5 Easy Christmas Treats

Yes, I do bake the occasional “not so healthy” treat! More importantly I love to bake for others  during the Holiday season. This year with the RJ here, I wanted to keep it simple, but still yummy! So I chose 5 very fun holiday treat recipes that ANYONE can make! I also put them in these cute little boxes from the $1 section from Target and added chalkboard stickers (also from Target).

1. Pretzel Delights:

Ingredients:

Small pretzels
ROLO Chewy Caramels in Milk Chocolate
Pecan halves

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.
2. Place one pretzel for each pretzel treat desired on prepared sheet. Top each pretzel with one unwrapped ROLO Chewy Caramel in Milk Chocolate.
3. Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until caramel piece begins to soften, but not melt. Remove from oven; top with either pecan half or additional pretzel. Cool completely.

2. Christmas Crack (SO AMAZING AND EASY):

2.  Chocolate Covered Pretzels White and Milk Chocolate:

Ingredients:
Bag of Pretzels
Melting White and Milk Chocolate

Instructions:
Place all pretzels on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Melt chocolate according to instructions on package. Drizzle all over pretzels and let cool.

3. Christmas Crack: from Sweet Bella Roose

Ingredients

1. 1 sleeve saltine crackers
2. 1 cup brown sugar
3. 1 cup butter
4. 2 cups chocolate chips
5. Sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the sugar and butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for three minutes without stirring. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and arrange the crackers into a single layer. Pour the hot sugar mixture over the crackers and bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and quickly sprinkle with chocolate chips. Place back into the oven for one minute. Remove and use a spatula to spread the chocolate evenly. Place in the freezer to set for one hour. Break apart and enjoy. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for 10-14 days.

 

4. Chocolate Dipped Oreos:

Chocolate Dipped Mint Oreos

Ingredients:

1 package Mint Oreos

2-3 cups chocolate chips (flavor or your choice)

wax paper

Directions:

• Pour 2-3 cups of chocolate chips into a microwave safe glass dish.
• Microwave for 1 minute and stir, microwave for 30 seconds and stir….continue that process until chocolate is melted and smooth. If you prefer you could melt chocolate using a double broiler.
• Using your hand and a spoon, place one oreo at a time in the chocolate and by dipping and spooning the chocolate onto the oreo, make sure it is completely covered. Use spoon to remove excess chocolate if you feel like it is too thick. If you run out of chocolate during this process just melt more. It usually takes about three cups of chocolate chips for me to dip an entire package of oreos.
• Place covered oreos on wax paper
• Allow to dry completely before removing from wax paper.

*I put my wax paper on a cookie sheet so I can move the oreos to the fridge where they will set up more quickly….so I can eat them more quickly. Oh, and can I just say that the mint with the milk chocolate is my favorite combination. It is Delicious.

5: Snow Balls:
Recipe fro Brown Eyed Baker

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups finely chopped pecans, divided
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
â…“ cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups powdered sugar, for rolling cookies after baking

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

2. Mix the flour, 1 cup of the chopped pecans, and the salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Place the remaining chopped nuts in a food processor and process until they are the texture of coarse cornmeal, 10 to 15 seconds; stir into the flour mixture and set aside.

4. Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the dough just begins to come together but still looks scrappy, about 15 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl again and continue beating at low speed until the dough is cohesive, about 10 more seconds.

5. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough between the palms of your hands and place on the prepared baking sheets. The cookies will only spread a little bit, so you can place them fairly close together. Bake until the tops are pale golden and the bottoms are just beginning to brown, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time.

6. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

7. Place the powdered sugar in a large zip-top bag. Working with 3 or 4 cookies at a time, place them in the bag of sugar and gently toss to coat them thoroughly. Gently shake off any excess. Allow the cookies to sit for at least an hour, or up to overnight, and then repeat the process. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.