PINEAPPLE CHEESE BALL

1-1/2 packages (12 oz) cream cheese
1 small can crushed pineapple (well drained)
powdered sugar (to taste- approximately 2-3 Tbsp.)
green onion (optional-to taste, approximately 2 Tbsp.)
chopped ham (optional-to taste, approximately 2-3 Tbsp. I used deli meat ham)
chopped pecans (about 1 cup worth)


Combine all ingredients together.
Mash into a ball and chill.
Roll in crushed pecans.
Refrigerate until served.
Serve with crackers.
Enjoy!

Creamy Crock Pot Hot Chocolate

1.5 cups heavy cream
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14oz)
2 cups milk chocolate chips
6 cups of milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir all the ingredients together in your crockpot.

Cover, & cook on low for 2 hours - coming back to whisk it every so often.

Mad Scientist Potion

By Our Best Bites

Large glass jars or beverage containers
Brightly colored drink of your choice
Dry Ice (1 pound per gallon of potion)
Heavy-duty gloves and/or an oven mitt and tongs

Prepare drinks if necessary in the beverage jars. Otherwise, pour the drinks into the jars.

Carefully break up the dry ice with a mallet or a hammer. Add one piece (about 4-6 inches somewhere on the piece) per gallon at a time to the drink containers and replenish the dry ice as necessary. Serve immediately.

Note: The 1 pound per gallon rule will give you about an hour’s worth of potion. If you need 2 hours, you’ll need 2 pounds per gallon, and on and on. :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

2 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Wilton Candy Melts in yellow, pink, green and white

Non-parils for sprinkling on top

1. Place peanut butter and sugar into a large bowl, mix until combined. I used my hands half way through mixing with a spoon. Dough will be pretty firm. With a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop 3-4 tablespoons of dough into your hands and shape into eggs. Freeze for 30 minutes to an hour until hardened. Note: I only froze mine for 15 minutes and I was able to continue, it’s just easier if dough is hardened.

2. Start with one color of candy melts at a time. Coat 4-5 peanut butter eggs with chocolate and place onto parchment or wax paper. Sprinkle with non-parils quickly as chocolate hardens fast. It’s important to work in batches so your chocolate doesn’t harden on you. Continue coating all of your eggs until they’ve all been coated and sprinkled. Let chocolate harden and serve. Enjoy room temperature or chilled.

Makes 20-25 eggs

Easy Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers or chocolate wafers
5 tablespoons butter (melted)
1 quart pistachio or mint chip ice cream
1/2 cup hot fudge sauce
red and green candies

Instructions
Place 1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers or chocolate wafers into a 9-inch pie pan.

Stir in 5 tablespoons of melted butter, then press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan.

Freeze for 30 minutes.

Fill with 1 quart pistachio or mint chocolate chip ice cream, layer on 1/2 cup hot fudge sauce, top with 2 cups whipped cream, and sprinkle with red and green candies.

Freeze before slicing and serving

VALENTINE'S PEPPERMINT BARK POPCORN

Here is what you will need:

16-20 cups popped popcorn
1 lb White Almond Bark + red food coloring
1 1/2 cups crushed Candy Canes
2 tsp. peppermint extract
3/4 C Valentine M&M's
Valentine Colored Sprinkles

Here's How to Make it:

Pop the popcorn. Crush the candy canes in a large zip-lock bag. Line a large cookie sheet with wax paper then pour the popcorn and crushed candy canes, in an even layer, on top and set aside. Using a microwave safe bowl, melt the almond bark in 30 seconds intervals until smooth. Add the peppermint extract and red food coloring to the melted bark.

Pour the peppermint bark over the popcorn in thin layers. About half way though toss the popcorn mixture. Finish drizzling the peppermint bark over the popcorn. Then sprinkle the M&M's and Valentine sprinkles all over the popcorn. Let the popcorn sit for at least 15 minute to allow the bark to harden. ENJOY!

Soft Gingersnap Cookies

from Two Peas and Their Pod

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Pinch of fresh nutmeg
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup molasses
White sugar-to roll the cookie dough in

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Whisk the ingredients together.
3. With a mixer, combine the butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. This will take a couple of minutes.
4. Add in the egg and vanilla extra. Mix until well combined.
5. Add in the molasses. Mix until the molasses is combined with the other ingredients.
6. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Add in a little at a time until all of the flour is mixed in.
7. Form the dough into Tablespoon sized balls. Roll the dough in white sugar.
8. Place the cookie dough balls on a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Make sure they are a couple inches apart.
9. I pressed down on the cookies slightly to help them flatten out. If you like puffy cookies, don’t press them down.
10. Bake for 8 minutes and NO longer. You want them to stay soft! Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for a minute or two, then transfer to a cooling rack.
11. Enjoy!

Mom's Candied Nuts

3 cups of raw peanuts
1 heaping cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water

Combine sugar and water in sauce pan..bring to boil.
Add nuts and turn heat to medium....stir til dry. (20 minutes)
Spread out on cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Yummy--always a hit at parties to to give away for holidays!!

Mom's Chex Mix

1 cube of butter
10 tsp worchestershire sauce (mom usually adds about 30 tsp to make it with a kick)
3 1/2 tsp seasonal salt
6 cups of rice chex
6 cups of corn chex
6 cups of wheat chex
1 1/2 cups of nuts---all cashew is our favorite

Melt butter in 250 degree oven in roasting pan. Stir in seasoning salt...Gradually add cereal and nuts to coat evenly.

Bake 1 hour--stirring every 15 minites....

YUM YUM!!

Our Family Christmas Tradition....or when Robert visits!! :)

Peppermint Bark Popcorn

Recipe by Our Best Bites

16-20 C popped popcorn (fresh, or about 2 bags microwave popcorn)
1 lb Almond Bark
1 6oz box candy canes, crushed. (About 1-1 1/2 C total and Bob's are the best!)
2 tea. peppermint extract, or a few drops of peppermint oil
3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

*one bag microwave popcorn has about 10 cups in it, so if you're air-popping, do about 20 cups.

Place popcorn in a very large mixing bowl.

Unwrapping the candy canes to crush them is the most labor intensive step of this easy treat, so you can do that ahead of time if you want too. I put my candy canes in a large zip-lock bag and have a whack with a heavy marble rolling pin.

One they're crushed, dump them into the bowl with the popcorn.

To melt the almond bark, follow the instructions on the package. I just break it up and put it in a glass measuring cup and microwave on 1 min intervals until it's nice and smooth.
When your almond bark is melted, add the peppermint extract. It will seize a little bit (get kind of lumpy) but it's totally fine. If you use a peppermint oil it shouldn't seize at all, just make sure to only use a few drops as oil is stronger than extract. Pour over popcorn and candycanes.

Stir it up really well until the candy is evenly distributed. Pour the popcorn out onto a piece of waxed paper, parchment, or foil. Spread it out into an even layer and leave it alone!

While the popcorn is setting, place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. I really like dark chocolate to counter-balance the sweetness of the almond bark, but I know there's a lot of dark haters, so do what you want!
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the popcorn. You can use a fork, or put it in a zip-lock bag with the corner cut off.

Leave it until the almond bark and the chocolate is hardened. If you need to hurry it up, do this whole process on lined cookie sheets you can pop in the fridge.

When chocolate is hardened, use your hands to break up popcorn into chunks. Toss in a bowl, a jar, a cute package, or in your mouth :)

Candy Cane Snowballs

30 ServingsPrep: 25 + chilling Bake: 20 min.

Ingredients
•2 cups butter, softened
•1 cup confectioners' sugar
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•1 cup chopped pecans
•8 ounces white candy coating, coarsely chopped (I used chocolate. Not a big fan of white chocolate)

•1/3 to 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
Directions
•In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour and mix well. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until easy to handle.
•Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. Apart on ungreased baking sheets.Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

•In a microwave, melt candy coating at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth.

•Dip the top of each cookie into the candy coating; allow excess to drip off. Dip into peppermint candy. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set. Yield: 5 dozen.

Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

Brownies:
4 squares unsweetened chocolate (4oz)
1 C butter (2 sticks)
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1t vanilla
1 1/4 C flour
1/2 t baking powder

Frosting:
2 C powdered sugar
4 T butter, softened
1 1/2 t peppermint extract
1 T milk
pink food coloring

Chocolate Glaze:
6 oz (about a cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips ,you could also use dark
6T real butter

Additional:
1/2-1 C crushed candy canes (Use Bob's NOT Spanglers!)

First, the Brownies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
The chocolate you want is baking chocolate, which is sold in bars by the chocolate chips. Make sure it is unsweetened.

Give those squares a rough chop so they'll be easier to melt.

Then place them in a microwave-safe bowl along with the 2 sticks of butter (also chopped)

Melt in 30-45 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Set aside. Don't accidentally stick your finger in the melted butter and chocolate combo because it will laugh at you for forgetting that it is unsweetened.

In a stand mixer or with electric beaters, beat eggs for about 3 minutes until thick and frothy, like this:

Add sugar and vanilla and beat to combine. Then add in the melted chocolate and butter that you set aside. Combine flour and baking powder and whisk into brownie batter by hand until just combined. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. If you want to make the job much easier, line your pan with foil first.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness and don't over bake! When brownies are done, cool on a cooling rack. When completely cool, pop in the fridge to chill. (makes the frosting spreading easier)

Next layer is the frosting:
Combine all frosting ingredients and beat until light and fluffy. Add extra milk by teaspoonful if you need a little more. Spread evenly over cooled/chilled brownies and place back in the fridge to chill again while you do the final step.

Chocolate Glaze:
Place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and cook in 30 second intervals until smooth.

Set aside for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, so it can cool off just a bit. Remember in the first step when I told you to not accidentally let your finger fall in the chocolate butter mixture? Totally doesn't apply to this chocolate butter mixture. Quickly spread on top of brownies. I say quickly because the frosting is cool and the chocolate is hot. If you take your sweet time and over do it, you'll make a big gooey mess. Just spread it on quick.

Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top and return to the fridge until chocolate is set on top.

Remove from fridge a few minutes before serving. Cut into squares, eat!!!

Chocolate Caramel Covered Marshmallows

Here’s another dessert you can serve at your Christmas party. But I think I’ll leave these out for Santa! These are easier to make than they look and they taste so yummy.

Ingredients: regular sized marshmallows, caramel (homemade or pre-bought), chocolate, crushed candy canes (optional), sucker sticks

Directions: Make or melt your caramel. I use a double boiler on the stove top to melt caramel. While you are waiting for the caramel to melt, stick a sucker stick into the marshmallows. Set out a sheet of parchment or wax paper or the new non-stick aluminum foil. Once the caramel is melted dip each marshmallow into the caramel, covering completely. Place each dipped marshmallow onto the parchment or whatever you’re using. Allow the caramel marshmallows to cool completely. You can crush your candy canes now, if you haven’t already. Once cooled (this can take up to a half an hour) melt the chocolate. You can do this in a double boiler on the stove top or in the microwave. Dip each marshmallow into the chocolate 2/3 of the way then immediately roll the ends in crushed candy canes. Let cool on the parchment, wax paper or non-stick aluminum foil.

M & M Pretzels

Salty pretzels combine with sweet chocolate for these fun treats that make a yummy gift few can resist. (In fact, you may want to make some extras for yourself!)

Ingredients
Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels
Hershey’s Kiss or Hershey’s Hug
M&M’s candy

Instructions
Heat the oven to 170F. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey’s Kiss or Hershey’s Hug.
Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M’s candy into the center of each Kiss.
Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. Place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons.

Glass Block Holiday Jello

From Our Best Bites

4 3-oz. packages assorted Jello (in coordinating colors)
2 packets unflavored gelatin
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk


Spray 4 small food storage containers (like Tupperware/Gladware/Rubbermaid) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.


Bring 5+ cups of water to a boil. Combine 1 c. boiling water with 1 package of Jello, stirring until dissolved. Place the dissolved Jello in one of the prepared containers. Repeat with the remaining packages of Jello. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferable overnight.


When the Jello has set, bring another 2 c. of water to a boil. While the water is heating, sprinkle 2 packets of unflavored gelatin over 1/2 c. of cold water. Allow to stand for about 4 minutes. When the water is boiling, pour 1 1/2 c. boiling water over the dissolved gelatin and stir to combine. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Allow to come to room temperature.

Lightly spray a 9x13" pan with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully cut the colored Jello into cubes and gently toss to combine in the 9x13" pan. Pour the cooled milk mixture over the colored Jello and, if necessary, rearrange some of the colored Jello to make sure it is evenly distributed and not sticking out of the white mixture too far.

Place the 9x13" pan in the refrigerator and chill overnight. Cut into squares, rectangles, or various shapes with cookie cutters and serve.

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
1/2 c. real butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips
48 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Meanwhile, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the centers are set but still soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss. Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden. If necessary, after the cookies have cooled, they can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to re-solidify the Kiss.

Cinnamon Caramel Corn with Pecans & White Chocolate

{AKA Cinnamon Bun Popcorn!}
Recipe by Our Best Bites

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)*
1 C roughly chopped pecans
1 C brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 C Karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)
1 stick real butter (1/2 C)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 squares almond bark

*You can use air popped or microwave popcorn. If using microwave, anything works, but I prefer a "natural" flavor that's low in butter and salt.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside. And by large bowl, I mean like, twice as big as you think you really need. If you don't believe me, then maybe you will believe the scorching hot caramel goo that's splattered all over your hands while you're stirring in your not-so-big bowl. Just a thought.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave-safe bowl. Like a 2-quart bowl or Pyrex measuring bowl. Again, use a bowl larger than you think you need to avoid scorching hot caramel goo accidents. It's really important to incorporate the cinnamon into the brown sugar at this point. For some reason, if you don't it does crazy things. I don't know why. Try it and then email Alton Brown and ask him if you really want to know.

Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup (or honey) over the top of everything.

Microwave on high for 30 seconds (just to soften the butter a bit) and then stir to combine.

Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more.

By this point it should be nice and bubbly.

If it doesn't quite look like that you can microwave it a little longer, but just beware that if you over cook it, it will reach the hard candy stage and you'll end up with a giant clump of tasty concrete-like substance with little popcorn pieces stuck to it. Don't ask me how I know this.

Remove from the microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda.

Okay, back to caramel goodness. See what happens? The vanilla makes it bubble and pop and the baking soda makes it foam up, like this:

Now take that foamy science project and pour it right over the popcorn and pecans. Stir right away, and stir lots. Take too long and the caramel will harden on you. Keep stirring until everything is well coated.

Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan.

And yeah, go ahead and pop some in your mouth, you know you want to. It will be kinda chewy and stick-to-your-teeth-like. But we're gonna change that. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take a piece out and let it cool. "Sample." If it's not crunchy enough, bake for another 5 minutes. "Sample" again. This will not be the end of "sampling."

When it's done, give it a final stir and let it cool off for a bit while you melt your almond bark (just nuke it in the microwave according to the package directions) If you want, you can spread out your caramel corn on a clean piece of parchment, waxed paper, or foil. I always do this because sometimes it sticks to the hot foil if I leave it on the original pan. I'm kind of a clean control freak and I like to have it on a nice, fresh surface.

Now, just use a fork and drizzle the melted almond bark over the popcorn mixture.

When it's hardened (pop it in the fridge to speed that process along) break into chunks and enjoy!