Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Our Favorite Simple Christmastime Snacks and Sweets Recipes

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While I like making special foods for Christmas, I still like to keep my preparations simple (of course) so I can enjoy my family and friends instead of standing at the sink washing dishes. Today I’m sharing 13 of our family’s favorite simple Christmastime snacks and sweets recipes!

Favorite Simple Christmastime Snacks and Sweets Recipes

These are the recipes that are great to whip up quickly to share at a holiday gathering. I especially like having quick recipes like this so we can set out a snacky buffet for a family game night or movie night. They are easy to have already made up to pull out for an impromptu get-together. And they are all made with real food, so while they are treats, they are also still on the “better for you” side!

Favorite Snacks

Easy Veggie Dip 1

Favorite Sweets

Does sugar count during Christmas? Asking for a friend. Actually, some of these are naturally low in sugar so I don’t feel bad about serving or indulging at all!

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

Caramel Popcorn With No Corn Syrup!

Enjoy these fun snacks and sweets recipes! Enjoy time with your family, making the most of your holiday season. Settle in, relax, make memories!

 

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Low Sugar Chocolate Cookie Cutouts

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Look at these fun and festive Low Sugar Chocolate Cookie Cutouts! What a fun way to make a Christmas treat you can feel good about eating!

These cookies are delightfully good with a cup of coffee or tea. And if you want the non-chocolate version (what is wrong with you, ha?!), you’ll find that here. It’s fun to make a batch of both so you can display them in a pretty way on a tray!

Low Sugar Chocolate Cookie Cutouts

Low Sugar Chocolate Cookie Cutouts
 
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Serves: 20-30
Ingredients
  • 1 cup melted butter
  • ½ cup sucanat or raw sugar
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3½ cups of whole wheat flour (give or take)
Instructions
  1. Stir together melted butter, sugar, and cocoa.
  2. Add eggs, vanilla, and baking powder.
  3. Stir in flour until a solid ball of dough forms.
  4. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour.
  5. Roll chilled dough on a well-floured surface and thin or thick as you like.
  6. Cut with cookie cutters and place them about a half inch apart on a baking sheet.
  7. Bake in a 350° oven for about 12 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.
  8. Makes 20-30 cookies depending on the thickness and size.

Want to frost your Low Sugar Chocolate Cookie Cutouts? Here are some fun (and low sugar) options:

Stevia Sweetened Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Liquid stevia to taste (I use 2 droppers full)

Whip ingredients together until smooth. Frost cookies just before serving.

Low Sugar Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter
4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons milk
2-4 Tablespoons honey (sweeten this to your taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan combine butter, cocoa, milk, and honey. Cook and stir over low heat until ingredients are well combined and mixture begins to thicken slightly. Removed from heat. Stir in vanilla. Spread over cooled cookies.

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Easy, Healthy Peppermint Patties (Plus win 5-Pounds of Chocolate!!)

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There is so much holiday goodness in this post!! These Homemade Healthy Peppermint Patties are making Christmas magical at my house. The fact that not one but three of you can win 5-pounds of incredible, high quality chocolate makes me even happier!

What’s fabulous about these Peppermint Patties is that they act like a treat, but your body will appreciate them as nourishment. Ah, such a win-win. The peppermint truly fills your mouth with Christmas. Oh, and the chocolate. Well, the combination is basic perfection.

Let’s pause a moment to talk about the chocolate in this recipe. You can use any unsweetened cocoa powder you like. But the higher the quality, the better these will taste.

Olive Nation is one of my favorite online resources. I’ve bought my vanilla beans there for years! They recently sent me a huge box of a variety of cocoa powders to work with, and now I am spoiled rotten. Just when I thought chocolate couldn’t get any better, it got even better. These cocoa powders are super fine, super rich, and super flavorful. Not all chocolate is created equal. These cocoa powders rise above the rest. The stuff in a can at the store DOES NOT compare. Just look through all the varieties they offer!

Their prices are super reasonable for the quality. (Plus when you use the code home they give HeavenlyHomemakers readers a 20% discount, so that seals the deal!) Go grab your cocoa, and sign up to win some below too!

And now for the recipe. Stay tuned for the giveaway…

Healthy Peppermint Patties

4.5 from 6 reviews
Easy, Healthy Peppermint Patties (Plus win 5-Pounds of Chocolate!!)
 
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Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1 cup coconut oil, divided
  • 20 drops liquid stevia
  • ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 2 heaping Tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 3 teaspoons honey (give or take)
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan, melt ½ cup coconut oil.
  2. Remove from heat and add stevia and peppermint extract.
  3. Pour mixture into 12 muffin cups.
  4. Place in the freezer for about 20 minutes or until this peppermint layer has hardened.
  5. Meanwhile, melt remaining ½ cup coconut oil in the saucepan with cocoa powder, butter, and honey.
  6. Allow the mixture to cool while waiting for the peppermint layer to freeze.
  7. Pour the chocolate mixture over the peppermint layer and freeze for 20 or more minutes until the patties have hardened.
  8. Store Peppermint Patties in the refrigerator.

Don’t let the word “healthy” in this title scare you into thinking that these won’t taste like a treat. And don’t let the stevia in this recipe scare you away either. In my experience, the honey in the chocolate layer overrides anything bitter from the stevia.

Ready to win some chocolate?!

Olive Nation is giving THREE of you this amazing cocoa package:

  • 1 Pound Amber Natural 22/24 Fat Cocoa Powder
  • 1 Pound Aristocrat Dutch  22/24 Fat Cocoa Powder
  • 1 Pound Natural Cocoa Powder by Blommer
  • 1 Pound Bommer Jet Black Cocoa Powder
  • 1 Pound Olive Nation Cocoa Powder
Your chocolate recipe options will be endless! And guess what?! While just three of you will win the above prize package, everyone who signs up will get this free eBook to enjoy with your family! So sign up below, go grab your cocoa from Olive Nation, and get your chocolate on!
Sign up to win the Cocoa Package from Olive Nation! We’ll draw a random winner and email you on Friday, December 7.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Peanut Butter Cup Whipped Cream

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Peanut Butter Cup Whipped Cream? Please pass me a spoon. Maybe two spoons: one for each hand.

If you have a high power blender like a Blendtec, you can make this jewel of a treat in about 30 seconds. Otherwise, you can use a hand mixer to blend ingredients and whip the mixture in about 5 minutes. Either way, your life just got better in a very short amount of time!

The possibilities of ways to serve this Peanut Butter Cup Whipped Cream are practically endless. If all else fails, you must truly eat this all by itself, in a bowl, with a spoon. No need to defend this choice. You simply can’t help yourself.

Other more elaborate Peanut Butter Cup Whipped Cream options include serving it alongside or atop:

And truly, the list goes on and on. I’d love to hear your ideas too!

Peanut Butter Cup Whipped Cream

Peanut Butter Cup Whipped Cream
 
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Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar or 20 drops liquid stevia
Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients together in a high power blender until thick and smooth.
  2. Or blend ingredients together in a bowl with a hand mixer until thick and smooth.

 

I like making homemade peanut butter to use in recipes like this:

This Peanut Butter Cup Whipped Cream will make a lovely holiday dessert or add on to your table of treats. Or if you’re like me, you might find yourself making some and eating it in the middle of August or March because there is no reason to hold back. :)

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30 of Our Family’s Favorite Holiday Recipes (with a throw-back picture from 2007!)

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I’ve shared nine years worth of holiday recipes here at Heavenly Homemakers. Nine! 

You guys. Our boys looked like this back in 2007 when my site first became a thing:

boysbytree2sm2

Now they look like this. As you can tell, we got a taller tree. (I’m sure that’s the first thing you noticed.)

family-christmas700

Isn’t that a nice picture? Yes. Of course, this one is more normal:

family-christmas-silly700

I can’t get over how quickly my boys turned into men. I was there, and now I’m here, and I’m not sure how it happened. With love, prayer, tears, and lots of green beans, no doubt.

Today I decided to share 30 of the recipes that I’ve posted through these many Christmas seasons. You can bet the recipes that used more sugar were from my earlier blogging years! Slowly but surely, we’ve cut back on sugar content in our treat recipes. Somehow, the boys have still grown and lived to tell about it.

If you come across any of these older recipes and you think, “Hmm. I wonder if I can cut the sugar down in any of these?” the answer is most likely yes! The treats will still be delicious and your family’s Christmas will still be merry.

30 of Our Family’s Favorite Holiday RecipesYum

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans

Peppernuts

peppernuts_9

Low Sugar Frosted Sugar Cookies

Low Sugar Frosted Sugar Cookies

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

chocolate mint mousse 3

Hot Cocoa

Homemade Hot Cocoa

Peppermint Cream Cocoa

Peppermint Cream Cocoa

White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn

White Chocolate Popcorn

Cranberry Orange Scones

Orange Cranberry Scones

Caramel Popcorn

Caramel Popcorn With No Corn Syrup!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls

chocolate_peanut_butter_balls_2

100% Juice Sparkling Punch

Christmas Brunch Punch {with 100 juice!}

Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffle

christmas_truffles

Christmas Spice Cookies

christmasspicecookiessm

Chocolate Snowballs

snowballcookies3sm

Reindeer Cuties

reindeercookies5sm

Snickerdoodles

snickerdoodlessm

Coconut Macaroons

coconutmacaroonssm

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies

pbchocstartreats

Peppermint Patties

Homemade Healthier Eggnog

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Men

Warm Vanilla Soother

warmvanillasoother2sm

Sweet Pepper Fritata

Quick Eggnog Muffins

Vanilla Muffins with Crumb Topping

Strawberry Christmas Salad

Strawberry Christmas Salad
Christmas Sourdough Biscuits

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Christmas Graham Crackers

christmasgrahamcrackerssm.JPG

Christmas Pizzas

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Christmas Donuts

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You’ll want to pin this so you can make these treats from now until the new year! —>

30-favorite-holiday-treats

 

Please leave a comment to tell me how long you’ve been reading here! Were any of you around when my boys were as little as that first Christmas picture?

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7 Favorite {Real Food} Sweet and Savory Holiday Treats

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7 Sweet and Savory Holiday Treats

Yum

Today, instead of sharing a new recipe, I decided to post 7 of our family’s favorite treats from the past few years. From sweet to savory, all of these recipes are delicious and easy – perfect for the Christmas Brunch!

Orange Cranberry Scones

Orange Cranberry Scones

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls

Christmas Spice Cookies

Christmas Spice Cookies

Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping

Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping

Sweet Pepper Fritata

Sweet Pepper Fritata

Quick Eggnog Muffins

eggnog_muffins_2

Bacon Cheese Muffins

bacon cheese muffins

Be sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of five $10 gift certificates to our Heavenly Homemakers Shop!

XmasBrunch2011

If you haven’t picked up your free jar of coconut oil from Tropical Traditions, you need to get on it! Offer ends Christmas night, and I’m pretty sure we’ll all be just a little bit busy that day. :)  Free Coconut Oil!!!!!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!