holiday goodies

One of my favorite parts about being off of work over the holidays is that I have lots of time to bake!  I've dusted off some of my old favorite recipes, and I've also tried out some newbies.  

The first thing I tackled were Christmas treats for Austin's bosses.  I made them some Oreo Balls and Peppermint Bark.  

Oreo Balls

I found some cute containers to put all of the goodies in.  They look like little Chinese take-out boxes, but they were holiday themed!   I put the balls on the bottom...

...and I put the pieces of Peppermint Bark on top.  

I think they turned out cute.  Austin forwarded me all of the "thank you" emails from his bosses, so I was glad that they liked the treats!

Here's the recipe for Oreo Balls in case ya want to try it out: Oreo Balls

  

For the Peppermint Bark, I just melted some dark chocolate then melted white chocolate on top of that after the dark stuff had set.  I sprinkled some crushed peppermint on top, and viola!  

I also made these Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies for a cookie exchange at my school.  

Here is a link to the recipe!

For Christmas Eve I whipped up some Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Here's how I make 'em!

I also made some Chex Mix on Christmas Eve:

This is the recipe I used.

Once we were back in Dallas, I whipped up some Pecan Sandies.  My grandma makes these at Christmas, and I've always wanted to try them for myself.  They turned out really good!  Buttery, flaky, slightly crispy, and sweet.  Yum!

I used this recipe.

For New Year's Eve I made another batch of Chocolate Chippers.  I am loving how easy it is to make these in my new mixer!

One of my other Christmas presents is making my cooking baking a little easier too.  My Aunt Linda gave me this awesome cookie spatula from Oxo.  I used it to transfer my cookies from baking sheet to plate, and I also used it to flip some eggs earlier that day.  It's a great gift for anyone who bakes!

Another thing I made on New Year's Eve were these Chubby Hubby Truffles.  These babies are always a crowd pleaser...

Find the recipe here!

 The last thing I baked over the holidays was this chocolate pie.  My heavens...this thing is GOOD.  I got the recipe from my grandma who got it from my other grandma, so it's extra special to me.

This pie is made in a double boiler, but I had to find a way to use my new mixer because I am obsessed.  Enter freshly whipped cream!

I topped the chocolate with my fresh whipped cream and decorated it with a few chocolate chips.  It turned out great!  

Here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons flour

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup cocoa powder

pinch salt

1 cup Carnation evaporated milk

1 cup water

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Combine the flour, sugar, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and salt in a double boiler (I use a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water).  Once the chocolate chips melt, add in the milk, water, and egg yolks.  Stir the mixture every once in awhile until it starts to bubble.  Once it starts bubbling, add the butter and vanilla.  Allow it to thicken a little bit more, and pour into a graham cracker pie shell.  Let it set in the fridge for a couple of hours.  Top with whipped cream, cool whip, or meringue.  

As you can see, my holidays were definitely sweet!  I think I'll buy some green things the next time I go to the store.  My body could probably use a little break from the sugar :)