Christmas Goodies 2016 Version

After several years of making some of the same treats for Christmas (some of the favorites are posted here), I decided to make some new random treats along with some tried and true recipes.

I made Snickerdoodles from the classic Betty Crocker Cooky Book – these are a well loved family favorite with green and red sugar instead of cinnamon. The other regular treat that I couldn’t skip was the M&M pretzel hugs – they are easy and delicious. http://beckyhiggins.com/valentines-pretzel-hugs/

I wanted a thick chocolate cookie so I made these Chocolate Crinkle cookies – prettier than I expected and just enough chocolate flavor. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chocolate_crinkles/

As a replacement for my favorite peppermint cookie, I found White Chocolate Peppermint Chip Cookies (http://www.completelydelicious.com/white-chocolate-peppermint-cookies/). The recipe calls for Andes Peppermint Crunch which was impossible to find locally. I combed through the comment sections of this and similar recipes to find out what other people substituted for the Crunch. There were lots of suggestions and I decided to work with something I have used in the past – Hershey Candy Cane Kisses. I pulsed them in the food processor into tiny pieces and the resulting bits would be great in hot chocolate on as an ice cream topping.

To replace the classic toffee recipe, I made Heath Toffee Cookie Bars (http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/heath-toffee-bars/).

And finally I added another simple pretzel and chocolate recipe. I made pecan turtles last year and these were much easier and just as good. (http://www.hersheys.com/rolo/recipes.aspx?id=8631)

I spent a lot of the weekend in the kitchen and sometimes I even had a good little helper or two.