Post your favorite Christmas treat recipe thread

Haystacks

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Serves: Makes about 50-60 haystacks.

Ingredients

24 ounces butterscotch morsels
5 ounces chow mein noodles
1½ cup chopped nuts (dry roasted peanuts, almonds, or cashews are a few good choices)

Instructions

Melt butterscotch morsels according to package directions
Combine noodles and nuts in a large bowl.
Pour melted butterscotch over noodle/nut mixture and gently combine until all noodles are coated.
Drop heaping teaspoonfuls onto parchment or wax paper and let cool. Serve or store in airtight containers.

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I've never made it, but I love a good sweet and salty bark.

Grandmas Divinity:

2 1/2 cups sugar
½ cup water
½ cup light corn syrup
pinch or two salt
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped toasted pecans

1. Cook first 4 ingredients slowly until sugar dissolves and syrup registers 248F.

2. Beat egg whites til stiff peak. Pour half of hot syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beat on high for about 5 minutes.

3. Cook remaining half of syrup over medium heat until 272F. Slowly pour hot syrup and vanilla extract over egg white mixture, beat at high speed until mixture holds its shape. Stir in chopped pecans.

4. Drop whatever size you want onto wax paper and let cool.

I like to make homemade marshmallows. I dip some in chocolate and add sprinkles. The kids devour them! I use a recipe from Alton Brown.


3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray
PROCEDURE
Combine the gelatin with 1/2 cup of the cold water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
Combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, the granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt in a 2-quart saucepan. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. When the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
Turn the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.
REGULAR MARSHMALLOWS
Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel or knife dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

The Wife’s (MHNBPF) Pecan Tasseys

Use ready made Pillsbury dough boy pie crust and small “bite size” muffin pans

You’ll Need:

1/4 Stick – Unsalted Butter at room temperature
1 Cup – Sugar or you may use “Splenda”
2 egg equivalents of Egg beaters
Pinch – Salt
1 Tablespoon – Jelly (plum works best). May use “no sugar added” jelly.
1 Tablespoon – Self Rising Flour
1 Tablespoon - Water
1 Teaspoon - Vanilla
1 Cup - Chopped Pecan pieces

Directions:

Mix butter, sugar, eggs, salt, jelly, flour and water in a bowl. Add vanilla and chopped pecans and mix until blended.

Cut pie crust into 2 inch circles and press each mini-crust into a muffin pan depression.

Add enough filling to fill the crust about 2/3rds full. That will be more than 1 Tablespoon, but less than 2.

Bake at 350 degrees until firm (about 20 min).

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Save any scraps of pie dough and cut into small bite sized shapes. Bake until light brown and use as dough bits in a peach cobbler. Also save a few (10-12) circles of uncooked dough to scatter across the top of the cobbler.

Peach cobbler:

1 Large can of peach slices with heavy syrup. Drain the syrup and mix 1 Tablespoon of flour with syrup until no lumps. Add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice to the syrup and stir in. Put the peach slices into an oven casserole, with the baked piecrust bits - equivalent to 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup of baked crust bits. Scatter a few (10-12) uncooked piecrust circles on the top. Sprinkle sugar lightly on the top circles and dot with bits of butter. Bake at 350 until the crust circles have browned and the cobbler is bubbly.

Eat cobbler with bluebell vanilla ice cream.

Fruit Tarts with puffed pastry shells

Need

For the tarts:

1 package Pepperidge Farms Frozen Puffed Pastry , thawed for 40 minutes
1 can Apple Pie Filling, Or Cherry Pie Filling or Peach Pie Filling

You will need enough Muffin Tins to make 18 tarts

Directions

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees f

Thaw puffed pastry on countertop for 40 minutes, before opening and attempting to work with it

After thawing and unfolding, cut each sheet of puffed pastry into 9 pieces (about 3” X 3” squares).

Spray muffin pan with butter Pam spray. Place each puffed pastry square into a muffin cavity, press with fingers to make the square confirm to the cavity. It should come close to the top of the cavity, with four corners sticking up. You may choose to flatten or spread it out slightly before placing it into the pan and that is fine.

When all of the muffin cavities are filled, spoon the pie filling into each cavity – about 1/3 filled. The can should make all 18 tarts, so portion the filling carefully.

Cook in a preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, until points of the puffed pastry are browned. Do not overcook the tarts, as the exposed pastry points will burn. Remove from oven when done and add a few slivers of toasted almond to the top of each tart.

Icing:

Need

1 cup Powdered Confectionary Sugar
3 -4 drops almond extract
1/2 cup almond slivers (toasted slightly)
1 Teaspoon – 1 Tablespoon water for icing

Directions

Place 1 cup of Confectionary Sugar in a bowl. Add several drops of Almond Extract to the sugar. Then carefully stir in water 1 teaspoon at a time, until the icing is thin enough to work with – as a very thick syrup consistency. It is possible to add too much water, so be careful.

Spoon the completed icing into a zip lock sandwich baggie and carefully cut away a corner (a very small opening) so that you can use the baggie as an Icing dispensing bag.

Remove the tarts from the muffin tins after about five minutes cooling time and place on a plate for icing. You should be able to rotate the tart in the tin with your finger if you sprayed Buttered Pam in the tin before placing your puffed pastry. You may need a couple of forks to help lift out the tart.

Drizzle the icing over the top of the tarts while they are still slightly warm. Be sure to get icing on the puffed pastry and over the almond slivers.

These are better the next day, but hard to keep around for that long. Store in a covered container after they cool to room temperature.

You may substitute fresh fruit and “Splenda” with a little corn starch (to thicken the filling) and make these tarts sugarless. For the sugar free icing, use corn starch and “Splenda”.

My grandma used to make those dill/ranch oyster crackers: you mix a packet of ranch dressing mix, a tablespoon of dill, and a cup of EVOO....poured over a bag or two of oyster crackers in a bowl. Stir to mix, spread on a sheet pan and toast for a little while in a 350 oven. They slide down easy with some cheap white wine.

Made these last year

Sicilian Cuccidati

Cuccidati recipe

Bump. Need more suggestions! Tomorrow night is Christmas treatopalypse in cads kitchen so imma need some more tricks to pull out of my hat!