Christmas Baking Highlights

This post is all about some of my favourite holiday baking treats over the 10+ years of TrustInKim, so bakers have it all in one place. There are more recipes to come this year too!

Gingerbread People with red candy hearts.

Rum Balls! Another of my mom’s amazing recipes.

My mom’s fudge recipe, super easy, loved by all.

Sour Cream Cutout Cookies, perfect for decorating.

Jam-filled Cookies, which we called “ammonia cookies.”

This Chocolate Rum cake is not for the faint of heart.

Stollen with brandy-soaked dried fruit, almonds and marzipan.

Coconut Mango Cookies

And a few Savouries:

Bubbat Mennonite raisin and Farmer Sausage bread

The Best Rum Balls in the World!

This is probably my favourite sweet treat in the whole world!  My mom usually makes them at Christmas, but not  this year . . . so it’s up to me to save the day!

The original recipe is actually twice as big, but this makes a big bowlful, and several dozen rum balls.

What you need:

4 cups crushed vanilla wafers (Mr. Christie’s Nilla wafers work well, about 1 & 1/2 boxes)

1 & 1/2 cups icing sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

1/3 cup cocoa

3/4 cup white rum

1 cup pecans, finely chopped

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

1/4 cup almond paste (grind your own almonds if you don’t have this)

1/2 cup sour cream

pinch salt

What you do:

1.  Combine the wafer crumbs, icing sugar, butter, cocoa, rum and pecans in a large bowl.

2.  In another bowl, combine melted chocolate, almond paste, sour cream and salt.

3.  Add the melted chocolate mixture to the ingredients in the large bowl and mix well.  You may want to knead it with your hands so everything gets mixed together completely.

4.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it is firm enough to form the balls.  I usually leave it over night, but it doesn’t need that long.

5.  After you have formed the balls you may want to roll them in chocolate shot or cocoa – I never do this, though.  They are so good on their own.

These rum balls need to be stored in the fridge!  They also freeze well.