Christmas Baking 2013

I know, I know. Each year after I bake I swear that I'm not going to do it again, because of rude comments that have been said. I've heard, "Well, you're not getting anything from us", "We gave them to our neighbors", and I've even received some of them back, re-plated of course. And I'm not a bad cook, honest!!

I really, really love to bake, and more than that, I love to share. It's just part of who I am. I had toyed around with the idea of donating it all to the homeless shelter or the airman's cookie drive. But when I mentioned it to a friend that I wasn't delivering them, she told me that she'd miss them. So I sat down and went through my list and found six families that I thought would really appreciate them, and I got to baking.

I think I managed five oldies, but goodies, and five new recipes that all shined. And of course, I didn't take pictures again, so I'll have to steal them from the other blogs where I got the recipes. (Shhh, don't tell them!)

Oldies: (all found in my cookbook)
Christmas Delight
Oreo Balls
Cherry Almond Shortbread cookies
Rolo Pretzel Turtles
Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate

Newbies:
Almond Joy Truffles: http://www.highheelsandgrills.com/2013/09/almond-joy-truffles.html



Carmelitas: http://luluthebaker.blogspot.com/2010/10/carmelitas.html


I do believe that these were my favorites of the new ones. Oh, they are to die for! I had to freeze them so I wouldn't eat the whole pan. But I sneak in the kitchen frequently and pull one out and warm it up in the microwave. Ahhh....think I'll go get one now!

Reese's Peanut Butter Fudge: http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2013/04/reeses-fudge/



Mint Brownie Bites: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/07/chocolate-mint-brownie-bites/


I'm not a mint fan, so I didn't even try these. But my mint-loving hubby took one bite and started moaning, "Ohhhh, these are sooooo good!" It was quite funny to watch.


Salted Caramel Brownie Bites: http://makinglifewonderful.blogspot.com/2010/12/ummwhere-have-these-been.html


The original way says to use Rolos. I think this site said to use Hershey's caramel kisses. We used both and compared. Definitely like the kisses ones better as they are softer to bite into.

I think the only problem I ran into was that I didn't buy enough chocolate bark, and that I couldn't distinguish between my oreo balls and my almond joy truffles, once they were dipped. So I ended up doing white chocolate lines across the almond balls and swirls on the oreo ones.

Did you bake up something tasty!?!?!