Christmas Goodies

The Christmas season is always one of busy times and demanding tasks.  It is usually not until after we are out on Winter Break that I can take time to breathe and bake.  :-)  This year was a lot of fun; Mark and I were a great tag team on several of these recipes.

Muddy Buddies
This is a treat Mark loves to make anytime he can, but we especially love it at Christmas time.

9 c. Chex cereal (corn, rice, and/or wheat)

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. margarine

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Pour Chex cereal into a large bowl, set aside. In a 1-quart microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and margarine. Microwave on high 1 to 1 1/2 mintues or until smooth, stirring after 1 minute. Stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture over cereals, stirring until all pieces are evenly coated. Pour cereal mixture into a jumbo Ziploc bag with powdered sugar. Seal securely and shake until all pieces are well-coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool.

Turtle Bites
Who knew that three ingredients could lead to something quite so yummy?  All that is needed for Turtle Bites is pretzels, unwrapped Rolo candies (or Caramel Hershey kisses, as I had on hand this year), and pecan halves.  A great tutorial can be found on this site - really, they're so easy and so yummy!

Andes Mint Cookies

I discovered the recipe for these cookies on this blog (via the glories of Pinterest) this year, and I definitely wanted to try them since they seemed SO simple!  They are as delicious (and easy!) as the blogger promised.

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 package of Andes Mints

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes. Don't cook any longer than that! You don't want them to be overdone!
Take sheet out of oven and while the cookies are still very hot, place an Andes Mint on top of each cookie. In about 5 minutes, the mint will be melted. Take a spoon and smooth out each mint like frosting.

Dreamsicle Fudge
This is one of my favorites, and I only make it at Christmas.  The recipe is linked here from last year's Dreamsicle Fudge creation.