November - Holiday Favorites

Oreo Truffles

(Stephanie Partridge)

1 pkg. Oreos (my favorite are the mint flavored)
1 block cream cheese
melting chocolate squares

Soften the cream cheese in a large bowl in the microwave for about 15 seconds and then dump all of the oreos in the bowl and mash them all up/mix it all together really well. I use a potato masher. Then stick the mixture in the fridge for about an hour. Once it’s cooled and mold-able then form into balls with a spoon and rolling them in your hand. Put them back in the fridge for about an hour (if you’re busy you can keep it in the fridge for a day or two at this point). Then dip the balls in melted chocolate to coat (white or dark) and set on parchment paper to harden; which will only take a minute or two. Optional: pour sprinkles on while still wet, or drizzle with a different color of chocolate. Enjoy!

Mulled Cider

(Wendy Loveland)

1/2 gallon on apple cider

1 cinnamon stick

1 orange sliced

6 whole clovers

Simmer for 20 minutes and serve warm

Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Courtney Zaugg)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies. 

Jello Pie

(Jasmine Sagum)

1 container cool whip (the smaller size)

1 personal size container yogurt, plain or vanilla flavor (I usually use vanilla because it’s easier to find)

1 small package jello, any flavor (my favorite for this is lime, because it’s delicious and it’s bright green, which kids love!)

1 pre-made graham cracker crust

1. In a bowl, mix the cool whip, yogurt, and jello packet together. (don’t add any water or anything for the jello)
2. Scoop into the pie crust.
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve (at least a few hours to let it firm up).
4. ENJOY! (kids love this recipe)

Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Seeds

(Jasmine Sagum)

2 large pomegranates

1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips (the original recipe calls for semi-sweet. I've made this recipe with both kinds, and I prefer the milk chocolate. But most of the women at recipe club liked the semi-sweet. I bet this would even be yummy and pretty with white chocolate. So just use whichever kind of chocolate you like best.)

wax paper

1. Refrigerate the pomegranates (not required, but it helps).
2. Remove all the seeds and place them in a colander.
3. Gently rinse the seeds, then lay them out on paper towels to let them dry.
4. Lay out a large sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet which will fit inside your refrigerator.
5. Melting the chocolate the easy way: put the chocolate chips in a glass container (I'd use my big 4-cup Pyrex measuring thingy) and microwave them until they're melted, stirring occasionally; don't overdo it, though- you don't want the chocolate to burn or get tough.
6. Melting the chocolate another way: in a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips (if you don't have a double boiler a metal or oven-safe glass dish over boiling water works too); stir constantly while melting so you don't scorch the chocolate.
7. Add the pomegranate seeds to the melted chocolate (making sure the seeds are not wet on the surface, or else the chocolate can seize) and fold gently with rubber spatula until the seeds are thoroughly covered, then spoon out globs of the mixture, whatever size you like, onto the wax paper.
8. Place the wax papered cookie sheet in the refrigerator and let the chocolate-covered seeds cool overnight (or for as long as you can stand before tasting them).
9. Keep refrigerated- they should keep for 3-4 days, at least, although I doubt they'll last that long once you taste them.
10. Enjoy!