What Do You Bake for the Holidays?

I don't bake at all! I googled "no bake cookies" and am going to try some of those as well as some of the things mentioned below. I'm all about quick and easy! Good luck and happy holidays!

I made peppermint bark for a number of years. It's easy as anything - dark and light melting chocolate and any kind of hard candy smashed up and sprinkled over the layers. I could do it in my spare time.

This year I wanted to do something different, so I tried a number of treats. My favorite was another easy one, and I found the recipe online but I don't remember exactly where.

You buy pretzels - the little circles (if you can find them - I can't), the square pretzels that look like grids, or the traditional shape in the SMALL size. Line them up on a cookie sheet and place a Hershey's Kiss in the center of each. Put them in the oven at 275 degrees for 2-4 minutes - just long enough for the Kisses to get soft. Then you pull the sheet out of the oven and gently push an M&M into the center of the Kiss. Put the whole tray into the fridge for fifteen minutes until the treats have hardened a bit. Then you can put them in tins or ziplocks, and refrigerate them until you're ready to give them away. Everybody has loved them!

This weekend I made a ton of a fmaily fave...not sure what you would call them, we call them Almond bark crispies. 4 ingredients, and I have sort of finally perfected what made them troublesome when making them as a kid! and the measurements are not rocket science and can be a bit over/under..don't waste is you have a bit in a package sitting there.

2 c salted spanish peanuts (a 10 oz can..I had a hard time finding this..but got a generic Walgreens and Cub brands)
2 c colored small marshmallows
4 c rice krispies
(mix them in a large bowl--by hand is easiest)

Almond bark...1.8 oz package or similar size (again, not rocket science, thats the size I found ) Pop the cube like pieces out into microwave safe bowl..nke a minute or 2 at a time and stir in between till melted
Pour into other mixture, then stir. Easiest by hand, as the bark cools enough for hands in a minute or so.

Blob out onto wax paper..but I made this easier by using a scoop with teh button to shove it out...ice cream scoop dealy. WAY easier, as the mix is sticky to work with. LEt it cool till hardened.

They are yummy as they are crunchy and soft, sweet and salty all at once!

I also do large wreaths (green and everything) that are like a krispie bar, but with corn flakes..then I sprinkle generously with red hot imperial candies (for holly berries). Makes a nice table piece..cut into individual pieces with a serated knife..always a hit.

Pumpkin rolls and caramel cookies are my favorites to make and of course eat lol.

I do some candies that are super easy. Also, fudge is pretty easy......This year we are also doing choc covered pretzels, dried apricots and walnuts - super easy!, just melt choc, dip and dry!!!!

Peppermint bark - line cookie sheet with foil, melt white chips and spread on cookie sheet leaving at least 1/4 inch thick. Smash candy canes in a bag with a rolling pin (kids love this part :). Press candy cane bits into white choc while still soft. Stick in fridge until hard then break into bite size pieces.

The pb and cracker sandwiches dipped in white or chocolate almond bark and sprinkled with Christmas sprinkles are always a hit.

So are "bacon and eggs". 2 pretzel sticks with a blob of white almond bark and a orange or yellow m&m or Reeces Pieces set on top.

Mini pb kiss cookies!

Christmas pretzels dipped in almond bark and sprinkled to look nicer.

Christmas cut out cookies.

Oreo balls (crushed pack of oreos, pack of cream cheese, mixed together and formed into small balls-CHILL balls, dip in white almond bark)

I always make a whole plate each year with a variety for our neighbors, pastors, piano teacher. Typically about 7 to 12 different items. A few of each. Covered in saran wrap and a bow on top!

I do Chex (original) Party Mix and Applesauce, used to do pumpkin rolls, but they were too time consuming and labor intensive for the busy holiday season. Both are relatively easy, and the kids can help! Chex Party mix does take a bit of time if you bake in the oven instead of microwave, but can do other things while cooking, you just have to stir every 15 min. Chex mix you can put holiday saran wrap in a bowl, fill bowl with mix, gather edges of saran wrap, tie with ribbon, and add a bow.
Applesauce is REALLY easy, though! All you do is peel/core/slice a bag of apples (add cinnamon, sugar, brown sugar, nutmeg, whatever if desired, but not necessary) and throw them in the crockpot on low for about 8-10 hrs, stirring every 1-2 hrs until done, cool slightly, place in jars, cool completely and refrigerate, add a ribbon and bow and you're ready to go!

I bake too much! Actually, I'm trying to scale back a bit this year and make smaller batches of stuff -but we still enjoy the variety. My 4 year old son is really into cooking and baking, so I want him to be able to help me as well. I always make cut-out sugar cookies. Let me tell you an awful secret that a lot of people use! I can usually get the homemade dough to work fine, but to save time I use the Pillsbury sugar cookie rolled dough! Use flour on a sheet to roll it out with and make it manageable and it works like a charm! You can make your own icing and decorate however you want. I guess the part of me that feels bad is that every family member and friend we have RAVES about my sugar cookies and asks for them all the time! I've told a few people what they are, and no one seems to care!

I'm not a huge fan, but every man in my family including my children LOVE buckeyes (chocolate covered peanut butter balls). They're really easy and look nice. They also keep very well.

7 Layer Brownies or "Magic Cookie Bars" are easy and a huge hit here. People everywhere act like they've never had a sweet treat before when you bring them out. Google it -easy and timeless with layers of graham cracker crust, coconut, condensed milk, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.

My son and I are making gingerbread men this year, so I'm not making as many sugar cut-out cookies.

Mexican wedding cookies or "snowballs" are yummy and festive looking.

I always make at least one cake. Now that my mother is gone, some of her classics are requested by my dad -and I miss them too. I'll probably make a Caramel Italian Cream cake this year. She always made a black walnut cake with cream icing that is fabulous, and I haven't tackled it yet. I have to make pecan pies for my Dad too.

The biggie is trying to replicate my mom's cheese cookies. They were the BEST and the recipe isn't hard, but she just did something to them we can't seem to copy. My Dad tried it last week and said they were okay. I haven't made them in years -since before she passed away -so I'm going to try them next week. Since it's been 2 years since I had them, hopefully they'll taste really good!

Here's a recipe that's SUPER easy and that I'm trying this year -but haven't before:

Get a bag of the square pretzels and place an unwrapped Rolo candy on top of it on a cookie sheet. Bake them for 10 minutes at 350. When you take them out either press pecan halves or holiday M&Ms into the top, flattening the Rolo so it melts all over the pretzel. Let them dry and cool. Sounds YUMMY -and really easy!