Our Favorite Recipes for the Holiday Season

This post is sponsored by McCormick® but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

There are so many reasons why I love this time of year, but the food is hands down one of my favorite things about the holiday season. I have the fondest memories of baking delicious desserts, whipping up festive appetizers, and spending hours in the kitchen cooking feasts for our whole family to enjoy. Some of my favorite recipes, and the ones I continue to make year after year, are the ones that celebrate the flavors of the season. Pumpkin, cranberries, and pecans, as well as herbs and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme and sage. Today I wanted to share a couple of our family’s favorite recipes with you all, so that you can make them and enjoy them with your friends and family over the next few months. 

 

The first is one of the easiest and yummiest appetizers, a cranberry pecan cheeseball, that is perfect to take to a holiday party or to enjoy as an appetizer before your holiday dinners. The second is a dessert recipe that puts a spin on the traditional pumpkin pie, a pumpkin dump cake that I promise everyone will love. At the heart of both of these recipes is McCormick® products. Their herbs and spices, extracts, gravy and sauces are a staple in our home during the holidays and all year long. For over 100 years McCormick® has been obsessed with flavor, and they strive to make every meal and moment better. At the very start of the holiday season I always head to our local Giant store to stock up on everything we need to make the foods we enjoy.

So first, let’s talk about this cranberry pecan cheeseball. It’s packed full of sweet and savory flavors thanks to ingredients like dried cranberries, sharp white cheddar, and the secret ingredient, McCormick® Poultry Seasoning. It takes only minutes to whip up, and it’s always a hit. Serve it with your favorite crackers, and you are good to go.

 

Here’s what you’ll need to make one…

Cranberry Pecan Cheeseball

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups sharp white cheddar, shredded

¼ cup scallions, chopped

¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped

½ Tbs McCormick® Poultry Seasoning

½ cup chopped pecans

Crackers for serving

 

Instructions:

 

1. First, in a large bowl, mix cream cheese and shredded cheddar together, and then fold in scallions, cranberries, and poultry seasoning until well combined.
2. Drop cheese mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and use that to wrap the mixture and shape it into a ball.
3. Place in the fridge for at least one hour.
4. When ready to serve, remove the cheeseball from the fridge and roll in chopped pecans.
5. Place on a serving plate with crackers and enjoy!

 

Okay, now onto the pumpkin dump cake! This recipe is so fun. It’s quick and easy, yet it tastes so decedent and fancy. It features some of my favorite seasonal flavors, like pumpkin, McCormick® Pumpkin Pie Spice and Vanilla Extract, and pecans, and it totally transforms a boxed cake mix.

Here’s what you’ll need…

 

Pumpkin Dump Cake

 

Ingredients:

 

2, 15 oz. cans pureed pumpkin

12 oz. can  evaporated milk

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 tsp McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract

1 Tbs McCormick® Pumpkin Pie Seasoning

4 eggs

1 package yellow boxed cake mix (feel free to experiment here. I have also used french vanilla flavor and spice flavor cake mixes)

1 cup chopped pecans

¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes or pats

*** whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving

 

Instructions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 casserole pan
2. In a large bowl, add pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and eggs, and stir until combined.
3. Pour mixture into greased pan.
4. Sprinkle boxed cake mix over the top of mixture.
5. Top with chopped pecans.
6. Top with cubed butter evenly.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
8. Allow to cool and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Both of these recipes have always been a huge hit for us and I know they will be for you too! Be sure to head to your local Giant store to grab all of the McCormick® herbs & spices, extracts, sauces and gravy you’ll need this holiday season!