The Annual Fattening Christmas Thread

Well, yesterday was the annual Christmas Treat making day. But I spent A LOT less time this year on goodies b/c I found some yummy and pretty but easy recipes to do. I only made one hard recipe but that was b/c it's Mr. Bean's fave cookie. I thought I would share the recipes with you. The first one is the hard one.


Cherry white chocolate cookies:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup candied cherries
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until just combined. Set aside.

Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Add milk to the butter mixture and then add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.

In another bowl, combine nuts, cherries, and white chocolate. Then add to batter, stirring only to blend. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake for approximately 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

7 Layer Cookie

layer the following in a baking dish (9x14):

-one stick of melted butter (I usually just put the butter in the baking dish in the oven til melted)

-graham cracker crumbs to cover bottom of dish (enough to absorb the melted butter)

-one bag of chocolate chips

-one bag of butterscotch chips

-nuts (optional)

-one small bag of coconut

-one can of condensed milk (drizzle over coconut, try to cover all)

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until coconut is toasty brown.
Let cool completely before cutting, you can refrigerate to speed up the process.

Pretzel Christmas Wreaths

pretzels
hershey kisses (I used hugs)
m & m's
easy remove reynold's wrap

place on the reynold's wrap on a baking pan the pretzels. Place the hugs in the center. Put in oven at 350 degees for three minutes. Take out of the oven and place m & m's on top of the hugs and press down lightly. let dry overnight.


FUDGE

1 12oz pkg (=2cups) chocolate morsels
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the morsels and condensed milk in microwave dish (I use a large glass measuring cup). Microwave on high 3 minutes. Stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla and any additions. I like mine with nuts but always make half without nuts for other family members. Spread mixture evenly into a lined or greased 8X8 (9X9) pan and chill until firm. I line my square pan with wrap so I can lift the entire thing out when set up. It makes it easier to cut.

For Rocky Road fudge just add 1 C mini marshmallows and 1/2 C chopped nuts. For Black Forest Fudge add chopped red candied cherries, mini marshmallows, and chopped almonds. You can experiment with different mixtures depending on your family's favorites.

Low-Fat Fudge

1 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup fat-free evaporated milk
2 Tbsp reduced-calorie margarine
12 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped, (about 1 1/2 cups)(I also did this with peanut butter chips)
14 large marshmallow(s)

1. Coat an 8- x 8-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. Stir together sugar, evaporated milk and margarine. Bring to a boil in a sauce pan, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Stir in chocolate and marshmallows. Remove from heat and stir until smooth.
4. Pour into pan and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Cut into 36 squares and serve. (Leave fudge in refrigerator or freezer for a firmer consistency.)


Smores

bag of large marshmallows
a container of dipping chocolate
crushed graham crackers

Crush one package of graham crackers. Heat and melt chocolate according to directions on container. Dip half of marshmallow into chocolate and immediately dip end into crushed graham cracker. Lay on wax paper or easy remove reynolds wrap. Let dry overnight.

Chocolate Pretzel Rods

Pretzel rods
container of dipping chocolate
any preferred topping

Heat and melt chocolate according to instructions on container. Dip half of the rod into chocolate. Immediately dip into a preferred topping (I used Christmas sprinkles but you could also crush up a graham cracker or a candy bar, cookie, etc.) Lay on wax paper or easy remove reynolds wrap. Let Dry overnight.

Enjoy - and try not to gain too much weight from the goodies!