I’m not one for spending much time in the kitchen, but I do delight in baking during the Christmas holiday season.  Here’s a recap and critique of the goodies I chose to make this year –

Lemon Cranberry Bars – This one is not only a keeper, but my favorite, too!  The bars are quite tart, but absolutely delicious.  The recipe is straightforward and delivers as intended.  A dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream is the perfect accompaniment to temper any mouths that might pucker.

©Linda Nelson 2014

Almond Bark – Fabulous and very easy to make!  I varied this recipe slightly in that I used one cup of slivered almonds, 1/2 cup of unsweetened flaked coconut, 1/2 cup of pistachios and a pinch of salt.  I toasted the coconut and almonds together in a pan on the stovetop in a tiny amount of melted butter.  As suggested, I used Ghirardelli chocolate.

©Linda Nelson 2014

Chocolate Espresso Snowballs – These are super delicious, however, I had a little trouble with the recipe.  For me, the batter did not come together to form a dough that I could refrigerate.  I took a big leap of faith and skipped that step, opting to simply plop tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, then bake as directed.  I sprinkled them with confectioner’s after they cooled.  They came out flat like a sugar cookie, and had a somewhat chewy texture.  Despite this little glitch, I’d make them again because they are definitely a chocolate/coffee lover’s delight, and make my kitchen smell divine.

©Linda Nelson 2014

Pecan-Cranberry Cream Cheese Crescents – Very tasty; however, I failed to roll the dough out thin enough, which just happens to slightly mimic apple pie crust.  I will do these again, but be more mindful of my dough rolling practices.  I substituted almonds for the pecans.

©Linda Nelson 2014

Perhaps you’d like to give one of these gems a try to ring in the New Year.  Hey, what’s a few extra calories, right?

There you have it.

Now, get creative and go bake something.