I’m wrapping Christmas presents today. It’s not Christmas yet but everyone is asking when I’m going to make my caramel corn so today is the day for making homemade caramel corn for Christmas gifts. My first batch is done and cooled.

To keep if fresh I pack it in a zip top plastic bag first and then wrap it with cellophane tied with pretty ribbons. This way it’s easy for people to snack on and save some for later but I hear that it’s mostly gone in the first pass.

Every Christmas I give a variety of gifts to everyone in my life but this caramel corn is the gift that gets the most raves. Sadly, no matter how much I make there never seems to be enough. That could be due to the constant sampling that goes on when my back is turned. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I’m loving my easy one pan meals, especially now around the holidays when there’s lots to do so recipes like this are just what I need. Everything cooks in the pan and it couldn’t be any easier. The marinade is simple… just olive oil, fresh lemon juice, lots of garlic, oregano and salt. Did I mention it’s Greek style? (oregano = Greek!).

There’s no fuss with this easy sheet pan dinner. I marinate the chicken and potatoes while the oven heats up and then when they bake in the marinade, they soak up all those wonderful flavors. It bakes all by itself so you can do other things, like make a salad. You only stir it once when you add the beans.

Speaking of beans, I don’t know what happened to regular green beans lately but they are terrible, usually dry, full of dark spots and sometime even hollow inside. I actually stopped eating green beans until I discovered French ones. French green beans usually come in a bag with no preparation needed and they are smaller, more tender, they cook faster, taste better, and they definitely look better.

If you’re as busy as I am this month, try this easy one pan Greek Lemon Chicken, Potatoes, and Green Beans. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I’m always thrilled to see photos of my recipes being made all over the world! That’s why it’s great to see where you are from. Please send your photo to: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com

DEBRA MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD

“No knead bread!..soo crusty yummm.”

~ Thanks so much for the photo and Happy New Year! ~ jenny

MARK MADE MY FASTER NO KNEAD BREAD

“Jenny Jones, we have a problem”……this is WAAAY too good and WAAAY too easy! So much for swearing off bread!! Measured everything by weight using KA’s bread flour. Was probably a bit ‘heavy’ on the yeast, but no issue. Added 1+ tbsp of organic honey as last ingredient before it rested for 3 hours, then patted it out and sprinkled some cinnamon-butter-sugar-flour before the final roll-up. Will make wonderful French toast, but probably won’t last that long! Tomorrow ….another day…..another loaf.”

~ It’s great for all of us to see how many variations can be used and they always turn out. Thanks a lot for your photo. ~ jenny

MICHELE MADE MY HOMEMADE APPLE PIE

“Wow!!! I was so surprised as to how good my first apple pie came out. I even treated myself to my own personalized pie dish and waited two years to do it!!! Duh!! I gave my husband an option, if he wanted a healthier apple pie or the fattening kind. And he wanted no butter style. I’m so glad he picked yours. We will never buy store bought pie again. The dough wasn’t big enough to lie over the edges so I did the old nip and tuck and didn’t even burn without anything covering it up. This pie plate was bigger then the average I think. I love your healthy ways and am looking through your recipes for the next one to make. Can’t wait… Thank you, Michele Mastrangelo.”

~ That’s a pretty amazing first apple pie. Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story. ~ jenny

NICOLE’S SON, BRADY MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD

“Hi Jenny! Have loved your videos for awhile now and was finally brave enough to try the no-knead bread about a week ago. My water was probably too hot and I forgot to preheat my dutch oven with the oven. Husband loved it, but without knowing what I did wrong, my son told me he could do better. I’ll spare you photos of my pale dense flop but am attaching photos of my 15 year old son Brady’s beautiful loaf. I showed him your video and gently supervised, he did the rest, even ignoring my advice to “stop jabbing the dough so much”. Thanks for making easy to follow fun videos and encouraging people to cook/bake. We will definitely be trying more. ~ Nicole Bailey.”

~ Great job, Brady! I love seeing young people learning to cook. Keep it up!! ~ jenny

Everyone is making these easy Christmas cookies but it’s not even Thanksiving yet! What gives? I guess you’re all just testing them out to make sure they’ll turn out during the holidays. The only way to know for sure is to test out the recipe in advance and eat as many as you can because, you know, you can’t be too sure. I’m “testing them out” today and I can report that they did turn out really well. It’s just a public service I thought I should provide for everyone. 🙂 I can confirm that this is the easiest recipe ever for Christmas pecan balls, so easy that even amateur cooks are making them. “I didn’t know they were so easy to make,” they say.

And there’s more. These delicious little Christmas treats keep really well so you can make them in advance, and they freeze well too. It just keeps getting better. They are sometimes called pecan balls, snowballs, or Mexican wedding cookies. I’ll just call them easy. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I only make this holiday bread once a year (okay, maybe twice ?) because it may be called bread but let’s face it… it’s dessert. Here are a few progress photos of how to make my Spiral Chocolate Cinnamon Christmas Bread. First, you divide the dough in half, roll & press each half into a rough 9 x 9-inch square, and spread the chocolate/butter mixture all the way to the edges.

Next, you cover each half with the brown sugar/cinnamon/cocoa mixture, all the way to the edges.

Now roll each of them up, starting at the right and left edges, rolling them towards each other. It’s a little messy but that’s okay. Oh, one more thing. You can also scatter about 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips on each half before rolling them up.

The fun part is twisting the logs into a loaf. Bring the logs together (it doesn’t matter where the seams go) and twist them together 3 or 4 times (like you’re wringing out a towel) to make a spiral, but messy, loaf. Tuck the edges under and plop it into your parchment paper-lined loaf pan.

Bake for 30 minutes but after 15 minutes, put a foil tent on top to avoid over-browning. I hope these photos are helpful. For the recipe click here. – Jenny Jones 

I loved seeing photos of my recipes being made all over the world! That’s why it’s great to see where you are from. Please send your photo to: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com

JENNIFER (from Toronto) MADE MY OVEN BAKED DOUGHNUTS

“Hi Jenny, My niece loves donuts (who doesn’t?) so I picked up a pan yesterday and made them today. I used the substitute listed on your site for buttermilk (milk and sour cream) and they we’re awesome. ??? Thank you! ~ Jennifer from the gta.”

~ Thanks so much for your photo. I am from just down the 401- London! ?? ~ jenny

TRACEY MADE MY CHOCOLATE CINNAMON CHRISTMAS BREAD

“Hi Jenny,  the pros and cons of your recipes – Pros: they always turn out great, Cons: everyone wants one, the finished product I mean not the recipe.  Thank you for all your hard work in the kitchen !”

~ Wow, it looks perfect and I appreciate the before and after photos. Happy Holidays! ~ jenny

STACEY MADE MY QUICK & EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE

“Hi Jenny! Pleased to report yet another success story – the chocolate cake & frosting recipes were truly easy and fast – it is hard to believe that they taste so good as well. (We added gold sprinkles for ‘flair’ in honor of National Cake Day!) I am now three for three in bringing the hits … your no-knead breads & pizzas were also well received. Next on the line up is Cinnamon Rolls – I feel pretty good about securing some ‘Most Popular’ status with the Family! ? Thank you for your efforts to create, fine hone and share these recipes. The videos are precise, funny and inviting. I adore that my son has engaged in the experience – double super Bonus! Please keep doing what you love. Regards, Stacey.”

~ I love the sprinkles, and so glad to know your son is learning to cook. Thanks for the beautiful photo! ~ jenny

TABITHA (from North Carolina) MADE MY CINNAMON ROLLS

“Waiting to put the icing on, already claiming that middle bun!!! Thanks Jenny! Tabitha from NC.”

~ Thank you for your lovely photo. I noticed that the middle one is the biggest… just sayin’ ? ~ jenny

GARY (from England) MADE MY BRAIDED CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD

“Hi Jenny, I’m Gary, A new fan of yours from here from England, UK. I made your Cinnamon Raisin bread ( Cinnamon Tunnel Bread), all by hand as I don’t have a mixer. It turned out wonderful – my kids said it was the best thing they had ever eaten – and I agree with them. The only problem is that they said I must make one every day lol. Loving your videos and recipes. Best Wishes, Gary.”

~ It looks fantastic! I could make it every day myself. Thank you for your photo. ~ jenny

What can I say? This is not a dessert to have every day but for holiday baking, pecan pie is a must. But I prefer pecan pie bars because the bars can be cut into smaller pieces than a round pie and no one should eat big pieces of pecan pie! I always use an oil crust and my oil of choice is cold pressed avocado oil. I tried using maple syrup in the filling but did not like the result so I went with the traditional corn syrup, which, by the way, is not the same a high fructose corn syrup.

I only make pecan pie or pecan pie bars twice a year for Thanksgiving and Christmas and it’s a good thing because holiday recipes can be dangerous to have around. This recipe is really simple with just the basic ingredients so it comes together quickly. What I can’t figure out is why my pecans sometimes rise to the top and sometimes don’t, but these easy pecan pie bars are always so gooey and sweet and delicious. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I never expected my recipes to become so popular all over the world so I appreciate your saying where you are from. You can send your photo to: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com

DANIELA (from Bulgaria) MADE MY FALL-OFF-THE-BONE RIBS

“Hello, My name is Daniela Lesova and I’m from Bulgaria. I made Fall-Off-The-Bone Ribs and they turned out amazing! Best Regards ?”

~ How exciting! My ribs are being enjoyed in Bulgaria! ?? Thank you for the great photos! ~ jenny

NANCY (from Northern California) MADE MY CABBAGE ROLLS, PIEROGI & PACZKI

“Hi Jenny! I just wanted you to know that last weekend I made my husband an all Polish meal. I had never made anything Polish in my life and since my husband is Polish, I thought it might be fun. (I have also never even tasted anything Polish) I am Italian and so that is my preferred menu. I “Googled” Polish food and your youtube came up. I can’t tell you how easy you made making stuffed cabbage rolls. I watched your vid about four times and then made then without a hitch. They were delicious. I also made Perogi, Dill Pickle soup and Paczki. Thank you for your great instruction and your delightful personality. I now have Polish foods added to my repertoire. Regards, Nancy Plotkin (Plotkin is Polish. I think it came form Plotka which means white fish???) I live in northern California.”

~ You just made my day, especially seeing those browned pierogi with sour cream! I have never made dill pickle soup but it’s on my to-do list. Thank you. ~ jenny

EVA (from Canada) MADE MY CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES & APPLE BARS

“Hi Jenny!  Thank you for the delicious apple bars and the scrumptious chocolate cupcakes.  They were so easy to make and everyone loved them! ~ Eva from Alberta, Canada.”

~ Thank you so much – you’ve been busy! I’m making apple bars tonight. ~ jenny

SELENGE (from California) MADE MY CHOCOLATE- DIPPED COCONUT MACAROONS

“Hi Jenny. I love all your recipes especially these delicious chocolate macaroons!! I hope I hope I will see this photo on Jenny Can Cook soon. I wait for new recipes. Thank you. ❤️ ~ Selenge from Santa Clara, California.”

~ These are my husband’s favorite. Thank you for the lovely photo. ~ jenny

KATHY (from Australia) MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD

“Oh my God!!! This is so easy and delicious – a hit with everyone. I make this over and over again. I’ve added sesame seeds on top on occasion as my favourite. I’ve even converted my 82 year old mum into making bread this way -vs- the traditional method. A WINNER.. thanks to you I’m no longer afraid of yeast recipes. Love you Jen. – Kathy from Sydney, Australia.”

~ Thank you so much for your photo and the sesame seeds look great – I may try that too. ~ jenny

MARYANNE (from Canada) MADE MY LEMON BROWNIES

“Hi Jenny! Thank you for your cooking tutorials! They’re the best!! I made these lemon brownies for the first time, and as you promised they were 1) Easy to make 2) Excellent tasting! Problem 1) My best friend is mad at me now, because when she came the next day, they were all gone. I blamed it on my husband. Was I wrong to lie about the lemon brownies? 2) Also, I shared the video and now she’s mad because it keeps popping up on her FB timeline and reminding her that she didn’t get any lemon brownies.  3) Now I’m out of lemons and we live on a farm in Elmwood Ontario Canada and we’re 15 kms from town!! Haaaha But seriously now, you are a pleasure to watch, I love your videos. The bread is next!! Warm (Get it?) Regards, Maryanne Holst – Elmwood Ontario Canada ??❤️?? P. S. Why did I bother to put them in airtight containers?!?.”

~ This is no problem. I blame everything on my husband and have been known to lie about missing brownies. ?~ jenny

RAJASHREE (from India) MADE MY CHOCOLATE CAKE

“Hi Jenny  This is my first ever baking attempt. It tasted very good. Frosting tasted good but didn’t come out so smooth as I didn’t have a whisking beater. Had to use a spoon. I am enjoying your dishes as they are health conscious and very easy. My next try will be bread. Thank you for the lovely easy recipes. – Rajashree Imandi, From India.”

~ Thank you for your beautiful photo – I love the strawberries. Good luck with your bread! ~ jenny

My thanks to Annie Y. for sharing this terrific helpful hint. I tried it myself and loved it, especially with my no knead crusty rolls that make a sticky mess on the counter. She said, “I don’t have a large wood board, so I taped a piece of waxed paper to the counter top and floured it, allowing me to work and form the dough easily and making clean up a breeze.” Thank you, Annie.