Christmas is 13 days away! Are you ready? I’m not, but there is 13 days left!
I spend an entire day in the kitchen — mixing, stirring, baking and coating with chocolate for goodies to all those important people in my life. A true gift from the heart. Not many of my recipients bake goodies, so I know they will be appreciated.
One day this week, I will be in the kitchen making all my goodies. Then I put them by recipe into storage containers and keep them on the back porch (my wonderful winter freezer!). As I need a basket, I go back there and assemble.
I collect baskets all year long from thrift stores and yard sales just for my Goodie Baskets. This year, I’m making these cute cookie bags, each printed with the person’s name on it. I use either cello bags from the dollar store (20 or 30 for $1) or ziploc bags in each basket for each recipe (makes it easier for them to freeze separately).
We have a treasure trove of wonderful recipes from some very talented cookie/candy makers here on Farm Bell. I’m having a hard time keeping the list down — they do have to fit into a basket, not a suitcase!
Church Windows
Bon Bon Cookies
Almost a Candy Bar
Chocolate Popcorn
See all of the Candy Recipes!
Russian Tea Cakes
Chocolate-Mint Snow Top Cookies
Maple Walnut Cookies
Cherry Winks
Dipped Gingersnaps
Guittard Original Chocolate Chip Cookie
Old Fashioned Sand Tarts
Gingerbread Cookies
See all of the Cookies & Bars Recipes!
Vanilla Chai Tea Mix
See all of the Gift Basket Goodies Recipes!
See? Too many to choose from! If you have a special recipe, please share!
And take pictures of your cookie baking and candy making — we’ll have a virtual cookie exchange, or at least a post to drool over profusely! Email your pictures to [email protected] and submit your recipes if you haven’t already.
Do you have a Christmas recipe post or kitchen-related story to share on the Farm Bell Recipes blog? Read information here for Farm Bell blog submissions.Want to subscribe to the Farm Bell blog? Go here.
Patrice says:
You have some very lucky recipients! I also recognize that you went to a heck of a lot of work putting this blog post up with all those recipe links. Way to go Cindy P! I can almost smell the goodies in your kitchen over my laptop! 😉
On December 12, 2010 at 7:59 am
Leah says:
OK now I want sweets! Those cake balls are pretty! I think I will make those and the fudge also. Thank you Cindy P and everyone for the great selection of Christmas goodies!
On December 12, 2010 at 10:42 am
Sherie says:
Well, CindyP – between you and Suzanne, I guess I HAVE to get busy and get started on my baking. My first attempt will be Cake Balls – they just looked SO yummy – then, Suzanne’s Double Chocolate Snowball Cookies . . . .you guys wear me out! 🙂
On December 12, 2010 at 12:33 pm
rileysmom says:
Looks so yummy CindyP!! Your important people will surely know by these lovely treats!
On December 12, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Pete says:
Lovely, lovely ideas…
Thanks!
On December 20, 2010 at 11:14 am
Mechelle says:
OK I know its July, but I had to share the seemingly daunting task the kids and I are tackling this year with Holiday Goodie Baskets. A quick up to date story first though, it’s summertime on the gulf coast and most of the kids around go to their grandparents or daycare and summer camps instead of being home during the day. Not mine though, I never understood why folks want to ship the kids off to someone else instead of enjoying the few free days that summer provides. So that being said, my kids are bored out of their minds because I said only an hour of tv and video game time a day, and all of their friends are gone so they can’t go over there and watch tv and play on the internet.
I decided it was time to give them something creative to do, we tried making GM Bread together, that was interesting having both of them in my very small kitchen and learning to bake. New project time, and I happened to see a post about paper mache, ohhh I know how to do this, I used to do it in grade school, we even built an entire eco system from the stuff. Grabbing bunches of newspaper and mixing up the paste, pulling the kids into the living room covering the floor with more newspaper, we start using their favorite bowls to make paper mache bowls with. We forgot to use something to make the paper mache release my favorite pretty all white clean lines cereal bowl. ok, I can handle this, kids go out to play while the first layer is drying, I sneakily peel off all the paper mache and apply plastic wrap to the bowls then reapply the paper mache. Of course my kids notice right away that plastic wrap was added, so I explained and they laughed at me. So as we are applying I think the third layer of goop and newspaper the kids start thinking about what to put in the bowls once they are all pretty and painted. The ideas range from earrings to roasted pumpkin seeds come the fall. Then they hit on their favorite idea.
“We” can make lots of these little bowls and make them all different, and put in candy and treats and give them to all our friends and family for Christmas. I love how they use we there, because for one they never sit still long enough to bake a batch of cookies, let alone long enough to make the dozens of dozens of candies and cookies and mixes that it will take for all of their family and friends. But of course now we are making homemade gift baskets from paper mache then filling them with homemade goodies. And their grandparents and teachers will love them, their friends will think its great to get even more candy for Christmas.
On July 6, 2011 at 2:21 am
Kenya Cook says:
What a great idea. Hope you will follow up with some photos! WE may have to try this, also.
On July 6, 2011 at 6:25 am