Bringing joy and cheer for the 2022 holiday season

The 2022 holiday season has arrived and we’re all the more thankful for our network of 300+ sales partners, dozens of software partners, and a growing segment of merchants processing directly with us. Thanks for sticking with us as we grow in our partnership with North American Bancard and as we build out the future of our platform. 

PayTracers are gearing up for their holiday festivities, many of which include some family traditions, childhood memories, and new-found faves. Check out a few memorable traditions from our team. 

Homemade Banana Cream Pie

Cassie Miller – Senior Product Manager

I grew up on a farm and every day during harvest my grandmother would prepare HUGE meals for the whole family and all the farm hands. As a part of those daily meals, she would hand make 1-2 pies, my favorite being banana cream. She would also make me my own mini pie with the leftover pie crust and filling. Every time she would get ready to pull the pies out to serve, she would ask my Dad what the flavor was today. He would think real hard, and after a few minutes take a guess. HE WAS NEVER WRONG. My six year old self was under the impression my dad had some super secret pie magic that someday I might inherit. This went on for years. I found out (well into my 20s) that she told him what the pie was every morning before they headed out to harvest. I was blown away! Now, every year for the holidays those famous pies are made and that same story is usually told. I can hear his laughter as he tells it and teases us for all being so gullible. My dad passed away in January, so this year that banana cream pie that usually brings me back to my childhood, will remind me of my Dad, his infectious laugh, and his love for us and those amazing homemade pies. 

Pittsburgh Cookie Table

Chris Garbig – Finance Director

This is generally a tradition found at weddings, but my family always has a cookie table to celebrate the holidays. Each immediate family would bake and contribute a couple dozen cookies of their choosing. Then when we all gather to celebrate the Holidays, dozens and dozens of various kinds of cookies are all spread out on a table to enjoy: ladylocks, kolaczki, pizzelles, peanut butter blossoms, nut rolls, and buckeyes, to name a few. Some of my earliest memories around the holidays were spent around the cookie table trying to decide my favorite cookie that year. It is actually such a strong tradition in both my fiancée’s family and my family that we will be having a cookie table at our wedding next year instead of having a cake. 

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Justin Potter – Client Services Manager

This is made with strawberry jello, pretzels, sugar, unsalted butter, cream cheese, cool whip, and fresh strawberries. It’s a simple dish that is served with dinner and not with desserts. When we were kids, my older brother would eat as many slices as he could, which would trigger my little sister (it is her favorite) into telling him to stop eating it. She wanted leftovers. My brother would use this argument as fuel to eat even more. I wish I could say this back-and-forth ended in adulthood, but it didn’t. This year my brother ate six slices at the dinner table, with my sister calling him out and eventually hiding the tray from him. It is something we all laugh about, and something my kids look forward to seeing at the dinner table. How many slices can Uncle get down this year?

Sticky Buns

Justin Goes – Chief Operations Officer

Here is a breakfast recipe from my family for Christmas morning. Every year we have sticky buns for breakfast. It is easy to prepare the night before, so all you need to do is bake it in the morning. I am sure a lot of people have this around the holidays, but here are the directions for our version of this breakfast treat. It makes for a super easy breakfast with all the excitement of the morning going on.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Additional Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins
Ingredients:

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• ½ cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 ¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 5 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• ½ cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• ⅓ cup raisins
• ⅔ cup chopped pecans

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Combine the yeast mixture with the buttermilk, eggs, 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup softened butter, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Dough should remain soft and slightly sticky. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Divide dough in half and roll each half into a 12×7 inch rectangle. Spread each half with 1 tablespoon softened butter and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Roll up halves, beginning at wide side. Seal well by pinching the seams. Cut each roll into 12 slices.

Coat two 9 inch round cake pans each with 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons raisins and 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Place 12 dough slices in each pan, leaving a small space between slices. Cover and let rise until doubled.

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

Bake in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes. Invert pans onto plates and serve.

On behalf of everyone at PayTrace, we wish you and your family a joyous end to the year.