Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Oh so good.

Before you begin, choose a small bowl with a round bottom and line the bowl with plastic/saran wrap.

1 pkg. cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 TBSP brown sugar

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

3/4 cup mini choco chips

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans or skor bits

chocolate graham crackers

Beat softened cream chees, butter, vanilla until creamy. Slowly add sugars until blended. Stir in choco chips. Place mixture into plastic lined bowl. Refridgerate for 1 hour or more. Remove bowl and plastic wrap. Roll ball in skor bits or pecans. Serve with chocolate wafers.

Gingerbread Recipe

Found at Everyday Art

1 spice cake mix
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup flour

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours. Roll dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with cooke cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Let cool and decorate.

Cornflake Wreaths

• I had a friend in school whose Mom would make these every Christmas and I adored them, so she'd always pack a second for me in her lunch. Yum! Cut and Paste from here.
• 1/3 cup margarine or butter
• 1 (10-ounce) package (about 40) regular marshmallows OR 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 teaspoon green food coloring
• 6 cups Kellogg's® Corn Flakes
• Red cinnamon candies (I prefer red candy coated chocolate candies like Smarties or M&M's)
• Prepared vanilla frosting (I don't think you really need this to make the candies stick)
• • 1. Melt margrine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in food coloring.
  • 2. Add Kellogg's® Corn Flakes® cereal. Stir until well coated.
  • 3. Portion warm cereal mixture evenly by using a 1/4 cup dry measure coated with cooking spray. Using sprayed fingers, quickly shape into individual wreaths. Dot with cinnamon candies, using prepared frosting to hold candies in place. Store in single layer in airtight container.

Family Frozen Peach Cocktail

We made this at enrichment about 6 years ago and I try to make a batch every summer. Very good!

2 cups sugar (less if peaches are extra sweet)

12 large peaches (about 3 lbs), peeled and sliced

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 cups orange juice

1 can crushed pineapple, undrained

Sprinkle sugar over sliced peaches and let stand. Combine juices. Add pineapple to juices and pour over peaches. Freeze in two - large ziplock freezer bags, or divide into smaller bags as desired. To serve, thaw slowly in fridge for 4 hours or 2 hours at room temperature.

Newfoundland's Spectacular Snowballs

Really, this is the name. It's ridiculous - but the recipe is yummy. A nice no-bake cookie.

3/4 cup butter
3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
3 cups large rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened fine or medium coconut
3/4 cup cocoa, sifted
Extra coconut for rolling

1. Melt butter in large saucepan, Stir in sugar and milk. Bring to boil and reduce the temperature slightly to prevent boiling over. Once mixture begins to boil it is very important not to stir.
2. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes which is about 230'F on candy thermometer or soft ball stage.
3. While mixture is cooking and you are NOT stirring it - mix together oats, coconut and cocoa in another bowl.
   
4. Add the boiled mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Allow to cool only until cool enough to handle, then form into 1 1/2 inch balls.
   
5. Roll the balls in extra coconut to coat (I toasted the coconut for this step).
   

Workman Hand Roll Recipe

This is a highly guarded recipe, I could be kicked out of the family for even sharing it...
Here is the recipe:
WORKMAN FAMILY RECIPE FOR CHOCOLATE HAND ROLLS!

2 cups Brown Sugar
2 cups White Sugar
½ cup Half and Half (or whole cream)
2 TBSP White Corn Syrup
4 TBSP Butter
Vanilla/flavoring to taste
Few grains of salt

Combine sugars, cream, syrup and butter together in large heavy-duty pot. Dissolve over medium to high heat stirring constantly until mixture is dissolved. The mixture will begin to boil. Do not stir any longer. Insert a candy thermometer and allow the mixture to heat to 230’F. Once it reaches this temperature remove from heat and add vanilla or any other flavoring you prefer. Cover and allow the fondant to cool in this pot till it reaches room temperature (you can speed up this process by letting the pot sit in cold water). When the fondant is cool, beat with an electric mixer. This will change the consistency and make the fondant much easier to form and work with. The fondant can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to one week, until you are ready to dip it.

HAND ROLLS -chocolate to melt (I buy a bag of light cocoa chocolates from Michaels) and coconut (optional): form fondant into small balls. Melt chocolate. Toast coconut in the oven under the broiler (note: coconut toasts quickly!!). Coconut is optional.Dip rolled fondant into chocolate and then roll in coconut. Sit on wax paper to set and then package. These chocolate freeze beautifully.

Angeletti Cookies

1 cup butter or margaine (melted and cooled)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
3 tsp vanilla extract
6 large eggs
6 cups all purpose flour
2 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

4 cups confectioners' sugar
9 TBSP water
1 cup multicolor candy decor

1) Preheat oven to 375'F. Grease two large cookie sheets.
2) In large bowl, whisk butter, granulated sugar, milk, vanilla, and eggs until blended. Cover dough with plastic wrap or waxed paper; let stand 5 minutes.
3) With floured hands, shape dough by level tablespoons into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
4) Bake cookies until puffed and light brown on bottoms, 7 to 8 minutes. With wide metal pactual, transfer cookies to wire racks for cooling. Repeat with remaining dough.
5) When cookies are cool, in small bowl, whisk confectioners' sugar and water until blended. Dip top of cookie into glaze. Place cookies on wire racks set over waxed paper to catch drips. Immediately sprinkle cookies with decors. Allow glaze to set about 20 minutes.

Makes about 120 cookies!

Spiced Pumpkin Butter

2 - 15 oz cans pumpkin
1 1/4 cups maple syrup
1/2 cup apple juice
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Combine all in medium to large pot. Bring to boil. Cook uncovered over medium heat 25 minutes - stirring frequently. Store in containers. Keeps in fridge 1 week. Freezer 6 months.

2 TBSP serving is 35 calories.

Pumpkin Dip

From Southern Open House:

Pumpkin Dip
Serve this in a small hollowed out pumpkin with spiced wafers, apple slices or gingersnaps – yummy and pretty.

4 c. powdered sugar
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese
1 can (30 oz.) pumpkin pie filling
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger

Combine sugar and softened cream cheese until well blended. Beat in remaining ingredients. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Coconut Chocolate Meringue Bites

3/4 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, seperated
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (or more to taste)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
3/4 cup brown sugar or white sugar

Heat oven to 350'F. Grease an oblong pan 13 x 9 inch pan. Mix butter, sugars, egg yolks and vanilla. Beat two minutes with a hand mixer or 300 vigorous strokes by hand, scraping bowl constantly. Blend flour, baking powder, soda and salt together; mix thoroughly with creamed mixture. Spread or pat into greased pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Beat egg whites until frothy; add sugar gradually. Brown sugar makes a more caramel colored meringue, white sugar produces a white meringue. Beat until stiff. Spread over nuts. Bake 35 to 40 min. Cool; cut in bars. Makes 40ish bars.

Recipe from the very old and dear to my heart Betty Crocker Cooky Book, which is the best cookie book known to mankind. Originally published in 1963 but republished in exactly the same style back in 2002. Well loved by my Mommy, so it's sentimental to me.

Cocoa Pretzel Cookies

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 TBSP vanilla
• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 vanilla baking chips
• 1 tsp vegetable shortening

1) In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, egg and vanilla. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add flour, cocoa and salt. Beat at low speed until soft dough forms. Cover in plastic wrap. Chill 2 to 3 hours, or until firm

2) Heat oven to 375'F. Shape level measuring tablespoons dough into 9" long ropes. Twist ropes into pretzel shapes. Place pretzels 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until set. Cool completely.

3) Line cookie sheets with wax paper. In microwave melt baking chips and vegetable shortening. Drizzle white chocolate mixture over the chocolate pretzels. Let dry completely before storing.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Easter Egg Nests

Love this idea!
From the Hostess with the Mostess Web site (link on sidebar)

• 6 oz good-quality dark chocolate roughly chopped
• 4oz Rice Krispies
• 72 mini chocolate eggs
• Cupcake papers or ring molds

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Bring just to a boil, turn off of the heat and allow the chocolate to melt in the bowl. Stir in the Rice Krispies.

Spoon the mixture into cupcakes cases. Flatten a little and make a well in the center. Fill each one with three speckled mini chocolate eggs. Allow to set and hide from the grown-ups.

Fresh Lemonade with Mint

Kia and I LOVE this. Too good for the lemonade stand.

6 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 sprigs of green mint (optional but worth it)
8 cups water

Cut lemons in slices and remove seeds. Place lemon slices in a large bowl. Sprinkle sugar over slices. Add two sprigs of mint. Let stand for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove mint. Using a masher, crush sugared lemons. Add water. Stir well. Pour into glass serving pitcher. Add ice and remaining 2 sprigs of mint.

Popcorn Snowmen

15 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 10-ounce packages marshmallows
thin pretzel sticks, candy corn, raisins, sours, red hots, gum drops, fruit leather makes great scarves
Royal Icing

Pour popcorn into a large bowl; set aside. Melt the butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted. Pour over popcorn and stir to coat. When cool enough to touch, rub margarine on your hands and form popcorn balls.

Stack three popcorn balls for a snowman. Using royal icing for glue, add pretzel stick arms, raisin eyes, candy corn nose. Arrange candies into a grin and use candies for buttons. For scarves cut rectangles out of fruit leather and fringe ends.