Holiday Food Archives - Page 2 of 6

20 Hot Chocolate Recipes that are Perfect for Winter

January 21, 2017 by Danielle

It’s no secret that we love hot chocolate around here. There’s just nothing better than coming in after a long, cold day of work, school or play and enjoying a warm cup of hot chocolate with some mini marshmallows! The kids love it, we love it. It just can’t be beat and I know you probably agree. Today, I thought I’d share with you 20 Hot Chocolate Recipes that are Perfect for Winter. There’s a little something for everyone, from traditional to a fancy recipe or two. So grab your favorite mug and let’s get started!

Which hot chocolate recipe is your favorite? I love a bit of mint in mine!

Strawberry Cotton Candy Mocktail

January 16, 2017 by Danielle

There’s no shortage of tasty holiday drinks, but sometimes it can be frustrating finding a really good one that’s non-alcoholic. Luckily, this delicious Valentine’s Day drink is not only easy to make, but kid-friendly for those class parties. You can whip up this Strawberry Cotton Candy Mocktail in a jiff, then enjoy the sweet, fruity goodness for your holiday with no guilt.

One of my favorite things about drink recipes is that they often don’t take many ingredients – and this Valentine’s Day Mocktail only requires three! Yup, just a few ingredients for a delicious, sweet holiday drink that you can let your kids enjoy, or yourself – because, why not?

Ingredients

16 Ounces Strawberry Soda
1 Teaspoon of Strawberry Syrup
1-2 Handfuls Cotton Candy

Note: makes 1 16-oz serving

Directions

Pour strawberry syrup into glass.
Place 1/2 – 1 handful of cotton candy in glass.
Add 16 ounces of strawberry soda. Stir.
Add remaining cotton candy to on top of glass to garnish.

Pumpkin Bars

December 22, 2016 by Nikki Cole

November is the month for everything pumpkin and I tried some fun recipes one of which is Pumpkin Bars that turned out to be a super moist, melt in your mouth dessert that everyone in my family asked for seconds and thirds on. Pumpkin Bars are a sweet blend of pumpkin, cinnamon, and a cake like texture, topped with rich cream cheese frosting and is simple to add impressive but quick decorations to.

I know I said that my Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread was amazing but these Pumpkin Bars are a whole new kind of amazing. The bread was great and worked perfectly for a quick breakfast and such but the Pumpkin Bars are an amazing dessert to impress even the pickiest eaters.

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
15 – oz. can of pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves

Cream cheese frosting

8 – oz. cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the eggs, oil, sugar, and pumpkin in a mixer.
Add in remaining ingredients and mix well.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 18” x 12” jelly roll pan.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean and the bars start to pull away from the edges of the pan.
When the Pumpkin Bars are cooled make the cream cheese frosting.
Mix all cream cheese frosting ingredients except the powdered sugar well.
Slowly add in powdered sugar and mix until fluffy.
Spread onto cooled pumpkin bars.
To make a cool design dump some cinnamon onto a plate.
Get any cookie cutter, preferably small, and dip into the cinnamon.
Gently press cookie cutter into the pumpkin bars to make a design.

These Pumpkin Bars were amazing but did take a little work but don’t let that scare you away trust me, I’m working on a post with pies and wow, those are hard. This recipe is a little long but completely worth it and the steps are pretty easy just mainly mixing. I hope this recipe helps out with all your holiday plans and adventures.

Christmas Snack Mix

December 21, 2016 by Danielle

Whether you need a treat for a holiday party, co-workers in the office, a tasty gift idea, or just for an afternoon break, this Christmas Snack Mix is super easy to make and tastes delicious! Plus, you can customize it to your own tastes, making it the perfect holiday treat.

See, it even LOOKS festive and tasty, right? Kids would have a BLAST helping to make this – and it’d be great for packaging nice and gifting to friends or neighbors. If your family doesn’t eat it all first, that is!

Ingredients

1- 12oz. Bag White Chocolate Chips
2 cups Cheerios
2 cups Chex Cereal
2 cups Pretzels
1 Cup Peanuts
1 Cup M&Ms

Directions

Mix cereals, pretzels, peanuts, and M&Ms in a large bowl.
Take your white chocolate chips and put in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue to do this until chips are all melted.
Pour chocolate over mixture and mix very well, making sure everything is well coated.
Next, spread the mixture on a parchment lined cookie sheet in a nice even layer.
This step is optional: Take any leftover chocolate and drizzle over the mixture.
Let dry, then break apart! It’s now ready to eat or store in an air tight container.

Mint Thins

December 20, 2016 by Nikki Cole

Mint Thins are a perfect treat to enjoy on a cold winter night and fun to serve at all those holiday parties. These Mint Thins are impressive and simple to make without making a million dishes and breaking the bank or taking hours to accomplish something that will be eaten in a matter of hours or even minutes. The only down fall? not being able to stop eating the cookies!

Who loves girl scout cookies? Well I love girl scout cookies especially Mint Thins, I can easily eat a whole box in one sitting and not necessarily a long sitting either. Have you started to notice how pricy they are getting for such a small box? These cookies are amazing and now there’s a recipe that is almost exact replica of Mint Thins and are amazing, especially exciting to have the nice mint flavor cookies for Christmas.

Mint Thins are a mixture of cool mint and delicious chocolate that literally melts in your mouth. With this recipe it not only is easy and requires simple ingredients but makes a perfect neighbor or friend gift without hours of baking or shopping to find inexpensive gifts.

Ingredients

¼ cup whipping cream
¾ cup chocolate chips
1 package chocolate almond bark, divided
¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
2 9-oz. packages of chocolate wafer cookies

Directions

In a small saucepan bring whipping cream to a simmer over medium heat. Place ¾ cup chocolate chips in pan, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in extract, let cool for a minute.
Spoon a small amount onto one side of a cookie, place another cookie on top. Let harden in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
In a microwave melt the package of almond bark in 30 second intervals until smooth.
Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
Dip cookies in melted almond bark and place on the cookie sheet.
Let harden and enjoy.

This Mint Thin recipe is also really good for interchanging flavors. Instead of peppermint extract you can change it out to orange, raspberry, or even pomegranate. Different flavors makes different cookies and different exciting treats, these extracts are sometimes found just at a normal grocery store but pomegranate and anything real fancy will be found at a specific baking store.

Peppermint White Chocolate Hot Cocoa

December 17, 2016 by Danielle

It’s freezing outside. Well, not in the ‘technical’ sense of temperature, but for Texas it’s pretty darn close! Plus it’s suppose to actually get into freezing in the next week or so. Needless to say, I’ve pulled out my super snuggly, thick blanket and am all set for this delicious Peppermint White Chocolate Hot Cocoa.

This peppermint hot cocoa is creamy, and full of delicious chocolate flavor mingled with the minty goodness. I love it!

I don’t know about you, but winter just isn’t the same without enjoying a nice, hot cup of peppermint hot cocoa! It’s right up there on my ‘must do during the holidays’ list, next to ‘snuggle by the fire and lit up Christmas tree’. I have my priorities 🙂

Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 cups of Whole Milk (or half and half if you’re feeling indulgent)
8 oz. good quality White Chocolate, chopped into small pieces or 1 cup of White Chocolate Chips
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
Whipped Cream to garnish (optional)
Crushed Peppermint Candies to garnish (optional)

Directions

Stir the milk and chopped white chocolate together in a medium saucepan.
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a simmer and the chocolate is melted, stirring constantly or the chocolate might burn at the bottom.
Once simmering and melted, remove from heat and stir in peppermint extract.
Serve warm, with whipped cream and crushed peppermint candies.

Now you can warm up, despite the frigid weather outside, with this delicious cup of peppermint hot chocolate. Just grab a good book, a fluffy blanket and you’re all set for a wonderful evening of YOU time!

Fun Candy Presents Holiday Snack

December 13, 2016 by Danielle

There’s so many great ideas for playful treats, especially during the holidays. These tasty – and easy to make – fun candy presents are the perfect holiday snack! Bring these to your next Christmas party, family gathering, or just because you want to – they’ll be a hit no matter the occasion!

Aren’t these Christmas treats super cute? I love them – plus they’re made with chocolate candies, so how could you go wrong with them, right? You can switch up the colors to match a certain pattern or color theme, or just so each of your kids have their favorite color in their holiday snack.

Ingredients

1 cup White Chocolate Melts/Discs
20-23 Miniature Milky Way Candy Bars
Airhead Extremes Candy Strips
Candy Hearts and Pearls

Directions

Unwrap all your candy bars and set them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Now take your white chocolate discs and put in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue to do this until discs are all melted.
Let chocolate cool for a few minutes (if it’s too hot, it’ll melt the candy bar). Then dip candy bar in chocolate, make sure to get a nice even coat. Tap on edge to get rid of excess chocolate. Lay on parchment paper.
Take your extreme airheads and with a knife cut 2 inch strips. Take those strips and cut out each color so you’ll have 5 total strips. Continue to do this until you have 2 strips per present. Add 2 pieces of candy strips in a crossing pattern. Next, add 2 hearts with a pearl between them (this will make your bow). Let dry for about 10 minutes.

That’s it – these fun Christmas treats are ready to eat!

I feel like I need another holiday party just so I have an excuse to make a batch of these – without the risk of eating them all by myself. 😉

Santa Snacks

December 7, 2016 by Danielle

You know how fun it is to make festive treats during the holidays? I love it – and my kids sure do, too. What’s better is when they’re quick & easy, like these fun Santa Snacks using pretzels!

Super cute, right? Just grab the ingredients below, whip up these treats, and enjoy with family and friends. They’d be a huge hit for a holiday party, too!

Ingredients

1 ½ cup Red Candy Melts/Discs
Wilton’s Decorating Santa’s belt/Coat Kit
24 Square Waffle style Pretzels
Wilton’s Dab & Hold edible adhesive

Directions

Take the black candy stripes and cut 24 stripes to 1.5 inches.
Take your edible adhesive (you can use any type of edible adhesive you’d like…frosting, chocolate, etc.) and line one side of the belt buckle. Place buckle in the middle of the black candy strip. Let those dry.
Now take your red candy discs and put in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue to do this until discs are all melted.
Dip each pretzel in the red chocolate. Get a nice even coat and lay on parchment lined cookie sheet. (If chocolate is a little thick then just take a small knife and spread around the top of the pretzel to get that nice coat).
Add the belt to each pretzel as you take them out of the chocolate. Let dry for about 10-15 minutes.

That’s it – they’re ready to serve and enjoy!

Do you think it’d be weird to lay out Santa Coat Snacks for the Jolly Man on Christmas Eve? 😉

Cute Santa Chimney Treats

December 2, 2016 by Danielle

Guys, I just can’t get over how adorable these Christmas treats are – or how easy they are to make! These Cute Santa Chimney Treats would be the perfect addition to any holiday party, family gathering or just a clever snack for the kids this season.

And don’t worry, they’re REALLY easy to make with just a handful of simple ingredients. Nobody has tons of times to spend in the kitchen during the holiday anyway, right? Thank goodness these hilarious treats – featuring your favorite red suited man, Santa, stuck in the chimney – are quick, and sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

Ingredients

6 Rice Krispy Treat Rectangles (store bought or homemade)
1 cup Chocolate discs/melts (milk chocolate/cocoa lite)
½ cup shredded Coconut
12 mini marshmallows
Red chewy ropes (like SweetHeart or smooth licorice ropes)

Directions

Lay the rice krispy treats on parchment paper. Take a knife and cut 2 holes on one end of each treat. Make the holes about the size of the candy ropes. Cut candy ropes in about 2 inch pieces and set aside.
Pour chocolate discs in microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Take out and stir. Continue to microwave at 30 seconds intervals until chocolate is melted.
Take a rice krispy treat and dip in chocolate, making sure to coat all sides. Place on parchment paper. On the end with the 2 holes, sprinkle coconut on the top and sides. Only go to about 1/3 way. (This is the snow on the top of the chimney).
Insert 2 ropes into the holes that you made earlier.
Repeat all steps until all 6 treats are made. Stick in refrigerator for a few minutes or until hardened.
While those are hardening, take your mini marshmallows and dip just the ends in chocolate. Lay on parchment paper to dry.
When everything is hardened, you’re ready to add the boots. Take your mini marshmallows and cut off just the very end of the non- chocolate side. Stick the side you just cut to the end of the rope. (These will be santa’s boots).

That’s it – you’re ready to enjoy these delicious and FUN Santa Chimney Treats!

Rocky Road Crunch Bars from Leftover Candy

November 26, 2016 by Danielle

Every year we have tons of leftover Halloween candy or holiday candy to use up. Luckily now I have the recipe for these delicious Rocky Road Crunch Bars, made from leftover candy! We can make the perfect holiday treat, even gift some to the neighbors, and not let that pile of leftover candy go to waste. It’s a win-win!

Don’t these chocolate bars look festive? I love the colorful speckles throughout them – they’re just great for holiday parties!

I love that these are full of delicious flavor, with a surprise in each bite with the random marshmallows and candies throughout. They cut so nicely, it’s easy to make these beautiful bars into a treat plate to gift to friends, family, neighbors or those random guests that may suddenly show up during this time of year!

Ingredients

6 cups of leftover candy – chocolate types, not hard one like suckers/etc. – chopped
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup milk or heavy cream (optional)
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup M&Ms
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Line a 9×9 square pan with parchment paper or grease a 9×9 foil pan with butter. Set aside.
Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer.
Place a large bowl, big enough to fit on top of the saucepan without touching the water, and fill with your chopped candies and butter. Heat until everything is melted, stirring constantly.
If the mixture becomes too sticky to mix, add a splash of milk,half and half or heavy cream to thin it out a bit.
Once the melted chocolates resembles a thick chocolate syrup, take it off the heat and add the mini marshmallows and M&Ms. Mix well and immediately pour into the prepared pan. Spread as evenly as possible.
If desired, top with some finely chopped nuts for a festive feel. We love Walnuts, but almonds or hazelnuts are good options, too.
Refrigerate the Rocky Road Crunch Bars for 2-3 hours, until it hardens. Cut into 16 squares or 8 bars and enjoy with a glass of cold milk or cup of hot chocolate.

Now that you have a tasty (and easy) use for all that leftover candy, you can put it to good use and whip up some Rocky Road Crunch Bars for your next party, or just because!

What candy do YOU have most leftover?

Pie Crust Cookies

November 23, 2016 by Kathleen Clegg

It’s Pie Season! Whoo Hoo! Hi there! This is Kathleen from Fearlessly Creative Mammas here to entertain you again. If you can’t tell, I love pie. There are so many choices with pie and during Thanksgiving and Christmas, I make so much of it. Don’t tell, but I also eat so much of it. That’s a secret. With pie baking come leftover pie crust. What do you do with all of it? I hate throwing it out, so I came up with these Pie Crust Cookies. They are so simple, but so good. Originally shared November 2015

This is my beautiful daughter. She is a kick in the pants and absolutely one of my very favorite people. She is so entertaining, funny and smart at a whip. I know, I’m bias. However, other people say the same thing. This girl LOVES Pie Crust Cookies. They are her favorite. She actually ate every one of the cookies on that plate. So, I make her these cookies anytime I have some spare pie crust.

The last time I had pie crust, it was to make this Southern Pecan Pie, which is amazing, if I do say so myself. I like to use a silicone mat on my cookie sheets. It helps your food not stick and you don’t have to use extra oil. So nice. Plus, your food doesn’t stick to the pan. So wonderful for clean up.

Print Recipe

Pie Crust Cookies

Ingredients

Left Over Pie Crust
1/4 cup butter melted
1/8 cup sugar
1/8 cup cinnamon
2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

Roll the pie crust out to about 1/8 inch thickness.
Cut your cookies out the crust and place on cookie sheet, about 1/2 inch apart.
Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
While the cookies are cooking, combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
Brush each cookies with butter.
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on half of the cookies and the pumpkin pie spice on the other half.
Allow to cool and serve.
Store in an airtight container.

I hope this will give you an idea for that left over pie crust. These cookies sure are tasty.

Come on over to Fearlessly Creative Mammas and see what else we are cooking up. What is something fun and unusual you make for your family? I’d love to hear about it.

Cake Mix Rolls

November 22, 2016 by Danielle

I’m a sucker for a good roll! They go along with so many dishes, and they’re just so…deliciously satisfying. I especially love how these Cake Mix Rolls have not only the perfect, soft texture like a roll should, but they also aren’t really sweet, so you can serve them alongside anything! Originally shared a few years ago, but resharing since this is a perfect dinner roll recipe for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any meal!

Cake Mix Rolls / The perfect dinner roll recipe for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any meal! This is a super easy roll recipe!

Adapted from Sugar N’ Spice Gals

Note: originally shared this amazing roll recipe in May 2013. No text except this blurb have been changed from the original posting.

This is our current situation: we just moved here in January, and are building a house. While that’s happening, we’re living in a small apartment with a one-person-only-or-your-bumping-each-other kitchen. As such, we don’t have visitors/family over very often. Or at all, I guess! My wonderful uncle and aunt, that don’t live terribly far (and on the same street our house is being built on), who live closer to our church building, have made it a habit of inviting us over for dinner after church on Sundays. I can’t tell you how WONDERFUL this is!!! I not only love it because 1. we get to see them and spend time (they have a new baby about 4 months old, and she’s so cute!) and 2. we don’t have to wait longer to eat dinner, but also 3. I get to try out fun new things to bring to go along with dinner, whether a side dish or dessert. LOVE IT!!!

We were having chicken enchiladas one week, and I decided that some rolls would be a great accompaniment. Problem was, I’d never made rolls in my life! I found this amazing recipe on Sugar N’ Spice Gals, and automatically thought ‘Rolls with cake mix…..who could resist that?!’ They turned out so delicious, there was a small discussion over who got the last roll (Wonder Woman ended up with it, I think because she did the cute guilty look thing)!

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup Yellow cake mix
1/2 tbsp. Active dry yeast (or one .25 oz. packet)
1 1/2 cups Warm water
3 1/4 cups Flour, plus some for dusting
1/4 cup Butter, melted (for brushing)
Oil, for brushing

Directions

In a large bowl, mix the yeast into the warm water and let it stand about 10 minutes. Add the flour and cake mix and mix until well combined. Spread some flour on a counter or board, then knead the dough until no longer sticky. Add more flour if necessary.
Lightly oil a large bowl, and place the dough ball in. Roll it around until all sides are covered with oil. Cover with a wet towel (paper towel is fine) and let rise for about an hour, or until it’s double in size.
Place on board and roll into a large rectangle. (I realized our rolling pin was still packed away in storage, but made it work with a cup). Cut rectangles into about 2″ x 4″ pieces. Brush each piece with butter, then roll up short end to short end. Pinch the seam to help it stay closed, then place seam-side down on sprayed baking sheet.
Cover with a wet towel (again, paper towels work great) and let rise for about 30 minutes, or until double in size.
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Brush tops with more butter and ENJOY!!!

Makes about 1-2 dozen