Sweet Christmas Treats

Hi there! We've been busy over here creating some goodies to give out to neighbors - I'm sure we're not the only ones either! Stress city is almost over - I can't believe how much work making goodies is. Thank goodness for awesome helpers! Thanks Jen, Sarah, and Amy - you're babes! (quite literally too, they're gorgeous!)

The first new recipe we tried was sugar cookies with chocolate and crushed peppermint. My favorite part about this is the new sugar cookie recipe I found while searching for this cookie (that I was introduced to by a good friend in school. (Thanks Kristi!)

You can find the awesome new sugar cookie recipe here: Delicious Sugar Cookies

Tips: Cream butter and sugar while the butter is cold. I used a thin vase to cut out 1 1/2 - 2 inch circles for this recipe. (You'll see why this is important tomorrow!) The chocolate used in this recipe is just chocolate chips, so it's not tempered and needs to be kept in the freezer/fridge. If I did it again, I might just use the sugar cookies on their own with festive sugar crystals on the top. This recipe does NOT need frosting. It is delicious without!

If you want the chocolate peppermint version, here it is: Chocolate frosting and filling recipes

For this next dessert, there is no real recipe needed. If you've never had them, you must try them. This is one of my all time new favorite Christmas goodies. (Introduced to me by my used-to-be neighbor Jill Morris - who is not there to make them for me this year, so I'm doing it myself - miss you girl!)

Recipe (sort of): Make peanut butter Ritz sandwiches by smearing some peanut butter in between two Ritz crackers. Dip them in chocolate candy coating. Chocolate almond bark worked well. Make sure you don't use chocolate chips - they won't set at room temp. Drizzle with almond bark (white). Let set. Done!

I'm very excited about these next ones too. Caramel chocolate covered pretzels are the ones I really wanted to get the hang of this year. This is an AWESOME recipe!

Caramel Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Hints/Tips: Do not cook caramel to soft ball stage. It will be too hard...it will stick to wax paper without any kind of successful chance of being removed (unless you like a mouthful of paper)...but it will make delicious caramels! So, when she says boil for five minutes, she means five minutes! When you dip them, do not place directly on the wax paper. Prop up on the cookie sheet so that you will have less to mold (which can get sticky). Don't mold the caramel at room temperature...you'll get sticky. Have I mentioned it's sticky? Make sure it's been in the fridge for a while first.

Also, make sure you use chocolate almond bark or Wilton's candy coating, etc. Don't underestimate the power of tempered chocolate! You will be SO happy with these pretzels! I know I am!!!

P.S. Stay tuned for tomorrow or Tuesday, as you will need something to put the cookies in! :)