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Tempting Holiday Treats

© Rachel Paxton

The holidays are a great time for spending time with family. One favorite family activity of mine is baking! I just don't spend as much time playing around in the kitchen as I'd like, and the holidays are a perfect excuse to try out new mouth-watering candies, cookies, and other holiday treats. It's also a great time to teach your children how to find their way around the kitchen while also having fun with them at the same time.

I always find that holiday recipes often require expensive ingredients that I usually avoid in my everyday cooking and baking, just because of how much those unnecessary items cost. Around the holidays though, many of these items (chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, butter, etc.) go on sale and you can stock up on a few special ingredients that will let you whip up some favorite family treats rather inexpensively.

For the past six months or so I have been collecting holiday recipes from visitors to my web site. I'm always looking for new holiday recipes to try! I have received some absolutely wonderful recipes I can't wait to share. I have tried each of these recipes myself, and they're easy and great! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family has. If you'd like more recipes, you can receive the entire booklet of more than 40 recipes by sending $3.95 (includes shipping) to Creative Homemaking, 6407 Haag St., W. Richland, WA 99353. If you'd like to submit your own holiday recipes and enter our drawing for a free homemaking book, enter our holiday memories contest. I look forward to hearing from you. Happy Holidays!

Pear Eggnog Muffins
Kobi Hendrix, Oregon

3 c. flour
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. and 1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 medium pears, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 c. eggnog
1/3 c. plus 2 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1/4 c. dark rum (or additional egg nog)
1 egg

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in large bowl; make a well in center of dry ingredients. Combine chopped pears, eggnog, butter, rum and egg, stirring until well blended. Add eggnog mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Spoon batter into greased muffin pans, filling two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Heavenly Hash Candy
Dorothy Johnston

12 oz. chocolate chips
6 oz. butterscotch chips
1/4 c. butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 large bag miniature marshmallows
1 c. chopped pecans (or peanuts)

Spray a 13x9-in. pan with Pam and add marshmallows. Melt chips, butter, & milk in boiler. Remove from heat & stir in pecans. Pour over marshmallows and stir just enough to coat lightly.

The copyright of the article Tempting Holiday Treats in Creative Homemaking is owned by Rachel Paxton. Permission to republish Tempting Holiday Treats in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.