I think making Christmas treats with your kids can be one of the very best traditions EVER!

Are y’all starting to think about Christmas treats yet? I usually make lots of treats with the kiddos every year and we deliver them to the neighbors. We have lots of favorites, and so I thought it would be fun to share a few of them here, but also share a few that I found around the web as well.

My son Jex absolutely loves when I make Gingersnap cookies. I have been making these since he was a little boy.

Here are the ingredients you will need for these soft Gingersnap Cookies:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger
  • 3/4 cup shortening
  • 1 cup sugar (plus about 1/4 cup to roll the dough in before baking)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup molasses

Instructions:

  1. In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and ginger together. Set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, cream together the shortening, 1 cup sugar, egg and molasses. Beat with an electric mixer for about 2 to 3 minutes.
  3. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix together until well combined.
  4. Use a cookie scoop to scoop out tablespoon sized balls and roll them into a round ball between your hands.
  5. Place the extra 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl and dip each cookie ball into the sugar, coating on all sides.
  6. Place cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet and lightly flatten with the palm of your hand (or the bottom of a measuring cup or glass).
  7. Place on a nice well-sprayed cookie sheet like these. Making sure the pan isn’t dark. This will cause your cookies to be dark on the bottom. You could also use these silicone cooking mats.
  8. Bake cookies at 350° for 10 minutes.

Here are a couple of other fun gingersnap ideas:

Gingersnap Bars are a quick and easy way to make gingersnaps. I love to make bar cookies anytime I can. I cuts the cookie process in half!

Gingersnap Bars/Recipe Here

I’m excited to try these this year

Have y’all ever made real gingerbread cookies? I think these are so sweet:

Among all things gingerbread + yummy, we love to make Christmas treats that are easy, but fun to share. Here are my kids helping me make the simple rolo pretzel treats that everyone seems to love this time of year.

I thought this version of pretzel treats was kind of fun:

Have you ever had a Grinch Party? We had one for our family party last year. It was so much fun!!

Stella’s favorite Christmas treat is by far Homemade Christmas Carmels:

I was given this recipe in a recipe box when I first got married, and I have been making them every year since.

This is our recipe:

1 C. butter

2 1/4 Cups Brown Sugar

1 C. light corn syrup

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

dash of salt

Combine ingredients into a heavy sauce pan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon.  Keep at a rolling boil and cook till soft ball forms in a cold bowl of water(this takes between 10-15 minutes of rolling boil.) It will begin to get thick.  When it does, spoon a small amount into your bowl of really cold water.  Touch with your hand and see if you can roll it into a soft ball.  If it becomes really hard, you have let it boil to long, so check it consistently.  Once it hits soft ball, pour it into buttered 9×13 pan.  Cool, and then cut.  Makes about 75 pieces.

This past week, I had to make a treat for a party we were having at our house for Stella and the drill team. Nautrally, I turned to Pinterest for a fun idea.

I found this recipe for Hot Cocoa cupcakes:

The fun thing about Pinterest is it’s a place to go to make your dreams come true. I needed a recipe, I found one; but I put my own spin on it. This is what I made:

I used the basic recipe, but this is how I made them my own: I used a different flavor of Hot Cocoa which made them a Mint Truffle flavor. You can find the hot cocoa I used here.

If you are looking for more fun holiday baked good or treats don’t forget to check out my Pinterest boards. I have been pinning away.

More ideas for:

Holiday Baking here and Holiday treats here

I hope this makes all your treat making dreams come true. Really the best part of all of it, is sharing it with someone. Make the treats with a loved one, and then share them with a neighbor.

I love watching how my kids pass out these treats to the neighbors. It truly is the best part!