21 santa recipes

Santa's Thumbprint cookies with oats, brown sugar, and chopped nuts rolled on the outside, filled with jelly. A festive holiday cookie recipe that makes 3 dozen.

Santa's Whiskers are festive slice-and-bake cookies with candied cherries and pecans in a buttery dough, rolled in flaked coconut for a snowy, whiskery edge.

Santa's white fudge made with sour cream, corn syrup, and sugar cooked to soft-ball stage, then loaded with candied cherries and pecans. Creamy holiday candy in an 8x8 pan.

Santa Fe hominy sauteed with roasted poblanos, jalapeño, tomatoes, and melted monterey jack. A quick vegetarian New Mexico side dish, ready in 30 minutes.

Santa Maria beans made with pinto beans, bacon, ham, tomato puree, and red chile sauce. The classic California Central Coast side dish for tri-tip barbecue, slow-simmered until rich and tender.

Santa Maria salsa is the no-cook California barbecue staple: chopped canned tomatoes, celery, onion, and green pepper sharpened with horseradish, vinegar, and Worcestershire. Pour, chill, serve.

Santa cookie wreath, a festive gingerbread ring shaped from boxed mix, ringed with holly-leaf cookies and finished in melted candy coating. A fun edible centerpiece for the holiday table.

Chicken Santa Fe: pounded chicken breasts broiled and glazed with sweet-hot jalapeno pepper jelly, then crowned with roasted red pepper strips. A quick Southwestern dinner with a glossy, sweet-spicy finish.

Santa Fe spicy baked black beans with chipotle puree, ancho chiles, molasses, and two vinegars in a smoky-sweet sauce. Baked for an hour until thick and saucy. Serve in warm corn tortillas.

Santa Fe pumpkin soup blends canned pumpkin with enchilada sauce, fire-charred red peppers, and half-and-half for a creamy, smoky bowl with Southwestern heat. Topped with sour cream and fresh cilantro.

Santa Fe black bean cakes made from scratch with dried black beans, bacon, serrano chiles, ancho powder, and cumin. Pan-fried until crisp and served with sour cream and salsa.

Santa Maria-style bean soup simmered with carrots, celery, tomatoes, cumin, and bay leaves in olive oil and stock. Vegetarian, one pot, and ready in an hour.

Light Filipino-style vegetable soup with stir-fried mixed vegetables, soy sauce, and fresh watercress stirred in at the end. A simple, nourishing bowl ready in about an hour.

Santa Maria-style bean soup made from soaked dried beans, onion, carrot, celery and tomato simmered in olive-oil-rich broth with cumin and bay. A rustic peasant soup that improves overnight.

Santa Maria runner bean stew with garlic, tomatoes, basil, and a splash of olive oil. A simple Mediterranean-style vegetable stew that holds up hot or cold.

An easy chicken strips recipe perfect for a weeknight dinner.