The holidays bring out the best recipes—and the most closely guarded family secrets. At
Virginia Living, our staff finally share the dishes that disappear fastest from their holiday tables—from savory sides that spark dust-ups over seconds to desserts that have cousins clamoring for the recipes.
You won’t find these in glossy cookbooks or trending on social media. They’re tried-and-true favorites, passed down through decades of family gatherings, scribbled on stained index cards or memorized through countless repetitions. Some have been tweaked over time—a little more vanilla here, a different spice blend there—while others remain exactly as they were when they were first prepared.
From Brigadeirão da Rebeca, our digital editor’s mother’s famous dessert, straight from her São Paulo kitchen, to our circulation and e-store manager’s delectable Sweet Potato Casserole, these holiday recipes represent the heart and soul of our team. Practical, delicious, and wonderfully imperfect: the way that only family recipes can be.
Whether adding to your holiday rotation or simply curious about what makes our tables memorable, these recipes come with our staff’s honest endorsements.
Sweet Potato Casserole
CLAIRE HARRELSON, Circulation and e-Store Manager
This family sweet potato casserole recipe makes an appearance at every Harrelson holiday dinner. As my husband says, “it’s so good, it’ll make you wanna slap your momma!” Click here for the recipe.
Mix the following:
4 cups cooked sweet potatoes
²₃ stick of butter
2 eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup chopped pecans
Place in a buttered casserole dish
Topping:
Melt ²₃ cup butter.
Add 1 cup brown sugar,
²₃ cup self-rising flour, and
Add ½ cup chopped pecans.
Mix until crumbly.
Spread over potatoes and bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes. Serve piping hot!
Ruth Sweeney’s Bread & Butter Pickles
My husband’s aunt gave these to us for Christmas every year because she knew how much we loved them. She always just called them the “good pickles.”
Ingredients:
I gallon of dill pickles
1 cup apple cider vinegar
24 cloves
6 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
Drain all but 1 cup of the dill juice.
Remove pickles, rinse, and slice ¼-inch thick.
Dissolve sugar in vinegar.
Mix all of the ingredients and pack in small mason jars to share with friends.
Brigadeirão da Rebeca
GABRIELA DE CAMARGO GONÇALVES, Digital Editor
Every Christmas Eve, my family and I used to go to my grandma’s house in São Paulo. The Brazilian tradition is to dress up in your finest clothes, even get your hair professionally done, and have a big feast on Dec. 24 with your extended family at midnight, meeting whichever cousin’s turn it was to dress up as Santa. Then we’d return on Christmas Day for a leftovers lunch. My grandma wouldn’t let anyone even breathe near the savory dishes, but when it came to dessert … oh, when it came to dessert, that’s when the Christmas magic truly happened. Honestly, I don’t think my cousins would let my mom through the door if she wasn’t holding her famous brigadeirão—the pudding version of Brazil’s beloved brigadeiro, those chocolate and condensed milk confections. It was the only dessert that never lasted longer than two minutes. Click here for the recipe
1 can of table cream
2 cans of sweet condensed milk
1 egg
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
3 tablespoons of chocolate powder
Sprinkles for garnishing
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Grab a medium bowl and combine all the ingredients, using a hand mixer. You could also put everything in a blender.
Grease a Bundt pan with butter and coat it with sugar. Tap the bottom of the pan and discard any of the sugar that didn’t stick. Then, pour the mix into the pan, and you’ll pop it in the oven water-bath style—so place the Bundt pan in a deep casserole dish that is half full with water. Wait for about 40 minutes and place a toothpick or a knife in the middle to check if it’s ready. If it comes out wet with batter, continue to test it every 10 minutes until it comes out dry. Unmold on a beautiful plate or glass stand and leave it in the fridge overnight. Enjoy!
White Chocolate Bread Pudding
MADELINE MAYHOOD, Editor-in-Chief
I never knew my grandmother, but I’m named for her, which is an honor. Her white chocolate bread pudding is legendary on my mother’s side of the family. Passed down from generation to generation, it’s rich, creamy, and decadent, and with every bite. When it’s Christmastime and white chocolate bread puddding season, I imagine Madeline Evans Harrington working her magic in her Boston kitchen on a snowy December day. Click here for the recipe.
3½ cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1 cup milk
½ cup sugar
18 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped and divided
7 egg yolks
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
7–8 cups bread cubes, cut into 1-inch cubes
Vanilla ice cream and fruit, optional
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine 3 cups of the whipping cream, plus the milk and sugar.
Bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat and whisk in 12 ounces of the white chocolate until melted and smooth.
Let sit to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine yolks and eggs. Then slowly whisk in warm chocolate mixture to combine. Then whisk in vanilla.
Gently fold in the bread cubes, and let soak for 30 minutes.
Pour into the prepared pan, and cover with foil.
Bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and continue baking until the top is golden brown, about 10–15 additional minutes.
While the bread pudding is baking, make the white chocolate sauce:
Use a microwave-safe bowl to heat the remaining white chocolate and heavy cream for a minute. Stir until chocolate has completely melted.
Drizzle on slices of bread pudding; top with a heap of vanilla ice cream, and garnish with fruits of your choice.
Grandma Mayott’s Crab Dip
CECILIA FELLINGER, Assistant Art Director
I’ve been celebrating Christmas with the Fellingers since I was 17, when I began dating Noah, who’s now my husband. The Fellingers have truly made me fall in love with Christmas all over again. They’ve encouraged the little kid in me to get all giddy and excited for Christmas with how much love they pour into it. And that’s all thanks to the ongoing love of Christmas from Grandma Mayott, who always made it magical. Click here for the recipe.
Makes 2 cups
12 ounces cream cheese
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced onion
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
12 ounces crab, preferably fresh, thoroughly cleaned, picked over, and drained
Chopped herbs for garnish
Mix first six ingredients in a large bowl.
Add crab and lightly incorporate.
Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
Garnish with herbs and serve with raw veggies, crackers, or baguette slices.
French Breakfast Puffs & Esther’s Cugel
ANGELA SHAPIRO, Accounting Manager
When I got married in Sacramento, my parents gave me a hope chest that they filled with essentials—a traditional and practical gesture, but also a symbol of their hope for my good future and marriage. The next year, my mother gave me a collection of her best recipes, some typed, and some handwritten, all on recipe cards that I have kept guarded over the years. My two favorites are shared here.
French Breakfast Puffs
⅓ cup soft shortening
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1½ cups flour
1½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup milk
⅓ cup butter, melted
Mix separately:
½ cup more sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Heat oven to 350℉. Mix shortening, ½ cup sugar and egg. Measure flour by dip-level-pour method. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg, then stir in alternately with milk.
Fill greased muffin cups ⅔-full. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately roll in melted butter, then in mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Makes 12 muffin cups.
Esther’s Cugel
1 pound wide noodles, cooked in salted water and drained
1 stick butter, cut into pieces
2 cups cottage cheese
1 pint sour cream
4 eggs, beaten
< 1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons apricot jam
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 apple, grated
½ teaspoon lemon zest
Topping
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Combine butter with pasta while it’s still warm.
Add the next 9 ingredients and combine. Set aside.
Make topping by mixing butter, brown sugar, and almonds in a medium bowl.
Pour noodle mixture into a 9×13-inch buttered baking pan and top with butter, brown sugar, and almonds mixture.
Refrigerate overnight, let rest on counter for about 30 minutes, then bake at 350℉ for an hour.
This article originally appeared in the December 2025 issue.
