Holiday Cookies!

Reese’s Stuffed Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cups cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 smaller packages of miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
• 1-10 oz. Package of Reese's peanut butter baking chips

Instructions:

Using a large mixing bowl and electric mixer, mix the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract together until well mixed.

In a separate bowl, using a fork, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt. Stir until the ingredients are well mixed.

Slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract batter. Continue to mix with the electric mixer until all the dry ingredients have been added and the batter is well mixed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Unwrap the Reese's candies.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Take some batter and roll it around each candy using the palm of your hands to create a cookie ball with the candy inside.

Place the uncooked cookies on the lined baking sheet several inches apart from each other.

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Let them set on the pan for 10 minutes before removing them. Place them on a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

Once all the cookies are baked and cooled, melt the Reese's peanut butter baking chips by placing half of the bag into a glass dish and microwaving for 1 minute. They will not look fully melted until you stir them together. Drizzle the melted peanut butter chips on top of the cookies. Let them set until it hardens.

Storage! You can keep these cookies in an airtight storage container for several days. Just take them out for 30 minutes before serving so the temperature reaches room temperature.

The Bread Trick! Keep these cookies soft by adding a piece of bread into your airtight storage container. My mom taught me this trick and it really does work. It prevents the cookies from going stale, and it’s brilliantly simple! I wonder who came up with this idea? It’s been passed down through the generations so it’s an oldie, but a goodie.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels with Caramel and Peanut Butter

• Pretzel rods
• Mini chocolate morsels, dark, milk or semi-sweet
• Caramel apple wraps
• Peanut butter (optional)
• Colored sprinkles
• Nonstick cooking spray

Instructions:

Coat a pizza cutter with nonstick cooking spray.

Place the caramel wraps, one at a time, on a cutting board with a piece of parchment paper between the caramel wrap and your cutting board. Note: The caramel comes with parchment paper dividers that you can use; this prevents the caramel from sticking to the cutting board.

Using the pizza cutter, cut the caramel wraps into one-inch strips.

Starting at least two inches from one end of the pretzel, carefully wrap the caramel strips around the rest of the pretzel. Set the caramel wrapped pretzels onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet and set aside.

Pour chocolate morsels into a tall drinking glass, Microwave the chocolates in the glass on high for one minute. The chocolate will not look fully melted, stir the morsels together until they fully melt after removing the glass from the microwave.

Dip the caramel covered pretzel into the chocolate leaving the unwrapped end exposed.

Set the pretzel back onto the waxed paper and coat with a thin layer of colored sprinkles.

Let the pretzels set until the chocolate has hardened.

Keep the pretzels in cool storage.

The Caramel Wraps? You can typically locate these in the produce area of your supermarket near the apples.

Add Peanut Butter! Simply spread a light layer of peanut butter onto the pretzel before wrapping it with caramel. Follow the rest of the directions as is.

Nut allergies? Replace the peanut butter with WowButter®. It's a delicious nut free, tree nut free, gluten free peanut butter alternative. It can be found in the allergy friendly aisle at your supermarkets.

So Much Fun with Kids!

There are lessons in every recipe making experience for the kids in your life. Here are a few activities to concentrate on when making this no bake pretzel:

• Cutting safety
• Wrapping
• Dipping
• Melting chocolate
• Spreading
• Sprinkling
• Following directions

Basic Buttercream Frosting

• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 stick of butter (half cup), room temperature
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Add the confectioner's sugar, butter, milk and vanilla extract into a bowl. Whip with an electric mixer until it's light and fluffy.

Note: The butter must be room temperature.

My Nutty Bark

• 3/4 cup of raw nuts
• 12 oz. Chocolate chips (milk or dark)
• 1/4 cup of dried fruit

Instructions:

Chop the nuts on a cutting board with a knife so that you have large chunks of nuts in the bark.

Chocolate Caramel Filled Shortbread Cookies

Recipe makes approximately 18 cookies

• ½ cup butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg, large
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 5 oz. Caramel candies, unwrapped
• ¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, whip together the room temperature butter with the vanilla extract, egg, and confectioner’s sugar. Slowly add in the flour continuing to mix with the electric mixer until all ingredients are mixed well.

Using a spatula, fold in the mini chocolate chips.

Form the dough into small cookie dough balls and slightly flatten them and place them onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Using a tablespoon sized measuring spoon, dip the base of the measuring spoon into confectioner’s sugar and press it into each cookie to create an indent.

Bake the cookies for 10 – 12 minutes.

While the cookies are baking and cooling, prep the filling by first melting 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat in a saucepan. Once melted, over low heat, add in the 3 tablespoons of milk, 5 oz. unwrapped caramel candies and stir until the candies have melted and the three ingredients are mixed well. Turn off the heat and add in ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips. Continue to stir until they are fully melted and mixed in.

Add the filling into a piping bag once it’s slightly cooled and can be handled. If you don’t have a piping bag, add the filling to a quart sized freezer bag and clip one corner.

Pipe the filling into the cookie indent. Let the cookies set until the center hardens, approximately 30 minutes.

Optional: Add sprinkles on top before the center hardens.

Storing: If you are layering the cookies when storing in an airtight container, keep a layer of parchment paper between the layers to prevent the cookie centers from sticking to other cookies.

Snowman Cookies

(per cookie)

• 1 Sugar Cookie
• 2 tablespoons vanilla butter cream frosting
• 1 tube of black gel or chocolate decorating frosting
• 1 orange slice candy
• 1 string of a pull and peel Twizzler®

Assembly:

1. Frost the cookie with the vanilla butter cream frosting.

2. Cut the string of Twizzler® in half and wrap around the top half of the cookie to serve as the top of the earmuffs.

3. Select two matching colors of mini pastel marshmallows. Press them slightly to flatten and place them firmly in place so that they stick to the frosting on either end of the cut Twizzler®.

4. Use the tubed frosting to create two eyes and a mouth.

5. Cut the orange slice candy in half lengthwise. Then cut one half into small triangles to create noses. Add one to the center of each cookie.

Where Can I find everything?

In the baking aisle you can find:
• Tubed frosting
• Mini pastel marshmallows

In the bakery you can find:
• Sugar pre-baked cookies
• Butter cream frosting

In the candy aisle you can find:
• Orange slice candies
• Pull and peel colorful Twizzler® candies

Note: These cookies are fun any time throughout the holidays but also make super easy classroom party treats and/or a fun family activity on Christmas eve to leave for Santa.

So Much Fun with Kids!

There are lessons in every recipe making experience for the kids in your life.
Here are a few activities to concentrate on when making these cookies:

• Measuring ingredients
• Mixing
• Electric mixer safety
• Melting
• Stovetop safety
• Piping
• Following directions