Countdown to Christmas Day 7: Triple Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

I can't believe it's already Dec 7th and we are almost a third of the way through the countdown to Christmas baking! Hopefully you have enjoyed the sweets I have posted so far and will continue to check out my blog as Christmas draws near. There are still some pretty fabulous recipes that I will be sharing with you. I was in Michaels the other day buying some baking supplies when the Wilton Cookie Exchange book caught my eye. After flipping through several of the recipes and looking at all of their elaborately decorated extravagant Christmas cookies I had to buy this book. Afterall, it isn't Christmas without an assortment of cookies. So to start my cookie baking I wanted to try a recipe I have never made before, biscotti.


Biscotti means "twice-baked" cookies. Once you make the cookie dough you form it into a log and bake it once. You then remove the log from the oven and allow to cool before cutting it up into pieces and putting back in the oven to bake a second time. This allows the cookies to become hardened and dry so that they can store for a long period of time.


Triple Chocolate Walnut Biscotti (adapted from Wilton Cookie Exchange book)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well. In small bowl, combine eggs, butter and vanilla.
  
• With electric mixer on low speed, gradually add egg mixture to flour mixture; mix until well blended.
  
• Stir in 1/4 cup white chocolate and 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
  
• On lightly floured work surface, knead dough until smooth. Roll into a 12 in log; place in middle of prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake 25-28 minutes or until firm to the touch.
• Cool log 30 minutes on cookie sheet. Slice into 1/2 in. thick pieces.
• Place slices cut side up on cookie sheet.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
  
• Bake biscotti an additional 15-20 minutes or until firm. Cool 10 minutes on cookie sheet; remove to cooling grid to cool completely.
• Drizzle with melted chocolate. (optional)
  
• Makes about 2 dozen biscotti.
  

These biscotti are the perfect compliment to a morning cup of coffee, or in my case hot chocolate since I'm not a coffee drinker. So if you have an upcoming holiday brunch this month, these biscotti are sure to be a hit at your party! Or maybe you could make a batch and take in to work for your co-workers to enjoy with their morning coffee.

ENJOY!

Countdown to Christmas Day 6: Rice Krispie Trees

Happy Dec 6th! Today's holiday sweet is an oldie but a goodie....Rice Krispie Treats cut out like Christmas trees! What kid doesn't like these ooeey gooey marshmallowy rice cereal treat? With only 3 ingrdients (butter, marshmallow and Rice Krispies) you can have a no fuss festive treat in no time.

You can find the recipe on the box of Rice Krispies cereal or on their website here. Melt the butter and marshmallows in a saucepan on the stove.


Add in the Rice Krispies and stir until combined with the marshmallow and spread in greased 9 x 13 pan to let set up.


Once the treats have set, grab your favorite cookie cutter and cut out some fun holiday shapes.


After I cut out all my Christmas trees I added and outline of green icing around the edge and garnished with some green crystal sprinkles for a glittery look.



Place the trees in a sandwich baggie and tie with a bow. These make great treats for your kids to pass out to their classmates as a holiday snack!

ENJOY!

Countdown to Christmas Day 5: Brownie Pops

Happy Dec 5th! If you like brownies and chocolate you are in for a treat! Here are some chocolate dipped brownie pops I made for the North Pole Stroll in downtown Mobile last night. All of the kids absolutely loved these, the gingerbread men were the favorites, followed by the Christmas trees. I have made brownie pops on several other occasions but it has been for only baby and wedding showers. In the past I have only done round balls of brownies dipped in chocolate with sprinkles. But with it being Christmas time I wanted to get a little more creative with the pops and make them into traditional holiday goodies such as gingerbread men and trees.


I found a set of mini cookie cutters at Michaels that I thought would be perfect to create my holiday themed brownie pops. The first step is to bake a pan of brownies. Once they have cooled, use your cookie cutters and cut out whatever brownie shapes you want. With all of the left over brownie scraps in the pan I rolled them into balls so that I could create more pops and none of the brownies went to waste.


Once all the brownie shapes were cut out I placed them on a cookie sheet and popped them into the freezer for a few hours to harden so they would be easier to dip in chocolate and not fall apart.


After the brownies had chilled for a few hours, I placed the lollipop stick in them and dipped them in melted chocolate Candy Melts. I used green melts for the trees, chocolate melts for the gingerbread men and white chocolate for the round pops. Before the chocolate hardened I added multi-colored non pareils and crushed up candy canes to the pops.


For the gingerbread men I did let the chocolate harden first before I added their embellishments. I piped on some green icing for the eyes and buttons and then placed sprinkles on top of the icing for their final touch.


In order to allow the pops to harden I placed them in pieces of styrofoam so that they would stand up right and not touch one another.


Once the chocolate hardened I put them in small plastic bags and tied them off with a piece of ribbon.


To display the brownie pops I placed them in recycled canned goods and tied a festive ribbon around the can. This is a very simple, cute and easy way to display the pops and makes for a great homemade centerpiece on your holiday table!

ENJOY!

Countdown to Christmas Day 4: Marshmallow Snowmen Cupcakes

Happy Dec 4th! It has been a few weeks since I have made cupcakes, so I was starting to have cupcake withdraw and wanted to whip up something festive and fun! I am going to keep this post short and sweet because I am soooo tired. I have been up since 6:00AM baking and decorating sweets on my vacation day so that I could be a vendor in the first annual North Pole Stroll in downtown Mobile tonight. I just walked in the door from a pretty successful night of selling holiday sweets! I had so much fun creating desserts to feature at this holiday event so stay tuned for another cute cute cute treat that I will post tomorrow!


How adorable are these marshmallow snowman cupcakes! I got some rave reviews for these little marshmallow men tonight! Just make a batch of cupcakes in your favorite flavor. Ice them with a white frosting to create the affect of a snow covered ground. Then stick a toothpick through 2 marshmallows and place in the cupcake. I cut a little slice off the top marshmallow so the head would be a little smaller than the body. Then I cut up some pieces of tootsie roll, flattened and shaped it into a round circle to create a hat, which is held on with a dab of icing. Using an edible marker I drew on the eyes and buttons and then placed an orange sprinkle in for the nose!


I put each cupcake in a clear plastic bag and tied with a twisty tie and put on a decorative box to display them! I am already booked for another holiday event on Dec 19 for the Christmas Parade in downtown Mobile....so I guarantee there are more marshmallow snowmen in the near future!

ENJOY!

Countdown to Christmas Day 3: Peppermint Meringue Kisses

Happy Dec 3rd! Let's just say 2nd time's a charm with this recipe! I had never made meringue kisses before and my first trial run was a flop. The texture of the meringues was very foamy and when I put the mixture into the piping bag to squeeze out the stars they deflated and didn't retain their nice crisp shape that you see in the picture above. I decided to go ahead and bake them and see what happened, but as I suspected the texture still didn't turn out right after baking. I have a feeling the ratio of egg whites to sugar I was using is what caused the texture problem. I was determined to try again and find a recipe that I would be successful with. After searching through a few recipes online and looking at several different ratios of egg whites to sugar I decided to try again, this time modifying my recipe.


Meringue mixture seems to be the right consistency...the moment of truth will be how they look once they come out of the oven.


Using Wilton star tip 1M to pipe meringue kisses on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.


Meringue kisses going into the oven to bake.


Round 2 of meringue kisses was a success! The texture ended up being perfect, crisp on the outside yet once you put them in your mouth they just melt...delicious!


Peppermint meringue kisses are perfect for a holiday treat for your friends or co-workers because one batch makes a large quantity and with only 3 ingredients they are pretty cheap. I put 6 meringues in a sandwich bag and tied them off with a red snowflake ribbon and added a homemade label that I created using a scalloped punch and markers.

Peppermint Meringue Kisses

3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
red food coloring

• Put egg whites and sugar into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Heat, whisking constantly, until sugar is dissolved about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer egg-white mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 15 minutes.
• Beat in peppermint extract and food coloring 1 drop at a time, to achieve desired shade. (I wanted a light pink color).
• Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Transfer meringue to pastry bag fitted with Wilton star tip 1M. Pipe 1-inch spiraled mounds with peaked tops onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 1 inch apart.
• Bake until meringues are crisp and can be removed easily from parchment, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Store in layers between pieces of parchment paper in airtight containers up to 1 week.
• Makes 6 dozen.
  

ENJOY!

Countdown to Christmas Day 2: White Chocolate Pretzel Bark

And the countdown to Christmas continues with day 2: White Chocolate Pretzel Bark. This is one of the easiest homemade candies I have ever made, as it only requires 3 ingredients and absolutely no baking at all. This treat is one that can satisfy both your sweet and salty cravings. The mixture of white chocolate with pretzel sticks and salty peanuts is the perfect combination.


White Chocolate Pretzel Bark

1 lb white chocolate
2 cups pretzel sticks
1 (6oz) can peanuts

Melt white chocolate in microwave for 30 second intervals until chocolate is melted. Add pretzel sticks and peanuts to melted chocolate and stir. Pour mixture on cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Break apart bark.



Pretzel bark ready to be broken apart into bite size pieces.


If you are pressed for time this holiday season and need a quick and easy crowd pleasing dessert, you can whip up a batch of White Chocolate Pretzel Bark in no time, and I guarantee there won't even be a crumb left this stuff is soooo goooood! I have been making this bark every Christmas as long as I can remember and putting it in cute holiday containers and giving away as gifts to family and friends. I guarantee once you take this pretzel bark to a holiday party, people are going to be asking you for the recipe!

ENJOY!

Countdown to Christmas Day 1: Ice Cream Ornaments

Happy December 1st! I have been anxiously awaiting this day so I can start my Christmas baking. December is my absolute favorite month to bake during the year. As you all know from a post I did last week, I have created an Advent Calendar to use for my holiday sweets as I count down the 24 days to Christmas. Hopefully you all will enjoy the sweets I have chosen to feature on my blog over the next 24 days and will get some ideas for treats you can make for your holiday festivities this year.

Today was day 1 and underneath the first window of my homemade muffin tin advent calendar my first holiday treat was revealed "Ice Cream Ornaments". I love unique, bright and colorful ornaments especially ones with glitter that sparkle when the tree lights hit them. We got our Christmas tree on Sunday and last night we finished decorating it with all the ornaments. So I thought as you all are starting to decorate your trees as well it would be fun to make some homemade edible ornaments of your own!


Check out how cute these ice cream ornaments look! I saw this idea in a Breyers Ice Cream ad last year and thought it was such a unique idea that I had to re-create it myself. These would be perfect to use for a kids holiday party.

Ice Cream Ornaments

1 container (1 1/2 qt) Breyers All Natural French Vanilla Ice Cream
24 mini peanut butter cups
24 pieces (1 1/2 in. ea.) thin red licorice
multicolored sprinkles

• Line a jelly-roll pan with aluminum foil, spray with nonstick cooking spray, and freeze at least 20 minutes.
• Scoop ice cream into 24 firmly packed scoops; roll into balls.
• Arrange on prepared pan; freeze 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, make ornament hangers. Poke 2 holes in small flat side of peanut butter cups with skewer. Add licorice hanger by pushing ends into holes; freeze.
• Roll ornaments in sprinkles.
• Attach hanger by pressing onto top of ornament; freeze until ready to serve.
• Makes 24 servings.
  

Here's a picture of our Christmas tree and a scene of one of the classic holiday movies with Clark Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. My husband and I are watching this movie right now as we are eating our ice cream ornaments! Holiday sweets, sitting in front of our tree and watching a Christmas movie, the night can't get much better than this!

Check back tomorrow for another holiday treat on Countdown to Christmas Day 2!