Favorite holiday treats

Somehow, Christmas is only a little over two weeks away, which reminds me I am far behind in the holiday goody-making department.

Peppermint Cheesecake - Ingredients: 12 ounces creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (use KToo for wheat allergies), 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1 1/2 pounds room-temperature cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup sour cream, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/3 cup coarsely crushed peppermint candy.

Instructions: Place cookies in a heavy-duty ziplock plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Pour into a greased 9-inch round springform pan and pour melted butter over crumbs. Mix to coat, pressing evenly over the bottom and about a half-inch up the sides of the pan. Bake in a 300 degree oven for about 10 minutes until crust is dark and appears dry.

With a mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until well-blended, adding eggs one at a time, then vanilla, peppermint extract and salt until smooth. Pour mixture into pan over pre-baked crust.

Bake at 300 degrees for about one hour, until edges are golden and center jiggles slighly when pan is gently shaken. Let cheesecake cool completely, at least four hours or up to two days. After running a knife around the rim, release rim and decorate the top of the cheesecake with crushed peppermint candy.

Caramel Corn - Ingredients: 1 cup butter, 1 cups brown sugar, 1/2 cup corn syrup, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 5 cups of popped popcorn.

Directions: Preheat oven to 250 degrees and place popcorn in an oversized bowl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, stirring in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then boil without stirring for four minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla, then pour a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.

Place in two lage shallow baking dishes and bake for one hour, stirring popcorn every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.