Easy Christmas Treats for Kim

During the busy, hectic month of December I was exhausted every day after work and didn't have the energy to do any Christmas baking.  I mean any.  Nothing.  Zip.  Nada.  This may not sound drastic to you, but as a rule my kitchen is a flurry of activity during the month of December.  Flour, sugar and butter can be found mixed in various proportions and with large quantities of chocolate, nuts, oatmeal, dried fruit and a myriad of other ingredients, resulting in mountains of goodies which last long after the Christmas season is over.  This year, however, was a different story.  Stress at work and the dark, cloudy, dreary days of December this month didn't leave me much in the mood to be creative or productive in the kitchen.  I knew there were some recipes that involved only a few ingredients and were incredibly quick and easy to make.  In the dark recesses of my memory, I dredged up a couple of partial recipes that I hadn't made in years.  A brief internet search led me to exactly what I was looking for.  The following recipes can be made in only minutes and require only a few easily acquired ingredients.

I haven't make Saltine Toffee Cookies in years and had almost forgotten how good they are.  There are many recipes to be found on the internet, and most of them are almost identical, but this one I found at my one of my favourite recipe sites: allrecipes.com.    Depending what you top these crunchy toffee treats with, they can be a very plain (and yet extremely tasty) square, or a decadent concoction fancy enough for company.  These I sprinkled with toasted, sliced almonds and served to the in-laws, who were suitably impressed.  Next time, and there will be a next time, I will try walnuts.  If you are a nut-free household you could use some kind of crushed, colourful candy, or even leave them plain.  If you are a nut freak, you could try using a combination of peanut butter chips and chocolate chips, or all peanut butter chips.  How about white chocolate.  Butterscotch chips?  I won't say the possibilities are endless, but there are many combinations to be tried and enjoyed.

The other treats I made were even easier to make. Rolo Pretzel Candy took about ten minutes to prepare, start to finish (well, except for cooling time).  It was almost an afterthought to make these, and I didn't have any Rolos in the house.  I sent my husband for some (because it was Christmas Eve and I couldn't be expected to brave forty below weather to go the the zoo...I mean grocery store) and he brought me mini Rolos instead of the full sized kind.  No problem.  I just placed three mini chocolates on each pretzel twist and it was fine.  These are actually easy enough for kids to make.  All you have to do is put in and pull out the pan from the oven.  Salty and not overly sweet, these make a nice addition to your cookie tray.

Happy indulgences to all.