I have a couple of ideas that work really well on your Christmas goodies table....

Make Rice Krispie (Kringle) treats the usual way, except that you will add a bag of red and green M&M's while mixing the treats, they look festive and taste even better than without the M&M's....

Homemade kettle corn thats fast, easy and oh so good.
8 cups of popped popcorn,
2 Tbs. vegetable oil,
1/2 cup light brown sugar,

Combine oil, sugar and 2 Tbs. water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium, simmer three minutes. Toss popcorn with sugar mixture in a large bowl. Cool five minutes, then serve. Or store in an air tight container.

Sounds yummy Chatty, I will have to try them!

This year I made (for the 1st time), biscotti! Yep, I'm Italian and have never tried to make them before! My mom, grandmother, aunts, cousins, no one...has ever attempted them. Well, a non-Italian gal from work made them and brought in her recipe with some samples. They were delicious. I tried...but failed miserably! My conclusion...you don't have to be Italian to cook Italian!! (Actually, they taste really good but look awful!) Anyone here ever try them?

Oh, Pam ,
My daughter made them one year when she was in high school the biscotti's and they were so good with tea or coffee . I love then , but that is one thing I will not make . Not much has turned out well for me cooking this Christmas , I know why , can't get into it . Maybe next year .

Try Sams Club...I buy my Biscotti in a huge plastic barrel and they are as good as any I have tasted. They are plain, chocolate dipped and also chocolate thru and thru. You can't eat just one!!!

I bake a lot of cookies (and most of them turn out great, yes I'm bragging here!) but have only tried making biscotti a couple of times. It came out ok, but I kinda think it's like pie crust (which I'm not great at either) in that it takes practice to get it just right. I agree with Chatty, the biscotti at Sam's Club is yummy....only problem is it comes in too large of a package and I don't want all that temptation hanging around!!
I made peanut brittle for the first time this year and can't believe how simple it was to do and how well it turned out. It absolutely melts in your mouth and everybody I gave it to raved about it and wanted the recipe.
I love the rice crispy treats with the M & M's!!

crossstitch, I also bake cookies. What kinds have you made?
I've done chocolate with peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, and snicker doodles. I still need to make oatmeal raisins and ginger pennies. This is aobut the only time of year I bake cookies these days. When the kids were little, I baked them all the time. I also make a butter cookie that I use the cookie cutters with, but I don't know that I'm going to get to them this year.

Chatty, my sister has made the rice krispie treats with M&Ms. They are so good. She has also made them plain and used the red and green sprinkles to make them look more festive.

I haven't made any cookies especially for the holidays, but recently tried a recipe for shortbread cookies (they were so-so) and also made some peanut cookies with chopped peanuts and chocolate chips.....they were yum.
I make cookies often to send with my husband to his fishing tournaments (the guys call me the cookie lady.....I've been called much worse I guess!) The most requested are oatmeal/raisin, gingersnaps, molasses sugar cookies, coconut cookies, and chocolate mint cookies (a chocolate cookie with mint extract and rolled in crushed peppermint candy).

Easy appetizer recipe:

Split open english muffins and toast in toaster. Meanwhile, mix together 'seafood salad' that you can buy at the grocery store (it's a mix of fake crabmeant, celery, onion and mayo) with shredded sharp cheddar cheese (use ALMOST as much cheese as seafood salad). After the muffins are toasted, put them on a baking sheet, top them with the seafood mixture and pop in a 350 oven just long enough to melt the cheese. After they're done, cut into quarters. A regular six-muffin package will yield 48 appetizers.

Never tried making them, but a woman I work with does. She just brought me some that were delicious. I asked her how she makes them and she told me she bakes them in a loaf, takes them out before they are cooked all the way through, cuts them and puts them back in for 10 minutes to brown the sides. I couldn't figure out how she got the shapes. I bought the stuff to make some cookies my m-i-l used to make that my kids like, but I haven't gotten to it yet. I don't know what they are really. She called them I's and S's, because she shaped them that way. She would make other letters for the kids with their initials. I could bake them now, but I have to be at the hairdresser at noon. I don't feel like making that mess in the kitchen. I always have good intentions, just not enough time. Tonight I have to make sauce and meatballs. I should stick to meatballs anyway. Cookies just aren't my thing to make. I have to make tomorrow for Christmas Eve at my brother's. Well, at least Idon't cook much the rest of the year.