Thanks for the great list. SteveC

Where are all our Canadian friends????? My Goodness, the BEST candy bar in the world is a Mars bar. Not a USA one. I think I kept three of them in my fridge, eating one per year, after our trip to Alaska, thru BC and the Yukon. Sadly, they are gone, but the memory lingers on! Chocolate as only the 'blokes' make, with caramel....just heavenly. Good thing I live a long way 'south of the border'! Meanwhile...... Chocolate is my fav.... coffee second, like TJ's Coffee Rio.

Holiday cookies? My favorites are: -The iced sugar cookies that my sleezeball cousin makes, but since we don't associate anymore, that's history. -The "snowballs". The ones I make are Franco Palumbo's recipe and are great. -Blondies with and without cashews on top. -Rosettes & Krumkake. I'm Scandinavian. Lefse's not a cookie but it goes with the season! So here's a few favorite recipes, though not necessarily "holiday" treats: Graham Cracker Chewies These are amazingly good and simple to make. They are a nice alternative to brownies. Recipe from the Nantucket Open House Cookbook. Crust 1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature 2 tablespoons all purpose flour Topping 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs beaten . Preheat oven to 350° Prepare the crust: Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and flour in a mixing bowl until moist and crumbly. Press the mixture firmly and evenly in the bottom of a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Prepare topping: Stir all the ingredients together until blended. Spread the topping over the baked crust and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely, then cut into 16 squares. Note: Double the recipe and use a 13 x 9" pan. You won't regret it. Haven't tried these yet but they get rave reviews: SILLY TOFFEE SQUARES 1/2 cup flour 3/4 cup Rice Krispies cereal 1/4 tsp. baking soda Pinch of salt 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1/3 cup butter melted 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT Evaporated Milk!) 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1-1/4 cups Rice Krispies cereal Combine first 6 ingredients and press into 8-inch square pan and bake at 350° F. for 10 minutes. In heavy nonstick saucepan combine condensed milk, 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring to a low boil and cook 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Be careful not to burn. Remove from heat and pour over baked crust. Melt chocolate chips over low heat. Stir in remaining cereal until well coated. Using two forks spread over caramel layer. Chill and cut into squares. And a longtime favorite: EZ BARS AKA 7-layer bars are the epitome of easy (hence their alias, EZ bars). If you follow the traditional recipe, you don't even need a bowl. You melt butter straight in the baking pan in a preheated oven, then sprinkle on the other layers. On top of the butter goes a layer of graham cracker crumbs (not mixed in, just sprinkled on), chopped nuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, and finally sweetened condensed milk is poured over the whole shebang. It's baked until just starting to brown on the top, all bubbly and delicious, which takes about 25 minutes. Nothing could be easier to bake. Very flexible too. I omit the coconut. You can use cookie crumbs like vanilla wafers or even crumbled sandwich cookies I imagine. Various nuts, combination of nuts, one kind of chips or combined kinds of chips. Doesn't really matter, they're greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!

Even though it was a beautiful night, I did not have many trick or treaters. I have lots of candy left. I will leave a few out but stash the rest out of sight to be doled out on cold wintry snow days. It was a fun evening. The kids were adorable and excited in their costumes. Some performed and the super heroes showed me their muscles. Everyone of them chatted with me, wished me Happy Halloween, said thank you, and were tickled when I said take 3 or more. Not one overdid it. The oldest kids were about 7th grade. Most of the costumes were homemade. Each had a twinkle in their eye. The best line of the evening, "This is for ravaging" (holding up a long spear; "this is for looting" (extending his booty bag and oh yes trick or treat" I got a big kick out of this 11 year old.