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Gifts From Your Kitchen

Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge

Special candy, mixes in jars, and other food gifts are always welcome around the holidays. Here are several delicious gifts to give this season, including mixes for brownies, pancakes, pies, and more.

More Holiday Treats

Diana's Southern Food Blog

Raspberry-Filled Almond Cookies

Saturday December 5, 2009
Raspberry Filled Almond CookieThese festive and delicious cookies are made with a cream cheese cookie dough rolled in coarsely ground almonds, then the cookies are filled with a dab of seedless raspberry jam. Feel free to substitute candied cherry halves or another fruit jam for the filling in these cookies.

About.com Cookie Exchange

From Syrie Wongkaew, Australian Food
Chocolate Melting Moments are filled with a creamy vanilla icing and then sandwiched together. They literally melt-in-your-mouth!

From Marian Blazes, South American Food
Alfajores made with almond paste are my favorite version of this classic South American cookie. The cookies are buttery and rich with almond flavor, but not too sweet, which sets off the caramel dulce de leche filling perfectly. Alfajores are a good cookie to send in the mail, as they taste even better several days after they are made.

Raspberry filled cookie image ©2009 Diana Rattray, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Chicken and Spinach Casserole

Friday December 4, 2009
Chicken and Spinach With Parmesan CheeseThis chicken casserole is easy to prepare and makes a great everyday meal. Use the convenient packets of cooked diced chicken to make this a super-easy dish. Serve this baked chicken and spinach mixture with hot cooked pasta or rice and biscuits or warm crusty rolls.

About.com Cookie Exchange

From Stephanie Gallagher, Cooking for Kids
These sugar cookies are a classic for Christmas. Soft, tender and buttery, but not too sweet, these sugar cookies are perfect for decorating.

From Fiona Haynes, Low Fat Cooking
It's hard to believe these five-star chocolate chip cookies are low fat. By using half the normal amount of butter, and substituting an egg white for a whole egg, these make a wonderful and relatively guilt-free indulgence. The chocolate flavor is enhanced by using cocoa powder as well as a sprinkling of miniature chocolate chips.

If you're looking for an even lighter cookie option for the holidays, then these fat free Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Cookies will surely fit the bill. Crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, they make a tasty sweet and minty morsel.

Chicken casserole image ©2009 Diana Rattray, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Cheddar Mashed Potato and Ham Bake

Wednesday December 2, 2009
Cheddar Mashed Potato and Ham Bake Here's a delicious casserole made with leftover ham and mashed potatoes, along with cheddar cheese, and chopped celery and onions. Serve this easy dish with a tossed salad for a perfect busy-day meal.

About.com Cookie Exchange

From Elizabeth LaBau, Candy:
Gingerbread Truffles are soft, fragrant truffle balls that taste just like gingerbread cookie dough! These delicious candies feature gingersnaps, spices, toasted nuts, and white chocolate, for an easy, decadent holiday treat.

From Jessica Harlan, Cooking Equipment:
These Spritz Cookies are delicate and rich, thanks to the addition of cream cheese in the dough. Use a cookie press to turn the dough into beautiful shapes that can be decorated with sugars and sprinkles.

Casserole image ©2009 Diana Rattray, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge

Tuesday December 1, 2009
Hazelnut Fudge Recipe This is a delicious fudge to make for gifts or to have on hand for holiday visitors. Feel free to use an alcohol-free hazelnut syrup to replace the liqueur and add more flavor.

Hazelnut fudge image ©2009 Diana Rattray, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Welcome to our cookie exchange! All month, About.com food Guides will be sharing their favorite holiday cookies, so check back frequently.

From Barbara Rolek, Eastern European Food:

Kolaczki exist in most Eastern European cuisines and are spelled variously as kolaci, kolache, kolacky, kolachky, among others. Fillings run the gamut of apricot to raspberry to prune to cheese, and some truly untraditional flavors like pineapple are sneaking into the mix. This recipe starts with a flaky cream cheese dough.

Czech Bar Cookies or cukrovi are a delightful blend of nuts, almond paste and strawberry filling. Best of all, they're easy to make and keep well.

From Carroll Pellegrinelli, Baking:

Butter Spritz Cookies are small delicate cookies that are made with a cookie press. Cookie presses typically come with several disks to make various shaped cookies like Christmas trees, hearts, flowers and so on.

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