This candy recipe, from Food Network Canada, combines the best of two worlds — a crispy, brittle-like candy dipped in milk chocolate. I’m going to give this a try to see if it’s worthy of being added to my Christmas tins this year for neighbors and teachers!

Milk Chocolate Coated Sponge Candy
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 tbsp baking soda, sifted
1 lb. milk chocolate, divided
~ Place foil in a 9-inch square pan with 2-inch sides, extend foil over sides. Butter the foil very generously.
~ In a heavy large, deep saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar.
~ …read more

I just came across this cute video for making Chocolate Cherry Christmas Creams. They’re made with some pretty basic pantry staples, including chocolate chips, evaporated milk, powdered sugar, and nuts (well, you may need to make a special trip to the store for the maraschino cherries).
I like the idea of making these for friends and family and arranging them on a platter in the shape of a Christmas tree or even a wreath. Dying the coconut red or green is also a nice touch! These would be great for Valentine’s Day, too, come to think of it!
Chocolate Cherry Christmas Creams
1 …read more

I know the holidays are still over two months away, but I like to start getting an idea early on for the goody tins I want to give out to friends, neighbors and my kids’ school teachers.

I just came across this idea for chocolate pretzel kisses, and since it requires easy to find ingredients and pretty much no other prep aside from assembly and warming up, they might just make it into this year’s gift! The “recipe” is easy to find pretty much anywhere, and I picked this one up from allrecipes.com.
Chocolate Pretzel Kisses
24 circular or square bite-size pretzels
24 milk …read more

Easter is still almost two months away (April 12th this year) and while out getting some necessities yesterday at the store I saw that they already have their displays out.
I know this isn’t out of the ordinary anymore, especially given the current economy and retailers wanting to get a jump on as much as they can as soon as they can, but it never fails to throw me for a loop how soon we’re faced with the next holiday season, no matter how far away it may be. The past few holidays have seemed to creep in sooner than …read more

Youtube user “MyHappySock” has created a video about the chocolate treats he makes for the holidays. These fun treats couldn’t be any easier and he includes all the steps for everything from a chocolate-covered s’more to chocolate-covered Oreos and even an idea for using up the extra dipping chocolate.
I think this year I might try the chocolate-dipped Oreos and pretzels for my goodie bags. Yum!

I was recently offered the chance to try out one of See’s Candies new chocolate gifts, a cute little poinsettia box with five See’s chocolates and three chocolate balls in it. It was a nice little treat and I love that I can keep the box out for the season!
Having had two parents that worked at See’s for many years (my mom and my step-mom) and having worked seasonally there myself, we always had See’s at Christmas, particularly the Santa Boxes and foil balls. We always gave our friends the Candy Climbers (which I don’t see anymore!) or the solid …read more

It’s my pleasure to announce the First Annual b5media Lifestyles Channel Holiday Blogging Awards!
We’ve recruited some of our favorite bloggers from around the sphere to step up as judges for the following categories:
Best Holiday decoration of a Blog – Any blog or blogger who has decorated their blog for the holidays either entirely or in an subtle way. Prize: $20 USD via Paypal and links from channel blogs.
Best post about Christmas on a Blog – The best posting about Christmas or holiday activities on a blog. It can be religious or non-religious, but should celebrate the spirit of the season. …read more