A fun candy to have ingredients on hand & pull out when you have a group of people hanging out together. When my kids were younger their friends loved to make this & take some home to their family. Of course, eating mistakes is part of the fun! Christmas Pretzel Reindeer Recipe *fun for kids of all ages to make & eat! You will need: Pretzels (2 inch size work better than the ones that are dollar coin size.) Melted White Chocolate/vanilla almond bark (your glue) M and Ms Whole Almonds To make a reindeer: 1. Melt some white chocolate according to directions on the package 2. Lay the pretzel on a sheet of parchment paper 3. Fill the three pretzel holes with white chocolate using a teaspoon. 4. Place matching M and Ms in the two smaller holes for eyes setting on white chocolate. 5. Place a red M and M just below the eyes, in the larger space, for the nose. 6. Put almonds for ears above the eyes and a little to the outside 7. Break pretzels to form antlers and set then between the ears. Let it set up & store in an airtight container. I couldn't find a photo of it this morning, but found one on someone's blog. The angle of the antlers make each one slightly different. Here is a link that might be useful: photo of reindeer treats

Wow Katie that is an amazing swap box. What a wonderful bounty of home canned items. I love the idea of indonesian satay sauce, the huckleberry jam, jalepeno pepper jelly and the soup. I tried to make that soup last summer and had canner problems. Since then I have been afraid of making it. The box would have been awesome with just all the home canned items. -Robin Here is the Blueberry Lavender Jam recipe along with notes on canning it Blueberry Lavender Jam 2 tablespoons dried lavender flowers 1 11 1/2- ounce can frozen white grape juice concentrate 3 cups fresh blueberries, washed and drained 1. Make a lavender sachet: Cut a piece of cheesecloth into a 6-inch square, place lavender in the center, and tie into a bundle with kitchen twine. Cook the jam: In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring lavender sachet, grape juice concentrate, and blueberries to a boil. Stir constantly to prevent burning until the berry mixture jells -- about 20 minutes. (To test whether mixture has jelled, place a teaspoonful on a plate and let cool to room temperature. Lightly touch the berry mixture with your finger to see if it has consistency of jelly. If not, continue to cook for 10 more minutes and check again by using the same test.) Cover and steep for 2 hours. Store the jam: Remove the lavender sachet and discard. Divide the jam between 2 pint jars. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month Note: To modify it so I could can it I just simmered it with the lavender for 20 minutes than removed the lavender (which I had in a teaball). I also made one where I soaked the lavender overnight in the grape juice, yuck too much lavender.

Another easy treat to do with one hand would be a 'bark" of some type-- once it sets just wack it with a small mallet to break into pieces Tiger Bark Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: Candy & other confections Tiger Bark ========== 1 cup milk chocolate chips 2 cups (12 ounce) vanilla milk chips or almond bark 2 cups peanut butter chips 1/2 cup chopped peanuts . . Line jellyroll pan with foil. In microwave, melt 3 types of chips separately, stirring until smooth. Pour melted peanut butter chips into prepared pan, spreading level. Sprinkle on peanuts. Pour melted vanilla and chocolate chips on top, drizzling each randomly. To marbleize, use knife to pull through chocolate in wide curves. Refrigerate until set. Break into pieces. or a Rugalach-- you could cut the dough, she can add the filling and roll.Nancy's recipe is easy to work with-- just cut into 3 or 4 in squares-- mix some raspberry preserves with chpped nuts & mini choc chips and roll corner to corner-- bake rolled point down Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: Christmas Cookies CREAM CHEESE COOKIES ==================== This Dough Is One That You Can Roll Thick, If You Like A Softer Cutout still holds up. 1 ½ cup sugar 1 cup unsalted butter 1 8ounce package cream cheese 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ tsp almond extract 3 ½ cup flour (I like unbleached) 1 teaspoon baking powder . In a mixing bowl cream sugar, butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add egg and flavorings, beat smooth' Stir together the flour and baking powder, add to creamed mixture and mix thoroughly. FOR CUT-OUT COOKIES Chill dough. Roll out on surface dusted with a mixture of ½ powered sugar and ½ flour, ¼ to ½ inch thick depending on your preference. Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet ( I line with parchment paper) and bake in a 375° oven 8-10 minutes. Watch for the edges to just barely begin to brown if you like a moist cookie. Cool and frost. COOKIE PRESS COOKIES Divide dough into portions and add desired colors. Force through cookie press onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a 375° oven 8-10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack. Before baking brush with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with colored sprinkles if desired. Note...I have added about 4 oz of almond paste to the dough when making the cookie press cookies.....yum! FAVORITE ICING FOR CUTOUT COOKIES 2 c powered sugar, sifted 2 Tbsp softened butter ¼ tsp vanilla ¼ tsp almond extract 1 egg white ¼ C milk or cream Combine egg white and milk, set aside. Beat together powered sugar, butter and flavorings. Add small amounts of the milk mixture until icing is spreading consistency. Tint with desired colors. Using the egg white will give you a nice finish on the icing, the butter will keep it soft on the inside.

I just tried this one a few weeks ago. Very easy to make. (Taken from Southern Plate website). Tiger Butter Print Ingredients 1 package ( 24 ounces) white almond bark ½ cup crunchy peanut butter 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (Milk chocolate will work fine too) Instructions Line a rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper. Set aside In large mixing bowl, break up almond bark as best you can (or you can just toss the whole thing in). Place bowl in microwave for about one minute. Stir well. Microwave at 30-45 second intervals, stirring after each, until bark is melted and smooth. Stir in peanut butter until melted and well blended. Spread out onto waxed paper lined baking pan. Place chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave at 30-45 second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth and melted. Drop dollops of chocolate onto peanut butter mixture in pan. Swirl with a knife. Place baking sheet in refrigerator until hardened or allow to harden completely at room temp. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.