Sweet holiday fare directly from your own kitchen will sparkle your tastebuds.
The Christmas season presents one of the ultimate times of year for indulging in delicious food. Ok, I won’t sugar-coat it. Pigging out is more like it, at least in my house. But this is without embarrassment, regret, or remorse. Buying the best chocolate and cookies around is a great way to go. You get access to premium food without having to lift a finger in the kitchen and no one has to worry about the dishes.
Making your own holiday treats offers an ideal time to chill out for a while, however. If you have kids, cooking and baking present wonderful opportunities for bonding. Even if you don’t have kids, playing chef and sharing the results with your family and friends can be an ideal way to show you care. It’s an easy way to do so without all the plastic and consumerism, which is fun, but the holiday already has in spades.
Inspired to make your own? Here are five fantastic do-it-yourself recipes for Christmas candies to get you started.
Chocolate Toffee Bark
Surprise your coworkers with this homemade and delicious holiday bark that can be conjured up in about an hour or two. Make sure you have a spatula handy for spreading, a heavy saucepan for even heat, and a whisk for constant stirring.
Peppermint Meringues
This recipe takes a bit longer to finalize than the bark. If you love peppermint, however, it’s worth the time and effort. As the author advises, if you have access to a pastry bag, you can add lines of food colouring on the interior sides of the bag before filling it with the meringue, and your candy will come out striped.
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Cream of tartar, egg whites, and peppermint extract form the backbone of this holiday classic. It can be a good idea to cook these treats at the end of your baking session as you’ll need to bake them for an hour and then leave them to sit in the oven for another two, the oven off, as they dry out sufficiently.
Peanut Butter Cups
You may never need to buy these from the store again. Homemade peanut butter cups are a small slice of heaven. There’s little science to these delights, as the recipe simply calls for you to place the melted chocolate in the bottom of a paper lined cupcake tin, add a dollop of the peanut butter mixture, and cover it all with more chocolate. Chill and serve. Easy-peasy!
Peppermint Patties
Similar to the peanut butter cup recipe, this recipe involves coating a peppermint mixture in melted chocolate. For this one, however, you mix together the peppermint, roll it out and cut it into small circles with a cookie cutter. Next, dip these solid yet soft white pieces into the melted chocolate, coating them on all sides. Chill and dig in!
Candy Cane Fudge
Fudge is great at any time of year and can be spruced up very nicely for Christmas. This recipe calls for crushed candy canes, combined with delectable vanilla fudge for the ultimate pairing. Fudge can take some time to perfect, and so if this is your first venture into its hands, don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t turn out exactly as you’d hoped. Practice makes perfect and your family probably won’t mind “cleaning up” all of your blunders along the way.
Enjoy your festive moments and bon appetit eating the well-deserved fruits of your labor!
photo credits: Kolpakova Svetlana/Shutterstock.com
