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Baking With Santa
 (Family Features) - Up at the North Pole, Santa Claus and his elves are making lists
and checking them twice, making sure they have enough toys for
good girls and boys. Meanwhile, what's happening in your holiday
kitchen?
With school events, family gatherings and holiday festivities to
attend, as well as all those gifts from your kitchen to make, you
need help, just like Santa. So call in Santa's helpers. When you
gather your kids in the kitchen, you're doing more than just
preparing food — you're making memories.
Make holiday baking fun with kids. Put some Christmas music on,
set out all the ingredients, secure a chair or stepstool for the
smallest child and give everyone a chance to participate. Besides
having fun, kids can learn something, too. Whether adding
fractions of ingredients, following recipe instructions or
showcasing their creative talents when decorating, baking can
become a multi-sensory educational experience.
Start with an easy recipe like party mix that features red and
white Santa shapes and semi-sweet chocolate morsels, for a fun
and festive touch. Wrap up the party mix up in holiday-themed
cellophane bags, and tie with a ribbon to reward a favorite
teacher. Take festive cookies on a stick to school, or pass them
out to hungry carolers. Create a snowball cookie dough-rolling
assembly line with the kids — using all those fun Santa shapes
and semi-sweet chocolate morsels. These make a delicious and fun
addition to your holiday cookie repertoire. Then, bake up
brownies from scratch or from a mix with Santa shapes and semi-sweet
chocolate morsels stirred into the batter. Kids can frost
these brownies with snowy peaks of whipped topping, then sprinkle
on more shapes for decoration.
Take some photos while Santa's helpers are busy, and know that
years later you'll look back and remember the fun as much as the
food.
For more home-baked gifts and holiday recipes to make with your
kids, visit www.VeryBestBaking.com.
Holiday Cookies on a StickMakes about 12 large cookies 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1 3/4 cups (10-ounce package) Nestlé Toll House Holiday Shapes & Morsels, divided 12 wooden craft sticks 1 can (16 ounces) cream cheese frosting PREHEAT oven to 350°F. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in 3/4 cup Shapes & Morsels. Drop dough by level 1/3 cup measure 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Shape into mounds with floured fingers; press down slightly. Insert wooden stick into side of each mound. BAKE 14 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets on wire racks 3 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. SPREAD frosting on tops of cookies. Decorate with remaining Shapes & Morsels. 
Holiday Party MixMakes about 5 quarts 9 cups oven-toasted corn cereal squares 4 cups popped popcorn 1 1/2 cups dry-roasted peanuts 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine 1/2 cup light corn syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 3/4 cups (10-ounce package) Nestlé Toll House Holiday Shapes & Morsels 1 package (7.5 ounces) white fudge-covered pretzels PREHEAT oven to 250°F. Grease large roasting pan. MIX cereal, popped popcorn and peanuts in large bowl. Pour into prepared pan. COMBINE brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, without stirring, 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract and baking soda. Pour evenly over cereal mixture; stir to coat evenly. BAKE 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan, stirring frequently to break apart mixture. Stir in Shapes & Morsels and pretzels. Store in airtight container. 
Holiday Snowball CookiesMakes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened 3/4 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups (10-ounce package) Nestlé Toll House Holiday Shapes & Morsels 1/2cup finely chopped nuts Powdered sugar PREHEAT oven to 375°F. BEAT butter, sugar, vanilla extract and salt in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in flour; stir in Shapes & Morsels and nuts. Shape level tablespoons of dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets. BAKE 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browned. Remove from oven. Sift powdered sugar over hot cookies on baking sheets. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired. Store in airtight containers. 
Snow-Topped Holiday Brownie BarsMakes 2 dozen brownies 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup Nestlé Toll House Baking Cocoa 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar 2 tablespoons water 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups (10-ounce package) Nestlé Toll House Holiday Shapes & Morsels, divided 2 cups thawed, frozen whipped topping PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan. COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Microwave butter in large, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power 1 minute; stir until melted. Stir in sugar and water. Stir in eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Stir in 1 cup Shapes & Morsels. Spread into prepared baking pan. BAKE 18 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Spread with whipped topping. Sprinkle with remaining Shapes & Morsels. Refrigerate until serving time. Cut into bars. SOURCE: Nestlé® Toll House® Morsels
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