Betty Crocker Reveals This Year's Red Hot Holiday Trends

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- From coast to coast, the Betty Crocker Test Kitchen experts have their "spoon" on the pulse of the most exciting, surprising and delicious trends this holiday season. Making home for the holidays even more memorable, the experts have revealed their annual top 10 Red Hot Holiday Trends, as well as recipes to help you bring these trends to life in your own kitchen. From deconstructed desserts to unexpected mash-ups, copycat candy to cool cocktails, and even a fresh take on fruitcake, your home (and plates, bowls and glasses) will be full of trendy takes on traditional favorites.

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"Whether you're having a party or just enjoying time with loved ones, our red hot trends and recipes make it easy for you to create memorable holidays at home this year," said Kristen Olson, Senior Food Editor, Betty Crocker Kitchens. "You can shake up some Cherry Jam-hattans at cocktail hour, serve an 'Around the World' cheese ball flight to give party guests a taste of global flavors, or spend a fun afternoon making DIY cookie trees and holiday memories with your kids."

Try This At Home: Red Hot Holiday Trend Recipes
Get inspired by Betty Crocker's top 10 holiday trends and their accompanying recipes, perfect for any occasion, crowd or craving.  A slideshow of the trends and the accompanying recipes can be found at www.BettyCrocker.com/redhot

1. Sweet & Savory Cookies
A biscuit-shortbread hybrid from France, sables have been named the cookie of the year in our test kitchens. For a salty-sweet flavor contrast, we added an unusual savory element—Kalamata olives!—and dark chocolate chips. The result? Mind-blowing, melt-in-your mouth goodness.

• TRY Chocolate-Dipped Olive Sables

2. The New Fruitcake
A modern take on a Christmastime classic, this luscious two-layer cake, studded with whiskey-soaked fruits and filled with sweetened mascarpone, will be the belle of any holiday ball.

• TRY Upside-Down Apple Cake with Whiskey-Soaked Fruit

3. Crafty Cookies for Kids
Bake your way to fun family memories with our super-easy DIY (Decorate-It-Yourself) Cookie Tree. With infinite possibilities for personalization, it's as fun to make as it is to eat. (Almost!)

• TRY Decorate it Yourself (DIY) Cookie Tree

4. Global Flavor Flights
In search of a fresh holiday party staple? Look no further than our crowd-sized flight of mini cheese balls. With bases made from both cream cheese and goat cheese, it's the globally inspired mix-ins that turn these small bites into something truly memorable.

• TRY "Around the World" Cheese Ball Flight

5. All-American Pastries
From doughnuts to shortcakes, our love for all-American pastries is a year-round affair that never gets old. For a quick upgrade to your brunch-bread basket, try these light-as-a-feather popovers, made easy with help from Bisquick.

• TRY Mini Popovers with Flavored Butter Trio

6. Popcorn Reinvented
From cupcake toppings to fro-yo mix-ins, bakers and bloggers have been adding popcorn to sweets in quite creative ways. This semi-homemade fudge features store-bought caramel corn, a thick layer of dulce de leche, a generous sprinkling of sea salt and – what else?—more crunchy caramel corn.

• TRY Triple-Caramel Popcorn Fudge

7. Jam Cocktails
No longer just toast-toppers, jams, jellies and preserves are making a splash in the craft-cocktail scene. For this interpretation of a classic Manhattan, shake up some bourbon, bitters, vermouth and your favorite cherry preserves with some ice, strain… and drink up.

• TRY Cherry Jam-hattan

8. Copycat Candy
A dead-ringer for our favorite chocolate peanut butter cup, these peanut butter cookie-filled brownies are poised to be the hit of the holiday baking season. Bonus? Made in a big batch, they freeze perfectly.

• TRY Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

9. Merry Mash-ups
Why settle for one dessert when you can have two? We combined rich blondies with a chewy macaroon topping to create a crowd-pleasing bar that epitomizes a modern dessert mash-up.

• TRY Brown Butter Blondies with Macaroon Topping

10. Communal Food
To us, the best part about party food is enjoying it with loved ones. Ideal for holiday open houses and impromptu gatherings, these fully loaded spicy pull-aparts can be baked in batches as company (or hunger) arrives.

• TRY Spicy Three-Cheese Bacon Bites

Ask Betty Holiday Help
Novice or pro, everyone could use a little help when it comes to high-stakes holiday meals. Betty's Kitchen experts are on standby to answer consumer's urgent kitchen questions this holiday season. Submit questions via email and Facebook (responses guaranteed within 30 minutes) between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST daily, Nov. 25-27 and Dec. 20 -23. Test Kitchen experts will also be hosting a live Twitter chat Nov. 21 from 3 – 4 p.m. CST and Dec. 4 from 3 – 4 p.m. CST.

Show us how you're setting the trend this holiday season by using the hashtag #makemerry on Twitter (@BettyCrocker), Instagram, and Facebook. Find more inspiration for all your cooking needs at bettycrocker.com and on Pinterest.

About Betty Crocker
Since her creation in 1921, Betty Crocker has enjoyed a distinguished history as a multimedia superstar. Featured in radio, TV, print, and now online, this cultural icon has rightfully earned her reputation as the "Original First Lady of Food" and a trusted source of inspiring-but-doable food ideas. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the home of the Betty Crocker Kitchens, where a team of culinary experts develop food ideas that combine trends with consumer needs.

Since first published in 1942, more than 75 million Betty Crocker cookbooks have been sold. BettyCrocker.com is one of the top websites in the food category. The website features Ask Betty, a resource that allows consumers to search the kitchen files for instant answers from Betty Crocker Kitchen Experts. Betty Crocker's Facebook community has over 2 million fans that enjoy interacting with the brand, and millions have downloaded Betty Crocker's mobile app. Betty Crocker branded products garner more than $1 billion in sales annually. For more information, visit www.bettycrocker.com.

SOURCE Betty Crocker