Christmas Treats! ❅

Well I meant to post these recipes last month, buuuuut....I didn't. ;) Hubs was home a lot and I was having so much fun having happy days with him and the rest of the family there was just no time for blogging. He bought me a MacBookPro for Christmas though, so I've been having bunches of fun playing (and working of course) with my new buddy!! :D

So late November I got my Food Network Magazine (which I loooooove so much!) and in every issue there's a little booklet with 50 recipes/tips/etc based on an article. The last booklet was "50 Edible Gifts" and immediately inspired me to do as many as I could for Christmas gift boxes for all our friends! In the end, most of them turned out ok, but I'm definitely going to try again next year for better results.

1.) Chocolate Peppermint Fudge: Melt 1/2 stick butter, 4 cups marshmallows, 1 cup cream, 2 cups sugar, and 1 tsp peppermint extract, and a pinch of salt in a large saucepan. Simmer, stirring, 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in 3 cups chocolate chips until smooth. Spread in a foil-lined 9-by-13-inch pan. Sprinkle crushed candy-canes over soft fudge. Let cool and cut into squares.

2.) Candied Orange Peels: Peel 3 oranges. Cut the rind into strips and boil in water 15 minutes, then drain and rinse. Simmer 3 cups each sugar and water. Add the peel and cook until soft, 45 minutes. Drain and toss in sugar. Transfer to a rack to dry, 8 hours. (For double-yum, dip in melted bittersweet chocolate and let harden.) Crazy awesomeness and SO easy!

3.) Rolo Turtles: Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place Butter Snap Pretzels in even rows over the entire baking sheet. Place one Rolo on each pretzel. Pop it in the oven for about 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and press a pecan half on each one. This is by far the best candy I've ever made. I absolutely LOVE these! Hubs doesn't care for them as much because he's not a huge carmel fan, so I made a variation of this for him using mini-Reese's PeanutButter Cups and a peanut on top. He was in heaven!

4.) Andes Brownies: Betty Crocker Brownie Mix. Follow directions on the box and as soon as the brownies come out of the oven, sprinkle Andes Mint Chips (find them in the baking isle at Target) over the entire pan. Note: If you get the peppermint chips don't spread them around cuz it looks weird. The regular Andes Creme de Menthe chips will melt after a minute sitting on the hot brownies and you can spread them to make a nice chocolatey minty top on each brownie!

5.) Fleur de Sel Caramels: Follow the link to Ina Garten's recipe! A lot of work, but super yummy! Mine turned out a lot lighter in color so I used her pic to show what they're supposed to look like. ;)



At that is it, my friends! And just because it's not the holidays anymore doesn't mean you shouldn't be in the kitchen! -.- So get in there and make something delish for your buddies! Happy food = Happy people! :D
Have a Happy Day, everybody!
~Juli