Baking For Christmas

It feels weird to talk about baking with the past incident still so fresh, but here we go again... forcing myself.

I planned on sharing all the Christmas baking I did from the get go, so here it is!

Some turned out good... some not so good. It's all a learning experience and hopefully I master it by the time I'm really old (hopefully sooner though).

These are the doughnut snowmen I made.

Pretty easy... just add icing. I made the mistake of not sealing them up completely and they were completely stale lol. This was a 'not so good.' I want to try them again next year and make sure they are sealed up tight so they don't go as hard as a rock.

Remember the cheesecake that James made for my Birthday? He made it again to share with his family.

I made White Chocolate Bark for some family and friend's Christmas gifts. I'm not a big fan of cookies and cream, but this made me a believer. It was my favorite! Yum! Yum! Yum! And super easy too! I know you want the recipe, so I'll post it under the picture. You are welcome!

Chocolate Cookie Bark:

- 20 creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos) (about half of an 18-ounce package)

- 2 1/2 cups white or semisweet chocolate chips

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, if using semisweet chips

1. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with waxed paper. Coat the paper with nonstick spray; set it aside.

2. In a large bowl, break the cookies into small pieces by hand or with the back of a wooden spoon.

3. In the microwave, melt the chocolate chips according to the package directions. If using semisweet chips, add the vanilla extract. Quickly fold in the cookie pieces with a spatula. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and spread to about a 1/2-inch thickness. Refrigerate until solid, about 1 hour.

4. Remove the bark from the pan and carefully peel off the wax paper. Set the bark on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the bark into 12 bars for wrapping or 24 triangles for boxing.

Viola!

I thought the semisweet was a little too rich. Everyone seemed to like the white chocolate better too.

These were the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies I made. I wasn't sure at first about these, but when I added the icing... it was magical. I miss them. Is that sad? Don't answer that.

Oh, did you think I would tell you how good these were and then not post the recipe?! I am not that cruel.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

- 2 cups butter, cubed

- 1/4 cup shortening

- 2 cups baking cocoa

- 1 cup chocolate syrup

- 1/2 cup peanut butter

- 6 eggs

- 5 cups sugar

- 5 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 5 cups all-purpose flour

- 3 teaspoons baking soda

- 1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

- 1 cup chunky peanut butter

- 1/2 cup butter, softened

- 1 cup milk

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 11 cups confectioners' sugar

In a large saucepan, melt butter and shortening over low heat. Remove from the heat; stir in cocoa, chocolate syrup and peanut butter until smooth. Cool

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until lemon-colored. Beat in the chocolate mixture and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add creamed mixture.

Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until surface cracks. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

In a large mixing bowl, beat peanut butter and butter. Beat in milk and vanilla. Gradually add confectioners' sugar; beat until blended. Spread on the bottom of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies.

Yield: 11 dozen

That recipe makes a lot of cookies (which didn't bother me), just so you know.

I also made this Coconut Cream Pie. I was so sad about this because I was excited to make it for my mother-in-law that likes coconut (I do not), but I made it a day too early. By the time we cut into it, the filling had started to make the crust soggy. That sounds really gross, huh? The cream filling was actually really good though!

Well, that's that! Another post done.