Baking Junkie

Tag: Christmas

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Cookies and Cream Bark

I imagine that many of you have been busy baking away in your kitchens. I usually try to spend one long day in the kitchen doing all of my holiday baking at once. Because of my schedule this year that isn’t possible, so I am spacing things out and just baking one thing here and there. My biggest dilemma is trying to find the balance between making all of my traditional goodies and also trying to add in some new recipes as well. I decided to kick things off with something new, and this is the recipe I chose.

It helps that it only requires two ingredients!

I have made various different barks in the past, but not for several years. I loved this recipe because of it’s simplicity, but mainly because of it’s taste. One piece was usually not enough for me. You know that something is good when Derek has to hide it from me! Enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Bark
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15 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
1 (12 0z) bag white chocolate chips

Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals until melted, stirring after each interval.

Once the chocolate has melted, mix in cookies. Pour onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, smoothing out with a spatula. Chill for approximately 10 minutes, or until chocolate has hardened. Remove from wax paper and break into pieces.

Tags: Candy, chocolate, Christmas, No Bake, Oreo, White chocolate

Posted in Misc. | 2 Comments »

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Thumbprint Cookies

Well it’s finally here, my last Christmas recipe of the season. Pretty hard to believe it’s all almost over isn’t it? These are absolutely my favorite Christmas cookies so it’s only natural that I save them for last. There is, however, another reason I saved them for last…I am not actually giving you the recipe! This is probably the only time you will ever see this happen, but I have been forbidden from posting this recipe by both Derek and my mother-in-law. This is a family recipe that I was lucky enough to have passed on to me, and I don’t think it would feel like Christmas without them.

Thumbprint cookies are very popular around the holidays and you can probably do a Google search and find dozens of different recipes. What I really wanted to share was exactly how I make these thumbprints. The first few years I made them the original way, by placing an actual thumbprint in the cookie to make room for the frosting (could also be jam or whatever type of filling you’d like). Once I started making peanut butter cup cookies in my mini muffin pan, I started to wonder how the thumbprints would turn out if I made them the same way. The answer is fabulous! Instead of making an actual thumbprint in the cookie I just roll the dough into balls, place them in a mini muffin pan and use the end of a pizza cutter to make an indentation immediately after they come out of the oven. Once they have cooled we make our homemade powdered sugar frosting, add some food coloring and fill the cups. You still get the great thumbprint taste, but to me they taste even better in the shape of a cup. What I love most about this recipe is that this is the one thing Derek and I always make together: I do the cookies and he is in charge of the frosting. I actually hate the thought of making them without him, which is what makes these such a wonderful holiday tradition and treat. Enjoy!

Tags: Christmas, Cookies

Posted in Cookies | 1 Comment »

Monday, December 20th, 2010

Peppermint Cheesecake Bars

Oreo crust recipe from Recipe Girl

Can you guys really believe that Christmas is this weekend? Are you all ready? Do you have all of your baking done? I am so glad to be able to say that I am.

A few years ago I put cheesecake bars on my holiday trays and they went over really well. Cheesecake can be such a rich dessert that sometimes it’s nice to have just a small bar instead of an entire piece. Since I have been on a big peppermint kick this year I decided to continue by making a peppermint cheesecake. I went back and forth on whether or not I should do a classic round cheesecake or the bars, but I am glad i settled on the bars. I think a graham cracker crust would work well with these bars, but the oreo cookie crust really makes them delicious. I used my basic cheesecake recipe, and if you have a favorite recipe you could certainly use that. I honestly found myself craving these bars the more and more I ate them, so hopefully they will end up as part of your Christmas celebration this weekend. Enjoy!

Peppermint Cheesecake Bars
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20 Oreo cookies, crushed
¼ cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp sugar
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
¼ tsp peppermint extract
½ cup peppermint baking chips
3-4 drops red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crushed cookies, melted butter and sugar. Press into bottom of a 9×13 baking pan. Place in oven and bake for 8 minutes to set crust. In a medium sized bowl beat together cream cheese and sugar. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl with a spoon or spatula to fully incorporate all of the ingredients. Add peppermint extract. Pour out ¾ cup of batter and add 3-4 drops of red food coloring. Add peppermint baking chips to the remaining (white) batter. Pour over crust and spread out to the edges. Drop pink batter onto white batter by spoonfuls, then run a knife through batter to get a marbled effect (be careful to not go too deep and disturb the crust). Place in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Tags: Bars, Cheesecake, chocolate, Christmas, Oreo, Peppermint

Posted in Bars, Cheesecake | 1 Comment »

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

White Chocolate Peanut Butter & Jelly Puppy Chow

Recipe from Picky Palate

Puppy chow is one of my favorite snacks around the holidays (and just about any time really). I know that in the Midwest it is usually called puppy chow but in other parts of the country it goes by other names such as muddy mix, muddy buddies, and monkey mix. No matter what you call it, it’s still yummy! Typical puppy chow consists of some sort of Chex cereal, peanut butter and chocolate melted together and mixed with the cereal, then a coating of powdered sugar. Delicious right?

Earlier this summer I saw this recipe from Jenny and I couldn’t wait to try it! I have been saving it for my holiday baking, but I may have to start making it more often. The general taste and texture of original puppy chow is still there, but the addition of the white chocolate and jelly take it to a whole new level. I think this may be even more addicting than the original! Enjoy!

White Chocolate Peanut Butter & Jelly Puppy Chow
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9 cups Chex cereal
¾ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup strawberry jelly
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups powdered sugar

Place cereal in a large mixing bowl. In a separate, medium sized bowl place white chocolate chips, peanut butter, jelly and butter. Microwave for one minute or until melted. Stir to combine, then pour over cereal and mix to coat. Spoon cereal mixture into large gallon sized ziploc bag (or divide between two smaller bags). Pour powdered sugar into bag, seal, then shake well to fully coat cereal.

Tags: Christmas, No Bake, peanut butter, strawberry, White chocolate

Posted in Appetizers | 11 Comments »

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

Recipe by Aimee

Since I started this blog I feel like I’ve become known for my cupcakes (which doesn’t bother me one bit)! Naturally I knew I would need to make some sort of holiday cupcake, but I am not blessed enough with any sort of artistic genes. I am not capable of making cute little santas, snowmen, or Christmas trees, so I go more for flavor than anything else. Since I’ve been on a huge peppermint kick this season I decided that was the flavor to go with. Almost 6 weeks ago now I came across peppermint baking chips at the grocery store and I instantly decided to put them in a chocolate cupcake. Throw together some peppermint buttercream and you have quite the tasty treat! I had every intention of making this frosting a beautiful light pink color, not the neon pink you see here, but it certainly makes these hard to miss. I baked these cupcakes for my usual 25 minutes, but the peppermint baking chips seemed to turn to a jelly like substance and made the cupcakes seem like they weren’t completely done. I would recommend adding a few minutes to the baking time, and avoid eating them until they have completely cooled (unless of course you like the gooey, not quite done taste). I sprinkled some of these with extra peppermint baking chips, but crushed candy canes or mints would work as well. Enjoy!

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes
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1 Box Devil’s Food cake mix
Ingredients listed on box + 1 extra egg
1 cup Peppermint baking chips (plus extra for garnishing, if desired)
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
5 tbsp. milk
¼ tsp peppermint extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake mix according to directions, adding an extra egg. Add peppermint baking chips. Pour into cupcake liners, filling them ¾ full. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

While cupcakes are baking, beat together butter and vanilla using electric mixer. Mix in powdered sugar in one cup increments. Add milk and peppermint extract. You may use Wilton coloring for buttercream if desired (you should avoid using regular food coloring in buttercream). Frost cupcakes when they have fully cooled, and sprinkle with peppermint baking chips if desired.

Tags: Buttercream, chocolate, Christmas, Cupcakes, Peppermint

Posted in Cupcakes | 11 Comments »