Truffle and Cookie Recipes from the Holidays

After a long break away from the food blog, I have a year's worth of recipes to post and comment on.  My New Year's resolution is to keep my blog up to date because looking back on a year's worth of food photos and trying to remember all of my recipes is a bit overwhelming.  This blog mainly serves as a place for me to make note of the recipes that my husband and I enjoy the most so that I have them for future reference, but if you happen to find one you want to try along the way, that is even better.

For a moment I am going to backtrack to the month of December when I stepped out of my comfort zone of cooking wholesome dinners.  I took on the task of making an abundance of truffles and cookies for neighbors, family, co-workers, and all of the employees of my husband's Home Depot.  It was a complete mess, but all of them turned out terrific and I'm making note of all my holiday recipes for these treats so that I can reference them next year when the holidays arrive.

Chocolate Pecan Turtle Cookies- These cookies received rave reviews

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg white
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped fine
14 soft caramel candies
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:
1.)Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour

2.)Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, then roll in pecans. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using 1/2-teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Bake until set, about 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.

3.)Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently re-press existing indentations. Fill each with 1/2 teaspoon caramel mixture. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

 White Chocolate Nutella Truffles 

Ingredients:
7 ounces dark chocolate
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup Nutella
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon oil (I used vegetable)
chocolate sprinkles (optional)

Directions:
1.) In a double boiler (or a glass bowl set over simmering water) melt together the first four ingredients. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. If you leave the mixture in the refrigerator for longer than 2 hours, it will likely become too firm to work with. So just allow it to soften at room temperature until you can.

2.)  Use a melon baller or spoon to form small balls. I powder my hands and spoon with cocoa, so the mixture is easier to work with and doesn't stick to everything. Once you have all the truffles formed, place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

3.) In the mean time, melt the white chocolate and oil in a microwave safe bowl. I will microwave on high for 30 seconds, then stir, and repeat until the chocolate is melted. Dip each truffle in the melted chocolate to coat it, then place on a sheet of wax paper.

4.) Add the chocolate sprinkles as you work, before the white chocolate has time to set. Makes 30 truffles.

 Peanut Butter Cup Truffles- These taste identical to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups


Ingredients: 
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 lb powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter
10-12 graham cracker sheets
dipping chocolate, melted

Directions:
Put graham crackers in a food processor or plastic Ziploc bag and beat until they are finely crushed. Mix butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and graham crackers together in large bowl. Roll into 1" balls. Place rolled balls on large cookie sheet (I lined my cookie sheet with parchment paper) and stick in the freezer for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, melt dipping chocolate. Once the peanut butter balls have set up, dip in chocolate and place back on cookie sheet. Let set up before serving/sharing with neighbors (but you can pop a few in your mouth just to test them and make sure they are safe to eat- it's a chance that I am always willing to take). Makes 7 dozen truffles.

Coconut Cream Bars

Ingredients:
24oz shredded coconut (divided)
14oz sweetened condensed milk
2 cups powdered sugar
24oz chocolate (melted)

Directions:
1.)  In a large bowl stir together 20oz coconut, condensed milk, and powdered sugar. Press into a greased 9x13" pan and freeze until firm enough to cut, about 1 hour.

2.)  Slice into small squares and dip into melted chocolate. Set dipped bars onto wax paper and sprinkle immediately with remaining 4oz coconut. Store in a sealed container. Makes 40 bars.

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies- These cookies are courtesy of my friend, Jennifer and they were to die for!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (2 sticks) room temperature
2/3 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

heaping 1/3 cup Nutella

Directions:

Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla together until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda and salt and add to butter mixture. Add Nutella in dollops over the top of the dough.  Use a butter knife to swirl the Nutella through the dough.  Do not over mix.  Chill the dough in fridge for 15 minutes before spooning onto cookie sheet to firm the nutella.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Bake until slightly brown at edges.  Let cool a few minutes on cookie sheet before transferring.

S'more Cookies- This recipe came from my friend, Leah.  My co-workers loved them!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash of cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups miniature chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
2 Hershey bars, chopped

Directions:
1.)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.)  In a medium bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, salt, and dash of cinnamon. In a second larger bowl beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3.)  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven. Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of hershey bar into each cookies. Return to the oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack.  Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.