1)Christmas Tree Brownies
It’s never a bad time for a brownie, and they’re so easy to jazz up for a special occasion.
Make your favorite recipe and cool in the fridge until they’re firm.
(I know it’s hard, and I won’t tell if you sneak a piece while they’re still warm!)
Cut into tree shapes and use a piece of candy cane for the base.
Pipe your green frosting over the top and sprinkle with holiday-colored sprinkles for super easy, fan-favorite treats. It’s never a bad time for a brownie, and they’re so easy to jazz up for a special occasion.
INGREDIENTS: For the brownies:
cooking spray
1/2 cup butter
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 Eggland's Best eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour
For the decorations:
16 small candy canes
16 gold star sprinkles or candies
1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles
2 cups green frosting homemade or store bought, a basic homemade frosting recipe is provided in the notes section
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9"x13" pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.
Place the butter and chocolate chips into a large bowl. Melt in microwave - heat for 30 second intervals and stir between each interval until butter and chocolate are melted and thoroughly combined.
Stir in the sugar, then stir in the eggs, one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition.
Stir in the vanilla extract. Gently fold in the salt and flour.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out clean.
Cool the brownies to room temperature, then chill for at least 30 minutes.
Using the edges of the foil, remove the slab of brownie from the pan. Using a sharp knife, cut the brownies into 16 triangles.
Snap the curved parts off the candy canes and insert the straight parts of the candy canes into the bottom of the brownies.
Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a plain or star tip, or resealable plastic bag with the tip snipped off. Pipe approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of frosting onto each brownie.
Place a star sprinkle at the top of each brownie, then add rainbow sprinkles all over each brownie.
Serve, or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to one day.
2)Pretzel M&M's Hugs (Christmas style)
Recipes like this are excellent for a quick treat, year-round.
Just switch out regular chocolate for white, and use red and green M&Ms to make these the perfect elf-like treats.
You can make as few or as many as you need, and if you have some cute Christmas bags, they are a fast gift for classmates, co-workers, and family alike.
Ingredients
70 square pretzels (do NOT use butter snaps)
70 Hershey's Hugs chocolates (from nearly 1 full 12 oz package), unwrapped
70 Milk Chocolate M&M's , I used the red and green Christmas package
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Align pretzels on cookie sheet in a single layer then top each pretzel with one Hershey's Hug chocolate.
Bake in preheated oven for 4 - 5 minutes, until the chocolate is shiny and soft (but NOT melting, the chocolates should still hold their shape).
Remove from oven and carefully place one M&M in the center of each soft Hug and press down on M&M to spread the chocolate.
Place in freezer or refrigerator and allow to rest until chocolate has set, about 5 - 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container.
3)Melted Snowmen Oreo Balls
These snowman truffles might just be my favorite!
They’re just too cute, with their little Oreo hats and piped noses.
They’ll take a little more time but are so worth it. From the texture to the fact that they are so easy to make, I love gifting a variety of these for every occasion.
INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
36 OREO Cookies (regular size), finely crushed
16 oz vanilla candy coating
48 Mini OREO Bite Size Cookies
decorations: decorating icing or gel; multi-colored sprinkles
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix cream cheese and cookie crumbs until well blended. I like to crush the Oreos in a food processor and then add the cream cheese and process it together. It can also be done by hand though.
Shape into 48 (1-inch) balls; place in single layer in shallow pan. Some readers have stuck toothpicks in the top before freezing for easier dipping later. Freeze for at least 20 minutes. They can be frozen for longer. Dip balls in melted coating (see note); I do this by using a fork and tapping the fork on the bowl of my candy coating to remove some of the extra coating. If you used the toothpick option dip balls and then gently remove the toothpick and fill in the hole with melted candy coating. Place in shallow waxed paper-lined pan, allowing excess coating to pool at bottom of each ball.
Chill balls until coating is set.
Decorate with remaining ingredients as shown in photo. You can use the candy coating to adhere the hat to the head. Place in the fridge immediately to set up the decorations.
Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Keep refrigerated.
4)A Peppermint- Chip Milk Shake
Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean we can’t all enjoy an icy milkshake by the fire.
And this is the one to try.
Starting with a vanilla ice-cream base, you will need to blend in peppermint bark, peppermint extract, and just enough milk to make it easier to drink.
Ingredients
4 cups vanilla bean ice cream, about 12 large scoops
⅔ cup peppermint bark, crushed
½ cup whole milk
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
Red gel food coloring, optional
Whipped cream, for garnish
Maraschino cherries, for garnish
Instructions
Place the bark in a sandwich bag and finely crush it with a rolling pin or meat mallet.
Scoop the ice cream into a blender and pour in the crushed bark, the milk, and the extract, then blend until smooth. Start on low speed until the mixture is combined, then turn it up to medium to crush the bark more finely. If desired, add more peppermint extract to taste.
If you would like to add food coloring, blend in a little bit at a time. You need just enough to tint the shake a pale pink.
Immediately pour the milkshake into tall glasses and garnish with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry and Enjoy!
5)Gingerbread Men
Run, Run as fast as you can, you can get enough of this gingerbread man!
These festive gingerbread men are a holiday classic! The dough will be sticky, so wrap it up and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour. When you’re ready, roll it out between parchment for an easier and smoother transfer of cookies!
INGREDIENTS
2¾ cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
2 teaspoons baking soda
Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
6 tablespoons molasses,(preferably "Grandma's Original")
Store-bought icing, for decorating
INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and molasses.
Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Divide the dough in half and shape into two discs. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour or up to three days.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F ; set two racks near the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. (If the dough has been in the fridge for longer than an hour, you'll need to let it sit out at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes and knead it briefly until it is supple enough to roll.) Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Dust more flour over the dough. Roll, turning and adding more flour under and over the dough as necessary, to about ⅛-inch thick (or for softer cookies, roll to ¼-inch thick). Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, using a spatula if necessary. Gather the dough scraps and knead into a ball, then roll out and cut again, adding more flour as necessary. Repeat until scraps are used up.
Bake the cookies, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back midway through, for 8 to 10 minutes or until they feel firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for several minutes until set, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining parts of dough
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