Festive Cheese Ball

I don’t know about you but at our house, we don’t actually have lunch on Christmas or Thanksgiving because we’re going to have such a big dinner and we had a big breakfast. Instead we have an assortment of appetizers, which usually includes a cheese plate, and in more recent years, this cheese ball.

What You’ll Need:

• 3 8oz packages of cream cheese
• 1 Cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ of blue cheese crumbles
• ½ of chopped pecans
• ½ of chopped dates from the produce aisle
• ½ of golden raisins
• Vegetables, crackers, pretzels
• *The portions of the fruit and nuts are negotiable.
• A mixing bowl
• Plastic wrap
• A stand-mixer, a hand-mixer (preferably)
• A spatula or spoon if you don’t have a mixer. (You could technically probably use your hands).

What You’ll Do:

1. Add all the ingredients to the bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly together.
3. Separate the cheese mix into two halves and wrap in plastic wrap.
4. Refrigerate.
5. Enjoy with pretzels, crackers, or vegetables.

Peppermint Bark

A lot of people like peppermint bark this time of year, but it’s more than $5 for 5.4 ounces Ghirardelli of peppermint bark. If you make it yourself using Food Network’s Almost Famous Peppermint Bark Recipe, you can make two pounds for about half price.

What You’ll Need:

• 12 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (You can still use Ghirardelli, it’s cheaper to buy the baking bars)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 1 pound good-quality white chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 candy canes or 12 round hard peppermint candies, crushed
• 1 saucepan of water
• 1 heatproof bowl that fits over the mouth of the pot to put the chocolate in and make a double boiler to melt the chocolate
• A rimmed Cookie Sheet to spread the melted chocolate out on
• Aluminum foil
• Measuring spoons
• Spatula, butter knife, or spoon

What You’ll Do:

1. Line the cookie sheet with aluminum foil and make sure all the wrinkles are smooth
2. Fill the saucepan with 1 inch of water and put it on low heat until steaming.
3. Break up the semi sweet chocolate into pieces and put about half of it into the bowl. Then, place the bowl over the saucepan.
4. Wait until one-third of the chocolate is melted before adding the rest of the chocolate a few pieces at a time until all the chocolate is melted. You may help melt the chocolate with a spoon or a spatula every few minutes, but do not rush this step. It may take 10 minutes.
5. Take the bowl off the pot, but leave the pot on low heat.
6. Stir in ¾ of a teaspoon of the peppermint extract.
7. Quickly pour the chocolate into the cookie sheet, spread it into an even layer, and firmly tap it against the counter to remove air bubbles.
8. Set aside for about 10 minutes at room temperature until the chocolate sets. (It’s okay if it doesn’t set all the way.)
9. Break up the white chocolate into pieces and put about half of it into the same bowl, or a different one if you don’t want to wash it. Then, place the bowl over the saucepan.
10. Wait until one-third of the chocolate is melted before adding the rest of the chocolate a few pieces at a time until all the chocolate is melted. You may help melt the chocolate with a spoon or a spatula every few minutes, but do not rush this step. It may take 10 minutes.
11. Take the bowl off the pot. This time you can turn off the stove, you’re done with it.
12. Stir in ¾ of a teaspoon of the peppermint extract.
13. Quickly pour the white chocolate over the semi-sweet chocolate on the cookie sheet, spread it into an even layer, and firmly tap it against the counter to remove air bubbles.
14. Sprinkle with candy canes
15. Set aside at room temperature for about an hour until firm
16. Use the foil to lift the bark out of the pan and break into pieces
17. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks, not that it will last that long

Fudge

After break one time, I brought my resident advisor cookies and we got to talking about baking and cookies. I told her I would teach her how to make the cookies I gave her. Then, somehow the conversation diverged into the fact that I also knew how to make fudge, which she thought was harder and more special. More special maybe, but certainly not harder.

Here’s the simple recipe I’ve been using to make people happy or envious, depending on who they are, every Christmas since elementary school.

Warning: Not a single serving!

What You’ll Need:

• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 16oz bag of semi-sweet, dark or milk chocolate
• 1 16oz bag of peanut butter chips, Andes mints, Andes peppermints, butterscotch if you want to mix it up. If you don’t, just get
• 2 bags semi-sweet, dark or milk chocolate
• 1 saucepan
• 1 spatula
• Wax paper

What You’ll Do:

1. Add both bags of chocolate chips to the saucepan.
2. Add the sweetened condensed milk to the chocolate.
3. Put the saucepan over medium heat.
4. Watch and stir the chocolate mixture until it is melted and smooth.
5. Pour the mixture over a piece of wax paper and spread it out in a mostly even layer. (It may not be totally even. That’s okay.)
6. Cut into pieces.
7. Let cool.
8. Break the pieces apart, put it in a container and refrigerate.

Important: Serving Size: about 3-4 pieces, consuming more in a single sitting may cause a stomach ache.