Christmas in...March??

In a desperate attempt to put off writing a paper for as long as possible...I am catching up on some recipes that I never posted :) Definitely not very productive...but it beats writing that paper! lol.

So I'm starting off with two treats from waaaaaaay back...Christmas :)

Treat #1
Peppermint Bark
I got this recipe from my mom's friend, Kelly, from high school. Gotta love the power of facebook!



Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 cups of crushed candy canes (in about 1/4 inch chunks)
2 bags of white chocolate chips (12 oz per bag)
1 bag of milk or dark chocolate chips (12 oz bag) I used milk chocolate
1-2 capfuls of peppermint extract (I used 2)

Directions
1. Melt milk/dark chocolate in double broiler and pour onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet, spread evenly.
2. Chill in fridge for about 15 min.
3. Melt white chocolate in double broiler. Once melted, add candy cane chunks and peppermint extract and mix together.
4. Pour on top of milk/dark chocolate layer and spread evenly.
5. Chill in fridge for about 45 min. or until firm.
6. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces, like peanut brittle.

I had never made peppermint bark before and I thought the whole process was going to be very hard. I was totally wrong! This was super easy, it makes a lot and its delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe Kelly!

Treat #2
Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe retrieved from: Good Things Catered

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

a little more than 1 1/2 cup oats

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup white chocolate chips

(I also added about 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon spice blend)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper

2. In bowl or stand mixer, combine butter and brown sugar and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

3. In another large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.

4. To butter and sugar, add eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla.

5. Stop mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and turn back on at the lowest setting.

6. Add oatmeal mixture, then cranberries and white chocolate chips, beating until barely combined. (I added the cinnamon spice blend at this point)

7. Pick up loose balls of dough about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter and place onto baking sheets at least two inches apart.

8. If you have any leftover cranberries or white chocolate chips, top cookies with a couple of each.

9. Bake for exactly 10 min.

10. Remove from oven, cookies will be slightly golden around edges and middles will look a little underdone.

11. Let cool for 5 min. on cookie sheets and then place on wire racks to cool completely.

Result?? Christmas in a cookie! Seriously. The oats...the cinnamon...the cranberries! This is my favorite out of all the cookie recipes I have ever tried :)

Turtle Cookies

I also made these for Thanksgiving and they were a HUGE hit! They take some time to make, but are definitely worth it!

Turtle Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

http://elizabethsedibleexperience.blogspot.com/2009/11/cookie-question.html

Ingredients

1 egg

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Nestle)

1/4 tsp. salt

16 chewy caramels (I used Werthers)

3 Tbsp. whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup or 3 oz semisweet chocolate pieces

1 tsp. shortening

Directions

Separate the egg, place the yolk and the white in separate bowls. Cover and chill egg white, you will use it later.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 sec. Add sugar, beat well. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla and milk.

In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat well until combined. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or until its easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a saucepan, heat and stir caramels, vanilla and whipping cream over low heat until the entire mixture is smooth, then set aside.

Slightly beat the reserved egg white. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls. Roll them in egg white and then into pecans to coat. Place cookies 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.

Using the back of a 1/2 tsp round measuring spoon (or just use your thumb) make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are firm. Cookie centers will probably puff during baking, if this happens, just repress the indentation. Spoon melted caramel into the centers of each cookie. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool.

In a saucepan, heat and stir chocolate pieces and shortening over low heat until chocolate is melted. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate over the tops of the cookies by gathering some with a fork and making a back and forth motion over top the cookies while the chocolate drips. Let stand until the chocolate has set.

Pecan Pie Cookies

I made these for Thanksgiving but am just getting around to posting the recipe lol.

Pecan pie is awesome to begin with, but turn it into little cookies and its even better! I say that eating just one cookie is better than having a whole slice of pie, but once you have one of these...you will probably end up eating the equivalent of a piece of pie ;)

Pecan Pie Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

http://www.beantownbaker.com/2009/10/pecan-pie-cookies.html

Cookie Ingredients

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Filling Ingredients

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all cookie ingredients, except flour and baking powder. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low, add flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed.

Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place two inches apart on cookie sheets. Make indentation in center of each cookie with thumb.

Combine all filling ingredients. Fill each cookie with 1 tsp filling. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for one minute then remove from cookie sheets.