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Christmas Chocolate Covered Cherries

I love chocolate covered cherries, so when I began thinking about Christmas candy it seemed natural that chocolate covered cherries would be good at Christmas.  To make them more festive, I decided to create little Christmas ornament candies.  Then, to make them even more special I decided to fill them with a delicious center.  This is how I made my candies:

Ingredients:

One jar Maraschino cherries, with stems

One container of creamy cherry frosting

Candy coating wafers:

Chocolate

White

Red

Green

Small Christmas decorations for cupcakes, cakes or candy

Remove the cherries from the jar and drain on paper towels, turning to drain completely.  Then dry each cherry and place on another, dry piece of toweling.  Fill a cake or pastry decorating tube/cone with cherry frosting and use a round decorating tip on the end of the tube/cone.  Squeeze frosting into the hole in the cherry where the pit was removed; try to fill the cherry well with frosting.  Set the cherries aside as they are filled.  Melt the white and chocolate wafers in small cups, custard cups work well, in the microwave following the directions on the candy coating package: approximately 1 minute on the defrost setting, stir, and, if there are any lumps, return the coating to the microwave and heat again for 30 seconds on the defrost setting.  Cover a surface with waxed paper to set the candies on to cool and harden.  Use the stems to dip each cherry into the melted coating, covering to the stem.  Remove the cherry and place the dipped cherry onto the wax paper covered surface.  Repeat with each cherry.  To decorate the cherries, place the red and green wafers into separate decorating squeeze bottles made for this purpose.  Heat the bottles and wafers as above; use the bottle fitted with a decorating tip to squeeze a thin line of color around the center of each cherry and place a small, edible, decoration on the line before setting it on the waxed paper to cool.

These candies will keep well in a covered container for one or two weeks.  The frosting will become a more liquid center, like in chocolate covered cherries.

This makes a very nice presentation on the dessert table or buffet table.

Enjoy!

 

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

Christmas morning is busy as it is, and trying to prepare a hearty, satisfying breakfast is a challenge.  I have found that this is one breakfast that I can prepare ahead of time, even the night before, put the crock pot or casserole dish in the refrigerator and then cook, unattended, in the morning while being involved in more important family activities.

This casserole serves four to six people:

 

Ingredients:

 

1 pound ground turkey sausage or Jimmy Dean’s special Sage recipe pork sausage

¼ cup chopped onion

6 cups croutons or bread cubes for dressing

2 cups shredded cheese, cheddar, Monterey or Swiss

2 ½ cups milk, skim or whole

5 eggs or equivalent amount of egg substitute

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

 

Brown and crumble the sausage in a skillet, cooking the onions with the sausage.  Drain. Mix milk, eggs, salt and pepper in small bowl and mix well; set aside.    Layer ½ of the bread cubes, ½ of the sausage mixture, and 1/3 of the cheese; repeat layers ending with a topping of 1/3 of the cheese, in a greased crock pot or deep baking dish.  Pour the milk and egg mixture over the layers.  Cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours on high heat for the crock pot or in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for 45 to 50 minutes for the casserole dish.

 

Serve fruit, either fresh, canned, or a fruit compote, with this casserole to complement the meal.  You will not need bread since it is in the casserole, but, if you have members in your family who you know will need bread as a separate food choice; perhaps you could have a basket of bagels, rolls or muffins on the table.  Hot coffee, tea or hot chocolate may be available for the adults in your family.  And, of course, cold milk or juice for anyone that would like a glass.

 

Set the table the night before; and place a little card or surprise at each place setting.  The breakfast will be special, and appealing to most anyone in your household.  You have done the preparation in advance, so you will be able to enjoy the breakfast too.

 

Merry Christmas breakfast time!

 

Christmas Cookies

Baking cookies for Christmas is a favorite activity of mine.  It is something that brings together families or individuals involved in the process.  I loved baking cookies as a child, a mother and now as a grandmother.  Sharing the kitchen, and baking skills with my grandmother, mother, sister, children and grandchildren has been a learning, then teaching experience; but, it is always an activity that creates lasting memories…and, delicious cookies for the family.  Both my granddaughter and grandsons have enjoyed being involved in this Christmas tradition.  As they become older, some have transitioned from baker to appreciative consumer; and that is also treasured.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream or milk

½ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

Combine sugar and cream in large mixing bowl, and mix well until sugar is dissolved.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Add vanilla, and mix again.  Place dough on well floured surface and roll to ¼ inch thickness; cut into desired shapes.  Place cookies on greased cookie sheets.  Bake at 425 for 7 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Remove cookie sheets from oven and let stand for a few minutes, then carefully remove cookies from sheet with spatula to wire cooling racks.  When cookies are fully cooled, they may be frosted.  Yield:  3 ½ dozen cookies (depending on size of shapes)

 

Frosting ingredients:

 

¼ cup butter, softened

2 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Milk

 

Cream butter and slowly add sugar; mix well.  Add vanilla.  Slowly add small amounts of milk to reach desired spreading consistency.   Keep frosting bowl covered with a damp paper towel or cloth while frosting cookies, to keep frosting from becoming hardened during use.

 

As each cookie is frosted, apply decorations to the moist frosting.  You may wish to sprinkle on colored sugars, ground nuts, shredded coconut, small chocolate chips ,small candies,  or other items.

 

As the cookies are frosted, and decorated, place them on cookie sheets to dry completely before stacking for storage or placing on a serving plate.  These cookies may be frozen. Place sheets of waxed paper between the cookie layers as you place them into a container for either storage or freezing.