How To Make The Best Christmas Treat Ideas
It seems like Christmas is just around the corner, already. This is when my baking mode comes alive. I just have to share some of my favorite Christmas treat ideas with you. Mark and I can still remember when our girls were really young and we would make sugar cookies for our Christmas tree. You know the kind you roll out and make a tiny hole and then put some twine through it to hang them on the tree?
The funny thing that particular year was that we had just started dehydrating food from our garden. We had this big old harvest gold 24-inch square dehydrator going full force.
Well, the day before we made the cookies, I started dehydrating onions. Yes, onions, and you soon learn that you never dehydrate onions in the house, ever. The whole house smelled yummy for the first few hours then the house started to smell totally like onions. And so did the cookies we were going to take to the neighbors, and the ones we were hanging on the tree.
We still hung the cookies on the tree, onion smell and all. Please tell me this happened to you, I would love to hear. I giggle every time I think of those sugar cookies.
Christmas Treat Ideas
Allison’s Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
These cookies are my daughter Allison’s famous soft chewy sugar cookie recipe. This is our family’s favorite rolled sugar cookie.
- Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups butter
- 6- ounce cream cheese (softened)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. almond or vanilla extract
- 2 egg yolks
- 4-1/12 cups flour
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Instructions
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Cream all of the ingredients together except for the flour. Then slowly add the flour and mix until smooth. Chill the dough covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets and roll out the dough and use cookie cutters. I like my dough about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for 7-10 minutes depending on how thick you roll your cookies.
Frosting
3 egg whites
1-pound powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
F00d coloring if desired
Instructions: Wait to make the frosting until right before you are ready to frost the cookies. The frosting will be a little runny until it starts to thicken up as it dries. Work fast when you start to frost those yummy cookies.
Chocolate Truffles by Linda
My family made these every year for over 25 years to give to neighbors as Christmas Treats. They are so fun to make as a family. Plus, they taste yummy!
- 12- ounce package real milk or dark chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup butter no substitute cut into pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or any flavor of choice
- Chocolate Shot or “Sprinkles”
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In Double Boiler, melt the chocolate chips with the milk. Beat with mixer one yolk at a time into the melted chocolate. Remove the pan from heat and start adding the butter pieces a few pieces at a time using the mixer. Beat 2-3 minutes, then mix in the vanilla. Chill the chocolate in the refrigerator. When the chocolate is workable, roll into balls the size of marbles and roll in the chocolate shot or ground nuts. Serve well chilled in tiny paper/foil cups. Keep the truffles refrigerated. Makes approximately 50 Chocolate Truffles.
Linda’s Ooey Gooey Caramel Corn
This is my mother-in-law’s recipe. It’s a keeper, I promise.
- 4 cups of brown sugar
- 2 cups of light Corn Syrup
- 1 cup of salted or unsalted butter (cut into pieces)
- 2 14-ounce cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Buttered popcorn (bag)
- Clover Club Corn Puffs
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Gather all of your ingredients. Take a plastic bag with some butter on it to grease two large bowls. One for the popped popcorn and another bowl for the corn puffs.
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Bring the brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil.
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Stir constantly and add the butter pieces and sweetened condensed milk.
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Continue stirring constantly over medium heat. Cook until you can get the mixture to form into a semi-firm ball. To test out the texture, drop some caramel in a cup of cold water and if it can be made into a semi-firm ball…it's ready.
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This makes a lot of caramel so you can make a large batch of caramel popcorn. I like to buy already-popped popcorn at Harmon's grocery store, or a similar grocery store. The corn puffs package I used today is called "Corn Puffs" from a company called Clover Club (not the cereal corn pops) and a package of buttered popped popcorn. Put the popped popcorn and/or corn puffs in a very large greased/buttered bowl so you are ready to stir the caramel over the 1 pound of popcorn very quickly. You can add peanuts, pecans, and almonds for a unique flavor. Enjoy!
Grandma’s Raisin Filled Cookies
My mother used to make these every Thanksgiving and Christmas. I hope you like them as much as my family does.
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 5-1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup raisins or dates-cut in pieces
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon of flour
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Combine all of the ingredients except the flour.
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Cream until smooth and slowly add the flour one cup at a time.
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Flour the countertop and roll out the sticky dough with a floured rolling pin to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
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Use a cookie cutter to cut out the size of the cookie you desire.
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Preheat the oven to (350°F) = (176°C) degrees.
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Combine the ingredients in a saucepan and stir constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer until thick.
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Remove the pan from the heat and let cool slightly.
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Scoop one heaping tablespoon of the filling in the middle of one rolled-out cookie circle and place another cookie on top.
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Pinch the edges together with your fingers or a fork. Bake for 10-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the cookie dough.
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Bake longer if you like a crisp cookie. This recipe makes 12-24 cookies depending on the size cutter you use.
Chocolate Mint Brownie Cookies
You will never make another brownie cookie recipe after you try making these. Please let me know if you make them!
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup cocoa, unsweetened natural cocoa
- 2 cups flour
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Cream all the ingredients, as in dump/cream all the ingredients in your mixer bowl and then add the flour. Blend until thoroughly mixed. I used my 1/8 cup cookie scoop. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake on a greased cookie sheet for 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of cookie scoop you use. Of course, spoons work just as well.
Chocolate Mint Brownies
These have a layer of mint that is ever so slight. These are my favorite homemade mint brownies.
- Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 cups butter
- 1 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
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Instructions for the brownie part:
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Grab a saucepan and melt the butter with the cocoa and stir constantly. Remove from the stove and add the remaining ingredients. I use my hand mixer. I add the eggs one at a time because I am always afraid they may become “scrambled eggs”. I use the hand mixer to combine all the above ingredients until smooth. Grease a cookie sheet. Scoop the batter onto the cookie sheet and spread evenly over the entire pan.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake 25-30 minute, or until the edges come away from the pan slightly. Let cool and now onto the next step.
Classic Christmas Cake Recipe
This is the infamous cake I well know for making in every neighborhood where I have lived. The secret to a moist cake, I learned from my mother is in the recipe. You freeze it before you frost it.
- 1 package chocolate cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hine’s brand)
- 1 package INSTANT Chocolate pudding (they come in either 5 or 5.9 ounces)
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup water
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup mini chocolate chips (I prefer the mini-but regular will work)
- Cream Cheese Frosting or Freshly Whipped Cream sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy canes.
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Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees. I place everything but the chocolate chips into the mixer bowl. I blend until completely mixed, about 1-2 minutes. Fold in the chocolate chips. Grease a Bundt pan and scoop the mixture into the Bundt pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I wait for about 5-10 minutes before inverting the baked cake onto a parchment paper lined dinner plate. I freeze the cake overnight or until I need it for a party. The day of the party I remove the frozen cake and place it on the platter I will serve it on. Remove the parchment paper and cover the cake with plastic wrap until partially thawed and ready to frost and serve.
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Frost with cream cheese frosting or whipped cream and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
Grandma’s Mounds Bars
Yes, this is one of the all-time favorites my mother made for me and my sisters growing up. It’s a traditional cookie bar in our family.
- 1 can sweeten condensed milk
- 1 14-ounce pkg. flaked coconut
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional
- 2 cups graham crackers, crushed
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 6 ounces chocolate chips
- 6 ounces butterscotch chips
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Instructions
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Combine the melted butter, graham crackers, and sugar. Grease a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the graham cracker mixture into the pan and pat down evenly. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
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Take the pan out of the oven and combine the condensed milk, pecans, and coconut together. Spread evenly over the crust. Return to the oven and bake another 15 minutes.
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Frosting: Melt the chocolate chips with the butterscotch chips over hot water. Spread over the coconut mixture. Place the pan in the refrigerator to set the chocolate chips.
Final Word
I hope you try some of my Christmas Treat Ideas this year for the holidays. It’s that time of year coming upon us, please pray for this country and the world. Keep prepping because we will need all the supplies we have on hand. May God bless this world.
Cookies: AdobeStock_59003257 by Sunny Forrest
Christmas Shoes: AdobeStock_221799073 by Lili Graphie
I never knew yhat it was so easy to make truffles. I am going to make some of these little nuggets of pleasure. Thanks Linda!
Hi Jo Ann, I hope you like them as much as my family does. They are so easy to make!!! Enjoy, Linda
These all look SO delicious!! The hard part is deciding which one I want to make first 🙂
Hi Carrie, you are so cute!! I started typing last night and I just kept going. I love the holidays, let the baking begin. Linda
My funniest cookies-on-the-tree memory? Every morning when I came down stairs the tree would be bare of cookies from about half way down. I would march the kids in there, scold them for getting up & sneaking cookies & they would all swear they didn’t do it. For 3 days I would replace the cookies & next morning half would be gone. The kids were frantic, trying to make me believe it wasn’t them, pointing the finger at each other. On the 3rd night I heard a noise downstairs so I quietly tiptoed down, hoping to surprise the culprit. Well, I did. Our Doberman could reach about halfway up the 10 ft tree & she was having a grand ol’ time! No wonder she hadn’t been eating her breakfast. So of course I had to apologize to the kids & go buy some (non-edible) ornaments. That was many years ago but we laugh about it every Christmas.
Oh my gosh, Linda!!! I love this story!! Isn’t it wonderful that we have these memories we can laugh and talk about for years? I so enjoyed this one. The Doberman, I can totally visualize the dog eating them. I LOVE it! Linda
My truffle recipe is even easier (fewer ingredients):
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or equivalent in dark chocolate)
1 cup cocoa powder (or nuts finely ground; other things to roll them in: sprinkles, crushed peppermint candy, etc.)
In a double boiler, heat the cream to a simmer and add the chocolate. Stir until melted. Pour into a bread pan and refrigerate until solid (about 1 hour). Using a candy scoop or teaspoon, scoop out and roll into a ball. Roll in cocoa powder or other “toppings” as desired.
The thing I like most about these is that they are relatively sugar free. Even my daughter’s father-in-law can/will eat these because they have so little sugar.
I have also added liqueur to these on occasion: Kahlua, Grand Marnier, etc. Just enough to give a hint of those flavors.
Other treats that I like to make for Christmas: my mother’s almond roca; fudge; my grandmother’s date no-bake cookies.
Hi Leanne, oh my gosh, I have got to make this truffle recipe. It sounds awesome! I forgot about my grandmother’s fudge. I have never made Almond Roca!!! I want to make a recipe card for this one. Thanks for sharing!! It would be so fun if we were neighbors we could swap recipes all the time! Hugs! Linda
Linda ~ What are the rents like in your area? If it is cheaper than the Puget Sound area – I might look into moving! LOL! I hate the cost of living in western Washington State! But, my daughter and her family live in Seattle so I wouldn’t want to be too far away from her and my soon to be 4 grandchildren (one is due the end of November)!
That being said, the internet makes us neighbors! we can swap all the recipes we want! If you want the recipe for homemade almond roca, I will surely get it to you.
Leanne
Hi Leanne, if you live by your kids, I would stay put. I was at a Halloween party last night and this cute lady was there talking about how her mother who is 95 used to live in Seattle and has zero wrinkles due to the moisture there. She lived her whole life in Seattle! No wrinkles! I so enjoyed her story about her mom at 95 years of age and who looks like 75. Great story! Yes, we can be neighbors through the internet and yes I would love the Almond Roca recipe girlfriend! Please send it to foodstoragemoms@yahoo.com Hugs, Linda
Finally had a few moments to send you an email with my family’s favorite seasonal candies.
Hi Leanne, oh my gosh, thank you for the recipes! I have got to make them!! Hugs, Linda
Hey Linda,
Have you ever tried the truffles you can make from Oreo’s? So good and so simple.
1 package Oreo’s – crushed into a powder. 1 package cream cheese, softened and melted
chocolate to coat. Mix the crushed Oreo’s and cream Cheese, chill, drop by teaspoon on a
cookie sheet covered with wax paper. ( At this point you can roll into balls) Put in Fridge till
firm then coat with melted Chocolate. Chill again, if you can stay out of them.
Hi June, oh my gosh, these sound wonderful!!! I love Oreos, this one is a keeper. Thank you! Linda
How much mint in your mint cookies?
Hi Cheryl, I need to fix that old post. I paid someone to transfer the recipes to recipe cards. Thanks for letting me know about this recipe. I need to update that post. Linda