Mincemeat Blondies

It doesn’t seem like it’s Christmas unless I make something with mincemeat! I always make mince pies, but I like to make some sort of cookies that also include mincemeat. What mincemeat you use and how it tastes varies a lot. I usually pick up what I can, as long as it’s from England. Some folks make it from scratch, but I don’t usually have that much time. Thankfully, store bought mincemeat is good, and I think of it as spicy, chunky applesauce.

This is a quick and easy recipe and came together in a snap. I’ve used weight measurements here rather than volumetric measures, and it is much more accurate. A kitchen scale that measures both grams and ounces is one of the most used devices I own! I seem to use fewer measuring cups as well when I use my kitchen scale.

This is a British recipe, and there is a learning curve with recipes from abroad. You can translate oven temperature and similar things, but some baking instinct is still needed. These bars were to bake for about 25 minutes, but mine were far from done. I baked them closer to 35 minutes, and they are still quite soft. My foil stuck a bit as well, but I have no idea why! None the less, these bars are lovely and have the spices of mincemeat, which is so warming this time of year.

Mincemeat Blondies 
115 grams butter, melted
210 grams brown sugar
150 grams mincemeat
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg 
125 grams flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 355 degrees. Line an 8” square baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a large mixer bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar. Using medium speed, beat until smooth. Add the egg, mincemeat, and vanilla and stir again on medium to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir just until the flour disappears into the batter.

Spread in the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan after 15 minutes, until set. The bars will be soft but should not be liquid in the center. Allow the bars to cool before cutting them into squares. 

Recipe from Fuss Free Flavours

Christmas Crinkle Cookies

I was online looking for a certain recipe that I remember from growing up, and while I didn’t find quite what I was looking for, I came across this recipe. There are many variations of similar cookies online, but there is also a lot of fake information out there. I have fairly good baking instincts, but some recipes just don’t seem like they will work. Also, I come across recipes where the picture and the recipe don’t match, which is a huge warning. 

This recipe is so simple, and since it contained oil rather than butter, I knew I could make it dairy free, except for the eggs. The cake mix that I had initially purchased did contain milk ingredients, so I did a quick web search to identify dairy-free cake mixes. There are several, so I noted them down and headed to the store. To their credit, my local store had all three of the options that I had written down. I chose a French Vanilla cake mix, as I thought it would add nice flavor to the cookies. 

For the food coloring, you will want to use a paste or gel food coloring in order to get vibrant colors. The colors do fade a bit during baking, so don’t fret when you look at the garishly colored dough. Mixing in the food color takes some effort, but you want the dough to be an even color. These cookies are so soft, but they baked up so well. They are chewy and have a lovely vanilla flavor. 

Christmas Crinkle Cookies
13-14  ounce white/vanilla cake mix
 2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Red and Green food coloringPowdered sugar    

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cake mix, eggs, and oil on medium until the dough comes together. Divide the dough evenly between two bowls. Color one bowl of dough red, and the other green. 

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop 1-inch balls of dough, then roll in powdered sugar and roll to reform a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheets. It’s best to work through one color of dough before working with the other colored dough.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set. They may be slightly browned along the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Mommy Hates Cooking

German Chocolate Cake Fudge

This summer when my husband and I were on holiday, we had some German Chocolate Cake fudge. German Chocolate Cake is one of my favorites and to have it in fudge form was lovely. I knew that I wanted to try making a similar fudge, and I found a couple of different recipes to consider. 

The fudge that I had was a two-tone fudge, with a chocolate nut base topped with a white chocolate, coconut, and pecan topping. I did find that I could piece together a couple of different recipes to make a similar fudge, but I also found recipes like the one below that was more all-in-one. Going with my theme of not-too-difficult recipes, I chose that route.

Ideally, I would make my own coconut pecan frosting, and you can do that if you have the time. This fudge only takes a few minutes to assemble, as you melt things in the microwave then stir in the extras. I use British-style unsweetened desiccated coconut rather than American-style sweetened coconut because I figured this is already sweet enough! This fudge set up beautifully and cut in lovely little squares. This was very easy and very tasty!

German Chocolate Cake Fudge
12 ounces dark chocolate chips
7 ounces coconut pecan frosting
⅓ cup Nutella
½ cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon salt
Additional coconut

Line a 8” or 9” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium/large microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, coconut pecan frosting and the Nutella. Microwave for 1 minute and then stir. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds, stirring again. Continue heating in 30 second increments until the mixture is smooth. 

Add the pecans, ¼ cup coconut, and salt and stir to combine. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Sprinkle with additional coconut. 

Refrigerate until firm, at least several hours. To serve, lift the fudge from the pan and peel away the foil. Cut into squares.

Recipe from Cooking with Janica

Peppermint Patty Cookies

Peppermint with chocolate is a fantastic combination, especially this time of year. I have made a variation of this recipe before, where I made the dough from scratch. This year, in trying to find easier recipes, I came across this one that uses a chocolate cake mix as the base. While this does make for a thick dough, it comes together quickly. You’ll need that as shaping these cookies does take some time.

I had the option of using mini York Peppermint Patties or York Thins, which are the same diameter as the mini Patties, but are thinner. As I was hoping to make a few more than the 16 that the original recipe stated, I chose to use the York Thins. Other than the dough being sticky, they worked great!

Did I mention that the dough is sticky? I’m not kidding! I measured out all of the dough and had the York Thins ready to go, but the dough wants to stick to your hands. I had to completely wash and dry my hands after shaping three cookies. Don’t try to shape them with damp hands, that was a complete mess! Shaping them takes a bit, but they look great when they come out of the oven, and will be perfect for my cookie exchange coming up.

Peppermint Patty Cookies
1 package dark chocolate fudge cake mix (15.25 ounces)
1 egg + 1 yolk
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
16-24 snack size York Peppermint Patties
Holiday Sprinkles

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, mix the cake mix, egg and yolk, cream cheese, and butter on medium until combined. The mixture will be thick. 

Shape the dough into 16-24 portions. Flatten the dough with your hands and place a peppermint patty in the center of each piece of dough. Wrap the dough around the peppermint patty, sealing completely. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and top with holiday sprinkles.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Recipe from Tastes of Lizzy

Chocolate Cherry Amaretto Fudge

I am now the designated fudge maker in the family, which is something that I am not terribly sad about. I sure do miss my Dad, and I certainly won’t make as many types of fudge and candies that he did, but I enjoy trying new fudge recipes. I have four new recipes to try, and I will likely make some classics, too.

I love anything with cherries, so I knew this would be great. It’s a combination of halved maraschino cherries and Amaretto liqueur, and cherries pair so will with almond flavors. The method of this fudge is quite different, where you mix the sugar, chocolate, and marshmallows and then whisk in the powdered sugar and Amaretto at the end. Different, but it seemed to work well!

I made sure to prepare everything in advance, as once you get started this fudge comes together quickly. The butter and milk will foam and froth, so make sure your pan is sufficiently large, don’t try to get away with a smaller pan! This fudge has a lovely milk chocolate and almond flavor. I found the fudge to be ever so slightly crumbly when I cut it, but I think that may be because the cherries were quite large. I cut them in half, but I think it would have been better to cut them smaller. I would make this again, as the flavor is fantastic, but next time I will cut the cherries up more.

Chocolate Cherry Amaretto Fudge
1 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Amaretto
2-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
13 large marshmallows, torn in half
1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup maraschino cherries, cut in half (or smaller) and dried with a paper towel

Line a 9” square pan with foil, spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and Amaretto; set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, and milk. Over medium-high heat, bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling for three minutes, again stirring constantly, and then remove from the heat.

Add the vanilla, marshmallows, and chocolate chips to the saucepan and stir until the marshmallows and chips have melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the powdered sugar/Amaretto mixture until smooth, then fold in the halved cherries. 

Transfer the mixture to the 9” pan, smoothing the top. Refrigerate the fudge until fully chilled and set.

To serve, remove the fudge from the pan and peel away the foil. Cut into 1” squares. Store in the refrigerator. 

Recipe from The Kitchen is My Playground

Christmas Rolo Pretzels

This year I am focusing on easy to make items, and I think that this recipe is about as simple as they come! When friends ask me about what holiday treat they should make with their children, I usually suggest something like these Rolo pretzels. Pretzel, Rolo, Chocolate candies and you are done. Add some fun holiday sprinkles! You are working together to create something but there is no stress.

The recipe I found used a couple of different pretzel shapes, and you can use what you would like. I used square pretzels, and round ones would also be good. I did see a different recipe with triangles, topped to candies to make it look like little trees. You have the option of using candies other than Rolos, and you could make quite a few different varieties with all of the special flavors out there right now.

The hardest part of this recipe is pressing the chocolate candies into the Rolo after softening it in the oven! It’s pretty sticky. The large sprinkles I used are a little too small, so I think I will make some more and top them with chocolate candies (M&Ms or Smarties). They are small, but cute, and are a fun addition to any gathering you may have this time of year. 

Christmas Rolo Pretzels
30 pretzels
30 Rolo candies/Hershey’s Kisses
30 chocolate candies/large holiday sprinkles
Holiday sprinkles

Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

Place the pretzels on the baking sheet. Top with a Rolo candy.

Place in the oven for about 5 minutes, until the candy starts to get soft. Remove from the oven and top each pretzel with a chocolate candy or holiday sprinkles, pressing down as you add the candy. 

Sprinkle with additional holiday sprinkles if desired. Allow the chocolate candies to cool completely before serving.

Recipe from Courtney’s Sweets

Cookie Cups with Christmas Preserves

Ah, it’s time for Christmas and Holiday baking! This year I am focusing on recipes that are generally quick and easy. Folks don’t have a lot of time, with everything that is happening, so quick is often what you need. This is a perfect recipe to start my holiday baking as it is ultimately flexible.

I love cookie cups, and I think they are perfect for the holidays. They are easy but they look quite fancy on a holiday cookie platter. When I made these, I had a couple of different Christmas preserves on hand, a spiced preserves flavored with port and also black currant jam. You can use anything that you have available, and this would work with any standard jam/preserves, as long as it is appropriately holiday colored!

For the cookie cups, this is the easiest recipe that you will find. Make the dough, shape it into balls, put it in the mini muffin cup, and you are done. You make the indentation in the cups after baking, which is quick. This recipe makes a lot of cookies, so keep that in mind! I hope that you enjoy making this cookie cups as much as I did.

Cookie Cups with Christmas Preserves
1 cup butter, room temperature
1¼ cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2¾ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Christmas preserves
Powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, stirring until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into 1” balls and place in the prepared mini muffin tin.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden. Once the cookies come out of the oven, make an indentation in each cookie with a https://findthelostkitchen.com/products/wooden-tart-tamper tart tamper or similar tool. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then remove the cookie cups from the mini muffin pan.

Once cool, fill each cookie cup with preserves. Dust with powdered sugar.

Cookie cup recipe from Six Sisters’ Stuff