Holiday Favorites

Wow what a wonderful time of year!!  The holidays just wouldn't be the holidays for me without yummy traditional foods throughout the season!!  As a child we had friends and family who delivered the same treats year after year to our family.  So each season I looked forward to those treats until they arrived!  Well, now that I'm not only on my own with my own family, but also FAR AWAY from my childhood home I have to recreate those traditional tastes and flavors myself!!  The holidays are also about bringing people together so what I did this year to recreate these treats and enjoy the friends and family I have around me was...THROW A PARTY!!  Are you surprised?!  I got together with several of our neighbrs and planned a six course progressive dinner! We started at one house for "Mocktails" and then visited six other homes having salads, hourdevours, dinner, dessert, and after dinner drinks!  I haven't had so much fun in such a long time!!!  My house was dessert and so I chose to make and share all of those fabulous sweets I have craved every Christmas season since I was a small child!  It was so much fun for me to spend the day baking and preparing for the fabulous evening and all of the treats were very well received!  I hope you enjoy some of these favorites of mine!! Merry Christmas!!

Candied Nuts:
3 cups walnut halves
2 cups pecan halves
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter

Mix all ingredients in a large cast iron skillet. Cook, stirring very frequently until water disappears and nuts have a sugary appearance. Remove from heat and pour nuts onto a foil lined baking sheet and spearate quickly with 2 forks.

Caramel Popcorn:
2 cups brown Sugar
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp baking Soda
6 quarts popped corn

Pop 6 quarts of pop corn.  Boil brown sugar, butter, and syrup for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat an add baking soda.  Pour over popped corn and stir well.  Spread on cookie sheets.  Place in 200 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. For crunchier corn cook longer for chewier pop corn cook for less time.

Bonbons:

2 boxes powdered sugar

1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

1 cube butter (softened)

2 cups nuts

1-3.5 ounce pkg. flaked coconut

1 Tbs shortening

Cream butter and mix in all other ingredients until well blended. Separate into small bowls if you want to add flavorings such as peanut butter, strawberry, cherry, maple, peppermint, etc. Roll into small ball and arrange on waxed paper lined cookie sheets. Put into refrigerator or freezer to harden. Melt shortening and chocolate chips together in a double broiler to make dipping chocolate. Dip balls into chocoalte mixture, using toothpicks. Place on waxed paper, fill toothpick hole and put a small swirl on top. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Peppermint Bark:

1 Bag Chocolate Chips

1 Bag White Chocolate Chips

Crushed peppermint candies

Prepare baking pan with butter or parchment paper and set aside.  Melt Chocolate chips in double boiler and pour into baking pan.  Refrigerate until firm.  Melt white chocolate in double boiler and pour over hard dark chocolate.  Crush Peppermint candies and spread generously over wet white chocolate and press down into the chocolate layers.  Refrigerate at least one hour.  Break and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.