White Chocolate Chex Mix

White Chocolate Chex Mix

1 pkg. almond bark
2 ½ c. Corn Chex
2 ½ c. Wheat Chex
2 ½ c. Cheerios
3 c. pretzels

Add all dry ingredients. Melt almond bark according to package directions and pour on top
of dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour onto wax paper and separate as much as possible for
cooling.

Peppermint Popcorn

Peppermint Popcorn

2-3 bags microwave popcorn, popped and kernels removed
6 crushed candy canes
½ bar vanilla almond bark

Melt almond bark according to package instructions. After melted, add crushed candy canes
and pour on top of popcorn. Stir well. Pour on to wax paper for cooling.

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cake Bites

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cake Bites
from babycenter.com

1 box devil's food cake mix, Duncan Hines is best
1 can dark chocolate frosting (16 oz.)
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 package almond bark
8 candy canes, crushed
Waxed paper

Bake cake according to directions on the box for 13 X 9 cake. After the cake is cool, crumble into large bowl.

Mix the frosting with 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract.

Mix the cake thoroughly with about 3/4 of the frosting. (Get your hands in there and get dirty.) Add more frosting if you think the mixture is too dry. When you can form it into a ball in your hands easily, you're good.

Use a tablespoon-sized scoop and roll mixture into balls. Place on a cookie sheet.

Chill or freeze cake balls for several hours. They can also be placed in freezer bags and kept for later use.

Melt almond bark according to the directions on package. Dip each ball about 3/4 of the way into the almond bark. Tap off excess, then place on wax paper, cake side down, until firm. Quickly sprinkle a little bit of crushed candy cane bits onto the top before the almond bark hardens.

Cover the truffles tightly and store where it's cool.

Source

**I haven't made this yet, but I will be trying it this year! It looks delicious.

Sugar Cookies

My all time favorite, so far, Sugar Cookie recipe comes from the ladies at Ourbestbites.com. I have tried and failed more times than I care to remember with sugar cookies. Either too crumbly, too sticky, too gross, etc. These cookies have a delicious butter flavor, hold their shape beautifully, and cook perfectly.

Sugar Cookies
from Ourbestbites.com

1 cup real butter (no substitutions!) at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg (make sure to use a large or extra large egg)
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or other flavor of your choice, like vanilla)
3 C flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled (don’t scoop it!)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes. Add in egg and extract and mix to incorporate.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.  A very important note: It’s important to correctly measure your flour or you will end up with a dry, crumbly dough. Never, ever use your measuring cup to scoop up the flour.  Use a regular sized spoon and spoon the flour into the cup and then level it off with a knife.

 Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined.
Chill the dough in the fridge for about an hour, or use this great tip to make things easier:

When your dough is made, instead of putting it in the fridge, immediately roll  between 2 sheets of waxed or parchment paper and then place on a flat surface in the fridge.  Chill for about 20-30 minutes and then start cutting it out.  This way it chills faster and the bonus is that you don’t need to add extra flour to roll it out.  If you don’t use this tip, proceed as follows:

When you’re ready to roll out dough lightly sprinkle flour onto your work surface and roll out dough with a rolling pin.

Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes. The baking time really depends on how you like them. If you like themreally and slightly chewy, about 8-9 minutes does it. If you like them slightly crisp and buttery, then go for 10-12.