to watch the FREE Quilting Tutorial!

You can use those scraps to make a pretty table runner. But guess what? You’ll still have scraps. Make another table runner, and still, more scraps. Keep sewing!

The Serendipity quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Click now to watch the FREE Quilting Tutorial!

When all is said and done, you’ll have a beautiful quilt + up to NINE table runners to use as gifts! Is it a Christmas miracle? Nope! It’s Serendipity Infinity!

Watch the Latest Tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Co!

Doan Family Halloween Traditions (Plus: Snack Ideas!)

The 2020 Doan Family Halloween Party

Every year for Halloween, we have big, themed parties. We love any reason to get together, but Halloween is one of our favorites! As many of you know, and for those of you who didn’t know, Jenny started her sewing journey as a costume sewist for the theater. She’s always been a whiz at whipping up costumes! Besides being passionate about dressing up, she loves a reason to decorate the house and always goes all out during the holidays! 

Leading up to Halloween, we pick a family theme (last year was Harry Potter and this year is Disney) and then often search Pinterest to find wacky and spooky food inspiration to bring to our party. We keep it easy, but fun! 

Besides bowls of candy, here are a few Doan family Halloween snacks that have shown up in recent years.

Past Halloween snack spreads:

Wafer cookie “Band-Aids”, marshmallow and caramel “Cotton Swabs”, finger shaped breadsticks, and more.
Fruit “pizza”, layered dip, chocolate cake, Feet Loaf, cookies, and more!

“Feet” Loaf:

Meatloaf, with a sinister twist.

One year, Sarah was inspired to shape some meatloaf into . . . you guessed it, a foot. To make this, take your family favorite meatloaf recipe and get to cooking! All you need to do is shape up your meatloaf into a foot shape, add an onion ankle bone and some onion toe nails, and you’ve got yourself a spooky but tasty treat!

Mummy and Monster Cookies:

Oreo Monsters and Nutter Butter Mummies. Yum!

For these easy treats, just take some white melting chocolate, melt it, and for the Nutter Butter Mummies, drape and drizzle it over the cookies. For the Oreo Monsters, add some green food coloring and dip the cookies into it! Add some eyeball sprinkles before the chocolate sets and you’re good to go!

Happy Halloween! Do you have any family Halloween traditions? What are some of your favorite Halloween candies or treats?