Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go…

I suppose every family has Thanksgiving traditions and special recipes that are passed down from one generation to the next. If you asked any of my children to name their favorite Thanksgiving food I feel pretty sure they would each pick Grandma Layne’s dressing balls.

Every year for as long as I can remember she made the dressing and the gravy. My cousin Sarah and I finally realized that Grandma would not be around forever and Sarah was assigned an apprenticeship. She was to be Grandma Layne’s assistant and learn how to carry on the tradition.

Mom always did the meats, so I am the turkey and ham woman. Sarah makes the dressing balls. Sarah’s task was harder because Grandma never made it the exact same way and she never wrote the recipe down. But by being her assistant Sarah was able to copy the main ingredients and I’m glad to report that our families still fight over how many dressing balls you are allowed to eat.

I would gladly share the recipe here with you if I knew it, but I don’t. I just pour gravy over them and eat them.

Sarah, if you read this and send me the recipe I’ll gladly add at the bottom of this post!

Recipe-Sarah finally gave in and gave up the recipe!

9 cups biscuit crumbs

3 cups corn bread crumbs

1 large onion, chopped finely

1 cup celery, chopped finely

1 T. poultry seasoning

1/2 T. sage

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Lots of chicken broth–until mixture is gooey, sticky but not runny

Salt and Pepper to taste

Crumble all biscuit and corn bread (We always use homemade bread and I put mine in a food processor).  Measure after they are crumbled.  Add chopped onion, celery, poultry seasoning, sage, salt, and pepper. Mix well.  Heat broth to a simmer.  Pour into the bread crumb mixture and mix well.  It will take more broth than you think.  Add enough so that it can stirred easily.  Taste and add more seasonings to get the taste you desire.  After you are happy with the taste, add the beaten eggs and mix well.  Make sure to taste before adding the eggs!  Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Roll into golf ball size balls and place on greased sheet pan.  Bake until golden brown.  About 20 minutes.

Best served with turkey gravy over them!

Related posts:

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  2. Mom’s Recipe Box
  3. Nana’s Recipe Box
  4. What’s for Breakfast at Mandy’s House?

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5 Comments

  1. We have these at Christmas too. That’s the only two times of the year we eat them and we always enjoy them!

  2. Teresa, I made these for Thanksgiving and the guests just raved about how good they were. We have a new tradition at our house – Stuffing Balls! My girls (7 and 9) loved rolling the balls and putting them into the pan to bake. It was great fun for all of us to cook something together! Keep those family recipes coming!

  3. I cannot believe I finally have the DRESSING BALLS recipe! This is the best dressing ever! Thank you!!

  4. Sarah, P-L-E-A-S-E post that recipe; it sounds really yummy… and I love dressing! You know, it’s against blogging rules to talk about a recipe and not post it (ok, that’s my rule, but I’m trying my hardest to get you to POST THAT RECIPE, SARAH!) 😀 Happy Thanksgiving!

  5. I’ve not heard of dressing balls before. But they sound good!! I love the fact that my daughter-in-law will bring food for Thanksgiving. She loves yams so she makes a souffle that I love. At least somebody else likes yams in this family and olives. My husband told the kids, jokingly, that olives were sheep eyes so they didn’t much like them for awhile. But my daughter will eat them on pizza now.

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