Almond Bark Pretzels

Almond Bark Pretzels have been a standard Christmas time treat in my family for as long as I can remember.  My mom made these every year at Christmastime and I continue to make every year as well, but they do take a little time and patience (well, at least for me).  You can use a double boiler method to melt the almond bark, but I really like using my electric fondue pot on a low setting so I don't have to keep an I on the double boiler.  What's also fun about these little guys is that you can sprinkle on some holiday sprinkles before the bark hardens up to add that little something special to them.

Ingredients:

1 block of almond bark squares
1 large bag of mini pretzels
slivers of parafin wax






















Break apart almond bark bar and put in top part of a double boiler or an electric fondue pot on low heat.  Let it melt.  Add in slivers of parafin wax and mix until it is incorporated.






















Drop in pretzels (about 10 at a time) and stir them around until they are coated.





















Pick out the pretzels with a tweezers and shake off excess almond bark.















Set coated pretzels on waxed paper and let cool until bark is hardened.  Store in airtight container.

Chocolate Crinkles

This yummy brownie like cookie looks like it just stepped out in the snow.  I like to add these cookies to my Christmas goodie platters because they look just like big chocolate snow balls.  The key to these cookies is getting the batter chilled enough to keep it firm.  Even while you are making up the cookies to be baked put the bowl back in the fridge between batches to keep the dough chilled.  This will keep the cookies from flattening out too much when they get baked.

Ingredients:















1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Method:

In large bowl, mix oil, chocolate, granulated sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time.

Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. 

Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray.



Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar; roll around to coat and shape into balls.


Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.



Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

More Christmas Cookie Baking Ideas

Today I start my holiday cookie baking!!!!  It has always been a tradition in my family to bake all sorts of different types of cookies and candies at Christmas time.  My mom would make at least 6-7 different kinds of goodies and keep them in containers out in our cold farm house porch throughout the month of December. When it was time to go to a holiday gathering she would load up a plate with a few of each of her goodies.

Now I carry on that tradition of making some of my childhood favorites for my family and friends, but I also like to try a few new recipes each year to find new family favorites. Here are a few recipes I've shared with you in the past to give you some inspiration of things you might like to make this year:

Peanut Butter Blossoms
Holiday Sugar Cookies (Butter Cookies)
Almond Flavored Spritz Cookies
Christmas Tree Stacked Cookie
Starry Peanut Butter Cookies
Holiday Sandies
Holiday Monster Cookies
Peanut Butter Christmas Mice
Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Chocolate Mint Dreams
Peppermint Swirl Cookies
Oreo Truffle Balls
Puppy Chow
Chocolate Cookie Bark
Chocolate Covered Marshmallows
Chex Mix - Classic Style

Click here to see what I've decided to make up this year for my line up of Christmas cookies.

One of my most favorite ways to get new cookie recipes is hosting or attending a Christmas Cookie Exchange.  Here are a couple links to past cookie exchanges that I hosted to help get some ideas on how to host your own:

Christmas Cookie Exchange - 2009
Christmas Cookie Exchange (Brunch) - 2010

Butter Cookies

These are the best sugar cookies I have ever had and the recipe from a former colleague, Mr. Larry Hoyt, who was a man of few words but full of wisdom and timeful wise cracks. He used to bring these cookies into work with him and I probably ate most of them. They are soft and chewy and I think the nutmeg and almond flavoring gives them a special yumminess in your mouth.  I use this recipe every time I make sugar cookies for the different holidays.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp almond extract

2 1/4 cups flour

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Method:

Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla, and extract.



Mix in flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Chill dough for 20 minutes.


Roll out to 1/4 inch and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.



Bake at 375 F/190 C for 6 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Decorated for Halloween:














Decorated for a Princess Birthday Party














Decorated for Easter














Decorated for a Butterfly Party

Chocolate-Candy Cane Cookies

I found this recipe in an old issue of Kraft's Food and Family magazine and thought it looked wonderful. I found my dough to be a little softer and stickier than it should be, but I'm guessing it was because the UK's consistency of cream cheese is much softer.

Ingredients:

1 - 8oz package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

4 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted (4 oz)

1 pkg (6 oz) premium white baking chocolate

12 hard peppermint candies, crushed

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C.

Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.

Add flour and baking soda; mix well. Then add in melted semi-sweet chocolate.

Mix well.

Shape tablespoonsfuls of dough into 52 balls.

Roll each ball into 3-inch long rope.

Place 2 inches apart, on baking sheet, bending top of each slightly to resemble a candy cane.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned; cool 5 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks; cool completely.

Microwave white or dark chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over cookies.

Sprinkle with crushed candies. Let stand until chocolate is firm.

Christmas Cookie Tree

For Christmas gifts for my daughter's preschool teachers I thought it would be fun to find a neat way to share some of our favorite Christmas cookies with them. I found a cookie cutter kit by Wilton that allows you to cut out different sized star shapes and then arrange them as a 3-D Christmas tree. Even if you don't have the kit, you may have different sized stars in your cookie cutter collection that you could try out. This definitely something different than I'd seen before and the teachers were just googly over them!

I utilized my Butter Cookie recipe to make the biscuits. Then we iced them and sprinkled the edges of the cookies with various colored balls and colored sugars to resemble the ornaments.

Then we stacked them up on top of each other to make the tree and topped it off with a yellow "star."

I just wrapped them up in cling wrap to keep them from drying out. I twisted the tops and added a decorative ribbon and tag. I looks good enough to eat!!!!

Starry Peanut Butter Cookies

Traditionally the these tasty cookies are flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork, but you can add a holiday flare to them by making a star shape in it instead. They are so soft and chewy and last well through the holidays. They added something special to my Christmas cookie trays this year.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).

Combine peanut butter, shortening, light brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.
Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.

Flatten slightly with the tines of a fork in a star shape.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 7 to 8 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet on a cooling rack; remove cookies to rack to cool completely.

Holiday Sandies

I found this recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine years ago and thought the cookies looked pretty. After making them I found them to be super tasty as well. I love the tangy lemon and tart cranberries are the perfect combination. I made them for my Christmas cookie exchange this year and they were perfect...I will definitely make them again next year.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup finely chopped dried cranberries

2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel

Red and green course decorating sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.

Add powdered sugar; beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Bet in vanilla. Beat in as much flour as you can.

Stir in cranberries.

Add lemon peel.

Work in remaining flour with hands if mixture is crumbly.

(If you don't have colored sugar you can make it by mashing together sugar with a few drops of food coloring.)

Shape dough in 1/2, 3/4, or 1- inch balls; rolling in sugar.

Arrange 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.

Bake 10 minutes for 1/2-inch, 13 minutes for 3/4 inch, and 15 minutes for 1-inch cookies, or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Makes 36 (1-inch) cookies.

Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days. Freeze up to 2 months.