Ginger Cookies

Today I'm doing a guest post over at I Wash You Dry (a fantastic blog by the way. One you are definitely going to want to follow) so please head over here to check out the recipe! These are one of my favorite cookies. They are amazingly chewy, loaded with the perfect amount of ginger and molasses flavor and the sugary finish is divine. If you are looking for a delicious cookie recipe for the holidays I would highly recommend this one! 

Pretzel M&M Hugs {Christmas Style}

I just love everything about these fun little treats. Their sweet and lightly salty deliciousness, their beauty and of course, their simplicity. Holiday treats don't get any easier than this. Another great thing about these bite size treats is that everyone loves them, young and old alike. They are perfect for a party, to give as a gift or even to make just for yourself because you simply must have them =). And when they take about 15 minutes to make, how could you not want to make these? I just love the holidays. Especially when these show up =). Enjoy!

Pretzel M&M Hugs

Yields 70

Ingredients:

70 square pretzels (do NOT use butter snaps)

70 Hershey's Hugs chocolates (from nearly 1 full 12 oz package), unwrapped

70 Milk Chocolate M&M's, I used the red and green Christmas package

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Align pretzels on cookie sheet in a single layer then top each pretzel with one Hershey's Hug chocolate. Bake in preheated oven for 4 - 5 minutes, until the chocolate is shiny and soft (but NOT melting, the chocolates should still hold their shape).

Remove from oven and carefully place one M&M in the center of each soft Hug and press down on M&M to spread the chocolate. Place in refrigerator and allow to rest until chocolate has set, about 5 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Source: adapted from g*rated

....and a little food pop art. Love food, love art and I love Photoshop. Don't know how to do hardly anything with it but it's fun to learn all that it can do.

Sweet Holiday Chex Mix

If there's one treat you must make this holiday season this is it. Okay there are a lot of treats that definitely deserve to be made this holiday season but this one should be near the top of your list. It's easy (we are talking 10 - 15 minutes total easy), it tastes like candy with a crunch, it's nutty, slightly sticky, deliciously sweet and it's the perfect gift for friends neighbors or coworkers. Simply said this stuff is highly addictive so share the wealth or you will want to eat it all =). Enjoy!  

Holiday Chex Mix

Ingredients:
3 cups Rice Chex cereal
3 cups Corn Chex cereal
3 cups Golden Grahams cereal
1 1/2 cups mixed nuts*
2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light-corn syrup
3/4 cup salted butter

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, toss together Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Golden Grahams, mixed nuts and coconut, set aside. In a medium saucepan combine sugar light-corn syrup and butter. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Allow mixture to boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and carefully pour sugar mixture over cereal mixture and toss to evenly coat. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

*A salted blend is delicious. You can also use just one type of nut such as sliced almonds or chopped cashews or peanuts.

Recipe Source: recipe from my Grandma

You could also call this Christmas Chex Mix. I think it's a very fitting name. When I think of this stuff I think of Christmas because it's one of my favorite gifts that people make to give.

Oreo Truffles Two Ways

So lets be honest, Oreo truffles look like cookie tar. BUT it is the best tasting cookie tar I could ever imagine! Back when I first had them many years ago, it was when my sister made them and I was like, uh... what is that? But after one blissful bite that so perfectly melted in my mouth, I was hooked. For life. Most of you have probably already tried these and feel much the same way as I do. If you haven't tried them then you must! If you have tried them, then you can try the peppermint version I made to switch things up. It adds a fun and festive twist for the holidays.
I personally prefer these coated with a white chocolate coating because it makes it more like a cookies and cream or peppermint bark truffle but of course you can use a milk or semi-sweet chocolate if you prefer. Also, you can use vanilla candy melts in place of the almond bark (they are basically the same thing as far as I know, just in a different shape and size). 
My second favorite part of these beyond their divine taste: when someone smiles immediately after taking a bite of one. It's great, sparkly black teeth =). Enjoy!

Oreo Truffles
Yields 36 

Ingredients:
39 Oreos, divided (Orignal NOT Doublestuff. This is one entire 15.5 oz pkg)
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
16 oz. white chocolate almond bark

Directions:
Set a long sheet of wax paper over a cookie sheet, set aside. Place 36 Oreos in a food processor (entire cookie, DON'T remove cream filling) and pulse until finely crushed (alternately if you don't own a food processor you can place Oreos in a large Ziploc bag, seal bag and crush with a rolling pin until finely crushed). Pour crushed Oreos into a mixing bowl along with cream cheese and using a the back of a spoon, stir mixture while pressing it along the bottom of the bowl, until well combine and evenly moistened. Scoop mixture out and form into 1 inch balls (if you happen to have a kitchen scale, the should be about 16 grams each) then align on prepared cookie sheet. Place truffles in freezer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile crush remaining 3 Oreos.
Melt almond bark according to directions on package. Remove truffles from freezer and dip in melted chocolate and evenly coat then allow excess chocolate to run off (I barely made it with 16 oz. of the melted bark but you may need a little more). Return to baking sheet, immediately sprinkle tops with remaining crushed Oreos then allow chocolate to set. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

Recipe Source: adapted from Kraft

  
Peppermint Oreo Truffles
Yields 36

Ingredients:
36 Oreos (NOT Doublestuff)
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 tsp peppermint extract
16 oz. white chocolate almond bark
1/4 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies, for decorating

Directions:

Set a long sheet of wax paper over a cookie sheet, set aside. Place 36 Oreos in a food processor and pulse until finely crushed (alternately if you don't own a food processor you can place Oreos in a large Ziploc bag, seal bag and crush with a rolling pin until finely crushed). Pour crushed Oreos into a mixing bowl. In separate mixing bow blend together cream cheese and peppermint extract. Add cream cheese mixture to crushed Oreos and using a the back of a spoon, stir mixture while pressing it along the bottom of the bowl, until well combine and evenly moistened. Scoop mixture out and form into 1 inch balls (if you happen to have a kitchen scale, they should be about 16 grams each) then align on prepared cookie sheet. Place truffles in freezer for 10 minutes.
Melt almond bark according to directions on package. Remove truffles from freezer and dip in melted chocolate and evenly coat then allow excess chocolate to run off (I barely made it with 16 oz. of the melted bark but you may need a little more). Return to baking sheet, immediately sprinkle tops with crushed candy canes then allow chocolate to set. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

Recipe Source: adapted from Kraft

PS if you can find it I would highly recommend these Ghirardelli candy making and dipping bars. They are like bars of gold. I'm going to have to go back to the store to stock up for the year because I think they may only be in stock seasonally.

Santa Hat Cheesecake Bites

I know what some of you may be thinking. Girl, you are so last year. I know I know, if you have had a Pinterest account last year you'll know what I mean when I say these Santa Hat Brownies were basically the hit of the century on Pinterest. Sadly though I never got around to making them. Well not this year! And this year I decided to add my own twist. Cheesecake! And not just any cheesecake, a White Chocolate Cheesecake. I'm obsessed with cheesecake. Okay, I basically say that about every dessert. I'm obsessed with them all. So I guess we'll say I am super obsessed with cheesecake. It's like the best of the best. The luxurious of the luxurious. I adapted this recipe from my Heart Swirled White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake because it's my favorite. I need to give my husband some credit in this post for pulling out some creative thinking. So often I ask his opinion when I'm going to create something to post, for example which variation of food would taste better or look the prettiest. 99% of the time he responds with "I like them all." To which I respond with, "well you have a million opinions about everything else so why not this?" Yeah it's funny but this time he finally responded with some great feedback. I explained I wanted to make these and asked if I should do a traditional graham cracker crust or an Oreo crust and he said "well the Oreo because it's like a black Santa Belt." Genius. I need his input more often =). No, I'm just glad he finally responded with an actual response this time around. 
I also wanted to mention, if you really really don't want to make a cheesecake from scratch (but you should because it so much better) you could by the frozen cheesecake bites from the store then simply top them with the strawberries and sweetened whipped cream. A definite short cut when you are in a pinch. 
I hope you enjoy these divine little treats and remember to take a moment from all the hussle and bustle of the holidays.... to relax and enjoy the holidays....and eat cheesecake! I love fruit with cheesecake so this dessert was meant for me. Enjoy!

Ho Ho Ho!!

How could I resist adding some sprinkles?

Santa Hat White Chocolate Cheesecake Bites
Yields about 25

Ingredients:
18  Oreos finely crushed to about 1 3/4 cups*
2 1/2 Tbsp butter, melted and divided
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups white chocolate chips 
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup heavy cream, divided
25 fairly small, fresh strawberries (or more if cutting more squares)
2 Tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8 by 8-inch  baking dish with two large sheets of tinfoil (one going horizontally and one over the top of the other vertically. Make sure your sheets are long enough that you'll have an overhang of foil over the edges of the pan. Also, be sure to mold it well to the pan). Brush foil with 1/2 tbsp melted butter. In a mixing bowl, using a fork blend together crushed Oreos and 2 Tbsp melted butter until mixture is well combined and evenly moistened. Press mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish (the bottom of a flat measuring cup or glass works well for pressing crust), set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on medium-low speed, blend together cream cheese and granulated sugar until mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds. Add in eggs and vanilla extract and mix until well blended. In a separate microwave safe bowl, heat white chocolate chips with 1/3 cup heavy cream on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Pour melted white chocolate mixture into cream cheese mixture and blend on low speed until combined. Tap bowl against counter top about 30 times to release some of the  air bubbles then pour mixture over prepared crust in baking dish.
Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes then turn oven off and without opening oven door allow cheesecake to rest in warm oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours or refrigerate for 6 hours. 
Once cheesecake is fully chilled and set, remove from freezer or refrigerator and lift cheesecake out of pan using the foil overhang. Cut cheesecake into squares (I'd recommend cutting them just a bit larger the the width of your strawberries. Also it's nice to keep some clean paper towels close by to clean your knife while cutting squares). 
In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on high speed, whip remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form, then add powdered sugar and mix until stiff peaks form. 
To assemble: cut a flat top off of each strawberry and lay flat side down over top of cheesecake. Fill a pastry bag (or Ziploc bag and cut a small tip of corner) with sweetened whipped cream and pipe around strawberry then finish with a small amount over the top of the "hat". Serve immediately (for do ahead- you can make cheesecake the day before then assemble within an hour of serving the following day). Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

*Don't use Doublestuff Oreos. I processed the Oreos in a food processor but if you don't have one you can place them in a large Ziploc bag, seal bag and finely crush with a rolling pin .

Recipe Source: cheesecake bites - Cooking Classy, Santa hat inspired by - daisy's world who adapted it from Erica's Sweet Tooth

45 Minute Cinnamon Rolls {From Scratch}

 Too often I get a huge craving for a fresh, made from scratch, warm out of the oven cinnamon roll but so often I don't want to wait the 3 - 4 hours it takes to prepare them with all those tedious and lengthy rise times. Yes, I love a good yeast based cinnamon roll, but is the yeast absolutely necessary? Well, I decided to find out for myself. 
Recently, I've been reading through the "The Quick Recipe" from the Editors of Cook Illustrated Magazine and came upon their recipe for Fastest Cinnamon Buns. I knew I had to try it for a number of reasons. First off I'm yet to be let down by Cook's Illustrated. If you are looking for a cookbook that you will likely love and cherish for life, I'd recommend any of the Cook's Illustrated cookbook collections. They are fabulous. And second I'm a cinnamon roll addict so if it can be done in anywhere under the usual 3 hours, then I'm in.
Normally when I try someone else's recipe I like to make quite a few of my own changes, but this time around I mostly just made minor changes. The changes I made from their recipe were using a little more cinnamon as well as nutmeg instead of cloves (I just like it better), I used light-brown sugar instead of dark-brown sugar (because I rarely have dark brown on hand), I used the buttermilk substitute I listed because I was out of buttermilk, also I used salted butter instead of unsalted (I'm a salted butter baker) and I replaced their glaze recipe with my own because I thought it could use a little butter. 
I'm telling you, this recipe is amazing! Not only is it the fastest batch of cinnamon rolls I've ever made but they also tasted spectacular. The texture was slightly different from that of a yeast based cinnamon roll. It didn't have the same stretch you get from using yeast, but other than that not a whole lot of difference. I will definitely continue to make My Favorite Cinnamon Rolls (the other cinnamon roll recipe I've posted) but when I don't want to wait that long I will always turn to these. I should also mention Cook's illustrated listed the total time to be 55 minutes, which included 5 minutes of cooling in that time. I say they were being generous with the time they allotted  I had these prepared and out of the oven in just under 45 minutes. Just be sure to make the glaze while they are baking to save time. Enjoy!

45 Minute Cinnamon Rolls
Yields 8 

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
6 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt, divided
8 Tbsp salted butter, melted
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk*
1 recipe Cream Cheese Glaze, recipe follows

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush a 9-inch cake or pie pan with 1 Tbsp melted butter, set aside. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt, set aside. 
In a separate mixing bowl whisk together light-brown sugar, remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/8 tsp salt. Add in 1 Tbsp melted butter and blend mixture together with your fingertips or a fork until mixture is well blended and evenly moistened, set aside. 
Measure out buttermilk into a liquid measuring cup and stir in 2 Tbsp melted butter. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms and liquid has been absorbed, then knead mixture in bowl by hand just until smooth, about 30 seconds (dough will be sticky). 
Sprinkle a clean work surface with a fair amount of flour. Pat the dough with your hands into a 12 x 9-inch rectangle. Brush top of dough with 2 Tbsp melted butter then sprinkle evenly with brown sugar mixture, coming within a 1/2 inch of the border on all sides. Press the brown sugar filling into the dough (they stated "firmly press" in their recipe which didn't make sense to me because then you are flattening your dough and releasing some of the rise the baking powder has already given so I only lightly pressed). Starting on the long side, roll dough (using a bench scraper or metal spatula to loosen dough from work surface if necessary. I didn't need one) snugly and gently to opposite end. Pinch the end seam to seal. Roll the log seam side down and cut dough into 8 equal portions. 
Place 1 roll in the center of the prepared baking dish, then place remaining 7 rolls around it. Brush tops of rolls with remaining 2 Tbsp butter. Bake in preheated oven 22 - 25 minutes until edges are golden brown. (After baking you can invert the rolls using a plate onto a wire rack but I just served them without flipping). Serve warm drizzled with Cream Cheese Glaze. Store in an airtight container and reheat in microwave if desired.


*If you don't have buttermilk you can use 1 cup + 3 Tbsp milk and 1 Tbsp vinegar, whisk it together and let rest 2 minutes. That's actually what I did this time around because I was out of buttermilk.

Cream Cheese Glaze

Ingredients:
3 oz cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk 
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on medium speed, blend together cream cheese and butter until well combine and slightly fluffy, about 1 minute. Add in remaining ingredients and mix until well combine. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Source: Cinnamon Roll - adapted from The Quick Recipe, By the Editors of Cook's Illustrated. Fastest Cinnamon Buns, pg 375 - 376. 
Cream Cheese Glaze - Cooking Classy

Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze {Perfect for Christmas}

I adore red velvet. Red Velvet Cupcakes are one of my all time favorites so I think they definitely deserve to be made in breakfast form. Don't they just have Christmas written all over them? With such a vibrant and beautiful red there's not really a more fitting or festive breakfast to serve up on Christmas morning. These are such a breeze to whip up. No offense to any of you that only use pancake mix, but I still don't understand the whole pancake mix thing. It maybe takes 1 minute longer to make them from scratch versus a pancake mix. And once you do make that switch from pancake mix to made from scratch you'll have a hard time going back. Not to mention, when you make pancakes from scratch the possibilities are endless! It's so fun to create and eat so many different flavors of pancakes. 
Pancakes are one of my favorite breakfast foods, if you don't believe me check out the breakfast list on my recipe page. I haven't even posted half of the pancake flavors I'd like to. These are definitely going to be up there on the top of my pancake favorites not only because of their delicious combination of flavors but also for their stunning beauty. I love pretty food. I also love dessert for breakfast =). Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze = a decadent and incredibly delicious dessert for breakfast. Perfect fit for a celebration. Happy Holidays!
  

Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze
Yields about 16 pancakes

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 Tbsp red food coloring
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup salted butter, melted
1 recipe Cream Cheese Glaze, recipe follows
fresh raspberries and mint leaves, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Preheat an electric non-stick griddle to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. Measure out milk into a liquid measuring cup and whisk in vinegar, allow mixture to rest for 2 minutes. Pour milk mixture into a separate large mixing bowl and add in sugar, eggs, red food coloring, vanilla and melted butter. Whisk mixture until well combine. While whisking, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine. Butter griddle if necessary and pour about a 1/4 - 1/3 cup batter (depending on how large you want your pancakes) at a time onto hot griddle (you can also use the back of measuring cup or spoon to lightly spread batter from center out to the edge a bit so they aren't thicker in the center then they are on the edges). Cook until bubbles begin to appear on the top surface of the pancakes then flip and cook opposite side until pancake is cooked through  (I didn't want the tops of the pancakes to be brownish red so I flipped them a little earlier than I normally do with pancakes, I didn't wait for many bubbles). Serve warm with Cream Cheese Glaze and garnish with fresh raspberries and mint leaves if desired.

Cream Cheese Glaze

Ingredients:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
6 Tbsp butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk, plus more if desired
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on medium speed, blend together cream cheese and butter until well combine and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in remaining ingredients and mix about 1 minute until well combine, adding additional milk to thin if desired. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy