Pretzel Turtles

OH EM GEE! Ben's cousin Margie introduced me to this delectable sweet treat on Christmas. I can't believe how easy they are to make. I just love the sweet/salty combination. I brought some to the Yamat Christmas celebration, and some family members couldn't place the chewiness of the caramel - but what a winner!

Ingredients:
- package of rolos
- package of small pretzels
- package of pecan halves

Directions:
- preheat oven to 350 degrees
- unwrap rolos
- place pretzels on parchment or foil lined cookie sheet
- place a rolo on top of each pretzel
- bake for 2-3 minutes or until rolo is soft (but not totally melted)
- remove from oven and gently press a pecan half on top of each rolo
- allow to cool and set

It's crazy how divine these are! Another easy crowd pleaser!

Raspberry Thumbprints

I decided to try this recipe to bring to the Mendaros Christmas Celebration. My sister-in-law ended up eating a bunch of them after they cooled! It's such a simple butter cookie recipe but super fabulous!

It was titled "Raspberry Ribbons" since they are made to be long finger shaped cookies, but I found that it was easier to make them into individual cookies versus shaping and cutting the dough.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam

Glaze Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup confectioners'sugar
- 1 tablespoon evaporated milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
- Roll dough into 1" balls and line on baking sheet about 1 to 1.5 inches apart. Press your thumb in the center of each cookie creating a well. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and fill depressions with jam. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes. Place on colling racks.
- In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients until smooth. Add additional evaporated milk to thin glaze as needed. Drizzle over warm cookies. (I actually divided the glaze ingredients in half).

I guarantee that they will disappear!

Cake Bites

Photo by Ben's cousin Jasmine G.

Merry Christmas! My gift to you is my favoritest "almost home-made" super easy decadent and fabulous looking cake bites!

It's exactly just that, a cake bite. A pefectly sized tasty morsel of cake, frosting, and candy coating. It's the lazy version of Bakerella's cake pops.

Ingredients:
- Box cake mix (and ingredients as directed)
- Cannister of vanilla frosting
- Packages of chocolate and vanilla Wilton candy melts (can be found at Michael's Craft store and Joanne Fabrics) or Almond Bark (can be found in baking aisle)
- Sprinkles

Directions:
- Bake cake as directed. Once cake is cool, crumble cake until fine.
- Mix about 1/3 to 1/2 of the frosting until the cake has a doughlike consistence (start with less rather than more since some cakes are more moist than others)
- Form "cake dough" into 1" balls and place on wax paper lined tray. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Melt candy melts as directed (I usually do it by microwavie - ultimate laziness)
- Dip balls into melted candy and make sure that it is thoroughly covered. Tap off excess and place on wax paper to set.
- If using sprinkles, add them right after dipping so that they stick on.
- Drizzle vanilla candy melts on the plain ones (I place a few vanilla candy melt pellets in a plastic ziplock, melt in the microwave, cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag, and drizzle over the cake bite in a zig-zag pattern).




Cakepop variation:
- Dip lollipop stick tip in melted chocolate then insert into cakeball
- Gently dip and roll cakepop in melted chocolate, tap off excess
- If adding sprinkles, add immediately
- Place cakepop on plastic wrapped styrofoam to set

My favorite cake/candy melt combinations are chocolate devils food cake with milk chocolate candy melts and lemon cake with vanilla candy melts.

This is such an easy and fun process, and the results are pretty. I'm so craving a chocolate one with a cup of coffee now... ;)

A Christmas Gift to Me

FINALLY! I have wanted a KitchenAid mixer since the dawn of man...

For some reason or another, I could never bring myself to purchase one. The guilt of what I thought was such an indulgent purchase always got to me. So to ease that guilt, I decided on an in-between model, and it was on sale (yay for holiday sales!).

Meet my new BFF already working away!

Baking Party!

What a wonderful way to spend the day with girlfriends catching up!

I spent the afternoon with my high school girlfriends Gail and Michelle baking holiday treats. We had a bunch of recipes, but it took us some time to decide which to do first. Next time, we need a timeline! Here are a few of the treats we created while spending quality time.

Chocolate Fudge, Whoopie Pies, Magic Cookie Bars, Peanutbutter Cup Cookies, Peppermint Bark Snowflakes (not pictured)