Christmas Chewies

When I asked my husband how long he's been making these Christmas cookies, his response was, "Oooo that's a hard one...years and years and years...before we were married...before we were even dating."  Suffice it to say, a very long time.  Not quite decades and decades.  But definitely more than one decade.  We recently celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary.

Christmas Chewies come in a variety of different colors and flavors.  This Christmas Brian's making fudge ones and lemons ones and strawberry ones.  He can make any flavor, well at least any flavor that is found in a boxed cake mix.  Ooops I might be giving his secret away.  Here's what the dough looks like as it's being formed.

Then you just line them up on the baking sheet.

You can add some decorative sprinkles to the tops prior to baking.

As the cookies bake they flatten out just enough to slather some cream frosting between two of them.  

We're winding down the Christmas cookies baking season.  It's not over yet, but it's getting close.

We're starting to fill tins and plates and containers.

Here's what things are starting to look like at our house about now.

Yumminess at its best!

Buckeyes

Chocolate and peanut butter always make an excellent pairing.  Over the years I have tried out different recipes for this chocolate and peanut butter combination and finally settled on this one.  It makes a nice firm peanut butter bonbon which holds up well when travelling or just transporting them across town.  They make a great finger food as you pop them right in your mouth.  Here's how to get started. 

Buckeyes

Makes about 7 dozen

·         2 (10 oz.) packages peanut butter chips

·         6 ounces cream cheese, softened (I usually use the lighter Neufchatel cheese)

·         14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

·         1 cup peanuts, finely chopped

·         12 ounce package of Wilton® Candy Melts® - dark cocoa

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, melt peanut butter chips over low heat.

With electric mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually add sweetened condensed milk as mixer continues beating.

Stir melted peanut butter chips into cream cheese mixture.  Add chopped peanuts.  Mix well. 

Chill for 2 to 3 hours. 

Roll dough into one-inch balls using the palms of your hands.  Follow package instructions to melt Candy Melts®.  Using a wooden toothpick, poke partway into the middle of the ball.  Dip the ball into the melted chocolate a little more than halfway up the sides of it.  Then gently release it onto wax paper.  You may need to gently push it off the toothpick with your fingers.  Leave buckeyes on wax paper until chocolate coating is firm.   

Peel them off of wax paper and store in a sealed plastic container.

The challenge then is to eat only one.

Hungarian Vanilla Kifli

My husband and I lived in Hungary, a country in eastern Europe, for about two and a half years.  We enjoyed learning about the Hungarian culture.  We found Hungarians to be very hospitable and caring people.

Typical families in Hungary have many Christmas traditions which involve food much like typical families in America, if there is such a thing as typical for either culture.  Traditionally Hungarians serve Fish Soup on Christmas Eve.  Their Christmas tree is usually decorated by the adults in the family on Christmas Eve, and the children are invited to view the glowing beauty in all its splendor.  Among the ornaments on the Hungarian Christmas tree you will also find szaloncukor, a fondant and chocolate truffle type of candy wrapped in bright colored foil.  Children will remove a piece of szaloncukor from the tree, eat the candy, and return the foil wrapper to the tree.  Parents smile and pretend not to notice as they fondly remember eating their own share of the sweet treats and replacing the wrappers during their own childhood.

I want to share with you a recipe for a tradional Hungarian Christmas cookie, Vanilla Kifli.  It is very similar to a cookie I grew up eating called Butterballs or Mexican Wedding Cookies.  The Hungarian word, "kifli," means "crescent" like the shape of the crescent moon. 

After some trial  and error in trying to capture the taste of the Vanilla Kifli I tasted in Hungary, I came up with this recipe.  I hope you will consider adding a new cultural tradition to your Christmas baking. 

Vanilla Kifli

Makes about 3 dozen

·         ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

·         ½ cup granulated sugar

·         2 large egg yolks

·         2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·         2 cups flour

·         ¾ cup ground walnuts

·         Powdered sugar

·         2 (1 ounce) semi-sweet chocolate squares

Using an electric stand or hand mixer, beat together butter and granulated sugar.  Add egg yolks and vanilla.  Beat well. 

Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well in between.  Stir in walnuts until thoroughly combined. 

Place mixture in the refrigerator in a covered bowl for at least two hours; can be placed overnight.  Preheat oven to 400ºF.  Roll dough between hands to form short rope.  Pinch in the middle to make the crescent moon shape.  Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake about 10 to 12 minutes.  Bottom of cookies will be lightly browned while tops remain white.  Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes.  Carefully roll crescents into powdered sugar.  Let cool completely.   

Melt chocolate in microwave on low or on the stovetop in a double boiler on low.  Dip small portion of each end of the cookies into chocolate.  Place on wax paper.  Allow to thoroughly cool and set.  Cookies should be kept in sealed container until ready to serve.

   

Origami at Christmas

The Japanese art of paper folding is called Origami, and it is one of my husband's favorite crafts.  Brian's interest in this age old craft began when he checked out his first origami book from his elementary school library.  The fascination with it continues to this day.  We now own quite a few origami books.

Brian is very moody about his origami.  At times he'll spend months searching new patterns and trying out more complicated designs.  Then he might go six months and never make a single fold.  He has spent hours entertaining children and adults alike.

He has a special interest in modular origami especially for making tree ornaments during the Christmas season.  Modular origami uses multiple sheets of the same size paper.  Each sheet is folded the same way to form one unit.  Each unit is attached to another one in the same fashion through a tag and pocket system folded into each unit.  This Christmas Brian is making one design that starts with 30 pieces of paper.  For this particular star design, he's using a satin royal blue wrapping paper.

He folds each square into an individual unit.

After carefully fitting them together, he has an Origami star.  Often they are simply nestled into the Christmas tree branches.  At other times, he creates a support piece in one of the star points and strings a thread through it for hanging purposes only.  Pure origami creators never use glue or tape or thread to hold origami together. The piece or pieces of paper must be folded in such a way to hold itself together.


Here is a small collection of what Brian has been working on this Christmas season so far.

Handmade Felt Gift Bags

A few weeks back I was looking for a different way to gift wrap tiny gifts, gift cards, or maybe some candy.  While I was going through a local craft store, I found some cute little packets of Christmas buttons and got my inspiration to make my own gift bags.

Using some inexpensive sheets of felt for the main part of the bag made the project easier.  I started with a drawing showing the size I wanted the final bag to be.  Then I added seam allowances, measured, and cut out all of the pieces.  The sewing machine made quick work of the project.  Hand stitching the buttons with gold thread added sparkle.  The finished product is a little bag about 5 inches tall, 4 inches wide, and 1 1/4 inches deep. The handle is about 10 inches long with about an inch attached on each side of the bag.  It is a great size to loop around a doorknob.     

I hope my project will give you inspiration for your own.

Oatmeal Crusted Cream Cheese Bars

Oats are a natural whole grain. They add nutrition as well as texture to meals.  Oats make a great crust for  lots of special recipes from chicken to bar cookies to pies to cheesecakes. They are a staple in my kitchen.  Several years ago, I created this recipe to enter into a contest.  I was looking to make a cream cheese dessert with a textured crust to contrast with the smooth cream cheese layer.  Oats were an obvious ingredient to focus on.  I didn't win the contest, but the recipe still became a hit at several events.  You get the wonder of cheesecake in a bite-sized punch. 

Oatmeal Crusted 

Cream Cheese Bars

Makes 36 squares



• ½ cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 8 oz. pkg. low-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel cheese), softened
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup white sugar
• Christmas sprinkles or red/green colored sugars

Preheat oven to 325ºF.  Grease bottom and sides of a 9 inch square pan.

Combine oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, and butter into a large bowl.  Using a hand pastry blender, work mixture until butter becomes pea sized.  Mixture will be coarse.  Press firmly into the bottom of the 9 inch square pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.

While crust is baking combine cream cheese, egg, and white sugar in medium sized mixing bowl.  Using an electric hand mixer, cream ingredients together for one minute.  With a spatula, spread cream cheese mixture evenly on top of oatmeal crust.  Continue baking at 325° F for 30 more minutes.  Remove from oven.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Top with sprinkles or colored sugars.  If you want the decorations centered on the squares, lightly score out squares before applying sprinkles or colored sugars.  Cool completely.  Cut into 1 ½” squares.  Store in sealed container in the refrigerator.

These are versatile.  You can change the top decorations to pink/red for Valentine’s Day or blue/red for Patriotic holidays or pink/purple/green for Easter.

Christmas Fudge

One of my husband's favorite Christmas treats is my Christmas Fudge.  I often double this recipe so there is plenty to go around.  I make it on the stovetop.  It is probably the easiest and quickest Christmas sweet I make.  When you pop a piece in your mouth, the creamy layers peel off and fill with mouth with chocolate goodness.  Are you drooling yet?  I think there's a pan of this in your future.  Enjoy!!   

Christmas Fudge

Makes approximately 2 pounds

·         1 ½ cups granulated sugar

·         2/3 cup evaporated milk

·         2 Tablespoons butter

·         ¼ teaspoon salt

·         2 cups miniature marshmallows

·         1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

·         2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·         ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

 Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Stir constantly and bring ingredients to a boil over medium heat.  When mixture comes to boil, continue stirring constantly and allow to boil for 4 ½ minutes.  Remove from heat. 

Stir in marshmallows, chocolate chips, and vanilla.  Stir quickly for 1 minute until marshmallows are melted and completely mixed into other ingredients.  Stir in nuts, if desired.  Immediately pour into foil-lined 8-inch or 9-inch baking dish.  Place in refrigerator only until firm, then cut into pieces.  Keep in sealed container.

Recipe can be doubled to make a 9 x 13-inch pan of fudge.

Holly Leaf Cookies

My favorite Christmas cookies from childhood would include Holly Leaf Cookies at the very top of the list.  My mom made them every year, but of course, only at Christmas.  They were a very special treat.  I've been making them for the past fifteen or twenty years.  Popping green and bits of red onto our Christmas dessert display, they are always a very festive and tasty cookie.  They are also very easy to make and they're one of few Christmas treats that don't require baking.  You must work quickly, though.  I hope you enjoy them.
 

Holly Leaf Cookies

Makes about 24 wreaths

• 1 stick margarine
• 1 bag marshmallows
• 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups corn flakes
• green food coloring
• cinnamon red hot dots

Begin by laying out a piece of wax paper (about 18 inches or so long) onto your counter.  Make sure it's an area that you won't need for a little while.  Measure cornflakes into a large bowl.

Melt margarine in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add marshmallows to melted margarine, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth.

Remove from heat.  Add food coloring and stir briskly until desired intensity is reached.  Immediately add about 3/4 of the corn flakes, stirring gently, yet quickly to coat corn flakes.

Add remaining corn flakes as long as marshmallow mixture sufficiently coats them.  Using two teaspoons drop dollops of mixture onto wax paper in the shape of small round wreaths.  Work quickly as mixture will become stiffer and harder to work with.  Add three cinnamon red hot dots to each wreath.

Cool completely.  Remove from original wax paper and place in sealed plastic container separating layers with wax paper.  I've found that if you place them in a container on the original wax paper, they are difficult to remove later.

Enjoy your new Christmas greenery! 

Treasured Christmas Favorites

Often during the Christmas season people give gifts to family and friends, but we have already been given the greatest gift we will ever receive.  Our greatest treasure is the gift the Lord gave us in the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, which we celebrate during Christmas. 
 
My husband and I have a Christmas tradition.  It begins with huge amounts of preparation and baking spread over several days.  We fill tins, plates, platters, or other containers with Christmas goodies and give them away to family and friends.  This will be our 12th year.  Each year we've adjusted recipes, tried new varieties or different packaging, or added new recipes. 

Here during the month of December, I will be sharing some of our favorite recipes as well as some new things we're trying out.  We hope you enjoy them and will share some of your favorites, too.