Holiday Best 2004 - The winners

Here are the winning entries from our 2004 Holiday Best recipe contest. All the submitted recipes are printed on Pages 6B and 7B.

First place: Brown Sugar Fudge

Submitted by Beverly Wink of Jackson

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

In a heavy sauce pan, melt butter, add brown sugar and slowly bring to a boil. Add granulated sugar and sour cream. Cook over low heat to soft ball stage. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm without stirring. Add vanilla and nuts, beat until it starts to lose its gloss. Quickly spread in a buttered 8-by-8-inch pan.

Second place: Cranberry Date Bars

Submitted by Mary Ann Cruse of Cape Girardeau

1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries

1 package (8 ounces) chopped dates

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups quick-cooking oats

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

Orange glaze: 2 cups confectioner's sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, combine cranberries and dates. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until berries pop, stirring often. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla; set aside. In a bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in butter until crumbly. Press half the mixture into an ungreased 13-by-9-by-2-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Spoon cranberry mixture over crust; spread gently. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture; pat down gently. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over bars.

Third place: New Orleans Pralines

Submitted by Victoria Scherer of Jackson

2 cups light brown sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup butter

2 cups small pecan meats

Measure sugar, water and butter into 2-quart pan, and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture boils. Put in candy thermometer and add nutmeats. Boil slowly, stirring constantly until the temperature reaches 248 degrees. Remove the pan from the heat, and immediately drop the mixture by tablespoonfuls on waxed paper or into greased muffin pans. Makes 1 1/4 pounds.

Honorable mention: Hungarian Butterhorns

Submitted by Tillie Boswell of Cape Girardeau

Dough: 3 cups flour

1 package dry yeast

2 1/2 sticks butter

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Put flour, butter and yeast into food processor and blend till mixture is crumbly. Then add egg yolks, sour cream and vanilla. Mix until ball of dough is smooth, chill thoroughly. Roll out on cloth, sprinkled with powdered sugar. Cut ball of dough into 8 balls. Roll out each ball into circle and cut into 8 wedges. Put teaspoon of filling on each wedge and roll into crescent.

Filling: 3 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pecans

1/2 cup dates

Beat egg whites till stiff. Add sugar and vanilla. Fold in pecans and dates. Bake on greased cookie sheet 12 to 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes 64 cookies.