Holiday Treat Recipes

I had quite a few readers inquire about my recipes for the treats that I posted about here, so I decided I would post them rather than email them to everyone individually.

I hope you and your families enjoy them!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
From The Recipe for Christmas Joy by Marybeth Whalen

1 ¼ cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 (12 oz.) pkg. Swirled chocolate mint chips
Cream sugar and butter; beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in flour, cocoa, and baking soda on low
speed. Stir in mint chips. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto
ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 8-11 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute; remove
from cookie sheets. Makes 3 dozen.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Grahams
From The Recipe for Christmas Joy by Marybeth Whalen

11 whole graham crackers, broken into squares
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
½ cup finely chopped pecans
1 (6 oz.) pkg. Semisweet chocolate mini morsels
Arrange graham crackers in a single layer in a 15X10X1 inch jelly roll pan. Set aside.
Combine butter and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until
butter melts. Bring to a boil, boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cinnamon and
pecans. Pour mixture over graham crackers, spreading evenly to the edge of the pan. Bake
at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate morsels. Cool five minutes, separate
cookies and transfer to waxed paper lined cookie sheets, using a spatula. Refrigerate until
chocolate hardens. Store cookies between layers of waxed paper in an airtight refrigerator.
We make these for a friend every year and they are so good!

Buckeye Balls
From The Recipe for Christmas Joy by Marybeth Whalen

1(16 oz.) jar creamy peanut butter
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 ½ (16 oz.) packages powdered sugar
2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate morsels
2 Tbsp. Shortening
Beat peanut butter and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended.
Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until blended. Shape into 1 inch balls, chill 10
minutes or until firm. Microwave chocolate and shortening in a 2 qt. Glass bowl at high 1 ½
minutes or until melted, stirring twice. Dip each ball in chocolate mixture until partially
coated; place on wax paper to harden. Store in an airtight container. Makes 7 dozen.

Peanut Butter Fudge
From allrecipes.com

Candy Cane Topped Sugar Cookies
Go here for the sugar cookie recipe. Make the sugar cookies and bake for 7 minutes. Take them out of the oven and sprinkle with chopped candy canes. Put them back into the oven for 2 minutes. These are the times for my oven, but you may have to adjust for yours.