Easy Cookies and Other Holiday Treats

With my 2 kids, we have loved doing the chocolate cover pretzels.... you can get the rods or traditional pretzel shapes.. get regular chocolate and white chocolate chips, I perfer to melt it on the stove top (microwave always makes it too thick for me) .. so melt the chocolates, and get assorted sprinkles and colored sugars .. and dip and sprinkle.... You can also dip in the dark and drizzle w/ the white .. then wrap them in the cello baggies if you want to gift give them......... they are so YUMMY too!!

Hi S.,
Family Fun magazine online has some great kid-friendly cookie recipes. Here is a link to one of my favorites:
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/italian-christmas-cookie-...
Last year, I let my four-year old dump the measured ingredients into the bowl, stir, form the dough into little balls, "paint" the baked cookies with frosting, and sprinkle sugar on top. Delicious, easier than cutout cookies, and the display of finished cookies looks really cool.
Also, the recipe comes from a reader's great-grandmother. Perhaps your mom could share some recipe ideas (or baking memories). (Recipe details can always be confirmed/found online if her memory is not crystal clear). Happy holidays!

Roll out sugar cookies are easy and can be as festive as you like. Here is the recipe: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/sugar-cookie-cutouts/

Just get whatever cookie cutters you like for the appropriate holiday. Or you can just use a cup to cut out circles and then decorate them with colored icing or sprinkles. Here is a super easy icing recipe: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/frosting/powdered-sugar-icing/

Hi S.!! Crazy to think the holidays are upon us! To be honest with you I was never a fan of anything in the kitchen and after having my son time in the kitchen became even more of a chore. My FAVORITE holiday candies to make (that everyone loves) are soooo easy, even I can do it, lol!!!

1)Oreo truffles. Mix entire pack of crushed Oreo cookies with a block of cream cheese. It will be nearly impossible to move but just keep pressing it all together. Roll into balls and dip into melted chocolate. Store in the fridge. They are amazing! The Oreo and cream cheese really get gooey and delicious!

2)"Fudge" Mix 1 container of frosting (your choice of flavors) with 1 jar of melted peanut butter (creamy or chunky). Pour into a cookie sheet and stick it in the fridge! Costs maybe $3.00 makes a ton and is soooooo easy!

3)Got a new one the other day haven't made them yet but listen to this.... on mini pretzel topped with a "Rolo" (put them all on your cookie sheet) stick in a 350 oven for 3 (three) minutes! When you take them out, the chocolates will be soft and you can push a salted walnut or pecan down into it. Thats it!!

I wish you and your daughter a FUN and MAGICAL holiday!!

Our favorite of favorites is Cream Cheese Cookies. I used to make several Christmas cookies. After years of my husband saying, "This one is the only one you need to make as far as I'm concerned! I LOVE this one!" Sure enough, we're down to just this one. Our son helps me with the cookie press, and my husband and son help me with the dipping in chocolate. YUM!

CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

CREAM TOGETHER:
2 c. butter
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
2 c. sugar

MIX IN:
2 egg yolks, one at a time
1 t. vanilla
4-1/2 to 5 c. flour

BAKE AT 375º, 7-10 minutes.

Melt 12 oz. bag chocolate chips in double boiler. Dip one end of cookie in chocolate. Place on waxed paper till chocolate cools/hardens.

NOTE:
FOR BEST RESULTS—hand roll & flatten each cookie (less edge browning)
FOR STIFFER DOUGH—add more flour (maintains shape more)
DON’T LET CREAM CHEESE GET TOO WARM—will cause flat cookies

Works well with cookies presses, too.
We use whole wheat in a lot of recipes but not this one. It cuts into the cream cheese flavor too much.
You can also put food dye in portions of batches to end up with green, red (looks pink), and white (looks creamy yellow). I used to love that as a kid! Now we just do the plain un-dyed color.

Not cheap, but I had really good luck with the Stonewall Kitchen gingerbread mix. You can buy white icing to decorate. I made them with my 4 year old and they were a hit. You can also to regular sugar cookies with colored sugar on top to dress them up. To continue the chocolate dipped idea, you can also dip oreos or dried apricots. Have fun!

We usually do gingerbread cookies & butter/sugar cookies. I make icing in a few different colors, and let my kids paint them on.

One year (pre-kids) I made a big gingerbread tree by stacking star-shaped cookies in a few different sizes, and gluing them together with icing. I was thinking of trying that again this year, I think the kids would like it. It was hard to pull them apart to eat afterward, though!

Chex has a variety of flavored Party Mix-type recipes, from sweet to savory to spicy: http://www.chex.com/Recipes/Recipes.aspx
Enjoy,
J.

These cookies are a great way to use up some leftover halloween candy!

24 miniature Snickers bars or 1 inch pieces cut from a larger bar.
1/2 tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened
1/4 cup flour
red and green colored sugar

Beat cookie dough and flour until combined. Shape 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of dough around each candy bar piece. Roll in colored sugar. Bake at 350 for 10 min.

These cookies are so easy and my kids love that they can do almost all of the work themselves.

If there are no peanut butter allergies in your house, try a simple peanut butter cookie recipe, but shape the cookies into 1" balls, and roll the balls in colored sugar before placing on cookie sheet. You can add a chocolate chip or Hershey's Kiss on the top of each one if you like. Kids love rolling the balls in sugar. Other times of the year, use regular white sugar.