Sweet Treats

by Tawny

Tis the Season for all those sweet treats. You know the ones - Fudge, divinity, homemade nut brittles and almond toffee. Mmmmmmm, I can feel the sugar rush just typing that.

Today is the second day of The Banditas Twelve Days of Christmas! So to celebrate, I thought we'd talk about visions of sugar plums... or even better, homemade goodies. Fruitcakes, cranberry bread, gingerbread. The once a year, only at the holidays, mom's secret recipe traditions that make this season so extra sweet.

I'm actually the designated candy maker in the family, with the help of my little baking elf: my oldest daughter. My mother makes a divine, to die for caramel (she actually handed over the recipe this year!!!) and both my gramma's are fab pie and 'regular' dessert makers. But they don't do the special holiday candies. So it's always been up to me. And I must say, I strive to live up to the sweet task.

Along with the regular assortment of candies, breads and treats, we always do a cookie decorating day. I'd planned it for today, but was informed by my youngest daughter and my niece that the cookies wouldn't be fresh enough for Santa if they were made this early. In the name of freshness and not offending the jolly fat one with all the pressies, the cookie decorating party has been moved to next weekend.

We also do a gingerbread house each year. Because we never actually eat it (do you eat yours? I always wonder if we're really supposed to), I don't feel bad about buying the pre-baked kits. Pre-fab gingerbread walls make it much easier to focus on the important stuff... decorating!!! how about you? Have you ever made a gingerbread house? Is it one of your sweet traditions?

In the spirit of the season, I thought I'd share one of my sweet recipes -and a secret. I completely suck at making fudge. No matter what recipe, it always ends up grainy and, well, blah. I wish like crazy I could make that smooth, silky fudge but haven't ever been able to pull it off. Well, until I found this nifty little recipe:


Candy Bar Fudge

1 can Pillsbury Chocolate Frosting
2 Snickers bars(3.7 oz.) ,chopped
1 12 oz. pkg. semisweet chips

Line an 8 inch square pan with foil,extending over sides. Spray with non stick spray, and set aside.
Melt chips in a microwave and stir in frosting. Pour half of this mixture in pan. Place all candy except a few pieces to garnish over this. Pour remaining chocolate over and garnish with remaining candy.Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

LOL - I can just imagine the die-hard candy making Bandita cringes over this recipe. But what's a girl to do when she can't measure up to the holiday fudge requirments?? I can make caramels, divinity, almond toffee and any number of cookies, cakes and a killer pie crust. But fudge? I just can't do it. Until this recipe.

How about you? What's your favorite holiday sweet? Do you make it yourself? Is it a family tradition - a recipe handed down through the generations? Or do you try out new treats each year? Do you want to share any recipes? Anyone who can teach me to make fudge gets their name in a drawing for the 12 Days pressie and a copy of my upcoming January Blaze - YOU HAVE TO KISS A LOT OF FROGS, from the Blazing Bedtime Story anthology!!!