Best Christmas Sweets and Holiday Treats
Easy Cookie and Frosting Ideas For the Holidays
Nov 2, 2009
Although there are many different types of Christmas sweets to chose from, and some people have their own personal favorites, why not try something new this year? Add a few unique holiday treats to a holiday collection. Some of the goodies in this article may not seem familiar to many people, but adding uniqueness and great taste is essential in any type of holiday baking, especially with Christmas in mind. Many of these cookies will add the festivity, quality, taste and newness to any holiday get together, and will have many people talking.
The great thing about Christmas sweets is that they give people a feeling of unity and togetherness during the holiday season. It could be delightful soft sugar cookies, or the Mexican wedding cakes that have people indulging in different tastes and textures, which is essential when pleasing a variety of taste buds.
Holiday Treats
One great cookie that has been around for many years are sugar cookies. Each person has their own preference how they like them. Some people like the crispier type of sugar cookie, while others enjoy more dense, soft sugar cookies.
The key to a softer sugar cookie is to make sure that they are not cut too thin, when the dough is rolled out, otherwise it is likely that the cookies will be more like crackers.
In order to get them on the softer side, roll the dough out about a quarter of an inch thick. This will allow them to cook thoroughly and still remain soft.
An Added Dimension
One way to add a dimension of flavor to these holiday treats is to add a touch of almond flavoring. This will give the cookie a very nice nutty flavored undertone and compliment other flavors within the cookie.
Mexican Wedding Cakes
Another great cookie recipe for the holidays are Mexican wedding cakes. These Christmas sweets are great because although they are cookies, they are not overly sweet. They are made with a combination of nuts, powder sugar, butter and vanilla and are very easy to make. The type of nuts used is completely left up to the person making them.
Below is the recipe from chsugar.com
Recipe
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
- ½ cup C&H Pure Cane Powdered Sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ? tsp salt
- 2 cups finely chopped almonds
- 1½ cup Powdered Sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- With electric mixer beat butter and powdered sugar.
- Add vanilla
- Combine flour, salt and nuts; stir into sugar mixture.
- Roll dough into 1-inch balls.
- Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 15 minutes until lightly browned.
- While hot, roll in powdered sugar. Cool on a rack then roll again in powdered sugar to coat.
One useful tip to keep in mind when making Mexican wedding cakes, is that many of the recipes call for almonds or walnuts, but other types of nuts can be used as an alternate ingredient if need be. Just remember that saltier nuts if substituted will give them a much saltier flavor.
The powdered sugar is the perfect addition to this cookie and the blend of textures of the nuts, sugar and butter give this cookie a very crispy and unique taste like no other.
Homemade Frosting or Icing
One great homemade frosting or icing that is not overly sweet is a nice cream cheese frosting. This can be used on the sugar cookies stated above and it can also be used to frost various types of carrot cakes or breads as well. This is a great universal type of frosting that is essential when pleasing a variety of taste buds.This is also very easy to make.
- One box of powdered sugar
- a tablespoon of vanilla
- an 8 oz. block of cream cheese.
Blend these all together and this makes a very tasty frosting for any occasion. Food coloring can also be added to give it a more festive appeal.
Be One Step Ahead of the Game
As many people have come to know it is better to be one step ahead of the game during the holidays, because there are always situations that come up. By being prepared a person can make sure that they have time to make all the Christmas sweets they have intended to make without being short on time.
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