From Miranda Owen “Ok, I lost the original recipe in my great grandmother’s church cookie cookbook, but luckily found this one online a few years ago. The only difference is that when I make them – I don’t use nuts or chocolate. Just the dough and the cherries. The important thing is getting the butter soft enough. If you don’t, it won’t yield much and is a pain in the butt to make (even though I secretly suspect my aunt prefers them that way because they come out crispier). I found a rhythm after a bit – I roll into a ball, put a little flour on my one palm, use the heel of other hand as a rolling pin to roll out a bit then plop cherry in and fold dough over and roll so cherry is inside dough ball. (Also make sure cherries have been drained. Def have to wait and watch. This year, I’m thinking of adding a little drizzle of icing by taking a little of cherry “juice” from jar, melted butter (the real stuff), and powdered sugar.” (with modifications) Ingredients 1 cup butter or margarine (unsalted butter is best) 1/2 cup powdered sugar 2 cups…

In Ireland it is usual for a family to eat roast turkey on Christmas Day and to bake a ham on Christmas Eve. The rind of the ham is cut off prior to cooking and this goes on top of the turkey as it is placed in the oven. To bake the ham, we steep it in water overnight to remove the worst of the salt. Then we remove the rind, score the fat into a grid with squares about an inch across. Each corner of the squares would be studded with a clove. Then we spoon honey over the whole ham, before placing it in the oven. Halfway through cooking the honey could be repeated if a sweeter ham is desired. This makes a beautiful clove and honey scent as the ham bakes. The ham is eaten on its own on Christmas Eve, usually with potatoes roasted in the same dish, then sliced to accompany the turkey on Christmas Day. About Clare O’Beara Clare O’Beara is a tree surgeon and expert witness, and a former national standard showjumper. She has qualified in ecology and includes environmental issues in some of her stories. She serves on the Royal Dublin Society…