Reindeer Chow

Ingredients

14 oz. Chex Cereal
7 oz. Sweetened, Shredded Coconut
5 oz. Slivered Almonds
1 1/2 cups Sugar
3/4 cup Butter

1 1/4 Cups Corn Syrup

Directions

1. Mix together entire box of Chex cereal, coconut, and almonds. 
2. In a medium saucepan, over med/high heat, mix together sugar, butter, light corn syrup. 
3. Bring syrup mixture to a full boil, then turn down heat and cook for 3 minutes. STIR CONSTANTLY
4. Pour syrup over the cereal mixture and stir to coat.
5. Spread cereal evenly on wax paper and cool.
6. Once cooled, break into smaller pieces and store in an air-tight container.

Audrey's Caramels

Caramel

1 C. butter
2 1/4 C. Brown Sugar
1 C. Light corn syrup
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp Vanilla


1)  Grease 8x8 pan

2)  In a heavy 4 quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add brown sugar, corn syrup and milk. Stirring constantly heat to 242-248 F

3)  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, pour in greased pan.

4)  When caramel has cooled and set, cut in to squares & chill in refrigerator until firm.

Wrap in individual wax paper pieces, or continue on to dip in melted chocolate.


Chocolate
1 lb. Milk Chocolate
1 TBSP. Butter

Cheesy Potato Casserole

Ingredients—

•  10 Med. Potatoes
• 1/2 C. Butter
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 pint Sour Cream
• 1 C. Grated Cheese
• 1/3 C. Chopped Onion

Topping—

• 1 C. crushed cornflakes
• 2 TBSP Butter, melted

Directions—

Boil potatoes, unpeeled about 10 minutes

Cool potatoes, peel & grate

Heat in saucepan: butter, soup, sour cream

Then add cheese & onion — stir

Remove from heat and mix with grated potatoes

Spread in 9x13 casserole dish

Melt butter, mix with corn flakes

Top potatoes with cornflake topping

Bake 45 minutes @ 350 degrees

Cheese Ball

2 – 8 oz. cream cheese
1 small jar Kraft Old English
1 can drained broken shrimp (optional – I’ve never had it with this in it)
½ tsp onion salt
½ tsp garlic salt
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice
Beat together until smooth. Chill. Roll in a ball. Chill. Roll in chopped nuts.

Almond Torte

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1 cube butter/margarine, melted
Grease 8-9” pie tin. Mix all ingredients, mix as little as possible. Pour into the pan. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes (golden brown on the edges and cooked through). Cool about 30 minutes, loosen with a knife and flip out onto cooling rack.
*I double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13” pan.

English Toffee

1 cup butter
1 ¼ cups white sugar
2 Tbsp. water
¼ cup Pecans (or other desired nut)
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions: Butter a cookie sheet. In a heavy sauce pan, over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar and water. Bring to boil then add nuts. Cook, stirring constantly until nuts are toasted and the sugar is golden and pulling away from the edges of pot. (about soft-crack stage, 270-290 F degrees) Pour mixture into prepared pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Let cool completely then break into pieces. I put mine in the freezer to expedite the process.

Baklava

Ingredients you will need:

• 1 lb Walnuts - Finely Chopped (I use pecans)
• 1/2 C. Sugar
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1.5 C. Butter (3 sticks), Melted
• 1 Package Frozen Phyllo Dough (16 oz) Thawed • 1 C. Sugar
• 1 C. Water
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 C. Honey (Net weight 12 oz.)
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla


________________________________________
The steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Combine and set aside walnuts, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon
3. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the bottom and sides of a 10x14" (about 1-2" deep) pan with melted butter.
4. Open the phyllo dough and layer 6 whole leafs (or 12 half leafs) in the pan, buttering each layer as you go. (The edges will extend over the side.)
5. Spread 1 cup of the walnut mixture.
6. If your phyllo dough comes in full sheets, cut the remaining phyllo dough in half.
7. Layer 8 half sheets -- butter each layer. Each sheet will be an inch or so short, so stagger the sheets from corner to corner to cover the whole pan. I use a pattern so I don't forget how many layers I've put down, but it's even easier if you have a friend help!
8. Spread 1 cup of the walnut mixture.
9. Repeat 8 sheets and walnut mixture twice. You will end up with 4 layers of nuts.
10. Layer the remaining half sheets on top -- butter each layer.
11. Brush the top with the remaining butter.
12. Trim the edges off.
13. Cut halfway through the layers using the diagram to the right. (Note: Do NOT cut from corner to corner.) This is done now since it will be very fragile after it's been baked.


14. Bake 1 hour or until golden brown.
15. 15 minutes before the baklava should be done, mix 1 cup sugar, water, and lemon juice in a sauce pan.
16. Cook sauce over a medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
17. Remove from heat, add the honey and vanilla, and stir until well blended.
18. Remove the baklava from the oven and finish cutting through the layers.
19. Pour the sauce over the hot baklava.
20. Cool. Let it sit for at least 24 hours (lightly covered -- but not in the refrigerator)

Christmas Raspberry Crunch

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 c. crushed pretzels
3 TBSP. sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted

Filling:
1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar (I used powdered sugar....?)
1 12-oz container whipped topping
1 16-0z can crushed pineapple, drained

Jello top:
1 6-oz pkg raspberry gelatin
3 c. boiling water
1 10-oz pkg frozen raspberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Crush pretzels with rolling pin. mix with sugar and melted butter. Press into bottom of 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake 5 minutes. Cool.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Mix in whipped topping. Fold in drained pineapple. Spread mixture onto cooled pretzel crust.

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Mix in frozen raspberries. Place gelatin in refrigerator until very syrupy. Carefully pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set. Garnish with whipped cream.