Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies

These cookies had the X-factor of food. What is that called? Not sure. Anyway these minty-chocolately cookies stuffed with chocolate, white chocolate, and candy canes were very addicting. Sorry the photo does not look that great, but don't judge a book by its cover. Wait, how do you say that in food terms?

Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
from Sarah's Cucina Bella

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
5 peppermint candy canes, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and peppermint extract on medium speed until well mixed (about two minutes). In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. With the stand mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients a little at a time until just incorporated. Stir in the semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.

Using a medium cookie scoop (or a tablespoon), drop cookie dough in balls onto the prepared baking sheet leaving about 2-inches between dough balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are cooked through. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Sugar Cookies with White Chocolate and Candy Canes

This is an easy, festive Christmas treat. Bake up your favorite sugar cookies. Spread with melted white chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Pretty easy, right? For most, I would think this would be a piece of cake, but for me it's a little harder. I'll explain.

I can't make sugar cookies. I've tried several recipes, but they never turn out right (the ones pictured below are super crunchy). Also, I can't melt white chocolate chips. The chips may be the problem, so maybe melting white chocolate in a block would work better.

Anyway, if you can do sugar cookies and melt chocolate, go ahead and try this. I'm not even going to give you a recipe. Follow the instructions above. Some day when I master sugar cookies, I'll let you know.

Failproof Candy

Candy making is fun, but sometimes frustrating. These two candy recipes don't require any special skill, so if you want something easy, but really yummy, try either or both of these: peppermint bark and buckeyes.

Peppermint Bark

12 oz. dark chocolate
12 oz. white chocolate
4 - 6 candy canes, crushed

Prepare pan by lining it in wax paper. I used 8x8 square pan, but the bark was on the thick side. Also try a cookie sheet, but don't spread the chocolate all the way to the edge. Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave (on high for 1 minute, stir, then short bursts of 10-20 seconds until melted. Stir after each burst). Spread the dark chocolate in the prepared pan. Let set. Repeat melting process with the white chocolate. Spread evenly over dark chocolate. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes, pressing the candy slightly into the chocolate. Let set. Remove the bark from the pan. Peel the paper away from the bark. Break or cut into pieces.

As many non-midwesterns may not know, buckeyes are a nut-like fruit that grows on trees. Candy buckeyes resemble the fruit. Ever wonder what the Ohio State Buckeyes are? Nuts (or fruits)!

Many buckeye recipes have a peanut butter center containing only peanut butter,powdered sugar, and butter. I tried this recipe with graham cracker crumbs and cream cheese in the center, and thought the consistency and taste were perfect.

I used a toothpick to dip the buckeyes in chocolate. After the buckeyes were set, I pushed the exposed peanut butter center around a little to get rid of the toothpick hole.

Buckeyes
from Smitten Kitchen

1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 14 graham crackers)
dash of salt
3 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
12 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped

Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together until combined. Add the graham cracker crumbs and beat for 10 seconds. Add the sugar and butter, and mix on the lowest speed until it stops floating off everywhere, then increase the speed until the ingredients are combined. Scrape down the whole bowl well, then mix again. The mixture will be quite sturdy and a little dry — perfect for shaping. Set it aside while you prepare the coating.

Make the coating: Melt the chocolate either over a double boiler, stirring until it is completely smooth or in a microwave in 30 then 10 second increments, stirring before you start it again until it is completely smooth. Let it cool to tepid (about 100 degrees), while you shape the peanut butter centers.

Assemble the candies: Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scoop out slightly more than one tablespoon’s worth of filling, and use your hands to form it into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared sheet and repeat the process until all of the candies have been shaped. They can sit close to each other but make sure they are not touching.

Using a fork or large skewer, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll it about so that almost the entire candy is coating, leaving a small circle uncoated.

Chill the buckeyes until they are set, about 30 minutes.

Triple Chip Cheesecake

I discovered this cheesecake recipe in Better Homes and Gardens magazine several years ago, and if I remember right, I think it was a reader submitted recipe. It has become my signature cheesecake. It's really not hard to make, but melted the three flavors of chips and stirring into the batter requires dirtying a lot of bowls. The butterscotch chip layer is the best part and gives this cheesecake a unique flavor.

Triple Chip Cheesecake
from Better Homes and Gardens

Crust
1 ½ c. graham cracker crumbs
½ c. powdered sugar
¼ c. cocoa
1/3 c. butter, melted

Filling
3 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
¾ c. sugar
1/3 c. sour cream
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
1 c. each butterscotch, chocolate, and white
chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300˚. Grease 9-inch springform pan.

Crust: Combine crumbs, powdered sugar, cocoa, and butter in small bowl. Press onto bottom and 1 ½ inches up side of pan. Bake for 7-9 minutes. Cool in pan.

Filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until creamy. Beat in sour cream, flour and vanilla. Add eggs; beat until combined. Melt butterscotch morsels in medium microwave-safe bowl at 70% power 1 minute; stir. Morsels may retain some of their shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10-second intervals, stirring just until melted. Stir 1 ½ c. batter into melted morsels. Pour into crust. Repeat procedure with semi-sweet morsels. Carefully spoon over butterscotch layer. Melt white morsels in small bowl as stated above. Pour melted morsels in remaining batter; stir. Carefully pour over semi-sweet layer, covering completely.

Bake for 70 to 75 minutes or until edge is set and center moves slightly. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run knife around edge of cheesecake. Let stand 1 hour. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Optional topping: drizzle additional melted chips over cheesecake.

Chocolate Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

These cookies are fudgy and divine. Make them soon. Or don't, because you won't be able to stop eating them.

Chocolate Cookies with White Chips
I've forgotten my source

2 1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
2/3 c. cocoa
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. white choc. chips

Heat oven to 350˚. Mix flour, cocoa, salt, soda, and salt in small bowl. In large bowl, mix butter, both sugars, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in chips. Drop by tablespoonful on baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes.