Snow Pudding:  (Holy Family Parish “Recipes from the Heart”: Jason Loepker)

Ingredients: 1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding, 3 sm. bowls snow, 1 ½ c. milk

Directions: Mix pudding with milk and fold in snow.

Pecan Brittle:  (Bountiful Blessings: Appetizers, Beverages: Carolyn Roberts)

Ingredients: 2 c. sugar, 1 c. white Karo, 1 Tbsp. butter, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt

Directions: In a large, heavy pan, cook sugar, Karo, water, and pecans until it spins a thread at 250°. Add salt and butter. Continue cooking quickly to 300°. Add vanilla and baking soda. Don’t stir too long after adding baking soda. Pour into buttered pan and cool.

Easy Santa Cookies: (Class Treats, Bake Sales & Birthday Parties: A Mom’s Recipe Book)

Ingredients: 1 (18 oz.) pkg. refrigerated sugar cookie dough, 2 C. powdered sugar, 2 T. butter or margarine (softened), 2 to 3 T. milk, 2 or 3 drops red food coloring, 68 semi-sweet chocolate chips (about ¼ C.), 34 cinnamon candies or red mini M&M’s, 2/3 C. coconut, 34 miniature marshmallows

Directions: Freeze cookie dough for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut frozen dough into ¼ ‘’ slices. Place slices on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes. Remove from sheets. Cool for additional 5 minutes or until completely cooled.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter and enough milk for desired spreading consistency; beat until smooth. Place half of frosting in a small bowl. Add red food color to one bowl, stir until blended. Frost top 1/3 to ½ of cookie with red frosting for hat. Frost white semi-circle on other half of cookie. Use a small amount of frosting to attach chocolate chips for eyes and cinnamon candy or mini M&M’s for nose. Gently press coconut into white frosting for beard. Press one marshmallow into red frosting for the end of Santa’s hat. Let it stand until frosting is set. Store between sheets of wax paper in tightly covered container.

Coconut Yule Trees: (Class Treats, Bake Sales & Birthday Parties: A Mom’s Recipe Book)

Ingredients: 3 C. flaked coconut, 2 C. powdered sugar, ¼ C. butter or margarine (softened), ¼ C. light cream, 1 tsp. almond extract, 2 to 4 oz. dark chocolate, candy coating, green sugar, red cinnamon candies

Directions: In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients (3 C. flaked coconut, 2 C. powdered sugar, ¼ C. butter or margarine (softened), ¼ C. light cream, 1 tsp. almond extract); mix well. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet line with wax paper; chill for 1 hour. Shape into trees. In a double boiler or microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate coating. Dip trunks of trees in chocolate and set on wax paper to harden. Decorate tops of trees with green sugar and red cinnamon candies.

Merry Santa Cupcakes: (Class Treats, Bake Sales & Birthday Parties: A Mom’s Recipe Book)

Ingredients: 24 paper baking cups, 1 pkg. white cake mix, 1 (16 oz.) tub vanilla frosting, red sugar crystals, mini M&M’s mini marshmallows

Directions: Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions for cupcakes. Cool Completely. Frost each cupcake with vanilla frosting. Decorate each cupcake to look like Santa: for hat, sprinkle top third and halfway down one side of cupcake with red sugar crystals. Place mini M&M’s on frosting for eyes and nose. Cut 2 mini marshmallows in half lengthwise, place at edge of red sugar for hat brim. Place one mini marshmallow at end of red sugar on side for the hat tip. For beard, place abou 10 mini marshmallows over bottom third of frosting. Wrap cupcakes in plastic, wrap or store cupcakes in an airtight container.

Holiday presents: (Class Treats, Bake Sales & Birthday Parties: A Mom’s Recipe Book)

Ingredients: 3 T. butter or margarine, 1 (10 0z.) pkg. marshmallows or 4 C. miniature marshmallows, 6 C. crispy rice cereal or chocolate flavored crispy rice cereal, holiday sprinkles, red string licorice

Directions: In a microwave safe bowl, heat butter and marshmallows on high for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring at the halfway point. Stir until smooth. Add crispy rice cereal. Stir until well coated. Press mixture evenly into 9x13x2 inch pan coated with cooking spray. When cooled, cut into 2” squares. Decorate with holiday sprinkles and use red string licorice for ribbon. Best if served the same day.

Snowman Pretzels: (www.ehow.com)

Ingredients: 1 bag of pretzels, white chocolate, fruit leather, gum drops, miniature chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolates

Directions: Melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Dip the top half of pretzels in white chocolate. Use fruit leather as a scarf. Place miniature chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolates as buttons, noses, and eyes on the snowman.