Bing Candy
People in Pukwana, South Dakota, come to bake sales just to buy Gwen Swanson's signature chocolate-cherry treat. Cherry-flavor chips create a red center between the chocolate layers. You can substitute peanut butter-flavor pieces if you prefer a peanut butter-chocolate combo.
Fanciful Peppermint Fudge
Mint flavor infuses this creamy, easy holiday fudge. If you like, use two cups mint-flavor semi-sweet chocolate pieces instead of the chocolate pieces and extract.
Christmas Mice
Kids or grandkids can help create these adorable, easy-to-make treats.
Almond Toffee
Milk chocolate and toasted almonds coat a crunchy toffee base. Be sure to use real butter in toffee; with margarine, the fat separates out onto the candy's surface.
Chocolate Truffles
Even novice cooks can master this simplified candy recipe. Just melt chocolate, add whipping cream and follow our easy instructions for Chocolate, Mint-Chocolate or Orange-Chocolate Truffles.
Heavenly Hash
Mix just three ingredients -- milk chocolate, marshmallows and pecan halves -- for this super-easy candy, from a St. Louis candy shop.
Maple Nutty Candy
These bar cookies combine four winning flavors: peanut butter, maple, butterscotch and chocolate. The easy recipe, from a Wabash, Indiana, reader, makes about 6 pounds of candy. We suggest freezing the bars and thawing them out as needed.
Candy-Box Caramels
Dress up packaged caramel squares by dipping them in sprinkles, crushed nuts, and bits of candy. Drizzle with dark or white chocolate to add even more color.
Creamy Peanut Butter Truffles
Minnesota's Saint Paul Hotel features these truffles at its annual Chocolate Lovers' Tea. We simplified the recipe by substituting candy coating for the chocolate used at the hotel.
Latte Fudge
A shot of espresso adds flavor and color to this holiday sweet. The recipe makes about five dozen pieces, so you'll have plenty to give as gifts.
Caramel Heavenlies
Graham crackers form the base for this bar cookie with layers of marshmallows, brown sugar, almonds and coconut. "I've made these cookies each Christmas since 1984," says Georgine Simmonds of Genesee, Michigan. "They're one of my family's favorites."
Mixed-Nut Brittle
This fresh twist on peanut brittle takes just 15 minutes to make using your microwave. Be sure to use a heavy-duty glass measure that's free from cracks or chips to withstand high temperatures.
Caramels
Soft and buttery flavored, these classic caramels make a rich and delicious homemade treat. Roll in wax paper or, for the holidays, use colored plastic wrap.
Elves' Best Brownies
Guests at the Angel Inn in Green Lake, Wisconsin, enjoy these fudgy brownies on cookie trays.
Terrific Toffee
Make classic buttery toffee even tastier by combining two kinds of chocolate, toasted almonds and malted milk powder. Look for the malted milk powder near hot chocolate mixes or chocolate syrup in your grocery store.
Easy Candy-Bar Treats
A mix of popular ingredients -- chocolate, caramel, and peanuts -- makes this easy and delicious microwave candy.
Hallelujah Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars
A cocoa-graham crust forms the base for these candylike bars, from the Eagle Ridge Inn and Resort near Galena, Illinois.
Cream Cheese-Rum Fudge
Cream cheese flavors these chocolatey squares, a favorite recipe from a Dubuque, Iowa, reader. If you'd prefer a different flavor, try substituting almond, peppermint or orange extract for the rum flavoring.
Hard Candy
Flavor these confections with peppermint, wintergreen, orange, lemon, cinnamon or spearmint, and color them a festive red and green for the holidays.
Candy treats
The recipes for chewy, chocolate-coated Coconut-Caramel Treats and decadent Almond Truffle Temptations come from the Golden Turtle Chocolate Factory in Lebanon, Ohio. Small boxes of candies make good stocking stuffers, as well as elegant gifts from the kitchen.
Gooey Pecan Pie Bars
Pecan pie in a bar? Say no more. The recipe for these rich, buttery, thick cookies comes from Liberty Gathering Place restaurant in West Liberty, Ohio.
Lemon Drop Bark
Melt the candy coating, add the candy, and you're done. It's that simple. The crushed lemon drops give this sweet treat some pucker.
Nut candies
Pair Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Clusters with quick and easy Salted Peanut Squares for the nut lovers on your holiday list.
Holiday party treats
Our three-tier display shows off treats for a cookie swap or any holiday gathering. Tri-color Candy Cane Cookies, frosted Sugar Cookies Like You Remember and fudgy Nutcracker Brownies surround small cups of bright-red, green and white candies.
Krumkake
Enjoy these paper-thin Scandinavian treats plain, or fill with sweetened whipped cream and serve immediately. You'll find krumkake bakers and rangetop irons in specialty food shops or online.
White-Chocolate Candy and Prancher's Penuche
White-Chocolate Candy combines red and green marshmallows, cereal and nuts for a quick-fix holiday treat. Prancer's Penuche takes longer, but family or friends can help you stir this luscious brown-sugar candy.
Date-Orange Bars
The recipe for these moist, nutty bars has been in the Cole family of Wadsworth, Ohio, for more than 50 years. They bake them each holiday season. We added an orange icing to play up the citrusy flavor.
Festive Candied Popcorn
A pastel sugar coating sweetens Festive Candied Popcorn in a recipe from Eugene T. Mahoney State Park near Ashland, Nebraska. Another specialty of the Nebraska park: Best-of-the-Season Gingerbread Cookies, with crisp edges, soft centers and a hint of molasses and ginger. Santa's Delight Peppermint Bark is a super-easy candy from the kitchens at Abe Martin Lodge in Indiana's Brown County State Park near Nashville.
Continue with more great holiday recipes
I made the Christmas mice this Chistmas(2010). I found that the chocolate wouldn't stick to the cherries by just dipping them into the chocolate even though the cherries had been dried beforehand. So I let the chocolate harden a bit and molded it around the cherries. This worked very well and the mice were so cute! And they taste good too!
12/27/2010 09:15:48 AM Report AbuseI tried the bing candy but the cherry middle didn't become firm enough to spread the last layer. I followed the directions, but obviously it didn't cook long enough.
12/13/2010 07:27:59 PM Report AbuseI made these for Thanksgiving, it was so easy and the adults loved them just as much as the kids! Now everyone is asking how to make them. so cute!!
12/5/2010 10:15:17 AM Report Abuse