With Sprinkles on Top

Oh sweet lord in heaven: buckeyes. Given my obsessive love for all things peanut butter, it should come as no surprise that buckeyes rank high on my list of favorite treats. I will admit that these are not the prettiest of buckeyes – some are cracked, some are poorly coated in chocolate, some are a little lopsided. But that’s okay! I’ll have to work on my chocolate-coating skills for next time.

Yield: 36-42 candies

Buckeyes

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A delicious and bite-sized combination of chocolate and peanut butter!

Prep Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 14 graham crackers)
• Pinch of salt
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 12 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped

Instructions

Make the filling:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together until combined.

2. Add the graham cracker crumbs and beat for 10 seconds.

3. Add the sugar and butter, and mix on a low speed until the ingredients combine. Scrape down the whole bowl well, then mix again. The mixture will be quite sturdy and a little dry. Set it aside while you prepare the coating.

Make the coating:

1. Melt the chocolate either over a double boiler, stirring until it is completely smooth or in a microwave in 30 then 10 second increments, stirring before you start it again until it is completely smooth

.2. Let it cool to tepid (about 100 degrees) while you shape the peanut butter centers.

Assemble the candies:

1. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scoop out slightly more than one tablespoon’s worth of filling and use your hands to form it into a ball.

2. Place the ball on the prepared sheet and repeat the process until all of the candies have been shaped. They can sit close to each other but make sure they are not touching.

3. Using a fork or large skewer, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll it about so that almost the entire candy is coating, leaving a small circle uncoated.

4. Chill the buckeyes until they are set, about 30 minutes.

Notes

Buckeyes will keep in the fridge for about 3-4 days. Be sure to store in an airtight container.

Recipe credit: Smitten Kitchen

My friend Lauren dropped off a big container of her homemade Christmas goodies. These Special K bars were included in the mix and I ate all of them in less than a day. Lauren gave me the recipe that she used and I made another batch, adapting her recipe just a bit!

Yield: About 18 bars

Special K Bars

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Do you call them Special K bars or Scotcheroos? Either way, these are the perfect no-bake dessert!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
• 6 to 7 cups Special K cereal
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Instructions

1. Cook the corn syrup, sugar, and vanilla over medium heat until it begins to boil; remove from heat. Use a large pot for this, as you’ll be adding in the other ingredients.

2. Add the peanut butter and cereal, stirring until well-mixed. I used about 6-1/2 cups of cereal.

3. Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9×13″ pan.

4. Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips in a double boiler (microwave is OK if you make sure not to burn the chocolate). Pour the chocolate/butterscotch mixture over the cereal. Refrigerate to cool.

Cutting these bars can be a p-a-i-n. I found it was easiest to refrigerate the bars to cool them — and when you’re ready to cut them, let them sit out on the counter for about an hour. This warms them up and they become much easier to cut.

Notes

Your yield will depend on how big or small you cut your bars.

Oreo truffles!! A holiday classic. These are super simple and easy to make — and you can really get creative with decorating them. Cover them in white, milk, or dark chocolate. Use sprinkles if you’d like. Try mint Oreos for a different flavor! You can also add extracts, like almond, to add an additional flavor (try about 1/2 teaspoon).

Yield: About 30-40 truffles

Oreo Truffles

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This is a perfect and EASY dessert that your kids or grandkids could help make!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz.) package Oreo cookies
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
• 1 (24 oz.) package white almond bark (I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips)

Instructions

1. Mix the Oreos and cream cheese together in a food processor – make sure they are well-blended. Shape the dough into balls about 1-inch in diameter. Chill the balls in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, or until firm.

2. Melt the chocolate for the coating. A double boiler will work best, but you can also use the microwave if you’re careful not to burn the chocolate. If the chocolate is too thick, you can use shortening to thin it out (stir in about 1 Tablespoon of shortening at a time, until you achieve the consistency you want).

3. Dip the balls into the chocolate to coat; carefully remove with a fork and let the excess chocolate drip off. Set to dry on wax paper.

4. Optional: You can decorate with sprinkles – make sure you do so before the chocolate hardens. You can also drizzle the chocolate over the truffles instead of coating them entirely.

Notes

Your yield will depend on how big or small you make your truffles.

Red velvet cake reminds me of the holidays. How can it not? It’s RED. And decadent. With a hint of cocoa. Covered in cream cheese frosting. Mmmm. It does, however, make me laugh and cringe just a bit to know that an entire bottle of red food coloring went into this cake! I LOVED the frosting from this recipe – it’s much more fluffy and light than other cream cheese frostings. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake
Recipe source: Sugar Plum
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2 3/4 cups cake flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 ( ounce) bottle red food coloring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs

Frosting
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, or spray with nonstick-flour added cooking spray.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk until combined.
3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, food coloring and vanilla until combined.
4. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs – about 2 minutes – until well combined. Gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk mixture (scraping down sides of bowl occasionally), until combined; continue to beat an additional 2 minutes or until ingredients are well incorporated and batter is smooth.
5. Divide batter into prepared cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F, for 35-40 minutes, or until center of cake springs back when lightly touched, and outer edges pull away from pan. Cool pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes; run a knife around outside edges and invert cakes onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the frosting:
1. Whisk together sugar, milk and flour in a medium sized saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently. Continue to boil for 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly, until thickened; cool in the refrigerator or freezer until completely chilled.
2. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and cream cheese until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Beat in chilled milk mixture and vanilla, until well combined and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
3. To assemble the cake: spread frosting evenly over layers, sides and top of cake.

I have a shameful, dirty little secret: I love candied cherries. They are bizarre and the green ones are so ridiculously unnatural, but I love them. They remind me of Christmas morning – when my family would always have a stollen, covered in frosting and candied cherries, waiting to be consumed! I smiled when I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman’s website last week and had to share it!

Christmas Cherry Cookies
Recipe source: The Pioneer Woman
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2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 whole egg yolks, stirred
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted twice
Candied red and green cherries

1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add egg yolks, vanilla, orange peel, lemon peel, and lemon juice, and mix until combined. Scrape bowl with a spatula and then mix again.
3. Add sifted flour and mix until combined. Place dough in a ziploc bag and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or until firm.
4. When ready to make the cookies, preheat oven to 300F. Cut candied cherries in half.
5. Roll the dough into small balls and set on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper; gently press the cherry halves, cut side down, into each ball.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, removing from oven before they start to brown. Cool on a wire rack.