One of my favorite Christmas traditions from my early years was making candies with my mom. I've always loved making the candies, taste-testing everything, packaging up all the finished goodies to give to loved ones, but mostly I loved the time in the kitchen with my mom.
The last two Decembers I've been away from my mom for Christmastime and have carried on the tradition without her. It hasn't been the same. For one, the work goes much slower. My mom typically makes two goodies in the time it takes me to do one. For two, I'm lacking the camaraderie. My mom's not here and my kids are not yet into this tradition. Maybe I'll put this tradition on hold for a few years and come back to it when the kiddos are older. Hmm?
Anyway, I wanted to share the deliciousness, including some of my mom's recipes. I'm not sure where she got the recipes. Most are hand written pages tucked into her recipe books. Here goes the list of treats I've made (or will make because I've already bought the ingredients and now feel committed to making).
- 6-Minute Microwave Caramel. This is my all time favorite treat, and it's easy! In fact, it's the best caramel I've ever had. I've seen several similar recipes floating around the internet, but here is the one my mom has written down.
6-Minute Microwave Caramel
In a large, microwavable bowl mix together
1/2 Stick of Butter (4 T.)
1/2 Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 Cup Corn Syrup
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
Microwave for 6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.
Pour into a wax paper lined 8x8 or 9x9 pan.
Let set.
This year I added the caramel over a shortbread cookie and then covered with milk chocolate like in this recipe. I didn't like them as much as I enjoy the simple caramel by itself. Lesson learned.
- Brownie Truffles. Here's another simple treat. Make a brownie mix as directed on the box. Let cool. Cut into squares. Roll into balls. Dip into melted dipping chocolate. I also added red and green sprinkles.
- Oreo Truffles. Take a bag of Oreos, minus the 4 or 5 cookies you'll eat and smash into crumbs. Blend the crumbs together with a block of cream cheese and then roll into balls. Dip the balls into melting chocolates. This year I found red red velvet flavored and green mint flavored melting candies. They were tasty!
- Cream Cheese Melt-In-Your-Mouth Mints. Here is another one of my mom's goodies. Blend together 6 cups of powdered sugar, a block of cream cheese, and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon peppermint extract. You can also add food coloring to add some pretty. Roll into small balls, place on wax paper and slightly flatten with your thumb.
- Peanut Butter Candy. I LOVE the chocolate, peanut butter combination. Has there ever been a better combination of flavors? Reese's are definitely my favorite candy bar. One of the few things I remember about elementary school was the lunch room peanut butter candy. You're understanding my feelings toward peanut butter and chocolate, right? Anyway, I've tried a few peanut butter candy recipes, but let me tell you, I've found The One.
- Eggnog Fudge. This is one of the treats on my To Do List. I've never actually made fudge. My mom always made the fudge, but this recipe doesn't look too difficult. *Fingers crossed*
- Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark. I haven't tried this one yet either, but it sounds like a perfect combination of flavors. I'm going to follow this recipe.
Well there you have it, a tradition that was once my favorite but is not so much now. We'll see how I feel about it next year.
Check out more posts in my Christmas Traditions Series:
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