3 Days until Christmas!
Before I even begin with discussion on these recipes, I need to comment about those mini colored marshmallows. Do they really exist for a reason outside of small children, jello salads, and grandparents? 
The first time I heard about Church Windows cookies (are they cookies or are they candy?) was after our tree fell on our neighbor’s fence. It might be the biggest event this neighborhood has seen in a while. It was such a big event that as we were cutting it down, neighbors from the senior housing facility put out their chairs, plugged in their crockpots, and sat outside to watch. I treated them to some rhubarb brownies and some chocolate chip cookies. Some of the men came over to help. We started chatting about Christmas cookie plates and he told me about the church windows cookies. I assumed he was talking about stained glass cookies, but when he described them, this was exactly what he meant. I never expected to find that recipe among my great-grandma’s. 
No matter what the recipe says about double boiler, melt the chocolate in the microwave. It’s so much easier. Put it in for a minute, stir it after a minute, it might need another 15 or 30 seconds, but it won’t need much more. Stirring these bad boys is hard. It’s messy and involved. 
Ok, so flavor…think something like rocky road. But vaguely fruity with coconut. They aren’t bad, but probably best in small doses.
As for the candy…who in could resist something called “Darned Good Candy”? I made it wrong the first time I did it. Use chopped pecans instead of whole pecans. It makes a difference. I also learned to not put hot candy on waxed paper. Guess what happens? It sticks. You end up with delicious candy that leaves paper in your mouth. So these pictures are of the second time that I tried making the candy. 
Darned Good Candy is like a caramel taffy. It’s stiff and it’s creamy. It’s got buttery undertones and the pecan flavor permeates the whole candy. Yeah, it sticks to your teeth, but in the best possible way. It’s really darned good.
Darned Good Candy
3 cups sugar
1 cup sweet or sour cream
1 cup white corn syrup
Bring ingredients to a boil.
Add 1 heaping cup of chopped pecans and 1 tsp salt. Boil to a very hard ball.
Add 4 TB butter and 2 tsp vanilla (mix until butter is melted).
Let cool 10 minutes. Start beating lightly until mixture begins to hold its shape. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased sheet. (I shaped the warm candy into small oblong pieces).
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