I’ve finally wrapped up all my Christmas baking this year. We just need to drop the goods off with our neighbors. If you’ve been reading here, you know that I usually make some cookie tins up for my neighbors, I pass along some baked goods to my team, and I send some along with Aaron for his team. This year, I bought these cute containers from H-E-B for our neighbors, and I did some little holiday bags for my team.
Here’s how I packed the inside:
And, here are the bags I made for my team:
Three of my cookies were new this year, and I’ll be adding all of them into the rotation. So, since you are here for the recipes, why don’t I jump right in?
1 – Christmas Crack
I made three batches of this stuff this year. It’s quick. You can make an entire batch in less than half an hour. The only thing that takes time is letting them chill enough so you can break them into pieces. Here’s my recipe.
2 – No bake peppermint fudge
I decided I wanted to try to save some time this year, so I went with a no bake fudge. I figured if it turned out horribly, it didn’t make a large batch – and I could always go back to the drawing board. Luckily, it was actually kind of delicious. Again, it only took about 15 minutes to make, but it really needs sufficient time to chill (I let mine sit overnight in the fridge).
No bake peppermint fudge ingredients
Here are the ingredients:
- 1 cup of white chocolate chips (about half a bag)
- 1 cup of milk chocolate chips (about half a bag)
- 1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Andes peppermint crunch baking pieces for the top
- Prep an 8X8 pan by lining with foil or parchment paper. Make sure there is overlap so you can grab the entire block of fudge out once it’s properly chilled.
- Pour your milk chocolate chips in a microwavable-safe bowl. Heat at 30-second intervals – stirring after each interval so it doesn’t burn, until it reaches a liquid consistency.
- Once it is fully melted, mix in 7 ounces of the sweetened condensed milk. Stir thoroughly.
- Add your peppermint extract to the milk chocolate mixture.
- Spread the milk chocolate mixture into the bottom of your 8×8 pan.
- Next, melt your white chocolate chips in a microwaveable-safe bowl. Again, you’ll do this at 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until it’s completely melted.
- Add in the remaining 7 ounces of sweeten condensed milk.
- Once combined, stir in your vanilla extract to the white chocolate mixture.
- Add your melted vanilla mixture on top of your milk chocolate mixture.
- Top with your crushed Andes mints pieces.
- Chill for at least two hours (I let mine chill overnight)
3 – Crockpot peanut butter balls
Ya’ll. This one is so delicious. It might have been easier to make than the fudge because you let your crockpot do all the work. Pro-tip: use a crockpot liner, so you can just throw away the mess when you are finished.
Crockpot peanut butter ball ingredients
- 4 cups of mini marshmallows
- 4 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
- 30 ounces of peanut butter
- 2 pounds of almond bark
- Mini chips to top them with – or holiday sprinkles (after I took this photo, I opted to use holiday sprinkles to make them look festive)
- Note: You can half the recipe. I was making a ton for a crowd, and this recipe made about 30.
Here’s what you’ll do:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Line your crockpot with a liner
- Add in the almond bark and peanut butter
- Cover and cook on low for 1 hour – stirring periodically. Do this until your peanut butter and almond bark and completely melted.
- Your mixture will look like this:
- Next, mix in your marshmallows and Rice Krispies and stir until completely combined.
- Take a cookie scoop – and scoop about two tablespoons into balls.
- Immediately top with your topping of choice (holiday sprinkles or mini chips).
- Let cool – I let mine cool overnight, and I was able to store them freezer bags until I assembled my cookie containers!
4 – Brown Sugar Surprise cookies
It wouldn’t be Christmas without adding some sort of Christmas cookie to the mix. I wanted to try something new, but familiar. My peanut butter blossoms are delicious, but I decided to mix it up. This time, I stuffed a brown sugar cookie with the Hershey’s kisses. 10/10 would recommend. Forewarning here: you will need to chill the dough (I always like to know things like this before I get started). So, I made the dough before a dog walk – and they were ready to shape into balls by the time we got back.
Brown Sugar Surprise cookie ingredients
- 1 and half cups unsalted butter – melted
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 2 and 2/3 cups of flour
- 24 Hershey’s kisses unwrapped
- Powdered sugar to top the cookies with
Here’s what you’ll do:
- Combine the melted butter and brown sugar
- Add in your vanilla and cinnamon until combined.
- Add in your flour and stir until fully combined.
- Cover and chill for an hour.
- Once chilled, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (this makes two dozen cookies)
- Use a cookie scoop, and scoop about two tablespoons of dough. Roll into a ball and flatten into a tiny circle. Add your Hershey’s kiss into the middle and completely enclose with the dough.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown.
- Sift the tops with powdered sugar to finish.
So delicious.
I hope you enjoyed my 2022 Christmas cookie roundup. I enjoy trying to old tried and true recipes – and adding some new ones into the rotation. Whatever traditions you have with your families – I hope they bring you as much joy as this one!
