It’s that time of year! If you’re like most people, you’re spending much of the month of December in the kitchen. Baked goods galore are gifted from your heart and into the hands of your beloved family and friends. But are you looking for some new delicious desserts? The staff of Life 90.5 are happy to share some Christmas recipes and more that you’ll love to share with those you love this holiday season.
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
For one of our more customizable Christmas recipes, you can switch out the standard chocolate chips for white chocolate and dried cranberries. Or you can grab any 12oz bag of seasonal morsels, M&Ms, or even some crushed candy canes.
Ingredients:
- 1 stick butter or margarine
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ⅓ cup Quick Oats, ground
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 12oz chocolate chips
- Optional: substitute chocolate chips for dried cranberries and white chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, then add sugars, egg and vanilla. Blend on low/medium setting. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and ground Quick Oats. Add chocolate chips. Mix together; should be stiff. Bake for 11 minutes.
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SNICKERDOODLE COOKIES
Ingredients:
- 1 cup margarine
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 ¾ cup flour
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- Additional cinnamon & sugar mixture
Directions:
Mix together wet ingredients. Combine all other dry ingredients together. Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture. (Batter will be thick) Chill until firm. After shaping into 1-inch balls, roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees.
PUMPKIN BREAD
One of Mandy’s favorite Christmas recipes for gifting, this was also featured in an earlier blog on holiday side dishes.
Ingredients:
- 3 ½ cup flour
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 3 cup sugar
- 1 cup oil
- 2 cup canned pumpkin
- ⅔ cup water
- 4 eggs
- Optional ½ cup chopped pecans or raisins
Directions:
Sift together in a large bowl flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Add oil, pumpkin, water, eggs and pecans. Stir until batter is smooth. Bake in well-greased 9 x 5 x 3in loaf pans for 1 hour in 325 degree oven. Makes 2 large loaves or 4 small loaves. Cool and wrap in foil. Freezes well.
JEWISH COFFEE CAKE
This treat works well as a dessert or a sweet breakfast item, warm or chilled, no icing needed!
Ingredients:
- 1 Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
- 2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
- ¾ cup oil
- 1 cup water
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Directions:
Mix sugar and cinnamon, set aside. Mix cake ingredients, beat at medium speed for 10 minutes. Pour half of the batter in a greased 12 cup bundt pan. Sprinkle half the topping on. Pour rest of batter, sprinkle last of topping. Use a small rubber spatula and fold together lightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, leave in the pan for 20 minutes. Can refrigerate covered in foil or freeze for up to 6 months.
GOOD STUFF
This is one of Hannah’s go-to Christmas recipes, fully customizable depending on which flavor of instant pudding you select.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- “A lot” of nuts
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 large chocolate instant pudding (or whatever flavor your choose)
- 1 large vanilla instant pudding
- 1 cool whip
- 8 oz cream cheese
Directions:
Cut butter and combine with flour and nuts, then press mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13in pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Blend cream cheese and ½ cool whip, then spread on cooled crust. Mix 2 puddings and milk, then pour over cream cheese spread. Cover with with cool whip.
BUCKEYES
From Sunday evening DJ Samantha, check out this delightful Buckeye recipe that you can make as Christmas gifts. Or maybe just eat them all yourself…
Ingredients:
- 1 bag powdered sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
- 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Mix the peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar a little bit at a time until it’s at the consistency that you can roll it into a ball about the size of a quarter. Roll into balls and put on baking sheet then refrigerate for about an hour. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and dip the buckeyes about halfway in the chocolate and then refrigerate until the chocolate is hard.
PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Life 90.5 listener Amber shares that one of her favorite Christmas cookies recipes is pumpkin chocolate chip. She reports, “It does not have a huge pumpkin taste but it makes them so soft!” The recipe comes from twotwentyone.net, but we’ve copied it here for you to enjoy too!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup 100% pure pumpkin
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp milk
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cup flour
- 2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Combine oil, pumpkin, sugar, egg, & vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine baking soda & milk. Add to pumpkin mixture. In a separate bowl, combine cinnamon, baking powder, salt, & flour. Add to pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Allow batter to sit for 15 minutes. Using a cookie scoop, place batter on baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Yield depends on size of cookies. 1 tablespoon cookie scoop typically yields 3 dozen.
BONUS: SAUSAGE BALLS
When Mandy’s grandmother Doris was still on this earth, she baked these every Christmas. They serve as an excellent snack to bring to a party or something to enjoy Christmas morning.
Ingredients:
- 1 roll your choice of sausage
- 10 oz your choice of cheese
- 3 cups Bisquick
Directions:
Combine all ingredients, roll into inch-wide balls, bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden outside in a 350 degree oven.
Do you have a recipe to share? Tell us all about it in the comments!
