Visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

Reindeer advent calendar!

Of course! 😍 I will send it right over <3

I was torn between 2 traditions but I have to show off the amazing "Chocolate Crinkle Cookie". It may not look as festive as a decorated cookie but it's a holiday treat my dad's been making for nearly 40 years. And despite how simple they are they last forever and taste amazing. 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 cup granulated sugar (my dad swears by 3/4 cup instead!) 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1. Mix sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla extract and eggs. Whisk until smooth. 2.Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in separate bowl 3.Add the flour mix to the cocoa mixture and stir to combine.
2. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or event overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F. Scoop dough into around 20 cookie portions then roll into balls (wet your hands to make it easier!) and roll into powdered sugar for full coverage.
4. Place cookies on a greased baking sheet, leaving space to expand.
5. Bake 10-12 minutes, variances by size. (Cookies will come out soft but harden as they cool)
6. Allow cookies to slightly cool before moving them to a wire rack to fully cool down.
7. Store in an airtight container but they have a LONG shelf life with the outside getting crunchier while the inside stays soft!

Ingredients 1 individual package chocolate graham crackers, crushed

½ cup melted butter

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

½ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Mix cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Press into the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Refrigerate crust while making filling.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and egg yolk. Stir in vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour filling into pie crust.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until filling is set.

Saltine Cracker Candy

1 ½ sleeves salted saltine crackers about 45 crackers

1 cup unsalted butter (226g)

1 cup brown sugar tightly packed (200g)

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips¹ (350g)

½ cup chopped pecans or other topping (50g)

flaky sea salt for sprinkling optional

Preheat your oven to 400F (205C) and line a standard-sized cookie sheet with foil.  Lightly spray with cooking spray or grease lightly with butter.  

Layer crackers evenly over the foil (salted side up); it's alright if there are spaces between the crackers and not every edge is completely filled in.

Prepare your toffee by combining butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Allow mixture to come to a boil and allow it to boil for three minutes -- do not stir while it boils.

Immediately remove from heat and pour over crackers (it's ok if some of them start to float, just try to keep them in an even layer), spread with a heatproof spatula to completely coat crackers.

Place in 400F (205C) oven for 5 minutes -- toffee will begin to bubble.

²Remove from oven (turn off the oven) and evenly sprinkle chocolate chips over toffee.  Return to oven for two minutes, then remove and use a spatula or knife to spread chocolate evenly over crackers.

Sprinkle evenly with chopped pecans (or preferred topping -- or no topping!) and a scant amount of flaky sea salt.  

Allow to chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until chocolate hardens.  Cut into pieces using a large knife and serve. 

I'm just going to link to a recipe. My recipe book is downstairs. Recipe

I never had christmas treats/desserts lol. But i looked up online and this caught my fancy I'm a fan of strawberries so this looks like something I'd love to eat! This is the recipe

Sugar Cookie Recipe Link

From the Pioneer Woman:

2 c. whole milk 3 whole cloves 2 tbsp. plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, divided 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 3/4 tsp. ground fresh nutmeg, plus more for garnishing individual glasses 1 pinch kosher salt 6 large egg yolks 3/4 c. sugar 1 1/4 c. light rum 1/4 c. brandy (optional) 2 c. half-and-half 1 c. heavy cream

Combine the milk, cloves, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and kosher salt in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. After the mixture has warmed for 5 minutes, turn up heat between medium and medium-high. Stir regularly to avoid scorching, just until it comes to a boil. Turn off heat.

Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk briskly until mixture is lightened in color and a bit fluffy, with visible ridges and ripples appearing when you whisk. Very slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the eggs, whisking vigorously all the while. You want to incorporate hot with cold slowly, to not "cook" the eggs to a scrambled consistency. Then pour everything back into the saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes, until mixture is thickened and foamy. Do not allow mixture to boil. Strain to remove cloves. Let cool for about 1 hour.

Stir in rum, brandy if desired, half-and-half, and remaining 2 tablespoons of vanilla. Refrigerate overnight to thoroughly chill and let flavors meld. Leave out the alcohol, if you prefer. Nothing else needs to be altered, and it will still taste wonderful!

Before serving, whip heavy cream until softly firm. Fold whipped cream into eggnog mixture. Pour into individual glasses and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Plain old shortbread cookies were always my favorite of the holiday sweets. I didn't like the candied cherries (red or green), but did love the ones with sanding sugar.

Ingredients

1 cup butter,, at room temperature (you can use salted or unsalted butter. If using unsalted butter, you can add 1/8 tsp. fine salt with the flour if you like, but you don't need to)
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light. Stir in the cornstarch and sugar. Gradually add the flour mixing until a soft dough forms. (Dad mixes his by hand and shared that sometimes you have to ditch the spoon and just get your hands in there to form the dough). Form dough in to a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to chill.
On a lightly floured surface, roll your dough 1/4-inch thick. Take care to ensure that your dough is rolled as evenly as possible, so that cookies cook evenly. Using a cookie cutter, cut shapes and place on to an un-greased baking sheet. You can re-roll your scraps and cut more, as well. Once your cookies are cut, top with quartered glace cherries, sprinkles or nuts. Place cookie sheet with cookies in to the freezer for 10-15 minutes. (You can also freeze the cut dough in freezer bags once solid on the cookie sheet for up to 2 weeks and bake later or as needed.)
Preheat oven to 275°F with rack in centre of oven. Bake for about 30 minutes for cookies that have been lightly chilled. If cooking from frozen, they may take up to 45 minutes. Cookies should be firm but shouldn't brown at all, even around the edges. They really just dry as they cook.
Cool on racks then transfer to cookie tin or freeze. These cookies keep well and get better with age.

Peppermint Bark

Ingredients 12 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped 12 oz. white chocolate, chopped 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract 8 candy canes, crushed

Directions Step 1 Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill the bottom of a large pot with 3” water and bring to simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, then place a large heatproof bowl on top. Add semi-sweet chocolate and stir occasionally until chocolate has melted. Stir in extract. Pour into prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes. Step 2 Over the same pot of barely simmering water, place another large heatproof bowl. Add white chocolate and stir until melted. Pour over set semi-sweet chocolate then top immediately with candy canes. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes.

My favorite holiday baked product is the Snickerdoodle cookie: The recipe I use is my grandmother's and she always approximated the measures.

It goes as follows:First, gather all of your baking equipment and utensils. I use: KitchenAid Mixer Aluminum cookie sheets parchment baking paper Spatula and scraper Measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients for cookies: 1 cup unslated butter, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 3/4 cups flour 1 1/2 teaspoons of cream of tartar. (Use 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar if you prefer a less-tangy cookie.) 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt For cinnamon/sugar mixture 1/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions:Preheat oven to 350

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape, then add the eggs and vanilla. Cream until all is incorporated. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. In a small bowl stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Pop the dough into the fridge for 2-3 minutes. When dough is chilled, form it into round balls about 1 inch in diameter. Roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Once out of the oven let them cool for a bit on the cookie sheet before removing them.

All that's left now is to eat them! I hope you enjoy this recipe if you try it. Happy Luminaire! 🎅

I've never made this at home before, but I would love to try sometime [Img]https://www.thereciperebel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/peppermint-mocha-www.thereciperebel.com-1200-8-of-12-368x368.jpg[/img] [Spoiler=Peppermint mocha] □ 3/4 cup whole milk ▢3 tablespoons sugar ▢1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder ▢3/4 cup brewed espresso or strong coffee ▢1/4 teaspoon mint extract or ½ peppermint candy cane or peppermint syrup ▢1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract ▢whipped cream and chocolate shavings if desired Instructions 1)In a small saucepan, add milk, cocoa and sugar. Heat over medium heat until small bubbles begin to form around the edge and sugar has dissolved. 2)Stir in espresso, mint extract and vanilla and remove from heat (if using a candy cane, be sure to let melt completely.) 3)Serve in a large mug and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings if desired.[/spoiler] (Recipe taken from https://www.thereciperebel.com/peppermint-mocha-recipe/)

These are so good and superrr easy