Lets exchange recipes for favorite holiday candies and gifts

The cookies exchange thread is really great and I didn't want to mess it up with candy and other things, but I would love a place to share all our other favorite holiday recipes. Things like favorite candies and special desserts. Your favorite gift giving items like liqueurs, syrups, Christmas jam and jellies, snack mixes, etc. and the ways you package things to give away. It wouldn't all have to be recipes either. You could share favorite traditions that your family participates in each year, and special little things you do to decorate your home each year. This would include Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!! I for one, love to hear what everyone else does and it's so much fun adding new recipes and ideas to the coming holiday season.
What do you all think???????? Here is one of our favorite candies to share with friends during the holidays.

ORANGE CAPPUCCINO CREAMS

Filling:
1-1/2 lbs. white chocolate chopped
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 Tbs. finely shredded orange zest
1 Tbs. orange liqueur
1 tsp. orange extract
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted
About 72 small foil candy cups about 1-1/4 to1-1/2 inches across top( you can spread out the samller ones if necessary)

In a large saucepan combine white chocolate and remaining ingred. except walnuts. Stir over low heat till chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and stir in nuts. Pipe into candy cups about 2/3 full. Chill in frig. for 20 minutes.

Topping:
1/4 cup whipping cream
4 tsp. expresso powder or instant coffee granules
8 oz. semisweet chocolate
White chocolate curls or other decorative toppings

Combine cream and espresso powder in small saucepan over low heat until coffee is dissolved. Add semisweet chocolate and stir until smooth. Pipe 1/2 - 1 tsp. on top of each of the chilled candy cups. Store in the refrigerator.
Makes 72. You can easily cut this in half. They are very easy but quite elegant to serve at dinner.

These are my favorite recipes for mini or small bundt cakes that we give to friends and neighbors during the holidays. I either use the mini bundt pan that yields 6 miniature bundt cakes or the smaller 6 cup bundt pan that also gives me 6 nice cupcakes besides the cake. They are terrific to work with and are very dense and rich tasting. This is a new one for fall and it really turned out good.

RICH PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE

1 package of DH Spice Cake Mix
1 small box instant butterscotch pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup pumpkin pie spice liquid coffee creamer
1/4 cup oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp. each ground cloves, nutmeg and ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
32 pumpkin spice hersheys kisses, chopped
1/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans


Combine all in mixer except for nuts and kisses and beat at medium speed for 3 minutes. Fold in nuts and kisses. Fill greased and floured bundt pans and paper lined cupcake pans and bake at 325 degrees until done. The 6 cup bundt pan took exactly 45 minutes and the cupcakes took 20 minutes. Cool in pan for 20 minutes before inverting. Brush your favorite clear ligueur or flavored syrup over the cake tops. Drizzle simple powdered sugar frosting over the tops. I use a little bit of shortening mixed with the powdered sugar and thin it with the same coffee creamer I use in the cake mix.

I have small white cardboard cake rounds and I put the mini cakes in cello bags with a bow.



This next recipe has been my all time favorite for years and years. It has so many possiblities but my favorite if the original Rum Cake and the chocolate version. Everyone who gets this just raves about them.

PECAN RUM CAKE

1 cup toasted chopped pecans
1 box DH butter or yellow cake mix
1 small box vanilla or French vanilla instant pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold water (1/2 of this can be a liquid coffee creamer)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum

Grease and flour bundt pans. Sprinkle some of the nuts in the bottom of the pan. Combine all the remaining ingred. in mixer and mix at medium speed for 3 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool in pan for 20 minutes and then invert. Brush with your favorite syrup, but for the holidays I use the following for this cake.
Syrup:
Gently boil 1/4 cup butter, 1/8 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup dark rum. Boil for about 3 minutes. Keeps in the frig. forever and does several cakes.

CHOCOLATE VERSION

Instead of flour to prepare your pans, use cocoa. Use chocolate cake and pudding mix. Use only 1/2 cup nuts and mix them into the batter with 1/2 - 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips. You can use whatever you want for the liquor such as Amaretto, Rum, Kahlua, etc. etc.
Follow directions as above and decorate however you wish. I always drizzle with a rich chocolate and add almonds, or chocolate leaves, or chocolate roses, etc.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!!

Thanks, Fiddle. I hope a lot of people will get on here and share not only their favorite recipes for things other than cookies, but their family traditions, funny stories and lot more. Who needs Martha Stewart when we have so many talented people on CC. Hopefully we will all have some new things to try out this holiday season.

Banba--the date candy was my Dad's favorite thing at Christmas and I think of him whenever I hear someone mention those. He liked them with just the powdered sugar, but I dip mine in chocolate also.