Holiday Sweets

In addition to the fabulous meals we enjoyed during the holidays, I made quite a few yummy sweets.  I already mentioned the one stinker - the almond torte, which was very disappointing, especially given the amount of effort that went into it.  So let's just focus on the winners...

Dark Chocolate Almond Crackles - My family didn't get to enjoy these, but I hope my neighbors did.  My husband and I certainly did, since we saved half of the batch for ourselves.  They are excellent.
Lemon Wreath Cookies - I probably doubled the lemon zest in these, because I enjoy a good strong lemon flavor, and I used Meyer lemon juice for the icing to make it extra sweet.  These were really good.  I also ended up making most of them as simple round cookies, because quite frankly making the wreaths takes a bit of time and effort.  The shape doesn't impact the taste, so it didn't bother me!
Peppermint Bark - I made several batches of bark, and now that I know how easy it is, I have no doubt it will be an annual tradition.  I started with this recipe, but I branched out a little with my last batch.  I made a layered batch, with dark chocolate on the bottom and white chocolate on top.  Oh my goodness yum! 
Thumbprint Cookies - I adore thumbprint cookies.  They're probably my favorites.  I started with a very basic recipe - not the one I linked to, but very close I think.  I used raspberry and blueberry jam, and I also added a touch of almond extract.
Chocolate Gingerbread Bars -  I love gingerbread, but I love chocolate gingerbread even more.  I was careful not to overcook them, and I think I actually took them out a few minutes early.  This is a really easy recipe, and I'd imagine it would be easy to double, since this only makes a small 8X8 pan.  I loved these. 

I am definitely saving all of these recipes!