With an ever expanding family and everyone having a life to live that doesn’t always involve me, I came up with a solution that works for me.
I love schedules. To me, that break things up in to small manageable to-do lists. So, my step one around the holidays is to email, text or messenger all of the people in my life that I typically spend all or parts of the holiday season a detailed schedule that lets everyone know what I will be doing and they all have the opportunity to add to the list and join or not join as they see fit.
My Christmas Schedule Last Year:
Volume 1- List for Christmas Cookie night
Pizza
Drinks- (Some may contain alcohol, just make sure the kiddos don’t get some.)
Icing and other cookie decorating items
Pre-baked cut-out cookies
Cookie ingredients
A happy attitude even if things seem to be going a little nuts
Suggestions for Christmas cookies with the little ones is to make the sugar cut-out cookies before they arrive, have icing, paint brushes, sprinkles, icing bags, plastic spoons all ready for each child. Let the kids have fun, but make it a little less stressful by planning ahead.
Order a pizza or something that has easy clean up so the adults can make the cookies that will be enjoyed though out the holiday season. (Trust me, you don’t want to eat the one the kids decorated unless you enjoy icing that most definitely contains slobber from a 2 year old)
My sample list of cookies and candy:
Fudge
Chocolate covered pretzels*
Chocolate chip cookies
Buckeye Candy*
Sugar Cookies- Ones without slobber too.
The items with * next to them don’t need full blown recipes and can be done while the cookies are in the oven.
Since I am not a baker, I give you the quick and easy recipe for buckeyes and chocolate covered pretzels.
Buckeye Candy–
If you are from Ohio or know someone from Ohio, you most likely have either had or made these candies yourself.
Ingredients:
Chocolate Candy Bark
Peanut Butter-Start with 2 cups
Crushed Graham Cracker Crumbs- 2 packages (Some small chunks are okay)
Powders Sugar- One regular sized bag should do it
Directions:
1-Put peanut butter in large mixing bowl and slowly add powdered sugar until the consistency is a cross between brownie batter and play-dough.
2-Mix in Graham Crackers.
3-Form mixture into balls about the same size as candy truffles.
4-Insert toothpick in ball
5-Place on wax paper cover cookie sheet.
6-Place in freezer for 20 minutes.
7-Melt one tray of Chocolate Candy Bark
8-Remove balls from freezer
9-Dip ball in chocolate so that a small circle of peanut butter is still visible by the toothpick
10- Place back on wax paper and freeze for another 20 minutes
Store in Freezer Bag for up to 3 months- I only know this because my husband hid a bag and forgot about it.
Chocolate Covered Pretzels–
Ingredients:
Chocolate Candy Bark
Bag of mini pretzels
Directions:
1-Melt one tray of Chocolate Candy Bark
2-Dip pretzel in chocolate leaving one rounded corner bare
10- Place back on wax paper covered cookie sheet until set
These will probably store for 3 months too but they never seem to make it through the Christmas season.
