…for baking!
My kitchen is a disaster, and I spent forever washing dishes, but these Christmas treats are worth it! Today I made chocolate covered cherries, peppermint bark, and chocolate pretzels, and then I tried out a new sugar cookie recipe. I hope you enjoy these treats!
Recipe for Chocolate Covered Cherries
Ingredients:
16 oz powdered sugar
5 Tbsp soft butter
2 Tbsp half and half cream <–I used whole milk today but used a little less.
½ tsp vanilla
2 10-oz jars maraschino cherries, well drained
8 oz Guittard melting chocolate or other melting milk chocolate
Directions:
Drain cherries and lay on a paper towel to dry.
Knead the powdered sugar, butter, cream, and vanilla. Flatten a spoonful of dough in the palm of your hand and roll dough around a cherry. Place on a parchment lined sheet and repeat with the rest of the cherries. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Using a toothpick, dip each cherry and return to the sheet. Let them cool and continue to harden in the refrigerator. Store in a cool, dry place! Enjoy!
Peppermint Bark
Back home there is a cake decorating shop that I absolutely love. For quite a while my mom would bring me melting chocolate (milk, dark, and white!) when she visited, and my dad would joke, “They don’t have chocolate in Arizona!”. I recently found a shop that carries good chocolate, so my mom won’t be having to lug chocolate around in her suitcase anymore. However, the same shop back in Texas has the best peppermint pieces for bark. I haven’t found it here, but you could certainly crush candy canes and create a similar effect.
The peppermint bark uses a 2:1 ratio of white chocolate to peppermint pieces. I usually melt 1 lb of white chocolate in a double boiler and then stir in ½ lb of peppermint pieces. Once fully incorporated, spread it out on a wax paper covered baking sheet, and then refrigerate. I spread the chocolate fairly thin; it cools quicker and then breaks into pieces easier. I store my bark in a container in the refrigerator, so it lasts longer!
Chocolate Pretzels
These are extremely easy and always a hit! All you need is a bag of square pretzels, Hershey hugs, and m&ms. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Unwrap as many hugs as you want and then place each one on a pretzel. Bake for 3 minutes, just enough to slightly melt the hugs. Take out of the oven and immediately place an m&m on each hug. Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator and let it continue to cool and harden. (Funny story: The grocery store was out of Christmas m&ms, so I had to sift through a regular bag and pick out the red and green ones! The things we do…ha!)
Christmas Cookies
I found this cookie recipe through Williams Sonoma – it’s a recipe courtesy of baker Patti Paige. These cookies are delicious and remind me of shortbread. I didn’t frost mine because they are great as is! The cooking time will vary. The recipe says 9-15 minutes, but mine were ready in 7-8. I think mine were thinner, thus the shorter baking time.
Ingredients:
2 ½ c + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp (I was 1 Tbsp short, so I replaced 1 with shortening)
1 c + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract <– I used clear
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Using a mixer, combine the butter and sugar on medium speed. Add the egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix it until a dough forms.
Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Tear off 6 sheets of parchment paper – place a dough ball on 3 of them, and then place a sheet on top of each ball. Roll each ball into a flat disc, about ¼ inch thick. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Take one disc out of the fridge and loosen the parchment paper until it comes away from the dough. Set it back on top of the dough (loosely) and then flip over and repeat with the other piece of parchment paper. This will keep the cookies from sticking!
Cut out shapes and place on a lined baking sheet. Cook for about 9 minutes, or until edges are slightly browned, and then let cool briefly on the sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
(These cookies don’t spread, so you can place cookies pretty close together when baking.)
Happy baking, friends!
taste and SPARKLE 