Our Christmas baskets!

Last night Naythan and I were up late slaving away in the kitchen making the most amazing food ever! So not good for my diet, but OMG, to die for!

So to make you all drool as much as I did, here are the amazing goodies we are sharing with everyone this year!

 Chocolate Chunk Cookies

 These cookies are chewy and instead of chocolate Chips, I cut off fresh pieces from the brick from Idaho Candy. Holy cow, they were melt in you mouth cookie perfection! 

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

• Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
  4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
  
  

  Nutritional Information 

  Amount Per Serving  Calories: 285 | Total Fat: 13.9g | Cholesterol: 43mg

  
  

                       Apple and Peach Brandy

I started our Brandy right before Halloween when we picked up bushels of Apples and Peaches from Purdum's farm, but let me tell you it was worth the wait, and it was so simple. Though take a word from the wise, the Peach brandy was a pain in the butt to strain and we still got a lot of pulp that settled at the bottom of the mason jars. 

Directions

1 gal glass jar with a screw top lid

enough apples/peaches/pears/raspberries to fill the jar 

half a gal. or more of cheap cheap vodka 

2 cups of sugar 

I didn't bother peeling the apples or peaches, just sliced them and put them all in the large jar. (which I found at a home brew store for about 5 bucks.) Filled the jar with cheap vodka. (think college!) and added the sugar. I had to shake the jar to get the sugar mixed in, than I let it do it's thing. Every other day I would tip the jar over so that it would continue to get mixed. The top and bottom fruit will get dark, but it's ok. Ideally you want to let it sit for 3 months, but we finished at 2 months and it tasted fine. Before bottling it, you will want to strain our all the pulp so that you have a clear, clean brew. The easiest way to do it is to run your brandy through a brita filter. Turned out perfectly! 

We made enough to give away, and I still have 4 jars full. Seriously, it's amazing! 

 Chocolate Covered Pretzel

 Easy peasy, we just dipped the sticks in the melted chocolate but tastes like it was so much more effort!

Oreo Bark

I died and went to chocolate heaven. You know those white chocolate covered oreos they sale only at Christmas? Yeah, that's what this tastes like! 

Preparation: Line an 8×8 pan with enough parchment or wax paper for a 1 inch overhang on each side.

• 10oz. Ghirardelli white chocolate chips
• 15 regular size Oreos, plus 3 more for topping

Instructions:

1. Place chocolate in a double boiler over low heat and stir continuously, until chocolate is completely melted.  Transfer chocolate to a heat proof bowl and cool for 5 minutes. Add chopped Oreos and stir to combine. Pour mixture into pan. Use a spatula to smooth out top.
2. Finely chop remaining Oreos and sprinkle on top. Chill for about 10 minutes until chocolate becomes solid.
3. Lift whole bark out  of pan by holding onto parchment or wax overhang. Split bark into pieces with a fork.

You are welcome! 

Chocolate Covered Candy Canes

 

Again, it was simple, dip, cool and enjoy! I found they also make killer stir sticks for a glass of warm milk. Peppermint Hot Chocolate. Yum!

White and Dark Chocolate Drizzled Pretzels

We found these awesome football shaped pretzels, I would line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, then took a spoon full of melted chocolate and drizzled it across the pretzels. 

 Peppermint Bark

Much like the Oreo bark, these were surprisingly simple. 

I took 10 candy canes place in a zip lock bag to break them up, leaving some pieces larger than others. I lined a pan with parchment paper, spread the broken peppermint at the bottom, than covered it with chocolate so that every piece was covered. Let cook in the fridge and when it is hard used a for to break it into bite size pieces. 

Peanut Butter Balls 

If you are a fan of Reese's Peanut butter cups, these are a million times better. Trust me. I know my chocolate covered Peanut butter and I don't think I am ever going to pay money for them again! 

Ingredients

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Creamy Peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix together the powdered sugar, peanut butter, and butter. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until it becomes a nice workable dough.  It will be just like play dough, it will be really easy to work with.  Form the dough into a ball, and place in the freezer for about an hour.

Melt your chocolate in a double boiler while the balls freeze. And trust me, you will want them frozen since they are much easier to work with. 

Dip each ball in the melted chocolate and place on waxed paper until set. Enjoy! 

So that is the run down of your Christmas Baskets. Seriously amazing. Try it! 

Our Elf agrees, he was hidden with the goods  this morning! 

And I had to share my adorable new deer. Isn't he cute?!