By: Austin Bailey-Zimmerman

This is the perfect pumpkin pie recipe for Thanksgiving, or any holiday, fall, or just for fun. It is sweet and spiced, pairing beautifully with a dollop of whip cream on top. I got this recipe from my friend’s Grandmother. She has been baking this pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving every year since she was a kid. She was kind enough to show me how to make it and let me take some for after my Thanksgiving dinner. It was absolutely delicious and the best I’ve ever had. It was smooth and felt very light, not heavy at all which was great after my filling meal. I enjoyed every bite, and even went back for seconds! I highly encourage you to make this easy recipe and impress your family and friends! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Pre-made pie crust
• 1 can of pumpkin purée (15 oz)
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
• 2 large eggs
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1⁄2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1⁄2 tsp ginger
• 1⁄2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Get a pre-made pie crust
3. Mix pumpkin purée, sweetened condensed milk, 2 large eggs, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl
4. Mix sugars, spices, and salt in a small mixing bowl
5. Combine the ingredients from the two bowls
6. Pour into pie crust and bake for 50-60mins
7. Take out and let cool
8. Enjoy!

By: Natalia Gercheva

Last year, over spring break, I was lucky enough to visit a few Caribbean islands where we got to walk around and learn the different cultures and recipes! In St. Lucia, we stopped by some people selling banana bread. My family bought some and it tasted delicious, so we had to ask how they made it. The people said that it was made with banana essence, which they also happened to be selling.

Ever since the trip, my family only bakes banana bread using banana essence in the recipe. I thought it would be fun to try making a Caribbean style banana bread using some other spices too, so I did some research, made the bread, and am happy to share how it went and what I learned!

This is a super easy recipe that most people will already have the ingredients for in the kitchen. There is no mixer required, all you will need is a bowl and a fork or whisk. The sugar quantities are flexible, and the chocolate chips are optional, but I think they add a delicious sweetness to the banana bread. The banana essence is also optional because I understand that not everyone will have it, but it is available for purchase online and highly recommended.

Ingredients:

1. 2-3 medium overripe bananas, peeled and mashed
2. 1⁄3 cup melted butter, unsalted or salted
3. 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1 pinch of salt
5. 3⁄4 cup of sugar
6. 1 large egg, beaten
7. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8. 1⁄4 teaspoon almond extract
9. 1⁄2 teaspoon banana essence (optional)
10. 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh or ground cinnamon
11. 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh or ground nutmeg
12. 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh or ground ginger
13. 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
14. 1⁄2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
15. 1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Butter an 8×4-inch loaf pan and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas until smooth, then stir in the melted butter.
4. Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, egg, and all the extracts and spices. Mix in the flour, and fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.
5. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then slice with a serrated knife and serve!

Final thoughts: I am extremely happy with the results after making this new variation of banana bread because it was delicious! I think that adding all the spices enhances the flavor, and if I were to change anything I would have increased the amount of spices. I love this recipe and will definitely start making it more often, and recommend it to others!

By: Brennan McMahon

Pumpkin Pie: This is the most well known dessert for the holidays and it is delicious. It is super simple to make and tastes amazing with a little whipped cream on top. The first pumpkin pie was made in Plymouth after Native Americans showed the settlers how to make them.

Green Bean Casserole: This dish was invented in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly. All you need to make this recipe is mushroom soup, green beans and French Fried onions.

Corned Beef and Cabbage: This dish is commonly used as a St. Patricks Day meal in America. Corned beef is beef preserved in a brine.

Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas: These are a southern dish to bring luck and prosperity to people on New Years.

Latkes: This dish is kind of like a potato pancake that is fried in oil. Latkes are a vital part of Hanukkah, as Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil lasting longer than it should, so people will eat a lot of food fried in oil.

Eggnog: This is not really a dish but it is one of the best Christmas drinks. This drink contains eggs, sugar, and milk.

Matzah: This is a cracker like bread that Jewish people eat during Passover. Matzah is also called “poor man’s bread” because it was invented by Jewish people while they were slaves in Egypt.

Ham: This dish is very common on many holidays like Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. People eat this if they can’t find a turkey, and even if they can, they still also get a ham to go with it.

Turkey: More than 90% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. many people put stuffing in it while they cook it. You can also cut it up and put it in rolls to make sandwiches. We don’t know what type of bird was eaten on the first Thanksgiving, but most people chose turkey now because it is bigger than a chicken so it can feed more people. Turkeys are also super common all around the states, so if you hunt you can always catch your own turkey for dinner.

For more information, please visit:

• https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/10-classic-holiday-foods.htm

By: Sophie Johnson and Addie Strack

The winter menus at both Starbucks and Dunkin’ have recently been released. Both containing new, and  delicious coffee or tea options to really get you into the holiday spirit. Between the fall and the winter menu, we can agree that the winter menu is the most exciting as it kickstarts the holiday season with new and improved drinks every year.

The first drink that we tried was the Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate. This has been one of our favorite drinks for years and is a staple menu item for getting into the holiday spirit. Not only is this the perfect amount of sweetness, but the spice of the peppermint makes it taste like a delicious candy cane. We would rate this drink a 4.5/5. The way we remember this drink in past years was more chocolatey, and this year it was slightly watered down, but nevertheless, it warmed us from the inside out and especially got us into a holiday celebrating mood. Along with this drink, we received several free reusable Starbucks cups. This gift was for ‘Red Cup Day’ at Starbucks where they give away a free cup with every drink purchase. This did not affect the peppermint hot chocolate, however it was a nice addition to the experience.

The next drink we tried was the Starbucks Sugar Cookie Chai. This drink was so sweet and flavorful, and this year was the first year we tried it. Not only was this tea topped with a thick and creamy cold foam, but it had red and green sprinkles as well to add to the Christmas or holiday theme. We would rate this drink a4/5 just because of how sweet it was, but besides that, it was perfect. We would recommend getting this beverage iced instead of hot because you can better taste the tea and the cold foam doesn’t melt as fast.

Another drink we tried that was definitely one of our favorites is the Peppermint White mocha. This tastes similar to the Peppermint Hot Chocolate, mostly because of the peppermint aspect, but this one was even better. We can both confidently say that this beverage is a 5/5 and could drink this drink over and over again. We wish that this drink was on the menu year round because of how delicious it is. If you are a coffee lover, this is the drink for you as it is both sweet and energizing from the caffeine. The flavor is so tasty that it is gone so fast. For this drink, we would recommend getting it hot instead of iced. Out of all the drinks on the Christmas menus for both Starbucks and Dunkin, we can both agree that this one is by far the best.

The last drink that we tried was from Dunkin’, and it is called the Cookie Butter Cold Brew. The idea behind this drink was very good and the price was not bad, but when we tried this drink it just did not meet our standards. First of all, the coffee was slightly watery which affected the flavor negatively. The second reason why this coffee wasn’t very good was because the chunks of cookie on the top got really soggy and made the coffee chunky with every sip that we took. The advertising for this drink really sold us and we were both super excited to try it, so these factors were super disappointing after we had paid for a new drink. We would rate this drink a 1/5. The only thing that was good about this drink was the sweet cold foam on top and the cookie crumbles before they got soggy from the coffee.

After tasting all of these beverages, some better than others, we think that overall, Starbucks drinks are better than Dunkin’ ones. Dunkin’ has significantly better deals than Starbucks but we agree that most of the Starbucks drinks top the Dunkin’ ones. Our overall favorite was the peppermint white mocha and the least favorite was the cookie butter cold brew. These drinks help everyone to get into the holiday spirit and keep you warm during the winter season.