I've never baked these before, but I plan to try it this Christmas: S'mores Cookie Bars. http://www.lovintheoven.com/2008/12/day-11-smores-cookie-bars.html Has anyone tried these or something similar?

Russian tea cakes are the annual must-bake for me. They're a traditional cookie in my family. This recipe It makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cup sifted flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Mix butter, sugar and vanilla thoroughly.

2. Sift flour and salt, add slowly to butter and sugar mixture just until blended and stir in nuts.

3. Line sheet pan or plate with wax paper. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, put on pan or plate. if you run out of room, put a layer of wax paper on top and do another layer. Top with wax paper, then plastic wrap.

4. Chill dough at least four hours. You can make the dough a day ahead of baking.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line sheet pans with parchment or silicone baking sheet. Take cookies out of refrigerator, remove plastic wrap and let sit out for no more than a half-hour. Place dough on baking sheets, at least 1 inch apart, and bake for 9 to 12 minutes. The cookies do not spread, and should be just set but not brown.

6. As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, dust them with confectioner's sugar and let them cool in the pan for at least a half-hour. If you try to handle them just out of the oven, they're more likely to crumble. Once they've cooled a bit, you can do another dusting of confectioner's sugar and gently remove them to a platter to finish cooling.

Easiest Holiday dish ever, and people at get togethers love it:

Buy a jar of Pepper Relish (can be found at any grocery store)

One package of Philly Cream Cheese (the rectangle in the foil)

Put the Cream Cheese on a dish, pour the relish over the top. Lay Ritz Crackers around it. Put a small knife or a butter knife on the dish.

It's sooo good.

My family makes a Dutch Baby every Christmas morning, and then again for New Year's breakfast because it's so good! This recipe is from my aunt in Seattle:

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put butter in pan and place in oven to melt.

Mix batter quickly while butter melts. Put eggs in blender and mix on high for one minute. Keep blender running and add milk, then slowly add flour. Blend for another minute.

Remove pan from oven and pour batter into center. Return to oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and lemon juice for a traditional Dutch Baby, or try my favorite topping: strawberries. Maple syrup, chocolate syrup and whipped cream also make great toppings.

Stuffed Cabbage
Ingredients:
1 solid cabbage (3 pounds)
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground veal
1 large onion, chopped
2 TB butter
3/4 c rice
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 qt tomato juice
2 c water
1 c sauerkraut
paprika

Scald the cabbage in boiling water and remove leaves as they become wilted.
Cut off heels of 20-25 leaves and discard.
Save 4 c of the cabbage water.
Chop remaining cabbage and mix with sauerkraut. Set aside.
Cook onion in butter until transparent. Remove from heat.
Soak the rice in the hot cabbage water in a cup for a few minutes.
Combine the drained rice, the raw ground meats, onion, salt and pepper in a bowl with your hands and mix thoroughly. Yes, I know it's gross.
In two big pots line the bottom with the cabbage and sauerkraut mixture (just enough to coat the bottom). This stops the leaves from burning on the bottom.
Fill each cabbage leaf with an oversized TB or so and fold each one like a burrito.
Place a single layer of the cabbage rolls on the bottom of each pot.
Spread a layer of sauerkraut/chopped cabbage between each layer of rolls.
Sprinkle top with salt, pepper and paprika.
Heat tomato juice and 2 c of cabbage water and pour over the two pots of rolls.
Cook uncovered to bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours on the stove top.
You'll have to transfer the rolls to plastic containers to cool in the fridge and reheat on the stove top to serve.

During the holidays, family and friends often gather around dinner tables to share in holiday cheer, but what about the millions of Americans that deal with the daily diet restrictions of a chronic illness, like chronic kidney disease (CKD)? For these folks, enjoying holiday meals can be very difficult, given that restricted diets limit the food and fluid options.

Fresenius Medical Care, located at 26024 Detroit Rd. in Westlake, and Chef Aaron McCargo, Jr., star of Food Network’s “Big Daddy’s House,” partnered to develop tasty, satisfying and new dialysis-friendly recipes for people to enjoy during the holidays.

The Apple-Stuffed Cinnamon Bundles recipe (linked below) is something that patients and people entertaining family and friends with restricted diets can enjoy this holiday season.

http://www.ultracare-dialysis.com/ToolsForHealthyLiving/RecipeCenter/DessertsSnacks/AppleStuffedCinnamonBundles.aspx?c=DessertsSnacks&k=apple