Candy, Cookies, and Pie! Oh My!

Last week's post about holiday feasts was just a warm-up. The only reason to eat all that good-for-you food is to get to the desserts!

Candy is a staple for the holidays. Up first - chocolate cherries! My niece Leah recently posted on her Facebook page that she was making chocolate cherries for the holidays. I admire her desire to create this delectable treat, but I will continue to buy mine at the local drugstore. Mama always made fudge and divinity for Christmas. Divinity has all but disappeared from the candy plate, but fudge is still a big favorite. My sister Deanna makes a traditional fudge, usually with walnuts, and Jennifer makes a creamy variety with a special ingredient. (No, I won't tell the secret.) In addition to chocolate cherries, my favorite store-bought Christmas candy is ribbon candy which is getting hard to find. Remember how you would suck on it until the ribbons were like little razors cutting the inside of your mouth?

Cookies were not such a big part of our holidays, but I needed the word to make the blog title work! I have had a love affair with cranberries for some years now and am always looking for a new cranberry cookie recipe. The current favorite is cranberry hootycreeks -- a cookie made with white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and nuts (sometimes pecans, sometimes macadamia nuts). Last year my granddaughter Krishawna and I spent an entire day baking cookies to give as gifts; we made chocolate chip, cranberry hootycreeks, peanut butter, sugar, gingersnaps, and a couple other kinds I can't remember right now.

On to dessert number three - pie! Mama made her pumpkin pie using the recipe from the back of the pumpkin can, with an extra egg and TRIPLE the spices. Once you've eaten it, no other pumpkin pie can compare. The less traditional pie that Mama made and that I make for almost every special day (from the winter holidays to birthdays) is lemon meringue pie. A favorite for many of us, it makes your mouth pucker! I spent quite a bit of time on the internet looking for a recipe that replicates that wonderful tartness that Mama's pie always had.

I do believe that having a sweet tooth is an inherited condition!

© 2010 Denise Spurlock