Christmas Goodies…

Just a quick post today, I’ve been in the kitchen all day making these Christmas goodies and now I’m ready to go back outside and walk in the snow with my buddies..

PECAN SNOWBALLS

1Cup Margarine

1/2C Powdered Sugar

2C Sifted Flour (although I didn’t sift mine and they’re still good)

1/8tsp Salt

2C Chopped Pecan Nuts

2tsp Vanilla

More powdered sugar for rolling the baked cookies.. Makes about 80 snowballs

Preheat oven to 350F (180C)

Cream Margarine and powdered sugar until smooth, add flour, salt, and pecans. Add vanilla.

Shape into small balls and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown on greased baking sheet. Remove and roll in powdered sugar…once cooled roll them once again in the powdered sugar….it’s messy yeah….but worth it!

BAILEY BALLS

I messed up on these BUT…they were still good and probably better then the original….this is going to be difficult to explain to my English speaking readers but I’m going to try, the original recipie was as follows:

200gram Marsipan

2-3SS Bailey’s Liquor

Knead the Bailey’s into the marispan. Roll small balls of this mixture and lay on a cookie sheet and let cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

OR if you mess up like me and use 200grams Mandelmasse (Almond paste which can be baked as cookies with an almond taste) bake the balls for about 15-20 minutes…check them regularly- wasn’t expecting to bake these so don’t really have anything to go by…so check them..they will be a little soft…

Let them cool and while they cool, melt 100 grams milk chocolate. Dip the cooled cookies in the chocolate and then roll them in Nesquick (or OBoy for we in Europe) chocolate powder- voila….if you use marsipan you will not bake these- chill them in the fridge 30 minutes…

After dipping and rolling in chocolate- set them in the fridge to chill. YUMMY…

GINGER COOKIES

These little babies are Christmas in a cookie…the taste of ginger and molasses…clover, cinnamon….it’s all YUM YUM Christmas!!!!

1/2C Butter

1/4C Shortening (I Used 3/4 Cup Margarine and skipped the butter and shortening)

1C Sugar plus 2TBSP Sugar (Divided)

1EGG

1/4C Molasses (ugh…for my Norwegian readers..this one is hard, I use to think that thick dark syrup you give babies with constipation- totally at a loss for words right now…was Molasses- but it’s not..but it MIGHT work)

1tsp Vanilla

2C Flour

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

2tsp Ginger

1tsp Baking Soda

1/2tsp Salt

1tsp Cloves

Cream butter/shortening (or margarine) together with sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses and vanilla- mix well. Add dry ingredients. Roll into small balls and roll in sugar…place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375F(180C) for about 10 minutes…check them..I love them soft and gooey so I take them out a LITTLE early..

EASY CHOCOLATE FUDGE

Now I really winged this one…the original recipie was for peppermint chocolate fudge…the only variable I omitted was the peppermint candy and the peppermint extract. So if you want to make the peppermint chocolate version of this, just exchange the 1/2tsp vanilla extract for peppermint and crush some peppermint candy and have it over the top here…

The measurements were tricky here also because we don’t have packages of milk chocolate chips here, so I used chocolate bars and they are 100 grams a piece..

1 pkg (350 grams) milk chocolate chips

1 Cup (250ml) Semi sweet chocolate chips (I used Dronningsjokolade)

1 Can (300 ml) regular sweetened condensed milk. (I used the little can I bought here that was 397ml but just didn’t put it all in)

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or peppermint)

1/4 C Crushed peppermint candy.

For the next recipie I followed this exact recipie above only I used white chocolate and since I can’t find peppermint extract here I used vanilla- and I made white chocolate peppermint “bark” or fudge…

WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT FUDGE

I put both of these fudge candies in a paper lined square pan (tiny one) and will cut them into pieces after they are cooled…

HOMEMADE REESES PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

I admit, I got tired of being in the kitchen about the time I made these, so I only made a few in tiny muffin cups and then decided to pour the rest of the peanut butter mixture in a little pan and smooth it out to about a 1/2 inch thick and then poured the chocolate over and smoothed it out…will cut this into small pieces later once it’s completely cooled..but if you want to take the time and put them in tiny muffin cups- go for it!

Recipie is as follows:

50 grams (20 ounces) dark brown sugar

200 grams (70 ounces) powdered sugar

50 grams butter (softened) (I used margarine)

200 grams Peanut Butter (smooth is what the original recipie calls for but I only have access to chunky- so chunky it was!!)

Topping: 200 grams milk chocolate and 100 grams dark chocolate.

Blend all the ingredients into a sandy texture- fill muffin cups or small pan with peanut butter mixture.

Melt chocolate over a pot of boiling water…top over the peanut butter mixture.

Cool completely in fridge…serve..

This recipie is from Nigella Lawson’s food program on the BBC Food channel…To be honest, I had to add a little more powdered sugar, but I’m not sure I measured correctly…but to get the sandy texture I had to add more powdered sugar- didn’t measure this..just added until I got a texture I liked..

Now the best thing I made according to the family….

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE PECAN COOKIES…

1Cup Butter (I used Margarine)

1Cup Sugar

1Cup Brown Sugar

2Eggs

2C Flour

1tsp baking soda

1tsp salt

2 C Quick cook rolled oats

2tsp vanilla

A dash of cinnamon ( maybe 1 tsp if I have to say a measurement)

I used 200 grams dronningsjokolade (semi sweet chocolate) cut in chunks

200 grams white chocolate cut in chunks..

1/2 Cup crushed pecan nuts..

Cream Butter/margarine with sugars- add the rest of the ingredients- bake at 350F (180C) for about 8-10 minutes…again I take mine out a little early because I like them chewy…so keep an eye on the first batch and take them out then accordingly…

OK my friends I am out of here…the daylight is leaving in record speed and it’s snowing so it’s extra dark..need to get out and make a round in the snow before it gets pitch black…

Be well my friends…..Until Next time…