Crescent Moon

Ingredients:

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners' sugar

How to make:

1. In nonstick skillet, lightly toast walnuts over medium heat, shaking skillet frequently, until nuts are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Transfer walnuts to food processor, and add 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Process until finely ground. In large bowl, with mixer on high, beat butter and remaining granulated sugar until fluffly, about 3 minutes. Gradually add flour, sour cream, vanilla, salt, and walnut mixture until well combined. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into disk. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.
3. Heat oven to 350 degree F. Flour hands lightly. Working with  half of dough at a time, shape heaping teaspoonfuls into crescents. Place crescents on baking sheet, 2" apart. Bake 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet 3 minutes. While cookies are slightly warm, dredge in confectioners' sugar to coat. Cool completely on wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough and sugar. Store cookies in airtight container. Makes about 6 dozen.

St. Nick Cookies

Baking cookies at Christmas is a tradition for many people. It brings families and friends together with the warm goodness of cookies fresh from the oven. Try this tasty St. Nick decorated cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 batch sugar-cookie dough (recipe below)
• Royal icing (recipe below)
• red food coloring white sprinkles
• black tube icing
• hot cinnamon candles

Sugar-cookie dough

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, with mixer on medium-high, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into disk. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

Royal icing

• 1 box (1lb) confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons powdered egg whites
• 5 to 6 tablespoons water

In a large bowl, with mixer on low, beat together all ingredients until well combined. Increase speed to high, and continue beating until stiff peaks form. If not using immediately, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of icing and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. (Bring icing to room temperature before using.)

How to make the St. Nick cookies:

1. Heat oven to 350 degree F. Roll dough to 1/4" thickness on floured surface. Using 3" santa-face cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can. Carefully transfer to baking sheet, 1" apart. Bake 14 to 18 minutes, or until golden. Cool 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire rack, and let cool completely.
2. To decorate: Thin 1 cup royal icing with 1 tablespoon water, and tint red with food coloring. Using tip of index finger, spread red icing over hat, let dry 30 minutes. Spread white icing on pom-pom and bottom edge of hat. Cover with sprinkles. Spread santa's beard with white icing, and fluff with tip of spoon. For face, pipe black-icing eyes and attach cinnamon-candy nose. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Snowman Cake

Bring out the child in everyone with an enchanting snowman, made with chocolate-mint cake and melt-in-your-mouth icing. Candy eyes and a chocolate-cookie hat help bring him to life.

Prep time: 55 minutes
Bake time: 40 minutes
Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk 
• 1 teaspoon mint extract
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3 large eggs

      Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 large egg whites
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

                                                           Gather all the sweet treats for decorating
      Decoration

• 1 Ring Ding or Ding Dong
• 1 old-fashioned chocolate cookie
• Mini blue M&M's
• 2 blue taffy rolls (Airheads)
• 2 Junior Mints
• 1 Jelly orange slice, trimmed
• 1 thin 2" lengthwise black-licorice string
• 3 blue candy melts or nonpareils
• Clear rock candy

How to make:

1. Heat oven to 375 degree F. Grease and flour two 4-cup and two 1 1/2-cup ovenproof bowls. In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In measuring cup, combine milk and mint extract.
2. In large bowl, beat together sugar and butter on low speed until blended, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and beat 2 minutes, or until light and creamy. Reduce speed to medium-low and add eggs. One at a time, beating well after each. Alternate flour mixture and milk mixture; beat until batter is smooth, occassionally scraping sides of bowl with rubber spatula.
3. Divide batter among prepared bowls. Bake 30 minutes. Remove 1 1/2-cup bowls, and let cool. Continue baking 4-cup cakes until center comes out clean when inserted with a cake tester, about 10 minutes longer. Cool in bowls for 5 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire racks, and let cool completely. 
4. Meanwhile, prepare frosting: In the top of a double broiler, oven simmering (not boiling) water, beat together sugar, water, egg whites, light corn syrup, and cream of tartar on low speed until combined. Increase speed to high, and beat constantly for 10 to 12 minutes, or until stiff peaks form, scrapping sides occasionally with rubber spatula. Makes about 4 cups.
5. To assemble cake: Trim the flat side of each cake layer. Spread a thin layer of frosting on trimmed sides of cakes. Place same-size layers together to form two round shapes. Stand cake upright, and place smaller cake on top of larger one to form the snowman shape. Secure cake layers together by inserting a trimmed wooden skewer.
6. To decorate cake: Spread a thin layer of frosting onto bottom of Ring Ding, and secure to cookie. Spoon remaining frosting into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2" star tip. Pipe border around Ring Ding and place blue M&M's onto border to create a decorative hat. Place taffies together and shape into a scarf. Set the hat and scarf aside to firm up.
7. Transfer cake to a serving platter. Working down from the top, pipe star shapes around the entire cake. (If shapes are too pointy, gently tap down with fingertips.) For the face, arrange Junior Mints for the eyes, trimmed orange slice for the nose, and licorice string for the mouth. Wrap scarf around the neck. Place candy melts down middle of body for buttons; top with hat. Scatter rock candy around cake and serve.