Christmas Sugar Cookies

This sugar cookie recipe was clipped from Memere's local newspaper. The Sugar cookies were featured almost yearly on Memere's cookie & candy tray list. Check out the link to the SunSentinel for more great recipe ideas!

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Ingredients for the Christmas Sugar Cookies recipe: Butter, Sugar, Egg, Heavy Cream, Vanilla, Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, Confectioners Sugar & Food Coloring.

Right mouse click on the SunSentinel Logo above to navigate to their great recipes!

Chocolate Nut Cookies

This is the last item on Memere's 1995 Master List for Holiday & Christmas gift giving. There are many more "Goodies" in her Recipe box! They will be featured next. Look for them soon...

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Ingredients For Chocolate Nut Cookies: Shortening, Eggs, Sugar, Un-Sweetened Chocolate Squares, Flower, Baking Powder, Walnut Halves.

Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies

Throughout the growing years in Memere's house, when the word "BUTTER" was used, it was synonymous with "Land O'Lakes" brand butter. I don't ever remember seeing any other brand of butter in her home. So, when Memere writes "butter" in a recipe, you know she means "Land O'Lakes". For more recipes using "Land O'Lakes" butter Click on the image below.

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Ingredients For Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies: Butter, Brown Sugar, Egg, Vanilla, Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Half & Half, Confectioner's sugar.

Crackled Crescents

Memere must have LOVED this recipe. The recipe card shows just how much she used it. Over the years she has added notes and then edited the recipe more than once. There is a cleaned up version of the recipe following Memere's recipe card.

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Ingredients For Crackled Crescents: Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Egg, Butter, Cream Cheese, Mini Chocolate Bits, Vanilla Flavoring, Almond Flavoring, Coconut Flavoring, Sprinkles, Coconut, Nuts

Chocolate Dipped Pistachio Sticks

Have you ever tried to eat just one Pistachio? Then you know how addicting they can be. These Pistachio Stick Cookies are no different. Try to eat just one! For some interesting facts on Pistachios Click the photo above.

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Ingredients For Chcolate Dipped Pistachio Sticks: Butter, Sugar, Vanilla, Chocolate Chips, Corn Oil, Wax & Pistachios.

Caramel Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are so delicious that once you have made them you will want to make them over & over again! They are totally YUMMY!!! The photo of the cookies is from Pillsbury Dot Com. They have a recipe that is very similar to Memere's. If you would like to see their recipe just click on the words "Yummy Pillsbury Cookies" below & you will be taken to their site.

Yummy Pillsbury Cookies almost like Memere's

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Ingredients For Caramel Chocolate Cookies: Sugar, Butter, Brown sugar, Eggs, Flour, Cocoa, Baking Soda, Vanilla, Pecan's & Rolo® Chewy Caramels.

Chocolate Italian Cookies (Mocha)

Memere made these for the first time back in 1971 with a group of Italian ladies. This is actually their grandmother's family recipe. When this group of ladies got together to make cookies, it was a marathon!

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Ingredients For Chocolate Italian Cookies (Mocha): Flour, Crisco, Sugar, Baking Powder, Cocoa, Raisins, Cloves, Cinnamon, Coffe, Nutmag, Walnuts, Confectioners Sugar, Cream, Vanilla, Food Coloring.

Nut Diamond Cookies

The photo below is from Reader's Digest on line. They have a Christmas cookie collection on line. Click the photo below to view their version of Memere's Nut Diamond Cookies.

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Ingredients For Nut Diamond Cookies: Flour, Unsalted Butter, Sugar, Light Brown Sugar, Honey, Heavy Cream, Unsalted Mixed Nuts.

Cherry Bonbon Cookies

Each of these dainty looking cookies contain a single maraschino cherry. The first time you taste one, it is like a surprise to your taste buds, but it is no surprise that Memere chose to include it on her Holiday Goodies Tray. The photo above is from Taste of Home dot com, click on the photo to see their version of this favorite.

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Ingredients For Cherry Bonbon Cookies: Maraschino Cherries, Butter, Confectioners Sugar, Flour, Salt, Half & Half, Vanilla, Cherry Juice, Red Food Color.

What's Cooking America dot net has an interesting web page on the history of the Maraschino Cherry along with many cherry recipes. You can also check your local newspaper food section by going to their Newspaper columns tab. This is one of the most comprehensive food websites I have seen! Bravo to Linda Stradley for a job well done! Click on the cherries above to link to What's Cooking America.

Crispy Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

The Crispy Coconut Oatmeal Cookies Recipe was on Memere's Holiday Tray Master List year after year. As soon as I hear the word oatmeal, I can't help but think of Quaker Oats. So, below Memere's recipe cards is a photo of some fun Snowman Oatmeal Cookies with a link to the recipe at Quaker Oats. You can find lots of other great recipes there as well.

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Click the "For Santa" Photo for the recipe.

Ingredients For Crispy Coconut Oatmeal Cookies: Shortening, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Eggs, Vanilla, Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, Rolled Oats, Rice Cereal, Flaked Coconut.

Eggnog Logs

These sound really great! The recipe can be simplified by using your favorite flavor of canned icing & then dipping into the nuts. Did you know that spices like Nutmeg expire? This can affect the taste of your cookies. To check if yours are fresh, check the bottle/can for an expiration date. If you can't find it on your bottle/can you might like to go to McCormick's web page. They have a tutorial and information on the freshness of their spices. You'll also find MORE recipes using their products. Click on the nutmeg bottle below for a direct link to check the age of your nutmeg.

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Ingredients For Eggnog Logs: Butter, Sugar, Egg, Vanilla Flavor, Rum Flavor, Nutmeg, Nuts, Melted Chocolate.

Macadamia-Oat Snow Balls

I've always loved the look of snowball cookies on a cookie tray. The white confectioner's sugar is an invitation to taste the flavors hidden under its cover. When I saw this photo of snowballs, I couldn't resist including it here. Discover 10 Top Cookie Baking Secrets & 10 more recipes from my recipes dot com by clicking the photo.

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Ingredients For Macadamia-Oat Snow Balls: Butter, Vanilla, Flour, Quick Oats, Macadamia Nuts, Confectioners Sugar.

Pralines & Cinnamon Pecans

Slightly different from Candied Pecans, Pralines & Cinnamon Pecans were sometimes found on Memere's Holiday Tray Master List. The yummy picture below is from the Food Network. Click on the photo & find their praise-worthy Praline Recipe.

The Cream Pralines recipe below was found in one of Memere's vintage (1951) Candy Books. It seems surprisingly similar to her partial Candied Pecans recipe. Also shown, is her favorite Cinnamon Pecans recipe.

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Ingredients for Cinnamon Pecans: Pecan Halves, Evaporated Milk, Sugar, Cinnamon, Water, Vanilla.

Candied Pecans

Memère’s Master List of Goodies, for Christmas gift giving, was the very first post on this blog. All recipe posts so far have been following this list. Imagine my surprise when the only hand-written recipe for Candied Pecans was the one below. I believe that there was more to it than Memère wrote down. Perhaps someone else in the family has the remainder of this recipe.

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Ingredients For Candied Pecans: Brown Sugar, Butter, Confectioner's Sugar & Pecan Halves.

Rocky Road Candy

This is probably the FASTEST of all the candies on Mom's annual Christmas Tray list. It is so simple that she actually simplified the recipe to contain only 8 words. The remainder of the recipe she kept in her head.

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Ingredients For Rocky Road Candy: Raisins, Nuts, Miniature Marshmellows & Melted Chocolate.

The second version above, of the ROCKY ROAD CANDY RECIPE was also found in her recipe box. It originated from the SunSentinal Newspaper of Palm Beach in the Boynton Beach Edition. You can find lots of other great recipes at their website! Just Click on the photo below to open their Food section with their latest recipes. The flowerless chocolate cake pictured is featured as you scroll down the page. This recipe is outrageously rich but suitable for those with Celiac disease or allergies to gluten or flour.

Penuche Fudge

Penuche Fudge is one of Ken's favorites. His mother made it frequently, so when Memère came to visit & offered to make this, he was in heaven! Here are two versions. The "Abby" version is one that Memere saw fit to cut from a magazine. Thanks Abby, whoever you are. Please let me know if this is your version.

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Ingredients for Penuche Fudge: Whipping Cream, Light Corn Syrup, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Butter, White Chocolate & Pecans.

Snickers Bars or Pieces Recipe

Here's a great from scratch recipe for Snicker's Type candy bars. This recipe is the one that passed the test & was allowed on the annual Christmas gift tray. The caramels referred to in the recipe, are the ones pictured below. Click on the picture to link to more Kraft Caramel recipes!

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Snicker's Bars Ingredients: Light Corn Syrup, Butter, Vanilla, Peanut Butter, Salt, Confectioners Sugar, Dry Roasted Peanuts, Caramel & Chocolate Chips.

Memere's Fudge

I remember Memere making this fudge since I was a kid. It is my all time favorite! It has a unique consistancy when it is made properly. Timing is everything. Be sure to test accurately for soft ball stage.

The recipe is believed to be an original “Off-The-Jar” Fluff recipe from the 50's or 60's, but it can’t be found on their site. Click here if you would like to see all of Fluff’s best recipes on line.

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Ingredients for Memere's Fudge: Sugar, Milk, Salt, Cocoa, Vanilla, Walnuts & Marshmallo Fluff.

Chocolate Covered Cherries

The reference to "Shortening or Wax" in this recipe refers to cooking grade Paraffin wax. Candle wax in not recommended. Paraffin wax can be found in the baking section of most grocery stores. If you can not find it locally you can always find it on line.

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Ingredients For Chocolate Covered Cherries: Butter, Confectioners Sugar, Half & Half, Almond Extract, Marischino Cherries, Chocolate Chips & Shortening.

Click on Wax Image to Find Wax on the Internet.