Chocolate Cherry Marshmallow Crunch Bars

Chocolate Cherry Marshmallow Crunch Bars

Ingredients

• Base:
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbls flour
• 2 Tbls unsweetened baking cocoa
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking pwder
• Filling:
• 2 10 oz bottles maraschino cherries, no stems, drained and chopped
• 3 cups miniature marshmallows
• Topping
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbls butter
• 1 1/2 cup Rice Krispies

Direcctions

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer bow. Add eggs one at a time, beating until thoroughly combined. Add in vanilla extract.
• Whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.
• Gradually add to creamed mixture.
• Spread in a lightly great 9x13 baking dish.
• Bake for 16-18 minutes until set.
• Sprinkle marshmallows on top and bake for another 3 minutes or until marshmallows have puffed up.
• Sprinkle chopped cherries on top of marshmallows and spread evenly using a knife dipped in water.
• Let cool completely.
• Melt peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butter together in a small saucepan.
• Remove from heat and stir in Rice Krispies.
• Spread evenly over top of bars.
• Chill for 1 hour or until set. Cut into bars and serve.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 pouch of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp mint extract
• 7 drops green food coloring
• 1 egg
• 1 c creme de menth baking chips
• 1 c semisweet or dark chocolate chips (I used a combination)

Directions:

• Mix the cookie mix, butter, mint extract, green food color and egg in a bowl until a soft dough forms.
• Make sure the food coloring is well incorporated. The dough should be a uniform green color.
• Add in the baking chips and chocolate chips and stir until well combined. Use a teaspoon to drop dough two inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. You want to catch the cookies before they turn brown so keep an eye on them after 8 minutes. Let the cookies cool for three minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool.
• These cookies are so much fun because of their green color and refreshing flavors. My husband has already requested a batch for his office and I will definitely be bringing these to one of our holiday parties.

Maple Nut Chocolate Candies

Maple Nut Chocolate Candies

Delicious morsels packed full of maple flavor, crunchy nuts, and coated with a rich, chocolate shell.

Ingredients

• 1 stick {1/2 cup} butter, cubed
• 1 can {14 oz} sweetened condensed milk
• 2 lbs confectioners’ sugar
• 2 cups chopped nuts {pecans or walnuts}
• 2 1/2 tsp maple flavoring
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 24 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4 tsp shortening

Directions :

• Combine sweetened condensed milk and butter in a small saucepan. Heat on low until butter is melted. Remove from heat.
• While the butter is melting, put the sugar in a large bowl. Add the milk and butter mixture to the bowl and beat until nice and smooth.
• Stir in the chopped nuts, maple flavoring, and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined.
• Roll into 3/4 in – 1 in balls and place on waxed paper lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until very firm {1-2 hours}.
• Melt chips and shortening in a microwave safe container. Microwave on high in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until chips are melted and chocolate is smooth.
• Dip the balls into the chocolate allowing the excess to drip off.
• Place balls onto waxed paper and let stand until chocolate is set.
• Store in an airtight container.

Notes

I do my chocolate dipping in batches. I heat up half of the chocolate and shortening and dip the balls and then heat up the the other half and dip the remaining. You can also freeze the balls before they are dipped. Just thaw the candy before dipping into the melted chocolate.

Giant, Chewy, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Giant, Chewy, Chocolate Chip Cookies {Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 2 c flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbls vanilla
• 3/4 c unsalted butter
• 1 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c white sugar
• 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt) and sift together. (I occasionally skip this step and they still turn out great.)
• Melt the butter (WHAT?!? I know it sounds crazy but trust me…) and let cool slightly. The butter should be opaque. Add the brown and white sugars. Cream the butter and sugars together. Beat in the vanilla and then add in the egg and egg yolk and continue beating until the mixture is light and creamy.
• Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
• Stir in the chocolate chips. Once you’ve added in the chocolate chips you’re going to have to do the hardest thing – wait! Put the dough in the refrigerator for a good hour until it is nicely chilled. Because the cookies are so big, if you put the dough in the oven at room temperature, it would just spread all over the place so make sure you take this extra step.
• Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Space cookies about 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies are done when the edges are golden. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire racks to finish cooling. Then…devour them! Enjoy!