PAGES

Friday, December 18, 2009

holiday recipes

In my family growing up we had a tradition that I loved. On Christmas Eve my mom would make a bunch of appetizers, snacks, and sweets and we would just munch on them all throughout the day. No particular meals were planned, we just snacked. Then, on Christmas day my mom would make a nice dinner.

I loved the variety of foods we got to taste and some were such favorites that they made an appearance every year. This year I have been planning what foods to make for my family on Christmas eve. We are still narrowing it down, but here are some of our favorites.

One thing we have to make each year are my mom's Sloppy Joe Turnovers. Remember these?


Another thing I love to make is English Toffee, a recipe from my Aunt.


English Toffee

1 cup sugar
1/2 lb (2 cubes) butter or margarine
2 T. water
1/2 bag milk chocolate chips or 5 Hershey bars
finely chopped walnuts, optional

Cook sugar, butter, and water over medium-high heat stirring constantly until golden brown (this happens very quickly so keep your eye on it). If butter separates just keep going, it will go back together. Part butter and part margarine separates less than all butter. Pour quickly onto an ungreased cookie sheet. While hot, sprinkle chocolate on top of candy. Wait a minute or two for the chocolate to soften then spread evenly with a knife. Top with nuts, if desired. When cool break into small pieces and eat like crazy!



And another favorite at my house, and probably at your house too, are Oreo Balls. They are kind of like cake pops...maybe even a little better!

Oreo Balls
1 package Oreos
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 package dipping chocolate

Crush Oreos in a food processor until very fine (you could also use a blender). Mix in the cream cheese. Form into 1" balls and chill for 1 hour. Melt chocolate and dip the balls. Set on wax paper to cool. Drizzle with melted white chocolate, if desired. Refrigerate.



For something new this year, these chocolate candy cane cookies from The Pioneer Woman look absolutely divine! I might have to give them a try. Enjoy your holiday cooking!

21 comments:

  1. These all look so delicious thank you so much for these!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yummy recipes! (I can't see the sloppy joe turnover recipe?) I love having family favorites to eat at Christmas and other holiday's! Thanks for sharing them on your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum! I'd love to get the recipe for the "Sloppy Joe Turnovers" but the link just brings me back to this post. Those look easy AND good! :)

    Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The toffee looks delicious! It reminds me of candy bars my mom makes during the holidays.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Okay, I was so excited that I had all the ingredients for your toffee! I just finished making it and it is divine! Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What an awesome tradition...never to late to start a new one right! Thanks for the tips.

    ReplyDelete
  7. three wonderful sounding recipes...happy tradition too!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yummy! Everything looks so delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm salavating just looking at this blog. Especially the turnover. Love what you're doing here - your header is amazing.
    I blog about my disastrous dates/sexual embarrassments/pursuit of my hairdresser - check it out: http://plentymorefishoutofwater.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks so much for the recipes!!! I will try them both for sure this Holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I do the same thing as your mom! It is a wonderful tradition and one that my grown children still love.
    Thank you for the recipe for toffee.....yum!
    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  12. These look really good! I just made my mom's toffee which is similar to yours but instead of sugar she uses karo syrup and i love it. I'll have to try yours and see if I can tell the difference! Looks good!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just made the Oreo Balls for our Christmas party and they were such a big hit! And they are so easy!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Our family has a Christmas eve snack dinner also! It's something we all look forward to every year. Some of our favorites are Dorrito Chicken Bites, and a Chocolate Chip Cheeseball. We always have new things to try, but these two keep coming back! Let me know if you would like to try one of them and I will send you the recipes!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yummm! I can't wait to try your recipes. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I just wanted to say that i have never made candy before, so this maybe pretty obvious to everyone else, but you can't use all margarine. It just doesnt work. I bought butter and will try again.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh my WORD! Those Oreo Balls look uh-mazing!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Made the English Toffee last night and sprinkled it with sliced almonds. Tastes just like almond roca! LOVE it! Thank you again. Merry Christmas ;)

    ReplyDelete
  19. T is short for Tablespoons. A lowercase t is short for teaspoon or it can also be written tsp.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The toffee was so yummy. Thanks for the recipe.

    ReplyDelete