Friday, December 12, 2014

Holiday Baking

Peppermint Bark
I finished the grocery shopping last evening and I'm ready for the annual Christmas cookie baking/candy making day! Mixing, baking, cookie decorating will begin in the early morning tomorrow and continue all day and into the evening! Of course, we'll start with the traditional chocolate chip cookies that are made and enjoyed year after year. I still use the Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe for this family favorite. It's the very same recipe my mom used when I was a little girl (oh so many years ago!). This classic and totally scrumptious cookie is perfect for the holidays, well perfect anytime, any day of the year! Next up will be the sugar cookie cut outs in festive holiday designs. I prefer the buttery cut out sugar cookie recipe from Food.com. The dough rolls out easily and I especially like the icing recipe for the cookies. While the sugar cookies are cooling we will make the powdered sugar snowballs. These mouth watering cookies are also called Russian Tea Cakes. I use Betty Crocker's recipe for these smooth and oh so delicious cookies. The recipe is so easy and the cookies are absolutely divine! They also look very festive with the other cookies and candies on the serving tray. After rolling the warm cookies twice in powdered sugar and the snowballs are placed on a rack to cool, it's now time to frost and decorate the sugar cookie cut outs. The sugar cookie shapes always include Christmas trees, candy canes, snowmen, Christmas stockings, and holiday bells. The kiddos love decorating these cookies and I love watching them! They are always so excited and of course always sneak a few cookie bites when I'm not looking! One of my favorite cookies is the Coconut Macaroon. The little ones don't like coconut and I have assured them that some day they will!  I really disliked these cookies when I was younger and my mom told me I would one day like and even crave them. Guess what? She was right again! So to this day I make a small batch of Macaroons because it just wouldn't be Christmas without them. Tasteofhome.com has a very simple recipe and they hardly take any time at all to make and bake. Thankfully no one in my family has a peanut allergy, so we also make a peanut butter cookie that is topped with a chocolate Hershey kiss. The recipe is from Hersheys.com, easy to make, and greatly enjoyed by all. Next we move on to the fudge! Yes, I'm a chocoholic and I freely admit it! I have always used the fudge recipe seen on the Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk can. It's so simple and the fudge is always perfect! You can find this foolproof chocolate fudge recipe online at Allrecipes.com. Finally, after a long day in the kitchen it's time to make the Chocolate Peppermint Bark and Food.com has a very easy recipe.  In years past I have used a double boiler to melt the chocolate, but now I've gotten used to melting it in the microwave oven which is so easy and less time consuming! The finished product is the most delicious chocolate peppermint bark ever! It really does melt in your mouth! So tomorrow evening all the baking and candy making will be done. Do you bake for the holidays? If so, what are your favorite recipes?

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