Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Magic Wands

Ingredients:

10 pretzel rods
3 oz. chocolate chips

In tall microwave-safe cup, microwave chocolate chips 1-2 minutes or
until chocolate is softened enough to stir smooth. Dip pretzel rods down into chocolate and around sides of cup till all but 1-2" of the end of the pretzel are covered. Place on wax paper. Sprinkle with decorative candies and sugars. Repeat with remaining rods. Let stand about 1 hour at room temperature until chocolate is firm.

We love making these, especially during the holidays. My daughters decorated a couple of bags of pretzel rods this year and added them to the goodie bags they gave to their friends. Luckily there are still some left - I love the salt and chocolate combination.

Giant Candy Kiss

Ingredients:

6 oz. chocolate chips
1 chocolate kiss
Tupperware funnel

Place large funnel in a cup. Unwrap chocolate kiss and place so tip blocks the small opening of the funnel. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave. Chocolate will retain shape in microwave but will be soft to stir. Fill funnel with melted chocolate. Place in freezer for at least 45 minutes. To remove chocolate from funnel after it has hardened, smack funnel on counter. Remove giant kiss. Wrap in foil with a paper strip tag.

My girls like to give these as gifts to some of their friends at Christmas time. They're fun to give - you can write your own personal message on the strip; and kids love getting them and eating them too!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas Mice Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 c. margarine, softened
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
peanuts
cinnamon candies
licorice shoelaces, cut in 3" pieces

Preheat oven to 350. Beat margarine and peanut butter at medium speed in mixing bowl. Slowly add sugars, beat well. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Mix flour and soda together; slowly add to creamed mixture, mix well. Cover and chill 2 hours. Shape into 1" balls. Taper end of each ball to form tear-drop. Press one side flat and place flat side down onto ungreased cookie sheet 2" apart. Press sides of dough to raise backs of mice. Place nut halves for ears. Make a hole at the tail with a toothpick. Bake 9 minutes. Put red candy eyes, bake 1-2 minutes more. Insert tails. Cool.

These are labor-intensive but lots of fun for the kids to help with. They love seeing them on the cookie plate, and they love eating them too of course! We tried using M&M candies for the noses and the kids decided to use black sprinkles placed for the eyes instead of the cinnamon candies. They turned out very cute!

Butter Pecan Squares

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. flour
2 c. chocolate chips

3/4 c. pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350
. In mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla till light and fluffy. Blend in the flour. Stir in 1 cup of the chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of pecans. Pour into greased 8" square baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips. When the chips melt, spread evenly over top with knife. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of pecans. Allow to cool and cut into squares. Makes 16 bars.

This was an untested recipe I had collected. We made these bars as part of our holiday baking. A good nutty, chocolaty treat.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Pretzel Kisses

Ingredients:

1 package chocolate kiss candy
1 package pretzel square/waffles
1 package plain M&M candy

Preheat oven to 170. Line the pretzels up on a cookie sheet. Unwrap kisses and place one kiss on the center of each pretzel square. Put them in the preheated oven for 4-6 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press an M&M in the center of each melted kiss.

Delicious salty/sweet treat, and super easy. Use holiday colored M&M to make them extra festive, or certain colors for particular themed parties. You could use the mint flavor of the crispy M&Ms too. I like how they add that extra pop of color on our goodie trays, so much fun!

Brownie Candy Cups

Ingredients:

1 fudge brownie mix (family size, 9"x13" pan size)
2 eggs
1/3 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil
about 30 mini peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 350. Place cupcake liners in muffin pans. In mixing bowl, combine brownie mix, eggs, water and oil. Stir with spoon until well blended, about 50 strokes. Place 2 level tablespoons of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake 10 minutes. While baking, remove the wrappers from the peanut butter cups. Remove the brownie cups from the oven and push 1 peanut butter cup candy into the center of each cupcake until even with the surface of the brownie. Bake 5-7 minutes longer. Cool completely.

This is a great way to pump up a regular brownie mix. I made these as part of our holiday goodie trays. Also it would be a fun thing to make for an OSU tailgate party.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Snacks

Ingredients:

1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
3 cups corn cereal (Cap'n Crunch type)

Line cookie sheet with wax paper. Combine corn syrup, choco
late chips and sugar in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in peanut butter. Microwave on high 30 seconds more or until peanut butter is melted; stir until smooth. Stir in cereal until all pieces are evenly coated. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet. Chill 30 minutes or until firm. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Makes about 4 dozen.

These remind me of a crunchy caramel peanut butter cup. These are so quick and easy, and no baking required! Great anytime of year, also a great addition to the holiday goodie trays.