This week marks the second week in the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies that I’m hosting. Joined by 30+ other bloggers, we’ll be sharing our holiday treats with you to help you get organized for the holidays and fill your freezer with yummy treats to pull out during that busy time of year. If you’re telling yourself, there’s no way I can eat or serve all those cookies, then consider hosting a bake sale to help out a great organization in your area or one that I support, Cookies for Kids Cancer.

This week I’m not featuring a cookie but a holiday treat that I’ve been making for years: Gourmet Pecans. I like to make these in big batches then wrap them up and give them as gifts to teachers, neighbors friends or as hostess gifts. They’re always very popular and I guess I’ve been lucky that those on my gift giving list haven’t had nut allergies. They’re super simple and taste delicious!

Gourmet Pecans
Recipe from Stop and Smell the Rosemary

1 large egg white
3 Tbs. Kahlua, Amaretto, Grand Mariner, or other strongly flavored liqueur (I like Kahlua most often but sometimes use the Amaretto or an Irish Crème)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups pecan halves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Prepare a large jelly roll pan by lining it with tin foil.
Combine the sugar and salt in a bowl, set aside. Combine the egg white and the liqueur in a large bowl, stir well with a whisk. Add the pecans, and stir well. Add sugar to bowl, and stir well to coat.
Spread onto prepared jelly roll pan in a single layer.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until pecans are lightly toasted and browned, stirring every 10 minutes. It will look like the coating is coming off (it’s not). Stir from the outside in to keep pecans on the edges from burning, and watch closely since sugar burns easily.

Remove from oven, transfer IMMEDIATELY to wax paper to cool. Pecans keep for two weeks in an airtight container or in freezer up to three months.

Are you a blogger that would like to join our blog hop? Then join us every Thursday (or any Thursday you can make it!) from now until December 15th. And if you’re not a blogger or just not up for blogging about it, then join us anyway and fill your freezer. Each week we’ll be bringing you lots of new inspiring recipes. Put on your baking cap and collect all those recipes from your recipe box, magazine cuttings, cookbooks or online. Now is the time to make those cookies you’ve always wanted to. And feel free to make a bar or even a candy—any sort of sweet treat will do!

TO JOIN: Add your link using the linky tool below. Link-ups require approval so if you don’t see your link appear right away, that is why. When adding a link it MUST be a post dated 2011 and your post must mention the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies blog hop. No links from previous years to any old random Christmas cookie recipe just to get extra traffic to your blog, sorry! If you want to join the blog hop for future weeks and add the thumbnails to your blog for future weeks, please email me and I will send you the code and graphic to use. Thanks so much!

Be sure to visit all the other bloggers shown below to see what they’ve baked up today!

I very excited! Starting today, I will be hosting a blog hop with more than 30 other bloggers for the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies (& Sweets!). Started by April of Abby Sweets Blog and hosted by her for the last three years, I’m taking over this year because her time for blogging has changed and she’s not blogging as much these days. I remember coming across the blog hop last year when it was nearly over and made a note that I wanted to join in this year. Who knew I’d end up hosting it myself?

I know you’re probably freaking out right now saying, “What?! It’s only twelve weeks until Christmas? No way!” Plus, here in Texas we’re still having 90 degree weather! But it’s true! Actually Christmas is a little more like 13 weeks away but we’ll be ending the blog hop on December 15th so that hopefully everyone will have a freezer full of cookies to pull out for all those special holiday occasions and be able to enjoy the festivities without feverishly baking late into the night. And this year, Hanukkah starts on December 20th, just a few days before Christmas so whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, feel free to join us! And I have a confession. I know most of the time I blog about making healthy food choices for your family. But the deal is, I have a HUGE sweet tooth and look forward to the holiday season to get into the kitchen and bake away. It’s also a great way to get the whole family together to bake.

Why start baking now? It’s is not meant to creat panic, but rather calm! Being the meal planner that I am, making holiday treats ahead of time makes sense. Plan ahead and fill your freezer for holiday gatherings, hostess gifts, teacher treats, neighbor gifts or whatever! And like I mentioned yesterday, you can even bake up all these treats and organize a bake sale to benefit a great cause of your choice!

Now on to the first recipe from me!

Snowmen and reindeer cookies-a fun treat!

Snowman & Reindeer Oreo Cookies
My mom passed along this cookie idea when my children were very little. She had had them at a holiday meeting and thought they were way too cute! And they are! They are perfect for little hands because there is no oven involved. As you may guess, my kids helped with these. These were all really easy and quick to make so you can easily add them to your holiday offerings even at the last minute. Enjoy!

Here are the instructions on how to make the Oreo cookie treats.

Step 1: Gather your ingredients
one package each white chocolate and mint chocolate covered Oreos
mini-M and Ms
regular M and Ms (not pictured–I forgot)
pretzel twists
cookie decorating icing (or any icing of your choosing in a pastry bag, etc. so you can squeeze it out in small bits)
mini-chocolate chips (also not pictured–oops!)
chocolate icing for mouth–you can use any kind just be sure it is NOT the decorator gel because that will not dry

Step 2: Squeeze a tiny bit of white icing onto the cooking where the eyes and nose are to go.

Mini chocolate chips for the eyes

Step 3: Add mini chocolate chips for eyes and orange mini M and M for “carrot” nose

Add some icing to attach the nose.

Step 4: Add a little bigger bit of icing to sides of cookies for “earmuffs”. Add regular sized colored M and Ms to make earmuffs

Add the ears--any color!

Step 5: Add chocolate icing for mouth and your done!

Ta-day--finished snowman cookie!

Reindeer cookies are basically the same but you will use the icing to “glue” on the broken pretzels to make the antlers and use a red M and M for the nose instead.

Add pretzels for antlers.

Add the faces.

Add the noses.

Finished reindeer cookies--cute!

JOIN IN THE BAKING!
If you’re a blogger, there’s still room to join. And if you’re not a blogger or just not up for blogging about it, then join us anyway and fill your freezer. Every Thursday from now until December 15th, we’ll be bringing you lots of new inspiring recipes. Put on your baking cap and collect all those recipes from your recipe box, magazine cuttings, cookbooks or online. Now is the time to make those cookies you’ve always wanted to. And feel free to make a bar or even a candy—any sort of sweet treat will do! If you’re interested, just leave a comment here, add your blog to the linky.
EDITED on 10/4/11 TO ADD: Link-ups require approval so if you don’t see your link appear right away, that is why. When adding a link it MUST be a post dated 2011 and your post must mention the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies blog hop. No links from previous years to any old random Christmas cookie recipe just to get extra traffic to your blog, sorry! If you want to join the blog hop for future weeks and add the thumbnails to your blog for future weeks, please email me and I will send you the code to use. Thanks so much!

Be sure to visit all the other bloggers shown below to see what they’ve baked up today!