Favorite Christmas recipes

I brought this over from Coffee Tea Books and Me...

Pretzel Candy

My favorite time of year to be in the kitchen is December when I'm baking and making candy gifts for friends and family. This year I won't be making as much but I'll choose a few favorites to have available. I will be picking from some of these...

Pretzel Candy... I made these (pictured above) for the first time last year and loved the recipe. It is tasty and easy to make. One of those great recipes for kids in the kitchen as older kids can spoon the white chocolate into the pretzel and small children place an M&M on top.

Rachel Ray's Fudge... This recipe was from one of her earlier 30 Minute shows. As soon as I tried this fudge, it became my Christmas "go to" recipe. So easy and everyone loves it!

Beverly Nye's Candy... The following recipes are all from my favorite Beverly Nye cookbook from the 1970s. Love her recipes! They are all easy and yummy. None of them require a candy thermometer.

• Peanut Butter Easter Eggs -- just shape them into a ball instead of an egg. :)
• Chocolate covered mints -- delicious minty flavor. Also, you can make the "filling" without dipping into chocolate for what we usually call "wedding mints". Just mold them in a candy mold for a pretty display.
• Homemade Mounds candy -- This one basic recipe can be made into all kinds of yummy candies by adding dried fruit, nuts, etc.

Raspberry Truffle Brownies - This is one of those over-the-top brownie recipes that is perfect for the Holidays. They are rich but everyone I know loves them.


Homemade Cocoa Mix - There are lots of recipes online for cocoa and other drink mixes. I made these for my husband's siblings last year. Part of the gift was the glass container, which was very inexpensive. The marshmallows and Christmas M&Ms are in jelly jars that I wash and put back to use for such gifts after the jelly has been used. They made the gift even more festive. :)


Christmas Jam - This is a great December jam to make when cranberries are available and the strawberries called for are frozen.

Of course, there are lots of cookie and cake recipes on my recipe blog, too. :)