In the Kitchen With Joanna Gaines, star Joanna Gaines always has a story to tell about her family’s favorite recipes. She loves to connect the dots between how her family eats and the memories they have made. No other time of year is that more important than at Christmastime. She and her family spend an entire day baking and creating sweet treats.
These moments are luxurious to Joanna, who has a busy life filled with work and caring for her five children with her husband, Chip Gaines. Christmas candy is a cherished memory that connects the clan and allows Joanna to pass on her traditions.
The television personality dedicated an entire episode of her Discovery+ series to Christmas Candy making
In an essay for her Magnolia blog, Joanna revealed the joy this yearly tradition brings her. She couldn’t wait to share her feelings with her readers.
“There’s something so nostalgic and joyful about baking during the holiday season. Every year, my girls and I camp out in the kitchen for a full day—blasting Christmas music—making and packaging homemade candy for our family and friends,” she wrote.
“Delivering that box of delight always makes those long hours in the kitchen time well spent.”
Her candy box contained recipes for five specific candies, all of which held a spot in her heart. Those recipes included Salted Caramel Peanut Brittle, White Chocolate Peppermint Bark, Aunt Mary’s Cherry Mashers, crunchy Peanut Butter Balls, and chewy Old Fashioned Caramels.
However, Joanna says of the experience, “Making candy is one way to bring sweetness to your holiday season, but the memories made along the way with your family and friends—those are the sweetest of them all.”
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Joanna Gaines always includes a favorite Christmas candy recipe from her Aunt Mary
The Discovery+ television personality revealed in a separate Magnolia blog post that one of her Christmas candy traditions includes a favorite from her Aunt Mary, a recipe titled Cherry Mashers. The original Cherry Mash candy blends peanuts and chocolate coating with a sweet cherry fondant center.
Subsequently, “An unexpected delight comes with the blend of cherry and chocolate. My dad’s sister used to make these candies every year around the holidays, and his love for them became my own.”
Joanna continued, “I asked my Aunt Mary if I could share her recipe, and she gladly obliged—and there’s no doubt I’ll be adding it to the lineup of treats I make every holiday season.”
Other Christmas traditions keep Joanna Gaines and her family close
Still, for yet another Magnolia Blog post, Joanna revealed Christmas traditions that keep the Gaines family close. They have a family tree that holds all their most cherished ornaments.
“I love unpacking all the family ornaments we ooh and ahh over each year. The ones commemorating family trips and first Christmases. Many of them are handmade and quirky and loved all the more for it,” she wrote.
“Every year, it’s an emotional experience for me when this one goes up. It reminds us how many Christmases we have left under one roof and how fast the kids are growing up. The ‘family tree’ is risky and unpredictable, but it always turns out to be our favorite,” she concluded. Joanna also places a Christmas tree in her bedroom, sometimes in her children’s bedrooms.
