Peppermint Barktini

Happy Christmas Eve! I made up this dessert cocktail for my sister and me a couple of weeks ago - it's very festive and perfect for Christmas.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz vodka
• 3/4 oz crème de cacao
• 3/4 oz crème de menthe
• crushed candy canes
• simple syrup
• 1/2 cup crushed ice

Combine the vodka, crème de cacao, crème de menthe, and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.

Spread the crushed candy canes out on wax paper. Line the edge of a martini glass with simple syrup and then dip the rim of the glass onto the crushed candy canes.

Pour the drink into the candy cane rimmed glass and enjoy! Merry Christmas!

Chocolate Mint Pinwheels

Another one of the cookies I made this year was chocolate mint pinwheels - these are really tasty! I got the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Cookies Cookies Cookies.

If you're a fan of chocolate and mint, you'll definitely like these. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg 
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
• green food coloring (I used the Wilton's gel (paste) kind.)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Yield: 48 cookies

Beat the butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed until the butter is softened (about 30 seconds). 

Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.

Add the egg, milk, and vanilla extract. 

Beat until thoroughly combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Divide the mixture in half and place one half in a separate bowl. 

Add 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 tsp. baking powder, 1/8 tsp. salt, the peppermint extract, and the green food coloring to the half of the shortening mixture you took out.

Stir together until combined. 

Add 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/4 tsp. baking powder, 1/8 tsp. salt, and the unsweetened cocoa powder into the remaining half of the shortening mixture.

Mix well.

Place each mixture between 2 sheets of wax paper. 

Using a rolling pin, roll each mixture into a 12x11 inch rectangle.

Peel off the top sheet of wax paper off of each rectangle and flip the green dough on top of the chocolate dough.

From one of the 12-inch sides, roll the dough up. 

Wrap the 12-inch roll of dough in wax paper.

Chill for at least 4 hours (I did it overnight).

Cut the dough into 1/4 inch-thick slices and place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 13 minutes at 375ºF or until the edges are firm and the bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Marshmallow Treats

So, the Christmas baking continues. Since I last wrote, we've made pecan paulines, Spritz, lemon sugar cookies, mint chocolate pinwheels, and these chocolate marshmallow treats. They are really tasty and definitely a must-have for chocolate lovers.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• about 30 large marshmallows
• Chocolate Glaze
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 4 tbsp. hot milk
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• dash of salt

Yield: About 50 cookies

Cream the shortening and sugar in an electric mixer.

Add the egg, vanilla, cocoa, flour, baking soda, salt, and milk. 

Mix until smooth.

Add the chopped pecans.

Mix them in.

Chop the marshmallows in half.and set them aside.

Drop the cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper with a teaspoon.

 

Bake at 375ºF for 8 minutes.

Take the cookie sheet out of the oven, top each cookies with a half marshmallow (the sticky side down). 

Return the cookie sheet to the oven and bake for 1 minute.

Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack. Now you can make the chocolate glaze.

Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate over low heat.

 

Mix the hot milk with the powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Add a dash of salt.

Pour in the chocolate mixture.

Stir until smooth.

Frost the cookies with the chocolate glaze by using a tablespoon to pour the glaze onto the marshmallows.

Allow the glaze to harden and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

I've been busy making Christmas cookies this week - so far, I've made peanut brittle, pecan brittle, sandies, and candy lasses. This year I also made Peanut Butter Blossoms - if you're a fan of peanut butter and chocolate, you'll like these a lot. 

I basically used the recipe for whole wheat peanut butter blossoms from Better Homes and Gardens Cookies Cookies Cookies - except I didn't use any whole wheat flour or chopped peanuts (I used crunchy peanut butter, not smooth).

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (the nutty or crunchy kind)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• sugar (for coating the cookies)
• Hershey's kisses 

Yield: About 54

Beat the shortening and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds.

Add the sugar and brown sugar.

Beat until the dough becomes fluffy.

Add the egg, milk, and vanilla.

Beat until thoroughly combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Gradually beat in the baking powder, baking soda, and flour until the mixture is thoroughly combined.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar.

Place the balls 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Bake at 350ºF for 10 minutes. 

Remove and immediately press a Hershey's kiss the center of each cookie.

Cool the cookies on a wire rack. 

These are really tasty, but they are a little difficult to store since you can't layer them without smushing the Hershey's kisses. So make sure you have plenty of boxes to store them single-layer in.

Have you started any Christmas baking yet?