With the holidays quickly approaching, many will agree that festive foods are the right way to start. Whether it be peppermint or gingerbread flavored, these recipes will be sure to have you feeling in the holiday spirit.

“My family is all about the Christmas traditions,” said senior Austin Repp, “we usually make sugar cookies and decorate them with different colored icing. It’s always really fun and makes a good snack for later!”

Sugar Cookie Recipe with Icing:

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Colored sugar and milk, for decorating, or Royal Icing, recipe follows

• Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a second large bowl and mix well. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture 1 cup at a time. Chill the dough for 3 to 4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Roll out the dough and cut it into shapes with cookie cutters or a knife. Place the shapes on the prepared cookie sheet. If decorating with colored sugar, brush the cookies with milk and sprinkle with colored sugar (if using royal icing, leave unfinished). Bake until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies.
• Remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely. If using royal icing, decorate the cookies as desired

Royal Icing:

• Combine the confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl. Mix slowly with an electric mixer until stiff enough to form peaks; the icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. If the frosting is over-beaten, it will get aerated which makes it harder to work with. If this happens, let the frosting sit to settle, and then use a rubber spatula to vigorously beat and smooth out the frosting.
• Add up to 1 tablespoon food coloring and mix with a rubber spatula until the color is uniform. Gels are best with royal icing. You don’t want to thin them with liquid colors. Be careful of adding too much color, which reduces the sheen of the frosting and can break down the consistency of the frosting over a couple of days. Store the icing at room temperature, covered, with plastic wrap on the surface.

(RECIPE FROM FOODNETWORK.COM)

“I remember watching Polar Express in elementary school and drinking hot cocoa,” said senior Samvit Iyer, “hot cocoa always gets me in the winter mood and it’s always foolproof.”

Homemade Hot Cocoa Recipe:

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup white sugar

1 pinch salt

1/3 cup boiling water

3 1/2 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup half-and-half cream

• Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn’t scorch. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature.

(RECIPE FROM ALLRECIPES.COM)

“I was given ‘reindeer food’ by my friends one year and I’ve never looked back,” said junior Jazmine Boga, “it’s so easy to make and requires only a few ingredients. It makes a great party food or even just a snack for yourself.”

Reindeer Food Recipe:

Ingredients

9 cups crispy rice cereal squares

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Optional- M&M’s, pretzels, etc.

• Melt the chocolate and add peanut butter

• Stir in crispy rice cereal squares

• Put in a Ziploc bag with confectioners’’ sugar and shake until completely coated

(RECIPE FROM: ALLRECIPES.COM)