Christmas SMILE #14 (Reason to SMILE #348) THE COOKIES AND CANDIES
Reasons why we all make the resolution to loose weight every new year:
Sugar cookies shaped like Christmas Trees, Reindeer, Candy Canes, bells and Santa
Chocolate Chip Cookies made from the Nestle Tollhouse recipe on the bag
Gingerbread men (I don’t care for gingerbread but the cookie makes me SMILE so…)
Peanut butter and Hershey’s Kisses cookies
Pecan Crescent Cookies
Shortbread cookies
Divinity
Candy Canes
Peanut butter balls (or Buckeyes)
Chocolate covered cherries
White Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
Boy, oh boy! I’m gaining weight just thinking about all these delicious Christmas treat. (Actually, I’m probably gaining weight from eating this tin of shortbread cookies while I’m writing but why would I admit that? 😉 )
There are so many treats to choose from at Christmas and everyone has their own special sweets that they look forward to making or eating during the Christmas season. For me, it’s two things: peanut butter cookies and strawberry candies. I don’t make either! But my mom does and they are my favorites of all her wonderfully delectable creations.
Now, first things first. Peanut butter cookies. Unless they have the criss-cross on the top, they are not worth eating. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? After the cookie dough is prepared, it’s rolled into a ball and placed on a cookie sheet. Then, the back of a fork is pressed down onto the ball and then again in another direction to make a criss-cross pattern on the top of the cookie. Kind of like a culinary hashtag!
Sorry folks but if the cookies don’t have the criss-cross, they’re not real peanut butter cookies. 😉
The other of my two favorite Christmas treats is Strawberry Candies. This is a sweetly delicious soft candy made with strawberry flavored gelatin, sweetened condensed milk, pecans, coconut and a few other ingredients you can find in the recipe below. They are addictive. I don’t have a picture of my own for you because, well, I’ve never thought to snap a picture of my mom’s strawberry candies at Christmas. I’ve only thought to eat them! Here’s a picture courtesy of a blog called, “Urban Drivel”:
Don’t they look scrumptious! They’re easy to make and if you love strawberries, this is a candy you definitely want to try.
Ingredients:
3 packages strawberry gelatin
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients.
Mix in condensed milk and vanilla.
Cover and chill for at least one hour.
Shape into berries using about a teaspoon each.
Roll in red sugar.
Dip top of berry in green sugar to create the leaf.
That’s it! I hope these strawberry candies make you SMILE as much as they do me. And if they don’t, feel free to send any unwanted candies my way. 😉
A Couple of Stars and a Happy Face 
Yum yum!