Don’t these turtle candies look delicious! There is just something about crunchy toasted pecans, gooey caramel, and melted chocolate that is irresistible.

This is an easy version of an old traditional recipe. I love making recipes like this at home because you can customize it to your own tastes. Plus don’t they look nice and fancy to set out for guests??

I skipped the homemade caramel and opted for melting Kraft caramel baking bits to save a little time and effort. I also used white chocolate to top the candies and added just a drizzle of the traditional milk chocolate. I think the white chocolate makes them look a little extra special and gives them an added dose of sweetness.

The end result was so good that it was hard to stop eating them! I ended up giving half away just to make sure we didn’t eat all of them ourselves. 🙂

These caramel pecan turtle clusters are the perfect candy if you want to impress your guests (or gift recipients!) but don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You will love them!

Caramel Pecan Turtle Clusters are day 10 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I will post a new cookie every day for the first 12 days of December. You can see all these recipes from over the years under my Christmas Cookies tag. 🙂 See all of this year’s cookies here: 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2015. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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Day 9 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats! I’m pretty sure I try a new fudge recipe every year. I love to experiment with flavors, and in my experience, fudge is something everyone loves to see on a cookie tray. 🙂

This year I’m excited to share this recipe for cookies and cream fudge! The fudge has a deliciously rich white chocolate base and is chock full of oreo cookies. It’s smooth and creamy, and just a little bit crunchy from the chopped up oreos.

Mike claims it’s the best fudge I’ve ever made, and I have to agree. Although we both love anything cookies and cream flavored, so we might be a little biased. 🙂

This fudge would make a great holiday gift for friends and neighbors, and also a great treat to munch on straight out of the fridge.

*See all 12 days of Christmas Treats from 2014 here! 🙂

*Check out the delicious treats from previous years!  Cookie Dough Truffles | Nutter Butter Truffles | Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark | White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peppermint Glaze

P.S. You can see all of my Christmas treat recipes from over the years at this Christmas Cookies tag. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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Have you ever tried to make candy in your crock pot? Until I tried this recipe, I had never heard of such a thing! But let me tell you, this stuff is so good, I think I’ll be making candy in my crock pot every year. 🙂

This recipe is so easy to make that you have no excuse not to try it! Basically you dump three different kinds of chocolate in your slow cooker, add some peanuts, and turn it on. That’s it! OK, you do have to stir every once in awhile. 🙂

But seriously, it’s that easy. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper (or into some mini muffin liners if you’re feeling fancy) and you’ve got some seriously delicious candy.

It is so rich and creamy, and full of sweet and salty flavors in every bite. Plus it makes a ton, so there is plenty to share with friends and family.

This crock pot candy is definitely going to be a new family tradition. We can’t get enough of it!

*See all 12 days of Christmas Treats from 2014 here! 🙂

*Check out the delicious treats from previous years!   Hot Chocolate on a Stick | Chocolate Truffle Cookies | Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies | Homemade Peppermint Oreos

P.S. You can see all of my Christmas treat recipes from over the years at this Christmas Cookies tag. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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I have a nice fall treat for you today – homemade apple pie spice! This homemade spice mix smells like all the best parts of fall and tastes like apple pie (without the apples of course). This mix is great to use in baked goods this time of year. You can, of course, use it in any recipe that calls for apple pie spice, but I also like to use it to replace the cinnamon in any number of recipes. It’s really just a mix of fall spices, so don’t let the name confuse you. It’s great in apple pie, apple crisp, any sort of pumpkin bread or apple bread, etc. The options are endless! I’ll be giving you a few ideas in the coming weeks, but in the meantime it doesn’t take any time at all to mix this up to keep on hand. Plus it smells great and really gets you in the mood for fall!

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Welcome to day 10 of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats!

I’ve got a great new fudge recipe for you today. Believe it or not, I hardly ever make fudge. Past recipes I’ve used have never seemed to turn out quite right. The fudge would either refuse to set, or it would get all clumpy.

Thankfully this candy cane fudge recipe is the exception! This recipe is super simple to make, and it turned out perfecly the first time I tried it. Trust me, if I can make this delicious minty fudge, you can too. 🙂

It’s a fairly traditional fudge recipe that makes use of Andes’ Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips to make it taste nice and pepperminty. It’s smooth and rich and melts in your mouth, just like fudge should. I also love that the fudge is pink, the perfect color for a peppermint flavored treat!

Like most fudge recipes, it’s super sweet, so be sure to cut the pieces small. If you’re a fan of peppermint flavored treats, you will love this candy cane fudge!

Click here to see the rest of the 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2013. Or you can see all of my Christmas treat recipes from over the years at this Christmas Cookies tag. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

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I had no idea you could make homemade conversation hearts until I saw a recipe in a recent magazine. I was immediately intrigued because the idea just seemed so fun! I always seem to end up buying a bag of conversation hearts every Valentine’s Day, and this year I figured  why not make my own? These are very simple to make, although it does take some time to roll them out and cut them into pretty heart shapes. I love that you can make your own flavors with various extracts (I made vanilla, orange, lemon, and strawberry), and of course the best part is that you can write your own messages on them! I made mine slightly bigger than the original to make them easier to write on, and had fun writing out various messages with a food writer pen. As an added benefit, they actually taste really similar to traditional conversation hearts! These were a fun Valentine’s Day treat and they would be very kid friendly as well!

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I really don’t think you can go wrong with something called Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark. Although, I did my best to mess it up – if you look closely at the pictures you can tell that the caramel part of the bark looks more like a grainy mess than actual caramel.  This was my first time ever making caramel and I definitely got it wrong. I did better the second time I made this, but unfortunately didn’t think to re-take the pictures. If you are having trouble with the caramel, watch this video and it should help. 🙂

However… even with grainy caramel, this still tasted amazing!  Seriously – don’t be afraid of messing it up because no matter what, it will taste good. I just told people it was supposed to be all sugary and wonderful, and no one questioned it.

If you are big into sweet and salty desserts, you will not be able to stop eating this! Enjoy 🙂

P.S. You can see all of my Christmas treat recipes from over the years at this Christmas Cookies tag. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

Ingredients:

• 1/2 bag of mini pretzel twists
• 2 sticks of butter
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 bag of chocolate chips
• Sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a large jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and lay a single layer of pretzels down.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and the brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Let it boil gently (without stirring) just until it starts to stick to the bottom and it forms a nice smooth caramel. Let it bubble a little and get really thick.(If this confuses you, try watching this video. The instructions are a little different, but it seems to work)
3. Remove from heat and pour evenly over the top of the pretzels. Put in the oven for five minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Put it back in the oven for 1 minute, then spread the chocolate chips around with a spatula until mostly melted. Sprinkle generously with salt.
4. Let cool on completely. If the chocolate doesn't firm up, place it in the refrigerator until it does. Break it up into uneven chunks with your hands and serve.

from Mama Say What

These creamy Christmas mints were certainly a pleasant surprise. I’d never heard of anything like them, and as I was making them I just wasn’t sure they were going to turn out as I hoped. I was afraid they would taste like cream cheese and nothing else.

Thankfully, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The mints were sweet and creamy with just the right touch of peppermint.  The mint flavor was very refreshing, and I consider these little treats to be half candy, half after dinner mint. And the texture was perfect – they weren’t sticky, but they were still perfectly creamy.

They would be great to set out in a little bowl with your Christmas cookies, and they would make cute little gifts if wrapped up in a nice tin or gift bag.

P.S. You can see all of my Christmas treat recipes from over the years at this Christmas Cookies tag. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.

Creamy Christmas Mints

Ingredients:

• 3 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• red food coloring
• 4 to 4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• about 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Beat the cream cheese until soft and fluffy, about two minutes.
2. Blend in the mint and a few drops of red food coloring.
3. Add the confectioners sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until it forms a stiff mixture.
4. Form balls with about 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture.
5. Roll in the granulated sugar and flatten with the tines of a fork.
6. Store in the refrigerator.

from Kitchen Trial and Error

Since the 12 days of Christmas Treats are officially over, I’m trying to get back into the routine of the Works for Me Wednesday posts. This week I have a quick and easy tip to share for the easiest Christmas candy you’ll ever make. My mom makes this stuff every year (except when I steal her ingredients and make it instead), and I think the recipe originally came from my aunt. If you can even call it a recipe – it’s that easy!

 

The only ingredients are white chocolate melting discs and red and green peppermint crunch candies. You should be able to get both of these things any place you would buy candy making ingredients. If you can’t find the peppermint crunch candies, you could always crush your own candy canes or peppermints. I think they’re fairly easy to find, but to be honest, I’ve never actually looked for them. I just steal my mom’s ingredients. But I know that she gets them from a store called Mary’s Cake and Candy.  Oh and look, here they are on Amazon. For an astronomical price.

Isn’t it pretty?

The “recipe”? Melt the white chocolate. Stir in the peppermint crunch candies. (I used 1 pound of white chocolate and 1/2 a pound of peppermint crunch candies). Pour onto a sheet of waxed paper, spread to desired thickness and let harden. Once hard, break into small pieces. It’s that easy. And it’s so good! It’s just so simple and Christmasy and delicious. It’s perfect to set out at Christmas parties or family gatherings. These candies also make wonderful gifts. Just put some in a little see-through bag, tie shut with a ribbon, and give them away! Perfect. When it comes to Christmas candy, this is what works for me. 🙂

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