Girls Christmas Dresses

Christmas Candy Recipes

Recipe For Candy Canes

The sugar, water, syrup, and cream of tartar you combine and heat till the sugar's dissolved real fine. Divide into two saucepans, boil, but don't stir, please, until each lot is 280F. Add 1/2 ts peppermint to each lot and add the coloring to one, the other not: place on an enamel or marble table to cool. (First oiling the table, as a general rule). Like taffy you stretch and pull and form into ropes of red and white, now twist them around again and again. And form them into your cane. Now on an oiled surface you allow them to harden.

Amazing Fudge

Mix first 4 ingredients together in large Microwave Safe bowl. Microwave on high for 15 minutes. Remove from Microwave Oven and quickly, while hot, beat in vanilla and flour. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well and quickly before the mixture cools. Pour into well greased Bunny Molds - or pan of any shap. Refrigerate. This fudge sets up beautifully.

Recipe for Rum Balls

Into a large bowl, sift the cocoa and 1 Cup of confectioner's sugar. Mix in remaining ingredients. Form the mixture into 1-inch balls with your hands. Sprinkle about 1 Cup confectioner's sugar on a plate and roll the balls in it to coat. Store in a tin for at least 1 week before giving them away. These cookies will mellow with age and will keep up to 1 month. They can also be wrapped in plastic wrap or foil. Recipes make about 36.

Christmas Truffles Recipe

Boil cream in a small heavy pan until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Remove from heat, stir in liqueur and chocolate, and return to low heat. Stir until chocolate melts. Whisk in softened butter. When mixture is smooth, pour into a shallow bowl and refrigerate until firm, about 40 minutes. Scoop chocolate up with a teaspoon and shape into rough 1-inch balls. Roll the truffle balls in the unsweetened cocoa. Store truffles, covered, in the refrigerator. Let truffles stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Turkish Delight Recipe

Dissolve the granulated sugar in half of the water over medium heat. Add the strips of lemon and orange peel and the juices. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Soften the gelatin by soaking it for 5 to 10 minutes in the rest of the water. Add the gelatin to the sugar syrup stirring well, and boil for 10 minutes, until the syrup reaches the thread stage. Strain the mixture into shallow dampened pan or onto platters, and let it set for 24 hours. Cut the candy into 1-inch squares. Sift the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch together into a shallow dish. Roll the pieces into the mixture. Store the recipes squares in boxes with more confectioners' sugar and cornstarch between each layer.

Date Cherry Candies

Boil sugar, milk, water, butter, and salt to soft ball stage (234 - 238 F). Add cherries and dates. Boil to firm ball stage (245 - 248 F). Add marshmallows. Do not stir. Cool to room temperature. Add flavoring. Beat until thick and creamy. Add nuts. Pour into well-buttered, 9"x13" shallow pan. Cut in squares.

Angel Food Candies

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Cook without stirring until the temperature reaches 300F (hard crack stage) on a candy thermometer. Do not overcook. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in baking soda. Pour into a buttered 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. When cool, break into bitesize pieces. Dip into melted chocolate; place on waxed paper until the chocolate is firm. Store tightly covered. Recipes Yield: 1-1/2 pounds.

Christmas Jelly Candies

In a saucepan put gelatin and sugar, add the fruit juice and let set for 5 minutes Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cook until gelatin melts, add lemon juice. Pour into shallow baking pans and chill until firm. Carefully turn out of pan using a wide spatula. Cut with various shaped cookie cutters and place on wire racks to dry. put in covered tins with wax paper between layers. Will keep up to 5 days.

Irish Potato Candy Recipe

Placed mashed potatoes in a mixer bowl. Add confectioners' sugar one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Spread into greased 10 x 15 inch pan. Spread peanut butter over top. Roll as for a jelly roll. Cut into slices. Makes 16 pieces.

Kotonjata Candy

Select 13 even coloured quince, not spotted. Wash and peel as you would an apple. Use a shredder and grate on largest holes. Place all meat in a heavy pot with juice of 2 lemons and 2 cups of water. Cook over lowest flame for at least an hour or an hour and a half. Test to see if quince is soft. Remove from fire. Measure the cooked quince by cup and return to pot. Add equal number of quince and sugar in the same pot. Stir well until blended. Cook on medium heat, watching carefully that it doesn't scorch. Reduce heat to lowest setting for an hour, stirring frequently. After first half hour add 1 cup strained lemon juice. Test quince by placing a teaspoonful on a small plate. If it doesn't run, it's ready to pour on platters or in Pyrex bakiing dish about 1/4 inch thick. Let dry for 3 days, turning frequently. Cut in smaller pieces to help turn easier. When hardened, wrap and refrigerate until used.

Candy Mints Recipe

Combine all ingredients in bowl and beat at high speed until well blended. Knead until smooth. Shape mints in molds. Then place on cookie sheets which have been covered with paper towels. Cover with paper towels. Leave overnight to set. Makes 9 Dozen.

Old Fashioned Sponge Candy

Combine sugar, syrup, and vinegar in heavy sauce pan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Then cook to 300 F. or crack stage. Remove from heat, stir soda in quickly, mixing up. (it will become frothy) Pour into buttered pan. Cool and break into pieces.

Triple-Chocolate Kisses

Melt the 3 kinds of chocolate in 3 separate bowls. Stir half of the crushed cane mix into the semisweet chocolate. Reserve a bit for sprinkling; stir the remainder into the milk and white chocolates. Drop teaspoons of the semisweet onto a parchment-lined tray. Top with 1 dollop each of the milk and white chocolates. Sprinkle with crushed pieces. Let harden. Makes 100 pieces.

White Chocolate Pretzels

Put hot tap water in a double boiler and melt chocolate until juicy; remove hot water and replace with cold water in bottom of double boiler. Stir chocolate until thickened. Remove the cold water and put hot tap water in once more. When the chocolate is thin, drop the pretzels in until coated and then remove from chocolate and place them on waxed paper. Let cool; put in plastic bag.

Chocolate Christmas Batons

Baking cookies is fun, but it's the decorating that kids really get jazzed about. Here's how you can cut to the chase!

In a large bowl and using an electric mixer at low speed, beat the sugar, butter, and vanilla extract until you get a good spreading consistency. Add more sugar or milk, if needed, to achieve the right texture. (Note: if you plan to pipe on the frosting, make it a bit stiffer.) Divide the frosting into smaller bowls and stir in your choice of food colorings until blended. Makes about 4 cups.

Christmas Snowman Cupcakes

Snow or no snow, your family can whip up a band of these merry marshmallow snowmen to satisfy all their winter wonderland fantasies.

Frost a cooled cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe) with white icing. Flatten a large marshmallow on waxed paper with the palm of your hand. Cut a second marshmallow in half horizontally, then stack the halves on the first marshmallow to form a torso and head. Push a thin pretzel stick down through the snowman (this will help him stand up), then set him on the cupcake. Use decorators' gel to create a mouth, eyes, and buttons, then add pretzel stick arms and a wedge cut from an orange slice candy for a nose.Accessorize with a candy hat (a Junior Mint secured to a Thin Mint with icing) and a fruit leather scarf.

Candy Cane Cookies

With peppermint extract and red food coloring, your kids can turn this simple dough into edible ornaments for the tree.

* 3/4 cup butter, softened

* 1 cup sugar

* 1 large egg

* 1 tsp. peppermint extract

* 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

* Red food coloring

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and beat well. Stir in the peppermintand vanilla extracts. Gradually mix in the flour. Divide the dough in half. Color one half with red food coloring and leave the other half plain. Roll out a tablespoon of red dough and a tablespoon of plain until they are each 6 to 8 inches long. Twist them into a candy cane, pinching the ends. Repeat. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not brown. Makes about 25.

Gingerbread Kids

It wouldn't be Christmas without the chance to dress gingerbread cookies in frosting finery.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda. Set aside dry ingredients. In a large bowl, blend the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the molasses. Slowly add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture, stirring after each addition with the wooden spoon or mixer (the dough should be stiff). Divide the dough in half, flatten into a thick pancake (a fun step for kids set up with a rolling pin) and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the dough is firm enough to roll (if it becomes too stiff, soften for 10 minutes at room temperature). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a floured counter, roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out gingerbread men and a spatula to transfer them to a greased cookie sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until light brown. Once the gingerbread men have cooled, invite your kids to pipe on frosting features and clothing (they can make both boys and girls -- or even a whole gingerbread family). Add red and green candies for buttons. Makes about 25 cookies.

Christmas Brownie Snowmen

Brownie snowmen are fun, but you can also make other shapes for different days.

Heat the oven to 350. Line a 17 1/4 by 11 1/4 by 3/4-inch jellyroll pan with aluminum foil so that it extends 2 inches beyond the long sides of the pan. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of the foil-lined pan. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate in a microwave on high for 1 to 3 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking. Cool at room temperature for 20 minutes. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer set at medium-high speed, beat the eggs and sugars for 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the chocolate mixture and vanilla extract until blended. Beat in the flour and salt just until combined. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool in the pan set on a wire rack. Brownie Snowmen - Step 5 Using the two ends of the foil as handles, lift the brownies from the pan. Cut them into snowmen or other festive shapes with cookie cutters. Decorate with frosting and candy (dust snowmen with confectioner's sugar, then use frosting to attach a fruit leather scarf and hat and M&M's Minis eyes and buttons). Makes 12 to 24 Brownie Snowmen, depending on their size. KIDS' STEPS: Kids can mix and measure ingredients, crack eggs, cut out the brownies, and decorate them to look like snowmen.

Christmas Tradition - Pumkin Pie

Everyone loves pumpkin pie so if you are running out of ideas just whip this up!

Line a 10-inch pie pan with crust and prebake it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, brown sugar, cane syrup, cream, pumpkin puree and seasonings. Pour the filling into the prebaked shell. Bake for 40 minutes or until the filling has set around the edges. Remove the pie from the oven and, if desired, decorate the top with two rows of pecan halves or sugared nuts while it is still warm. Cool thoroughly before serving. This can also be made without a crust or with a gingersnap-crumb crust, in which case it should not be prebaked. Makes 8 servings.

Pumkin Cheesecake Pie

A sinfully delicious dessert that melts in your mouth.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, with the rack in the center position. Place the cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl or in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process or use a handheld mixer to blend the two ingredients until they are smooth. Add the eggs, pumpkin pie filling, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, and mix or process until smooth. If you are using the mixer, take care not to beat too much air into the batter, as this will cause it to rise during baking and then fall and crack when it cools. Pour the mixture into the crust, and bake the pie for 30 minutes or until the top looks dry, with only a small damp spot remaining in the center. Cool completely before serving, refrigerating or freezing. Makes 8 servings.

Cinnamon Surprise Coffee Cake

This sour-cream coffee cake, with pockets of sweet cinnamon, makes a lovely gift for neighbors to enjoy on Christmas morning -- or any other day.

Heat the oven to 350º and grease a 12-cup bundt pan (or two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans, or two 6-cup bundt pans). To make the cinnamon filling, place the cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, and flour in a small bowl and mix with your fingers. Set aside. 2.For the coffee cake, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla extract and the sour cream. Gradually add the dry ingredients, beating well after each addition. 3.Cinnamon Surprise Coffee Cake - Step 3 Spoon half of the coffee cake batter into the large bundt pan (or, if you're using two smaller pans, one quarter of it into each pan). Crumble the cinnamon mixture over the top. Pour in the remaining batter and then use a table knife to swirl the cinnamon throughout. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (or 35 to 40 minutes for the smaller loaves) or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. 4. Invert the coffee cake onto a rack and cool it thoroughly before dusting with confectioners' sugar. Place the cake on a doily-covered plate, wrap it in red or green cellophane, and tie with a bow. Serves 10 to 12.

Holly Jolly Fudge

With colorful toppings, these oh-so-tasty morsels are almost irresistible -- which means you may have a hard time getting them out the door as holiday gifts for neighbors, teachers, and friends. Thankfully, our cookie-cutter technique will leave plenty of leftovers for nibbling. (They make a terrific topping for ice cream too!)

1.Place the chocolate chips in a 2-quart bowl and microwave for 1 minute, then stir them with a wooden spoon. If the chips are not completely melted, microwave them again for 30 seconds, then stir until they're smooth. 2.Stir in the condensed milk, salt, and vanilla extract. 3.Line a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil, extending it about 2 inches beyond each side. (This makes it easy to remove the fudge later.) Lightly spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. 4. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan. 5.Chill the candy until firm, about 30 minutes in the freezer or 1 hour in the refrigerator. 6.Lift the foil from the pan and place it on a flat work area. Use 1-inch cookie cutters to cut out the fudge, then lightly press decorations onto each piece. Makes about 50 pieces.

Melted Snowman Christmas Candy

This wistful snowman appears to be going the way of winter, and we have a feeling he'll soon disappear altogether. He's made from a puddle of white candy melts.

1.For each snowman, you'll need 6 mini chocolate chips, a light cocoa candy melt, and a Rolo. To make the nose, cut the orange section from a candy corn, then slice it in half lengthwise. Roll the piece between your fingers to form a carrot shape. 2. To assemble your snowman, melt the white candy in a bowl according to the package instructions, then scoop a rounded tablespoon onto a sheet of wax paper. With the back of a spoon, smear the candy into a puddle. Working quickly, stick on the light cocoa candy melt, add a dot of white melted candy, then place the Rolo on top. Finally, add the candy corn nose and mini chocolate chip eyes and mouth.

Snowman Graham Crackers

Baking cookies is fun, but it's the decorating that kids really get jazzed about. Here's how you can cut to the chase!

1.In a large bowl and using an electric mixer at low speed, beat the sugar, butter, and vanilla extract until you get a good spreading consistency. Add more sugar or milk, if needed, to achieve the right texture. (Note: if you plan to pipe on the frosting, make it a bit stiffer.) Divide the frosting into smaller bowls and stir in your choice of food colorings until blended. Makes about 4 cups.