Most families have many holiday traditions: for some it’s about the meal you have, for others it’s about the way you exchange gifts or where you go for the holidays. For many homes, leaving cookies and milk for Santa is a must.

When my best friend and her husband started their family, they started the tradition of leaving cookies and cheese for Santa. Tillamook Cheese, of course…Santa only deserves the best, right?

So when our son Eli was born, and we set out on creating our own holiday traditions, I’m proud to say that borrowing my friends’ idea of leaving cheese for Santa seemed perfect for our family.

Coming up on our fifth year of having little ones in our home, leaving a nice variety of Tillamook Cheese and a tall glass of cold milk is a must (no cookies at our house!). The other day while grocery shopping, I added a brick of Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar to the basket and Eli said, “Good job, mom! Santa really likes the cheese with the black label.” To which I responded, “Yes, he does.” (Only the best for Santa, right?) 

This year, Santa has a trampoline and a play kitchen to put together at our house, and we know that he will look forward to enjoying his snack when he gets there…he never leaves any behind!

We’ve never left something for the reindeer, so I think we’ll need to start that next year. Any ideas?

Happy holidays!

By Aimee

Believe it or not, the holidays are almost over. Hurry over to the Tillamook Shop to find the perfect gift for cheese-loving friends and family, because this is the last day to place cheese orders to deliver before Christmas Day! Use coupon code “YULELOAF” to take 10% off your order!

If you’re in need of some cheesy gift inspiration, here are some ideas for you!

• The Deli Sampler Gift Box for that cousin that can’t make choices

• The Big Cheese Gift Box for the family friends who deserve it all

• A Grilling Apron for that Grill-Master Dad

• A Baby Loaf onesie for a wee one in your life

• A loaf of Hot Habanero Jack for a friend who makes your life spicy

• World’s Best Medium Cheddar for the World’s Best Mom

• A cheesy t-shirt for a son with a cheesy sense of humor

Order today to get your order delivered before Christmas!

By Katie

Impress your holiday guests with festive Tillamook Butter portions. This is an easy personal touch that you can prepare well in advance of your party. It’s best to work with super-chilled butter, so keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to start shaping it. I’ve tried it with frozen butter, but found it to crumble when cutting.

You’ll need Tillamook Butter, a large knife, small cookie cutters (or fondant cutters) and a bowl of warm water.

After warming the knife under running hot water, cut the butter into 1cm-thick slabs. Dip the cookie cutters into the bowl of hot water and press into the butter slabs. Gently press the shape out of the cookie cutter, using the blunt end of a chopstick if it doesn’t push out easily.

This do it yourself festive party touch is an easy way to get your kids involved in prepping for your next gathering

When you’re done, place the butter shapes on a plate, cover with plastic wrap to prevent the butter from taking on odors, and refrigerate until ready to serve. I like to use my butter scraps to make my piecrust. Keep your scraps in the fridge and save for another use.

If you don’t have small cookie cutters, you can try to cut your butter into simple triangles or even try a melon baller for DIY butter balls

What fun shapes will you butter your guests up with this season?

By Amalya

Give your taste buds a sweet and salty surprise by mixing up a batch of this not-so-traditional fondue!

CHEESY CHOCOLATE FONDUE

¼ cup Tillamook Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup milk, as needed

In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Gradually add cocoa and sugar, and whisk until smooth. Add shredded cheese, and stir well. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and almond extract. Gradually add milk until fondue is of desired consistency.

Serve with bite size pieces of brownie, pound cake, angel food cake, fruit, pretzels, graham crackers or any other delicious dippers you can think of.

Have any fun fondue flavor combinations in your recipe box?

Photo: Flickr/Wendi Kelly (Creative Commons)

By Candace

My family has a few Christmas traditions. Some of them are somewhat cheesy — and I don’t mean ‘involving cheese’ — the other kind of cheesy. On Christmas eve we would go out for a buffet dinner at a local restaurant, a restaurant we never frequented any other time of year. We (kids) would refrain from overstuffing ourselves on protein and vegetables so we’d have room to fill our anxious bellies at the all-you-can-eat sundae bar. To finish off the night we’d tour the best city Christmas light displays. We thought this was especially exciting. Our parents used it as a ‘tire them out so they’ll sleep’ tactic. It worked.

But I think my favorite Christmas tradition, and one that my Mother still carries on to this day (whether we’re there or not) is Orange Snails on Christmas morning. She would make them on Christmas eve and stick them in the oven to bake while we were opening gifts Christmas morning. Here’s my Mom’s recipe for Orange Snails. You still have time to whip up a batch before the big day!

ORANGE SNAILS

3/4 cup Tillamook Butter (1/2 cup of it needs to be softened)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup scalded milk, cooled
1 egg, well beaten
2 tablespoons warm water
1 cube yeast
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
juice of 1/2 orange

Preheat over to 375 degrees.

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Cream 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 c sugar together with hand mixer until fluffy and light.

Add salt, milk and beaten egg and blend together. Stir yeast into butter mixture. Add flour and combine well to form a soft dough.

Place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let rise about 1 1/2 hours in a warm place until dough has doubled in volume.

While dough is rising, combine remaining softened butter with 1 cup sugar, grated orange rind and orange juice. Blend mixture together and set aside.

Punch dough down and roll out on a floured board. Shape into a rectangle.

Spread about 3/4 of the orange butter mixture on the dough. Roll up like a jelly roll and cut into 1 inch slices.

Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and place slices in the pan. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes

Bake rolls for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush tops with remaining orange butter. Remove from pan and serve warm. Makes 12 rolls.

Do you have any Christmas morning food traditions?

~ Jala of the Tillamook Team

By Jala

It’s (almost) a shame to eat these pretty cookies!

Decorating sugar cookies has long been a tradition in my family. I enjoy getting a little artistic with my decorating (making cookies look like family members or celebrities is my favorite), while my brother seems to think that the more frosting on a cookie, the better. This recipe makes the best sugar cookies I’ve ever tasted; the sour cream keeps them fluffy and flavorful, and the frosting is creamy and oh-so delicious.

SUGAR COOKIES

1 cup Tillamook Unsalted Butter, softened
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup Tillamook Premium Sour Cream or Tillamook Natural Sour Cream
5 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

FROSTING

1-8oz package cream cheese
2 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
Food coloring (optional)
Sprinkles (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, cream together softened butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs. Add the sour cream. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, and gradually add to egg-sugar mixture. Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.

Roll the dough on a floured surface to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should be lightly browned at the edges. Remove from the baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

While cookies cool, beat together cream cheese and evaporated mix milk until smooth. Mix in vanilla extract, salt, and confectioners’ sugar, and beat until well blended. To color frosting, divide into separate bowls and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Use a knife to frost cookies, and add sprinkles or other decorations as desired.

Yields about 5 dozen cookies

Tip: if you feel like you’re adding a lot of flower to make the dough un-sticky, try using confectioners’ sugar instead to keep the cookies sweet.

Do you have any fun sugar cookie decorating traditions? Why not be the first to make a Baby Loaf sugar cookie?!

~ Katie of the Tillamook Team

Image: Flickr/OakleyOriginals (Creative Commons)

By Katie

Ever since I can remember – and a little bit before – my family has had a tradition of getting our Christmas tree with close family friends. Both newlywed couples, they were eager to start their new lives together. That Christmas, in 1981, they started a tradition of hunting down and cutting the perfect tree together, and not one Christmas has been missed. Through babies, moves, teenage resistance to traditions, college years and now new additions to the families, this is THE Christmas tradition that has gone on unwavering.

Why do we continue to cut our own tree? It’s the smell of fresh cut fir in the living room, cutting the tree to match the perfect height, making a wreath of all the extra branches removed in order to fit that perfect height, the hunt and, above all, the REAL friendship. The day starts when we gather for treats and hot cocoa before loading into trucks to slay our trees. In a two hour flash we have stalked our prey and bagged our perfect Christmas centerpiece. Back to the house we go for the main course and more merriment. We’ll often prepare a chili or stew using ingredients raised by our families and Tillamook Cheese, butter and sour cream. In the downtime before the chili is finished we enjoy Tillamook Cheese and crackers. Last year introduced a new appetizer: fresh baguette, home-canned Albacore tuna, tomato and Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheese. Prepared with a light virgin olive oil glaze, for that perfect shine and crunch, and broiled briefly, these morsels were a hit!

I obviously love my real Christmas trees, but understand that there may also be situations where a fake tree makes sense. Arizona/Southern California – it’s just too darn hot and expensive for a real tree. People with allergies, I feel supremely bad for you, but understand that you need your fake tree to sleep well at night without fear of anaphylactic shock. For the fiscally conscious individual, the cost of a real tree can be a bit daunting when compared with a fake tree, if you take into account that you will likely keep using the same fake tree for at least 5 years. At $30/year for a real tree, you only need about 3 years to equal the same cost of a fake tree.

Even with the seemingly positive attributes a fake tree has to offer, as for me and my house, we will spend the extra money for authenticity. We prefer the quality of real friends, scratch made chili, home prepared tuna melts and things like REAL Tillamook Cheese! We love everything about these real items that are so full of life and strangely, the spirit or togetherness and happiness. They have a character that is irreplaceable. So this holiday season I wish you and yours nothing but REAL happiness and joy – regardless of your choice of tree!

~ Matt of the Tillamook Team

By Matt

Yay! That was fun! I’ve got some super talented winners of our Till-La-La-La-Mook Holiday Song Video Contest to share with you. Remember our winning song and video challenge?

These videos definitely got us in the holiday spirit here at Tillamook HQ. And the winners are:

First place: Valerie Johnson

Second place: Shannon Winkle

Third place: Lauren Hasenoehrl (our honorary winner for submitting her own Till-La-La-La-Mook Holiday Song and video)

Enjoy your prizes winners! And don’t forget, you also get to gift the same prize to a favorite friend or family member. Choose wisely…it IS Tillamook ya know! Enjoy!

By Loafy

Cheese is a perishable product that shouldn’t stay out of refrigeration for long. So how might I give the gift of cheese you ask? Well, it may not be the simplest gift to give, but if you get creative, there are plenty of fun ways to give the gift of cheese. Here are some ways that I have surprised my family with the gift of cheese:

Stockings: If you sneak down to the stockings before the rest of the family, you can take some cheese out of the fridge and put it on the very top of the stockings! It puts a big smile on everyone’s face! In my family, before you put the cheese back in the fridge, you have to grab a sharpie and label which cheese is yours so someone else doesn’t snag it when you’re not looking!

Under the tree: Okay, I don’t mean wrap a loaf of cheese and put it under the tree, but this is what you can do… Write a little note for someone to look in the fridge for their gift. Find a little box and put the note in it. Wrap it up and put it under the tree! Make sure to put a loaf of cheese front and center in the fridge ahead of time. You could even put a bow on it!

By mail: Yes, you can mail cheese! The Tillamook Online Store has a selection of cheese, apparel, gift boxes, and more! We pack cheese up with insulation and ice packs to keep it nice and cold while it gets to its destination. But remember, the last day to ship for your order to arrive by Christmas is December 21^st by noon.

Happy gift (cheese) giving!

~ Laura of the Tillamook Team

By Laura

The ladies in our family are big into baking for the holidays. You’ll always find an entire sweet spread of goodies on the table, and most of the recipes continue to be handed down, generation to generation. This is one of my favorites!

ALMOND ROCA

1 1/2 cups Tillamook Butter (3 sticks)
2 cups sugar
2 cups raw almonds
10 oz chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Place sugar in cast iron skillet. Heat gently gradually adding chunks of butter. Boil over low heat for 7 minutes.

Add almonds, a few at a time. Stir constantly, cooking over medium heat to a hard crack stage, about 10-12 minutes.

Pour onto a cookie sheet rubbed with butter. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile,  melt chocolate chips in microwave at 30 second increments until melted and then spread over the cooled almond mixture. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. When chocolate sets, break into pieces. Store in metal container.

What are your sweet holiday traditions?

~ Jala of the Tillamook Team

Image: Flickr/Jessica (Creative Commons)

By Jala