Christmas Sweets for Everyone to Eat – Ellery Whitcomb

There is nothing better than entering a kitchen and smelling the aroma of freshly baked cookies and flaky pasties being prepared for the holidays. For me, this was the best part of the holidays. In my house, Santa was not the only one getting cookies during Christmas, but my mom and I would bake our Christmas cookies for just about every family we knew, and gift them in a little holiday box with a glittery bow on top. 

The process was pretty intense to be able to give out that many cookies, usually around 200+ every year. It was a 3-day process to make the cookies first by making the dough, which is a family recipe from my nana, then cutting the cookies into Christmas themed shapes, and then decorating them. By the time we were ready to decorate on day 3, all the kitchen counters were completely covered with aluminum foil, where the cookies sat there waiting to be iced in multiple colors of royal icing. There were all different kinds of shaped sugar cookies like snowflakes, Christmas trees, snowmen, and candy canes.  

 

Now these are probably the best cookies to ever be made. Unfortunately, the recipe for the cookie dough is a family secret, but you can use your own sugar cookie recipe if you want to have the same Christmas memories like me. Luckily, I have some other ideas for sweets you can make with your family for the Holidays.

A sweet treat we have started to make more recently is something called Christmas Crack, because it is extremely good and very addictive. Christmas Crack is a delicious spin on brittle but without nuts with a sweet and salty mix of goodness that parents and children will both love to snack on during Christmas. Luckily, I have a recipe for a sweet treat that everyone can enjoy as much as I do. 

 

Ingredients: 

• Original Pretzel Chips 
• Freshly made Caramel Sauce 
• Chocolate Chips 
• Mini M&Ms 
• Crushed Candy Canes 
• Candy Sprinkles (of your choice) 

For the Caramel You’ll Need: 

• 1 Cup Salted Butter 
• 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar 
• A pinch of flaky salt (for taste) 

• Saucepan 

The Set Up: 

1. Prepare a cookie sheet by greasing the pan with butter, then spread an even layer of pretzel chips onto the pan. Then go on to make the caramel. 

The Caramel: 

1. In a saucepan on medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar together with a whisk for about 3-4 minutes. 
2. Once the mixture begins to bubble, set a timer for 3 minutes, stir every 30 seconds.
3. Immediately remove from heat once the timer goes off.  
4. Place freshly made caramel into prepared cookie sheet with pretzel chips as evenly as possible. 

3. 
   

The Christmas Crack: 

1. Place chocolate chips, preferably dark chocolate to offset the sweetness (but it is your choice) evenly on top of caramel mixture allowing chocolate chips to melt over the caramel. DO NOT let this cool. 
2. After giving the chocolate some time to melt, add your desired toppings 
3. Let it set for 3 hours before breaking into pieces. To speed up the process, place it in your freezer for about 30 minutes. 
4. Once it is fully set, start breaking the bark into bite size pieces. 

 

Now with this recipe you also have a delicious treat to share with your friends and family just like I do with mine. I hope this Christmas you get the opportunity to have just as memorable a Christmas as I do every year when I make my family’s sugar cookies with my mom.