Benne cakes are a food from West Africa. Benne means sesame seeds. The sesame seeds are eaten for good luck.

You will need:

- greased cookie sheet
- 1 cup finely packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup toasted sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Mix together the brown sugar and butter until they are creamy. Add egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Stir. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and sesame seeds. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are browned.

Pfeffernüße - German Christmas Cookies

You will need:

- greased cookie sheet
- rolling pin
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 Tbs. hot water
- 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds)
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour.
- 1 cup icing sugar (for rolling cookies in)

Preheat oven to 400° F. Grind nuts finely with a rolling pin.  Beat the eggs.  Dissolve baking soda in the hot water.  Mix brown sugar and eggs.  Add the soda and water mixture.  Add the nuts, flour and spices. Your dough should be stiff enough to roll. Add more flour if needed. Roll out until the dough is about 1/8 inch thick.  Cut into tiny rounds about as big as a quarter. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake until golden brown. Take out and be careful!  Lift cookies with a spatula to roll them in the icing sugar while they are still hot.

Almond Apple Wheat Bread Stuffing Recipe – It’s all North American

An adult needs to help with the frying pan and stuffing the turkey.  You can do everything else!

You will need:

- 2 cups Granny smith apples, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
- 3/4 cup onions, chopped
- 3/4 cup celery, chopped
- 4 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups whole wheat bread cubes
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 egg; lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup apple cider or juice (more if needed)

In a frying pan over medium heat, sauté apples, almonds, onion, and celery in butter for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon, poultry seasoning and salt. Toss together bread cubes and raisins; add apple mixture. Stir egg in apple cider; toss into bread mixture. If it seems dry, add more apple cider.

Use to stuff a 15 to 20 lb turkey, or two large roasting chickens. Any extra can be put in a greased loaf pan, covered and baked during the last 30-40 minutes of roasting time.