Time for a Treat . . . Or Quite a Few of Them!

I spent this weekend baking up a storm in my kitchen, so today you get to hear all the winning recipes!   You have never seen such a disaster as my kitchen by 9 pm Saturday night, but we have thoroughly enjoyed the fruit (ahem, food)  of all that labor.  It was so good that we skipped dinner Saturday and Sunday night to snack!  (I know, what kind of mother am I?  I did make the kids eat a fruit cup with their snacks so I'd feel a little less guilty . . .)  Here's what we baked up:

• Peanut Butter Fudge (probably my favorite, recipe to follow!)
• Simple Marshmallow Fudge (recipe coming shortly too!)
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
• Chex Muddy Buddies
• Homemade Chex Mix
• Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

And here's what my kitchen looked like when it was all over . . .

I'm not quite sure there was a clean pot, pan, bowl, spatula, or spoon left in the house, but we sure had a lot of yummy treats!   We filled these cute little buckets . . .

and shared them with a few special folks this week.  As I was packing up the buckets, I realized how much we saved on these little gifts by couponing – the tissue paper was free thanks to the recent Hallmark coupon, I completely overbought Nestle Toll House morsels during the last Publix BOGO sale, most of the ingredients for the goodies came straight from my stockpile, and I was even able to grab the buckets for a steal at a local bargain store.  It's amazing what you can do with a few pinched pennies, and I've loved having so much to share thanks to our deals!

If you're still looking for a few items to bake this Christmas season, check out the recipes above or stop back by later today for a few more treats (including some Honey Bun/Happy Birthday Jesus cake – my absolute favorite and an incredible bargain this week too!)  What's been baking at your house this week?