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These cookies are another holiday tradition in our house. They are also known as Mexican Wedding Cakes. The girls love making the balls and they also love rolling them in the powdered sugar afterward. Yes, it can become a mess of powdered sugar when kids help but the smiles on their faces make the mess worth while. These cookies go fast in my house so you may want to make a double batch like we do.

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup chopped walnuts
* 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped walnuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven.
4. While still a bit warm roll in confectioners’ sugar. Roll again as they cool more.

Neona made these one year at school and I thought they were so cool. I would have never thought of this one on my own. I think they look much nicer than the regular paper snowflakes.

All you need is a regular sheet of printer paper, scissors, and a stapler. Take the sheet of paper and fold the bottom up about one inch. Then continue to fold up the paper doing the accordion fold also known as the fan fold. When the paper is all folded put a staple in the center.

Now you can start to make your cuts. You want to make your cuts match on both sides so the snowflake gets a nice pattern. When all the cuts are made you open up the snowflake like you would a fan. (sometimes the paper needs additional cuts to open all of the way) I am always in a hurry so I staple the sides together. If you have more time you can glue them together.

Now you have a pretty paper snowflake that is ready to be hung up with a string.

Candied Orange Peel is an acquired taste but once you get the taste you love it. The girls and I love them in many forms. Sometimes we make them soft and chewier. Sometimes we make them crunchy. Other times we go all out and dip them in chocolate afterward. They are super yummy, they make the house smell great, and they use something you would otherwise just throw away. You can also use other citrus fruits and make a colorful mix. Just be sure to make them in separate batches so the flavors do not mix.

Instructions

I make this with 4 or 5 oranges. If you do not normally eat that many oranges in your family you can freeze the peels in a ziplock until you have enough.

1. Cut the oranges in half across the middle. Then cut each half in an X to make four pieces. This makes it easier to peel off the skin and make the strips.

2. Pull out the fruit and cut the peel into strips. You do not need to remove the white part.

3. Blanch the strips by boiling for 5 minutes and then running them under cold water in a strainer. Repeat this step until you have blanched them 3 times. This will remove most of the bitterness from the white part.

4. While the oranges are in the strainer the final time, bring 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar to a simmer. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved and then place the orange peels back into the pan to simmer.

*note - If you are doing a larger batch you need to be sure that you have enough liquid to cover the orange peels. Just keep to twice as much sugar as water.

5. Let simmer for around 1 hour

Variations

Crunchy - Let the orange peels simmer until all of the water is gone. You will see it all of a sudden crystallize. Place on waxed paper to cool. Save the sugar for tea.

Chewy - Pull the orange peels out of the syrup before it all dries out and toss in sugar before placing on waxed paper. Have the syrup for your tea.

Chocolate Covered Oranges - Pull the oranges out of the syrup before it dries out but do not toss in sugar. Just place on a rack to dry and cool. Again save syrup. When the orange peels are cool dip them in melted chocolate. I prefer to just use chocolate chips. Place in a bowl and microwave at 15 second intervals stirring in between. It will become smooth chocolate very fast and there is no worry about it burning. After you dip the orange peels place them on waxed paper to cool.

Many years ago one of my girls made one of these creamer bottle snowmen at school. As soon as the other two saw it they wanted to make some too. Since then it has become a tradition.

They look forward to it each year. I think part of what they look forward to is buying the creamer so we can get the bottles. They like to get flavors that would go well with hot chocolate too. Christmas time is great for this because they come out with so many great flavors that are only out during the holidays.

This is another cheap and easy craft that kids love. If you do any crafts with your kids you will have everything already at the house. Just like making real snowmen you just use whatever you have laying around. The scarf can be made out of felt or yarn. You can then use beads, buttons, or even just cut up construction paper. The arms can be made from pipe cleaners of even just little sticks they find in the yard. The nose can be as simple as just a colored toothpick poked into the bottle.

The creamer bottles that are used to make these snowmen are the flavored kind that you buy in the refrigerated section at the store. I am sure you have never noticed before but the red pour top on the bottle looks just like a winter hat so it is perfect. All you need to do is take off the label and wash them out. If you will be displaying them in a high traffic area you may want to put a few pennies or water in the bottles to hold them down.

Every year about half way through dipping all the peanut butter balls in chocolate I swear that I will never make Buckeyes again. This is the one Christmas treat that no one wants to help make but everyone loves to eat. I actually tried telling the family that I will not be making Buckeyes this year and everyone was in an uproar. Hopefully this year I will get more help making the peanut butter balls and dipping them in chocolate. I know that I will get plenty of help eating them. I usually have to hide them all and only take out a few at a time or they will all disappear.

INGREDIENTS

* 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
* 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. The dough will look dry. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.
2. Press a toothpick into the top of each ball (to be used later as the handle for dipping) and chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
3. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 15 second intervals stirring in between until melted.
4. Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate holding onto the toothpick. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes. Put back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving.

One of our favorite family traditions during the holidays is making Candy Cane Cookies. I used to make these with my mom when I was young so it is nice to now make them with my girls. We tend to alter this recipe by using crushed candy canes instead of the peppermint extract.

You can put a few candy canes in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. My girls love doing that part. The crushed candy canes can be added to the dough for a real candy cane taste and a very pretty look. You can choose to add it to all of the dough or just the red dough.

The Recipe

1 cup butter or margarine -- softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (only if not using real candy canes)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

Mix first 6 ingredients together well.

Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.

Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Add food coloring to 1 portion. Blend well and refrigerate.

When the dough is chilled enough to easily work with you can continue. Roll each color dough into ropes that are about 5-1/2-inches long. Lay them side by side. Pinch ends together. Twist the colors to make the spiral. Lay on baking sheet. Shape to form canes. Wreaths are easy to make too.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes until baked being careful to not let them brown much. Cool on sheet for 2 to 3 minutes then remove.

Makes about 4-1/2 dozen.

Yummm, are you hungry yet? I can not wait to make the toffee this year. James' grandma used to make English Toffee every Christmas. She would make lots and lots of it. We would always save cookie tins for her because we knew that she would give out as much toffee as she had tins to put them in. All of the relatives would look forward to getting her toffee.

James loved her toffee and guarded it like a prized possession. When she died I knew that I needed to learn how to make toffee so he could still have it each Christmas. I worried that it would be hard to make but it is actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. The main concern is to becareful not to burn yourself. Boiling sugar will stick to your skin and make for a nasty burn. The other problem is how to keep people from eating it all.

English Toffee makes for a great small handmade gift over the holidays. It is perfect for when you need to bring something along to someone's house.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds
• 1 pound of dark chocolate
• 2 cups (1 pound) butter (margarine does not taste as good)
  
• 2-2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup

Preparation:

1. Prepare a 12x16 inch cookie sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying it with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Combine the butter, sugar, water and corn syrup in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly to dissolve the sugar and melt the butter. Insert a candy thermometer and bring the candy to a boil, periodically brushing down the sides with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystallization.

3. Continue to cook the candy, stirring gently, until it reaches 300 degrees. If the candy appears to separate (with a layer of melted butter on top) stir vigorously to make it come back together again. Watch the candy as it approaches 300, since it cooks quickly and can scorch at high temperatures.

4. Once the candy reaches 300 degrees, remove from heat and pour it onto the prepared baking sheet. Use a spatula or spoon to spread the candy to an even thickness.

5. Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot mixture and place a baking sheet over pan so the heat will melt the chocolate chips. After about a minute or two, spread the melted chocolate chips over candy.

6. While candy is still hot, Score in squares for easier breaking when it is cooled. Chill until firm.

How cute are these things? This is a great project for a cold snowy day just like today. Marshmallow snowmen can be made with just about anything you have on hand. Arms can be made out of things like chow mein noodles or pretzels. I think we have plenty of things left in the cupboards from decorating birthday cakes so the rest will be easy. We use decorator frosting spray cans as "glue" to adhere everything but you could melt some chocolate chips or use anything you have around the house.

Marshmallow snowmen are a cheap and fun winter craft that your kids will love making and eating. I find some of the best kids crafts are edible. You can also make some of these snowmen when you make a gingerbread house. They would make an adorable addition.

It is time to start getting ready for Christmas! These cute and wonderfully smelling ornaments are a great addition to holiday crafting and decorating. They are simple to make and kids love them. They also add a great homemade touch to gifts if you use one or two to decorate a wrapped present.

FRAGRANT CINNAMON ORNAMENTS

You will need:

1/3 cup ground cinnamon

1/3 cup applesauce

1 tablespoon white school glue

Optional: puff paints

Instructions:

1. Mix ingredients together.
2. Knead dough in hands for several minutes until a ball is formed.
3. Dust work space lightly with additional cinnamon.
   
4. Roll dough 1/8"-1/4" thick with a rolling pin. Cut dough into a variety of shapes using cookie cutters. Suggestions: gingerbread men, hearts, stars, Christmas trees, bells, wreaths, etc.
5. Poke hole through top of dough using a straw or toothpick for hanging later.
6. Air dry for several days, turning twice a day until completely dry. They can also be baked in a 225 degree oven until dry.
7. Decorate with paint if desired and allow to dry before hanging.
8. Hang from fancy ribbon or cording.