christmas

Bavarian Crème Fudge

Chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk beaten smooth with peppermint flavoring and set in an 8-inch pan.

Brenda's Famous Caramels

Cooked to the soft ball stage with the cream added in two stages, poured into molds with walnuts and wrapped in wax paper.

“I found ice trays work well as molds.”

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Cake mix, butter and two eggs make a soft drop cookie flavored with mint; they puff, then fall and crack on top.

Chocolate Mint Sandwich Cookies (Laura Winsor's)

Chilled chocolate dough rolled in sugar and baked, then sandwiched in pairs around a mint patty while still warm.

Chocolate Truffles

Ganache set firm in a pan, cut into 64 squares, rolled by hand and dusted in cocoa and powdered sugar.

Christmas Reindeer Crack

Pretzels, Bugles, Fritos, Chex, peanuts and M&M's coated in melted white bark, spread to cool, then broken into pieces.

Decadent Chocolate Truffles

Semi-sweet chips melted with sweetened condensed milk, chilled firm, rolled into balls and coated in nuts, coconut or sprinkles.

Deluxe Sugar Cookies

Powdered sugar and almond extract dough, chilled a few hours, then flattened with a sugar-dipped cup into about five dozen thin rounds.

Easy Peppermint Patties

Peppermint fondant rolled into a log, chilled firm, sliced into rounds and dipped in melted chocolate wafers.

Four Layer Mint Fudge

Condensed milk fudge rolled out on waxed paper, then spread and folded together with a crème de menthe buttercream.

Gingersnaps

Browned butter, molasses and both fresh and ground ginger in a sugar-rolled cookie baked slow at 300 degrees.

“Deb notes she usually uses 2 whole eggs instead of 1 egg plus 1 yolk.”

Grandma Vandewege's Sugar Cookies

Lard-based sugar cookies with nutmeg and vanilla, rolled paper thin, sugared, and baked just six or seven minutes.

“Cindy Holden's note on this recipe: roll the dough out real thin -- "none of that fat stuff."”

Million Dollar Fudge

Boiled sugar and evaporated milk poured over chocolate, marshmallow cream and nutmeats, beaten smooth and set in a 9x13 pan.

Nut Roche

Butter and sugar cooked to 290 degrees for a hard toffee, spread with melted milk chocolate and toasted nuts, then broken into pieces.

Peanut Brittle

Microwave brittle: raw peanuts cook in sugar and corn syrup, then baking soda foams it up before it's poured out to set.

“If the pan is warm the brittle stays puffier!!”

Peppernuts

A large batch of heavily spiced Christmas cookie dough: butter, milk and eight cups of sugar boiled to softball stage with cinnamon, clove and black pepper.

Prime Rib – That I Use

A three-bone roast salted at least a day ahead, seared, cooked at 200 degrees for hours, then crisped under the broiler.

“THIS IS TOO LONG. THE MEAT GETS COLD!”

Pumpkin Pie - Deb Topp Style - Just Like Nick Likes It!!

Canned pumpkin filling whisked with two eggs, whole milk and a heavy hand of spice, baked hot then finished low.

“Some of the sugar can be Splenda, and Deb likes using a little heavy cream mixed into the total milk amount.”

Rind and Juice of 2 Lemons and 3 Oranges

Citrus rind and juice worked into a very stiff egg dough, rested cold for days, then cut into small rectangles and baked.

“I have doubled the spices from the original recipe - we like it this way.”

Sugar Cookies (Eileen's)

Sour cream rolled cookies chilled overnight, cut into shapes, baked briefly, and finished with cream cheese frosting.

Thin Mint Cookies

Copycat wafers rolled paper-thin from chocolate fudge cake mix, baked, then dipped in peppermint chocolate; makes 108.

Toffee

Butter, sugar and whole almonds cooked to hard crack, lightened with a pinch of soda, and coated with chocolate on both sides.

Vanilla Butter Sugar Cookies

Rolled and cut-out butter cookies with a full two tablespoons of vanilla, finished with powdered sugar frosting and colored sugar.