Some good treats for later...

Every year I usually try some new yummies for Christmas, and even though Christmas is long over, and all the sweets are gone, these are treats that could be made any time of the year. So I thought I would share some of my treats that I tried.

I love sugar way more then I probably should, but at Christmas time especially. These treats I'm already thinking about making again. Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles. Biggest issue with these was it was hard to coat them in chocolate. I found the best way was to play the dough on a spoon and then dip, but then you don't get that perfect truffle look. But they all tasted the same way going down. And I LOVE chocolate chip cookie dough. This way it's safe and delicious to eat.

Here is the recipe link:

http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2010/01/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-truffles.html

My discovery has been that there are so many chocolate chip cookie dough recipes, so my fun is just beginning.


Chocolate Cookie Dough Truffles
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk or soy milk
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

14 oz dark chocolate candy coating
directions:

Beat butter and sugars and in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add soymilk and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed (or by hand) until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.

When dough is firm enough to handle (it may help to lightly flour your hands), form dough into 1" balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Place sheets in freezer and let chill for 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate candy coating in a double boiler or in microwave according to package directions. Using forks or a dipping tool, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover. Tap fork on side of pan to remove any excess coating, and return to waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Chill until set. Store, chilled, in an airtight container for up to 1 week (though good luck making them last that long).

My next experience was snowball cookies ( www.anutinanutshell.com ). But not the newfie type of snowballs (which I do hope to try at some point). These did not make a big batch for me.



Ingredients
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp McCormick pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (optional, but recommended)

Directions

1. Mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla thoroughly.

2. Stir flour and salt together; blend in. If adding nuts, mix those in as well.

3. Roll dough in 1-inch balls, and place on ungreased baking sheet.

4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 400 degrees, or until set but not brown.

5. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely, and then roll in powdered sugar again.

**These were a tasty treat with some tea or coffee. Not really sweet, which is nice sometimes. The one mistake was I used margarine instead of butter. They should have been lighter and fluffier.

Finally I decided to roast my own almonds.



http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/candied-almonds/

I made my own adjustments to this recipe as some of the ingredients I didn't have. But for the most part they were done as the recipe states. These were addictive and tasty. It made a whole lot of them. Big thing is to keep them fresh, so make sure they are in a good container.