nutcracker sweets

this weekend was loaded with sweetness. early saturday morning, out came the butter, the chocolate chips, the sugar, seasonal sprinkles and a plan for winter wonders to waltz into my li'l kitchen. this candyland christmas turned out to be finger licking, fabulous fun.

my sisters and i usually get together at this happy time of year to do what we (hope) to do best, bake goodies. heidi is a natural pro and she taught me how to make delicious soft caramels. they were surprisingly simple. i even made them without the use of a fancy schmancy candy thermometer! they are wrapped in a nonchalant wax paper wrap. these twists could have come from the pioneer days, which i think is the reason my historical hubby loves them so much. that and their melt-in-your-mouth qualities. (with only a few ingredients, perhaps they really were making these on the plains out west!)

the candy makin' craze kept up until late sunday afternoon. i've been thrilled since landing upon a crate of pretzel rods and snatched them up in a second. dippin' these dudes filled me with glee. painting with chocolate of all flavors was pretty darn fun. dan was my right hand man and made these look amazing. we did a few flavors:
Suzy Snowflake (white chocolate covered with coconut)
Plain and Simply Scrumptious (Dark chocolate with white chocolate swirlies)
Sprinklin' Cheer (pictured below)

not every stick turned out perfect, but this was a perfect project for wannabe professionals. though the cleanup is a tad tedious (especially without a dishwasher.. yes i am going through serious withdrawals), the event all in all completes any candyland christmas. these dudes are dressed to kill: lookin' so festive all wrapped up & out on the town.
talk about instant gratification.