I absolutely adore this time of year. Yes, the San Francisco wind can pierce my bones & the ever existing fog is always a downer. But how can I be in a bad mood when I am all bundled up in my coat & scarf? And how can I be crabby when holiday decorations are filling up what seems to be every window that exists in the world? And how can I possibly not be cheerful @ the thought of presents! While I - along with most of humanity - love receiving presents, I also love to give them. In years past, I tend to buy my gifts; but that seems very impersonal & can quickly create a decent-sized divot in my wallet. So this year, I decided to make my gifts & to make them edible. Who doesn't like a sweet treat (or 2) during the holidays??
After much browsing around the web, I found 2 recipes that seem the most manageable given the small amount of time that I had & the large number of people I was planning on treating. The first is chocolate-covered Oreo cookie pops & the other is chocolate Chex "puppy chow" (or "muddy buddy") mixes.
To make the "suckers"you will need...
1 package of Oreo cookies
1 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 package of white chocolate chips
Canola oil
Lollipop sticks
Small treat bags
Then you will have to...
Melt 0.25 cup white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second intervals
Twist open Oreo cookies carefully trying not to break the stuffing
Dip a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate & place it onto the side of the cookie with the stuffing
Replace the other side of the cookie and press gently
Wait for the chocolate to dry
Melt 0.5 cup of the semi-sweet or white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second intervals
Stir in a few drops of canola oil at a time until the chocolate can drip off a spoon in a slow stream
Carefully dip the cookie pop into the chocolate & let the excess drip off
Lay cookie pops onto parchment paper, decorate them, & let them dry completely
Wrap cookie pops in treat bags & close them with either twist ties or ribbons
I decorated the white chocolate covered cookie pops with crushed candy canes & candy cane pop rocks. With the semi-sweet chocolate cookie pops, I covered them with crushed candy canes, toasted almonds, & white chocolate drizzles. I didn't taste one but they were fairly well received by my co-workers & friends. The hardest part of the whole process was getting the chocolate to be the right consistency because if it is too thick, the Oreo can get caught & break off from the lollipop stick. Also, use plenty of white chocolate when forming the cookie pops because Oreo stuffing doesn't stick back onto the cookie so the chocolate "glue" is super important.
For the Chex mix, gather...
4.5 cups rice Chex cereal
4.5 cups corn Chex cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
0.5 cup creamy peanut butter
0.25 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 cups powdered sugar (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
Give it 15 minutes...
In a large bowl, mix together the 2 types of cereals then set aside
Melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter, & butter together in the microwave in 30-second intervals
Stir the chocolate mixture until smooth & then stir in the vanilla
Pour the chocolate over the cereal & stir until everything is evenly coated
Pour the powdered sugar or the cocoa powder into a gallon-sized zipper bag
Fill the bag with the cereal, zip up the bag, & shake until you see the cereal squares are nicely coated
Lay the cereal out onto a sheet of parchment paper & let them dry
I made both the powdered sugar kind & the cocoa powder kind. The powdered sugar one was sweeter & tasted more like peanut butter; whereas the cocoa powder one tasted more like bitter-sweet chocolate. I put the 2 batches into small treat bags & then put 1 of each into a small glass jar so my friends could get a taste for both. On the other hand, the 2 flavors can be mixed together to give a different flavor profile.
Both of these treats were super easy to make & took me just 1 afternoon. You can find lollipop sticks & treat bags for really cheap @ any craft store. I got the glass jar at Ichiban Kan which is like a Japanese dollar store so they were super cheap too. The great thing about these also, is that you can change up the flavor & the decorations for different occasions. Oh the possibility awaits!
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