Odd Holiday Recipes

In addition to Valentine’s Day, February includes some lesser-known holidays including National Pancake Week, Cherry Pie Month and Sweet Potato Month. Celebrate with these family favorite recipes:

Golden Oat Pancakes
"My husband’s face lights up when I serve these county-style flapjacks," says Raymonde Bourgeois of Swastika, Ontario. "Serve them with fresh fruit or syrup."

Chocolate Chip Pancakes
"At our house, Saturday morning always means pancakes for breakfast," pens Julianne Johnson from Grove City, Minnesota. She makes the menu special by servings up stacks of these fluffy buttermilk treats studded with mini chips.

Moist Potato Pancakes
Pass these potato pancakes around your table and compliments will follow. Arleen Osvatic of Waukesha, Wisconsin, serves her creamy, golden-brown pleasers with apple sauce.

Fresh Cherry Pie
This ruby-red treat from Josie Bochek of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin is just sweet enough, with a hint of almond flavor and a good level of cinnamon. The cherries peeking out of the lattice crust makes it so pretty, too.

Cherry Meringue Pie
People are surprised to hear this pie’s meringue crust features saltines. The cream cheese and cherry pie filling make this dessert from Susan Card of Franklin, New Jersey extra special.

Deep-Fried Cherry Pies
"With a wonderfully flaky crust, these stuffed cherry pies always make a quick dessert," Monica Larkin notes from Shinnston, West Virginia. "My family loves them after dinner or as a snack, but they’re also wonderful for my husband’s take-along lunch."

Sweet Potato Crisp
Kathy Hamsher of Moon Township, Pennsylvania shares her not-too-sweet potato crisp with a wonderful buttery crumb topping. "This is a welcome change from candied sweet potatoes," she writes.

Dolloped Sweet Potatoes
Our Test Kitchen used a little microwave magic to turn sweet potatoes into a speedy and special side dish. Brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice flavor the simple but rich cream-cheese topping.