2012 BHG.com Holiday Sneak Peek Get ready to celebrate! We’ve been prepping for the 2012 holidays to make it the most delicious, most beautiful, best-yet holiday season. Here are some of the ways we’ll be celebrating, starting on September 17.

Great How-To Videos We’ll show you the secrets to success for holiday pies, savory Christmas dinners, and the best ways to carve your Thanksgiving turkey.

The Year’s Best

Holiday Gems

Shop our Holiday Store Browse our fantastic holiday-shopping destination, featuring editor-selected products to give as gifts, gadgets to aid holiday baking, and great holiday home décor items. Fresh Recipes From classic Christmas cookies to fall casseroles featuring the best of the season’s flavors, we’re gathering the tastiest holiday recipes ever to come out of the Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen. PLUS Join us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for a whole season of giveaways, holiday recipes, challenges, and much more!

As voted by you—the top projects, recipes, and ideas from the Better Homes and Gardens holiday season.

OUR MOST POPULAR GEMS Pumpkin Stencil Skeleton Design Halloween Recipe Halloween Spider Cupcake Thanksgiving Centerpiece Piled-High Pumpkins Thanksgiving Recipe Brown-Bottom Butterscotch Cashew Cream Pie Christmas Centerpiece Amaryllis and Cranberries Centerpiece Handmade Christmas Gift Holiday Coffee Sleeves Christmas Cookie Lemon-Pecan Shortbread Cookies Christmas Ornament Dala Horse Christmas Ornament Christmas Decoration Small-Space Decoration Solutions New Year’s Recipe Plum Good Sausage Meatballs PLUS A preview of 2012’s upcoming features!

Skeleton Design

No bones about it—this grinning ghoul was your favorite design to carve. He was the most downloaded pumpkin stencil of the season. To use this stencil, simply size it on a copier to fit your pumpkin shape. Tape it to your pumpkin and poke the outline of the pattern with a pin before carving your masterpiece.

Most Popular Pumpkin Stencil

Piled-High Pumpkins

Most Popular Halloween Recipe

Gourds dominated the fall season—especially itty-bitty gourds with fun shapes and textures. This particular idea topped many of your tables at Thanksgiving. To make this centerpiece, shop for fist-size (or smaller) pumpkins and gourds. Vary the colors and textures of your picks. Set them atop wood circle platters and enhance with a white votive and sprigs of dried bittersweet. For interest, set one pumpkin on a small display pedestal or look to your collection of bowls and cake plates to enhance the look. Tip: To make your gourds shinier, clean the skin of the gourd with a solution of one part bleach to ten parts water. Wipe dry. Apply a bit of Vaseline with your fingertips and use a rag to buff onto the skin of the gourd.

Most Popular Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Halloween Spider Cupcake

Creepy-crawlies came to play at your Halloween buffets. This most-popular critter features black-licorice legs and big, buggy eyes made of a sourball and mints. To make a spider cupcake: 1. Cover a cupcake with chocolate icing and sprinkles. 2. Attach sourball halves to circle mints using icing. 3. Place the eyes and a chocolate-candy nose onto the cupcake. 4. Form a smile with a small piece of red licorice. 5. Use eight long slivers of black licorice for legs and two short slivers for pinchers; cut into points and insert into cupcake.

Amaryllis and Cranberries Centerpiece

Most Popular Thanksgiving recipe

Brown-Bottom Butterscotch Cashew Cream Pie

You were thinking sweet thoughts at Thanksgiving. This chocolate-bottom pie with butterscotch and cashew flavors was the one you were most likely to add to your Thanksgiving table. Prep: 50 minutes Bake: 25 MINUTES cool: 1 hour chill: 4 to 6 hours Makes: 8 servings 1 1/4 1 1/3 1/2 2/3 1 3/4 1/4 1/4 1 3 1 3 1 1

cups finely crushed graham crackers (21 squares) cup roasted salted cashews cup granulated sugar cup butter, melted cup whipping cream cup semisweet chocolate pieces cup packed brown sugar cup cornstarch teaspoon salt 12 ounce can evaporated milk egg yolks cup milk tablespoons butter teaspoon vanilla recipe Brown Sugar Meringue

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a food processor combine crushed crackers, cashews, and granulated sugar. Cover and pulse with several on/off turns to form fine crumbs. Add the melted butter; cover and pulse with several on/off

turns to combine. Press mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until fragrant and firm. Cool on a wire rack. 2. In a small saucepan bring whipping cream just to boiling over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; add chocolate pieces (do not stir). Let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Pour chocolate mixture evenly over the bottom of the crust. 3. For filling, in a medium saucepan combine brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in about 1/2 cup of the evaporated milk. Whisk in egg yolks unt il combined . W h isk in the rema in ing evaporated milk and the milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in the 3 tablespoons butter and the vanilla. Cover and keep warm. 4. Prepare Brown Sugar Meringue. Pour warm filling into prepared piecrust. Spread meringue over warm filling, sealing to edge of crust and swirling meringue into peaks. Bake for 15 minutes or until meringue is firm and golden. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Chill for 4 to 6 hours before serving; cover for longer storage.

Brown Sugar Meringue prep: 20 MINUTES cook: 10 hrs on low or 5 hrs on high In a large mixing bowl beat egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Gradually add brown sugar and granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight) and sugar dissolves.

Oh-so-prett y amar yllis topped your Christmas tables. This combination—made with cranberries—was your favorite inspiration. A single amaryllis stem makes a dramatic statement as a centerpiece. Place the stem in a few inches of water in a tall cylindrical vase. Hide the stem with cranberries and finish with a red ribbon and a small pine branch cutting.

Most Popular Christmas Centerpiece

Most Popular Handmade Christmas Gift

Holiday Coffee Sleeves

Java-lovers unite! These adorable coffee sleeves, made from discarded Christmas socks or sweater sleeves, were your favorite giftable. To make the sleeves, wash the sock or sweater and cut a 3-inch section from the top of your clothing. Embellish with buttons or felt snowflake cutouts for added winter charm. Slip the sleeve onto your to-go cup or tumbler, roll the ends to hide frays, and start sipping.

Dala Horse Christmas Ornament

Lemon-Pecan Shortbread Cookies

In what has become the tightest battle of the season, these shortbread cookies came out on top. The crunchy lemon-hinted treat even smells great; one user said, “Just made these and house smells heavenly.” Prep: 25 minutes Bake: 18-20 minutes (small cookies); 20-22 minutes (large cookies) Makes: 20 (1-11/2-inch) cookies or 5 (3-inch) cookies 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans or walnuts 3 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel 1/2 cup butter sugar 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl combine flour, nuts, the 3 tablespoons sugar, and the lemon peel. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling together (dough will still be crumbly). Knead until smooth; form into a ball. 2. On lightly floured surface roll dough until 1/2 inch thick. Using 1-1/2-inch or 3-inch cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes. (Or, roll into 1-inch balls.) Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with additional sugar. 3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes for small cookies or 20 to 22 minutes for large cookies or until bottoms start to brown and centers are set. Transfer to wire racks; cool. Variation: For stamped cookies:Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets; set aside. Prepare dough as directed in Step 1. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and stamp with cookie stamps. Place cookies about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until bottoms start to brown and centers are set. Transfer to wire racks; cool. Makes about20 cookies.

Better Homes and Gardens readers start making their ornaments just after Halloween. This Swedish-inspired Dala horse one was your favorite and was likely featured on many trees last Christmas.

Most Popular Christmas cookie

To make the ornament, trace the pattern onto white paper. Using transfer paper, transfer pattern outline and all black design lines onto red felt for ornament front. With white embroidery floss, work backstitches for saddle and mane outlines, split stitches for bridle, and French knots at dots on mane. Referring to pattern and using yellow floss, work lazy daisy stitches on mane and running stitches between white saddle outlines. With blue floss, work lazy daisy stitches on saddle and backstitches on mane. With yellow floss, work straight stitches in a V shape at top of each saddle lazy daisy stitch. With blue floss, work threaded running stitches for belly and chest straps. Cut out embroidered front. Use pattern to cut a back from matching color of felt. With wrong sides together and using running stitches and floss that matches felt, sew front and back together, working close to the edges. As you stitch, stuff shape with fiberfill and catch ends of a satin ribbon hanging loop between felt pieces at base of mane.

Most Popular Christmas ornament

Plum Good Sausage Meatballs

Most Popular Christmas decoration

New Year’s appetizers ruled—they topped desserts and main dishes as your favorite of the holiday’s must-makes. This easy, twist-on-tradition meatball recipe beat them all. prep: 10 minutes cook: 5 hrs (low) or 21/2 HRS (HIGH) Makes: 16 servings 1 10 - 12 ounce jar plum jam or preserves 1 18 ounce bottle (1-2/3 cups) barbecue sauce 1 16 ounce link cooked jalapeno smoked sausage or smoked sausage, sliced into bite-size pieces 1 16 - 18 ounce package Italian-style or original flavor frozen cooked meatballs (16), thawed 1. For sauce, in a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker combine the jam and barbecue sauce. Add the sausage and thawed meatballs, stirring to coat with sauce. 2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Serve with decorative toothpicks. To serve at a buffet, keep warm on low-heat setting for up to 2 hours. Makes 16 servings.

Small-Space Decoration Solutions

Small-space decorating was a popular theme at Christmas. Our slideshow on ideas for small spaces was a big winner—featuring tips for using space by the stairs, decorating windows, maximizing wall space, and using tabletop trees to impress in every inch. This was your favorite image of all. The tip was: A small table by the stairs is a prominent small-space spot to start your Christmas merriment. Add a little, lightly decorated tree and a modest display to the tabletop. To give the evergreen a bit of height, place in a tall silver vase.

Most Popular New Year’s Recipe