It's my favourite time of the year and my gift to you is my favourite Christmas baking ideas. T here are twelve, so you can do each one every day leading up to Christmas, or you could just try one. It's up to you, but they're all yummy so I suggest you try them all. Happy holidays!

Rice ‘Krist'mas Trees
Ingredients:
5 cups rice krispies
1/2 cup margarine or butter
4 cups mini-marshmallows or 6-10 oz. bag of regular marshmallows
10 - 12 regular size marshmallows and toothpicks
Green food colouring
Red cinnamon candies, smarties, or any other small colourful candies

Melt margarine in a three-quart saucepan, then add four cups marshmallows and cook over low heat stirring constantly till syrupy. Remove from heat, add green food colouring till a fairly dark green colour. Add cereal and stir until well coated. Shape into cone shapes with buttered hands. When cooled, stick a toothpick through a marshmallow and stick into the bottom to serve as the tree's base. Decorate with colourful candies.

Rainbow Slices
Ingredients:
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 egg
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 pkg. coloured marshmallows (miniature)
2/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup coconut or chocolate flakes
Melt chocolate over hot water. Beat egg and mix with icing sugar and melted chocolate. Add marshmallows and nuts. Shape into a roll. Roll in coconut chocolate flakes. Chill several hours. Slice.

Caramel Corn
Ingredients:
Seven quarts of popped corn
Large kettle and strong
mixing spoon
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Boil sugar, butter and corn syrup for four minutes. Remove from heat. Add salt, soda, and vanilla. The mixture will foam. Pour over corn and stir. This mixture will be sticky and can easily be formed into balls or pushed into the decorated cans. If you prefer a drier corn, bake the sticky mixture for one hour at 250 degrees. Stir or shake every 10 minutes.

Chocolate Balls
Ingredients:
3 squares chocolate
1 can condensed milk
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
Box of icing sugar

Melt the chocolate. Add condensed milk and graham cracker crumbs. Mix until well blended. Put in a greased pan. Cool in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Shape mixture into small balls and roll in icing sugar.


Nanaimo Bars
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
3 1/2 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Pinch of salt
1. Cook above items until thick
2 1/2 cups graham crumbs
1/2 cup walnuts chopped
1 cup coconut
2. Mix first and second mixtures together and press into 9 inch x 9-inch pan.
1/2 cup butter
2 cups icing sugar
2 pkg. instant vanilla pudding
3 tbsp milk
3. Mix and spread on the piecrust mixture, set for 15 min. in fridge. Melt two squares of unsweetened chocolate and 1 tbsp of butter pour over top. Chill until set.

Cheese Ball
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. sharp cheese, grated
1 lb. cream cheese, soft
2 tsp. minced onion
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
Chopped parsley flakes

Mix the first five ingredients together with electric mixer. Form into a ball. Roll in crushed nuts or parsley flakes. Chill. Serve with crackers.

Jell-o Jigglers
A yummy treat for small children, but also good for adults if you add a little bit of liquor.
Ingredients:
4 small boxes or 2 large boxes of Jell-o
2 1/2 cups boiling water (do not add cold water)
Christmas cookie cutters
Spray cooking oil

Stir boiling water into gelatin. Dissolve completely. Lightly spray a 13x9 inch pan with cooking oil. Pour mixture into pan. Chill at least three hours. Jigglers should be firm after one hour. To cut Jigglers dip bottom of pan in warm water for 15 seconds to loosen gelatin. Cut shapes with cookie cutters all the way through the gelatin. Lift from the pan with index finger or metal spatula.

Apple Crisp
Ingredients:
7-8 med. size tart apples (Granny Smith)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Grated rind of 1 orange
2 tbsp. orange juice
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. soft butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, core and slice apples into a greased nine-inch deep-dish pie pan or one quart shallow casserole. Mix 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle over apples. Add lemon juice, orange rind and juice. In a small bowl mix together flour, salt and remaining sugar. Cut into batter and sprinkle mixture over apples. Bake 45 minutes or until apples are tender and top is browned.

Christmastinis
Sugar Plum
1/3 Spiced Rum
1/3 Graf's Fränkische Pflaume
1/3 Creme de Noyeaux

Shake over ice and strain into a chilled sugar rimmed cocktail glass.

Christminti
1/3 Stoli Vanil
1/3 White Creme de Cacao
1/3 Green Creme de Menthe

Shake over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Grampa's Brandy Alexander
Perfect for a choco-holic at Christmas time. A guaranteed winner! Serve in any glass and garnish with whipped cream and sprinkle on chocolate powder.

2 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons creme de cacao
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 cup chocolate ice cream, softened

Directions: In blender, combine brandy, creme de cacao, and chocolate syrup. Blend at medium speed until well-mixed. Add the softened ice cream in large chunks. Blend at high speed until smooth. Serve immediately.

Evergreen
To a heatproof mug, add
1 tsp. peppermint extract.
Add 3 oz. hot coffee and 3 oz. hot chocolate.
Top with whipped cream and garnish with a peppermint candy stick.

Candy Cane
1/3 oz. Grenadine
1/3 oz. Green Creme de Menthe
1/3 oz. Peppermint Schnapps
Glass type: Shot

Directions: Layer in shot glass. Pour in order listed.

Nutty Chocolate Coffee
In a heatproof glass mug, add a piece of dark chocolate. Cover with two oz. hot coffee and stir until chocolate has partially dissolved.
Add 1⁄4 tsp. almond extract. Top with equal parts hot coffee and hot milk and stir again. Garnish with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.