Holiday Baking X2

Classes are finally over, and finals week allowed me a little more time to putter around in my kitchen. I always get a taste for holiday sweet treats, but as my blog illuminates, I'm not one to go for traditions year after year. I crave variety, and that includes holiday baking.

I've got two easy recipes if you are looking for last minute options. They are both festive and yummy. First let's start with the Christmas Chocolate Kiss Cookies. Now, I know for many people, Peanut Butter Blossoms are the ultimate Christmas cookie. They love the peanut butter and chocolate combination, and they can't imagine a holiday season without them. I have strong opinions on the Peanut Butter Blossom. If you aren't interested in those strong opinions, you'll want to skip the next few sentences.😂 First, there's nothing holiday about them. They are brown on brown and thus equally appropriate and boring for all holidays. Second, the peanut butter and chocolate don't really work together. There are maybe two bites where you get the flavor combo. Third, peanut butter cookies won't ever be at the top of my list they are usually too dry for my liking.

Here, then, was my dilemma. I had some Hershey's kisses sitting around that I wanted to use up, but I did not want to make the cookie from the previous paragraph which shall not be named. I found the chocolate festive version and knew it was the perfect alternative. These are a lovely chocolatey cookie (especially when you use the primo cocoa powder from Costco like I do). I loved the festive touch of the sprinkles, and since the chocolate of the Kiss is different from the chocolate in the cookie, it's still got a great mix of flavors. The biggest drawback here is all the refrigerating. I hate waiting around for dough to chill. (And to that end, I usually put my dough in the freezer, not the refrigerator, for half the time required.) I packaged these up for friends, as well as my kiddo's music lesson teacher. 

Cookie number two, that I'm so happy I found. We love Fritos at this house. The salty, crunchy, corny goodness is just something we can't get enough of. I especially enjoy Fritos mixed with sweet flavors, so I've made Frito bark, Frito cookies, Frito snack mix, and on and on. This may be the best Frito recipe yet - Frito Bars. Just imagine, a bag of Fritos covered in the goo from Scotcheroos. That's what we have here. It doesn't get any better or easier. The link has since disappeared from the Internet, so I'll give you the run down: one 14 oz bag of Fritos, dumped onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. You can also add a half cup of mini chocolate chips. Bring a cup of sugar and a cup of light corn syrup to a boil and boil for one minute, then add in one cup of creamy peanut butter (I also added a splash of vanilla) and stir until smooth. Pour the mixture over the chips and you're done! 

Now for the modifications that I think make it very cute and festive. Instead of the mini chocolate chips, I did mini M&Ms. Once I had poured the peanut butter sauce over the chips, then I added a few more of the mini M&Ms on top and they look like Christmas lights! You could also do the red and green mini M&Ms if you like that look better. I don't really taste the addition of the chocolate on these bars, and I don't even care. They are just so, so good. 

So, if you are looking for a couple of great recipes to round out the holiday baking, these are two gems. Enjoy!