Red Velvet Cake with Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 
  3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs 
• 3 tablespoons red liquid food coloring
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add food coloring and vanilla, beating until blended.
2. 2. Whisk together flour and next 4 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Spoon batter into 4 greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans.
3. 3. Bake all pans at the same time, with 2 pans on top rack and 2 pans on bottom rack, at 350° for 10 minutes; rotate pans, and bake 10 to 12 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour).
4. 4. Spread about 1 cup Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting between cake layers; spread remaining frosting on top and sides of cake.
5. http://www.myrecipes.com

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Christmas Peppermint Bark

Ingredients

• Crushed candy canes, to yield 1 cup
• 2 pounds white chocolate
• Peppermint flavorings, optional

Directions

Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point if desired.) Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle.)

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Christmas Sandies

ingredients

• 1
  cup butter, softened
• 1/2
  cup powdered sugar
• 1
  teaspoon vanilla
• 2
  cups all-purpose flour
• 1
  cup finely chopped dried cranberries*
• 2
  teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
• White, red, and green nonpareils
  
  
  directions

  1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar. Beat until combined, scraping bowl. Beat in vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in cranberries, lemon peel, and any remaining flour (use your hands to work in flour, if mixture seems crumbly).

  2.Shape mixture into 1/2-, 3/4-,or 1-inch balls. Roll dough balls in nonpareils. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets.

  3.Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes for about 1/2-inch balls, 13 minutes for 3/4-inch balls, or 15 minutes for 1-inch balls, or until bottoms of cookies are light brown. Transfer to wire racks and let cool.

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Toffee Pretzel Bark

Toffee Pretzel Bark (Makes 1 1/2 lbs of bark)
Ingredients:

14 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup toffee chips, divided
1 cup pretzel pieces, divided
4 oz peanut butter chips
4 oz milk chocolate chips

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, melt dark chocolate chips until smooth. Mix in 1/2 cup of toffee chips and 1/2 cup pretzel pieces. Spread mixture in a thin layer on the parchment paper using a spatula. Let the baking sheet chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. You don’t need to wash your bowl or double boiler before the next step.

For the next layer, melt peanut butter chips and milk chocolate chips in your bowl set over simmering water or your double boiler until smooth. Spread the mixture over the chilled dark chocolate layer using a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining toffee and pretzel pieces over the chocolate/peanut butter. Press them down with a spatula to make sure they are stuck well in the chocolate. Return the baking sheet to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. After the chocolate has set, break the bark apart into desired sizes. If the chocolate is too hard to break with your hands, you can aide it by scoring the chocolate with a knife. Store the bark covered in the refrigerator.

Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker

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Oreo Truffles

Oreo Truffles (makes about 40 truffles)
Ingredients:

16 oz package of Oreos, divided (or Joe-Joe’s, or Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s)
16 oz cream cheese, softened
16 oz semi-sweet chocolate

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Pulse 9 of the Oreos in a food processor (or blender) until finely groung. Place them in a bowl and set aside.

Place the remaining Oreos (36) in the food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add in cream cheese and processor until a dough-like mixture forms. Form the dough into 1/2 inch balls and place on the cookie sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Heat chocolate in a double boiler until smooth and melted. Remove the truffles from the refrigerator. Using 2 forks, cover each truffle in chocolate and return to the cookie sheet. Sprinkle a bit of the reserved cookie crumbs on top of the truffles and return them to the refrigerator. Let the chocolate set for at least 1 hour before serving. Keep remaining truffles covered in the refrigerator.

Recipe from AllRecipes

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