One of the greatest gifts each holiday season are the delicious and delicate treats all around. Here are some that members of the Editorial Board like to indulge in:

Prettiest Peanut Butter Cookies

Brooklyn Dennison
Editor in Chief

This is a rather new recipe that I have been trying out, but everyone in my family loves it so far. It is an easy recipe to make beautiful looking peanut butter cookies. Best of all, they taste great!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of firmly packed sugar.
• 1 stick of butter.
• ½ cup of peanut butter.
• 1 ½ cup of flour.
• 1 large egg.
• ½ teaspoon of baking powder.
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda.
• A dash of salt.

Instructions:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Mix brown sugar, butter and peanut butter in a large bowl. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Lastly, mix in dry ingredients until well mixed.
• Roll dough into ½ inch balls. Place them on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten in a criss-cross pattern with a fork dipped in sugar.
• Bake 8-10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

Chocolate Chip Christmas Cookies

Jake Herron
Online Editor

Nothing sets the mood for the holidays for me more than grabbing my favorite spoon from the kitchen drawer and cracking open a tub of nice, fresh cookie dough… That’s it! No need to bake! I just go to town right then and there.

However, I’m told that the CDC would come after us if I really promoted my cookie dough habits here, so I can’t talk about that.

Instead, here’s a more thorough way to treat yourself to some chocolate chip delight this Christmas.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of softened butter.
• 1 cup of white sugar.
• 1 cup of packed brown sugar.
• 2 large eggs.
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
• 2 teaspoons of hot water. (The hotter, the better.)
• ½ teaspoon of salt.
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour.
• 2 cups of Hershey’s chocolate chips. (Consider 2 cups to merely be a suggestion here.)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. (Careful!)
• Cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until nice and smooth.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
• Dissolve the baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt.
• Stir in the flour and chocolate chips. (Go ahead, throw some extra ones in.)
• Drop via spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
• Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.
• Do something productive while waiting for the cookies to bake, like shoveling the driveway or subscribing to our E-Edition.
• Remove baked cookies from the oven, let stand for five minutes or until cool. (Remember, patience is a virtue.)
• Enjoy. You deserve it!

Hollywood Squares

Sala Wier
Copy Editor

My grandma found this recipe in a newspaper and passed it along to her mother (my great-grandma) who would make these for every family gathering. Once my great-grandma passed away, the duty of making Hollywood Squares was given to my mom. To this day, our whole family looks for these at every holiday party and some even request them for their birthday!

Ingredients:

Peanut butter layer:

• ½ cup (1 stick) of melted margarine. 
• ½ cup of light brown sugar.
• 2 cups of creamy peanut butter.
• 1 ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar.

Chocolate layer:

• 1 12-ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and ½ cup margarine.

Instructions:

Peanut butter layer:

• Mix together peanut butter, powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract and melted margarine.
• Mix well, use your hands.
• Press evenly onto the bottom of a cookie sheet.

Chocolate layer:

• On medium-low heat, melt chocolate chips and margarine until smooth.
• Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the peanut butter layer and spread evenly.
• Refrigerate for one hour, then remove and score.
• Return to the fridge for another hour then remove and cut completely.

Nebraska Corn

Megan Parker
Copy Editor

After getting the recipe from an old colleague, my grandma has been making this dish for the past few years and I fell in love with it immediately. When I graduated from high school, this is the dish I asked her to make. While the name of it may confuse some people, Nebraska Corn is definitely something worth trying this holiday season.

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of melted margarine.
• 1 can of cream-style corn.
• 1 can of whole kernel corn.
• 1 cup of cubed Velveeta cheese.
• 1 cup of uncooked elbow macaroni.

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375℉.
• Mix all ingredients by hand in a large bowl.
• Transfer to a cake pan of choice.
• Bake for 45 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Garlic Swirls

Jordyn Etling
Sports Editor

I recently found this recipe and it was an instant hit. Since I have family that doesn’t like onions, I make one batch with and one without. This exclusion doesn’t truly affect the taste and outcome. This recipe makes a dozen rolls, so if you have a large family, I suggest making a few batches. Overall though, these are simple and something everyone will love!

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup of butter, melted.
• 2 green onions, finely chopped.
• 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese.
• 2 tablespoons of minced fresh parsley.
• 3 garlic of cloves, minced.
• 1 tube (11 oz.) of refrigerated crusty French loaf.

Instructions:

• In a small bowl, mix the first five ingredients.
• Unroll dough; spread butter mixture to within 1/2 inches of edges.
• Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side.
• Cut into 12 slices; place in greased muffin cups, cut side down.
• Bake at 400℉ for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Hershey’s Kiss Cookies

Kristen Lauck
Social Media & Special Editions Editor

Every year for Christmas, my family always makes several different kinds of cookies. From sugar cookies to ricotta cookies, the Hershey Kiss Cookie is another holiday essential.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of granulated sugar.
• ½ cup of packed brown sugar.
• ½ cup of creamy peanut butter.
• ½ cup of softened butter or margarine.
• 1 egg.
• 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour.
• ¾ teaspoon of baking soda.
• ½ teaspoon baking powder.
• Additional granulated sugar.
• 36 Hershey’s Kisses, unwrapped.

Instructions:

• Start by preheating your oven to 375℉.
• Beat sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, butter and egg in a large mixing bowl.
• Stir in flour, baking soda, and baking powder until a dough forms.
• Then, roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in granulated sugar.
• Place dough on ungreased cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Once finished, immediately place a Hershey’s Kiss in the center of each cookie.
• Remove cookies from baking sheet and set them onto a cooling rack.

Happy Holidays from The Buchtelite!