I Need Help! FAST!! Cheap Christmas Dessert Ideas (ingredients, cakes, brown sugar)

[aussiegal]

I need some very reasonably priced Christmas dessert recipes for Open Houses that I am holding this week and next. I want to serve something nice, but I don't want it to cost the earth either. I am open to any and all ideas. And I need it really quickly. One Open House is tomorrow!!! I really don't want to go and buy Christmas cookies but I don't have a lot of time either. So cheap and fast is the key. And homemade food always tastes so much better.

Thanks in advance.

[stacylee926]

Brownies are a good one. Maybe frost them and sprinkle with crushed peppermints. One pan goes a long way. You can even make 2, and freeze one (unfrosted) for next week.

Long pretzels dipped in chocolate (white or brown) then rolled in sprinkles are easy and add height to the table - easy to nibble too.

Peanut butter cookies put in mini muffin pans, then topped with a whole mini reese cup and super easy too!!!!

I really need to keep my recipe box at work these days...

[aussiegal]

Originally Posted by stacylee926

Brownies are a good one. Maybe frost them and sprinkle with crushed peppermints. One pan goes a long way. You can even make 2, and freeze one (unfrosted) for next week.

Long pretzels dipped in chocolate (white or brown) then rolled in sprinkles are easy and add height to the table - easy to nibble too.

Peanut butter cookies put in mini muffin pans, then topped with a whole mini reese cup and super easy too!!!!

I really need to keep my recipe box at work these days...

Thanks so much!! I love your ideas. Do you put balls of peanut butter cookie dough in the pan and then put the mini reese cup on top when they're baked. Sorry, but I'm not much of a baker.

[stacylee926]

Yes, just roll peanut butter cookie dough into balls, then push in one of the mini reese's. Makes a good amount and they are filling - my 16 DS LOVES them.

When I have a party, I ALWAYS make too much food. So this is one time you just want a small, nice assortment of nibbles with some festive decorations on the table.

[stacylee926]

Glad I did - it says to put the Reese in AFTER you bake them. Wow, I totally forgot that and I have made these dozens of time....

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies


REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES
1/2 c. butter or margarine (room temp.)
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 bag mini Reese's peanut butter cups
Cream butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Add flour and baking soda. Roll into small balls and place in ungreased mini muffin pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes (look for cracks on top). Immediately press Reese's PB cups into the center of each cookie. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan. Remove carefully (do NOT flip pan over...chocolate will still be melty) and let cool completely on a wire rack. Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen.

[confusedTee]

kraftfood.com is a great site for quick easy dishes..i made their double layer pumpkin pie cheesecake.........QUICK and I mean QUICK and yummy......................i visit this site often for spur of the moment ideas.......

enjoy your open house............happy holidays.

[kareybear]

Make rice Kripies treats is very easy and sprinkle red and green sugars on top of the rice krispies. It is so easy that you can do it in the microwave.

[Cecilia_Rose]

Originally Posted by Cecilia_Rose

Somebody asked for easy bake sale stuff. Heres a couple of quickies. I used to have quite the rep for makin phat stuff when I worked in the office. Just remember presentation is everything. For example at Christmas I bake my cakes in an angel food pan so they will look like wreaths. Sometimes I dude them up with marachino cherries and pecans and other stuff.


Fruit Cocktail Cake

1 can fruit cocktail undrained
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix with a spoon and pour in greased pan. You can mix them in but I sprinkle the nuts on top so they will toast. Also it looks better. Bake at 350 for 45 min to 1 hr depending on pan.


3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
4 oz cream cheese optional

Boil and pour over hot cake. Poke with a knife so it soaks in. Cake tastes better if it sits overnite or longer.






Granny Cake

2 cups flour
1/1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
---------------
2 eggs
20 oz can cushed pineapple heavy syrup undraind
----------------

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2up chopped nuts


Mix dry stuff together. Add eggs and pinepple and mix well. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan.
Sprinkle top of batter with brown sugar and chopped nuts. Bake at 350 for 40 min. Pour topping over hot cake immediately. This is another cake that tastes better after it sits overnite.


Topping

1 can eagle brand milk
1 stick butter

Put in bowl. Nuke in microwave until melted and just starts to boll

These two are fairly easy and not too expensive.

Just remember image is everything. Nows the time to get out the fancy serving pieces. The tiered cake plates. Use those fancy paper doilies. You need visual impact so use lots of color like big bowls of apples or chrstmas bulbs. Try to have your food at different levels etc.

Take a tip from retailers use lots of "packaging". Merchandise your goodies. Treat every tidbit like its made of gold. Instead of putting out a plate of cookies or slices of cake etc put each individal serving in a holiday paper muffin liner or on a small plate. In other words make what you got look like its twice as big.

Also keep your extras like marachino cherries and nuts on top dont mix them in. Youll get more visual milage for your money..

Heres one of my secret emergency recipies.
One tub of cool whip mix with lemon pie filling or cherry pie filling or blackberry pie filing. Put in a small stemmed glass and top with a dab of cool whip and a garnish. Ive also used those little plastic punch cups.

[aussiegal]

Thank you! Thank you! Absolutely love all your suggestions. The first Open House is past but I'm going to start a file and I'm also going to share these great recipes with other agents in the office. We're always looking for great ideas that don't cost an arm and a leg to make. We're frugal in this market and want to make a great impression without the great cost. (Of course, some will always buy their goodies, but not all of us.) Keep them coming! If there are enough I might end up getting a cookbook together for the office.

[bingo08]

NO BAKE, 2 INDGREDIENTS, CROWDPLEASERS, 3 RECIPES!


1: Choc covered strawberries, 2 ingredients:

Dip strawberries in melted choc chips and put on wax paper on platter or cookie sheet, put in fridge til chocolate hardens.

2: Choc dipped butter cookies, 2 ingredients:

Dip 1/2 of the butter cookie in melted choc chips and place on wax paper on a plate and in the fridge til choc hardens, also you could sprinke them with confectionary sugar or x-mas sprinkles.

3: Cool whip dip, 2 ingredients:

Big tub of cool whip and add a nip of choc mint liquer( it comes in green color), mix gently, put in fancy bowl and stick those long skinny cookies into the cool whip dip, they look like the slender cigars, I forget the name of them, but they are in the cookie aisle. Everyone also likes these. Simple and easy. The cookes are tubular, some have choc filling, they are about 3 inches long. They are the shape of a large straw.

Good luck!