Tribune staff members share holiday recipes

It has become an annual tradition for Tribune employees to share their holiday recipes with readers. In case you’re still in need of a treat to bring to your Christmas gatherings, consider trying one of these.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake Balls

Last December, I decided I was going to make Christmas treats for several friends, and I landed on fudge. I had never made fudge before. I felt so confident, I made a double batch.

In my head, I now refer to this incident as the Christmas Fudge Debacle of 2016. I try not to talk about it. I was living in England with a host couple, and my host dad generously and quietly disposed of half the fudge while I slept so that none of us had to look at it in the morning. I salvaged the other half by turning it into chocolate frosting (thank you, powdered sugar) and hiding that frosting in cake balls. They were a hit.

This is not the recipe I used last year, because unless you feel like baking in the metric system, that would be a true Christmas headache. Instead, I’ve pulled a cake and frosting recipe from my grandmother’s recipe book. Feel free to substitute in your own favorite recipes, because once you get the process down, cake balls can be very versatile. — Sarah Kocher

Ingredients

Cake

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup shortening (margarine or butter)

2 eggs

1-2 tablespoons cocoa

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon mint (optional)

Frosting

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoons cocoa

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon oleo (margarine or butter)

Coating

24 ounces almond bark

Sprinkles, sugar decorations or crushed candy canes (optional)

Directions

Cake

Stir together the boiling water and oatmeal. Let stand for 10 minutes. Beat together the brown sugar, white sugar, shortening and eggs. (I added the  mint extract here for a little extra holiday zip.) Sift together and add the cocoa (I added 2 tablespoons because I firmly believe in chocolate), flour, baking soda and salt (be stingy with the salt). Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread in a greased cake pan. Bake at 350° F for 35-40 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Chocolate frosting

Mix the powdered sugar, milk and oleo. I added a little more powdered sugar (1/4 cup) for a thicker consistency. Cook until it boils around the edge. (For a microwave alternative, melt the butter and mix it into the rest of the ingredients.)

Coating

When the cake is almost cooled, use a fork to break it up. You should end up with fine cake crumbles. This is ideal.

Using a spoon, mix in half the frosting. You’re working toward a consistency that uses the frosting as a sort of glue to hold the cake together into balls. Add frosting in increments and test by rolling 1-inch diameter balls between your palms. (I love this frosting recipe because you won’t shouldn’t have too much left over at the end.)

When your cake/frosting mix has enough stick to hold together in ball shape, form all the dough into small spheres. Make them a bit smaller than you’d like the finished size to be, as you will be coating them later.

After you have formed the balls, cover them and place them in the freezer for 20 minutes. This will help them hold their shape. After 20 minutes, melt the almond bark in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds to ensure the bark does not burn.

Take the cake balls out of the freezer. Dip one at a time into the melted almond bark, gently shaking each ball after dipped to avoid pooling almond bark (and to avoid running out of almond bark). Place the coated cake ball on wax paper or tin foil to harden. If desired, add sprinkles, sugar decorations or crushed candy canes when the balls are still wet. If you’d like to drizzle leftover chocolate frosting or colored frosting onto the cake balls, wait until they are dry before doing so.

You can store your cake balls in the refrigerator, but make sure to take them out 10 minutes before serving to avoid potential dental hazards.

Christmas Candy Cane Cookies

I remember having these cookies as a child and thought it would be fun for me to try my own hand at them. They were easier to make than I anticipated and are nice and bright. — Sarah Stultz

Ingredients

1 cup real butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 egg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Red food coloring gel

2 tablespoons finely crushed peppermint candies

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, beat together butter, both sugars, both extracts, and egg on low, just until combined. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.

Divide dough in half, making sure you have 2 equal portions. Add red food coloring gel to half of the dough until the desired color is reached. Wrap each portion of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerated for 3 to 4 hours.

In a small bowl, combine peppermint candy and 2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

To make a candy cane cookie, take 1 level teaspoon of each dough. Roll each teaspoon into a 5-inch rope (use a ruler, if necessary). Place one red and one white rope next to each other and begin twisting the two colors together, while pressing ends together so that they won’t unravel.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet, curving the top to one side to form the look of a candy cane. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately sprinkle cookies with the sugar/peppermint mixture.

Move cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Christmas Crack

I’ve seen similar recipe to this on Facebook and was instantly drawn to it, as I love salty and sweet treats. I also liked how easy it is to customize the recipe. Feel free to substitute Bugles  or Chex cereal for pretzels, substitute your favorite nuts for peanuts or add in peppermint candies. This is truly a recipe with endless possibilities. Below is the recipe for the version I made. — Kelly Wassenberg

Ingredients:

Kettle corn

1 bag of vanilla almond bark

1 large bag of mini pretzels

1 large jar of peanuts

2 bags of candy melts, one green/one red

1 bag red and green M&Ms

Directions

Popcorn

I used four bags of microwavable kettle corn, however homemade or bagged would work just fine. Spread pre-popped popcorn out in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Place cubes of almond bark in a microwavable bowl for 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure to stir the almond bark every 30 seconds until smooth. Drizzle the almond bark over the popcorn. Once dried on one side, toss the popcorn and drizzle again to make sure the popcorn is evenly coated.

Pretzels

Repeat directions in the same manner as the popcorn, but only coat one side.

Peanut clusters

I found out the hard way that almond bark hardens far too quickly for me to make proper peanut clusters, so I used candy melts which can often be found in the craft section of stores. Candy melts are also microwavable, but they should be melted at a lower power level and stirred just as often as almond bark. I poured about 2 cups of peanuts in a bowl and added just enough of the melted candy melts to properly cover the peanuts once they were thoroughly stirred. Place small dollops of the mixture on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and allow to dry. Make sure to work quickly as the mix does harden, especially with excessive stirring.

After each of the components dry, add them to a large bowl with a bag of  M&Ms. Toss and enjoy.

Peanut Butter Chocolate-Dipped Crackers

These treats, along with many others, have been a part of my family Christmas gatherings for as long as I can remember. Courtesy of grandma Jo.  — Tyler Julson

Ingredients

2 24-ounce packages of almond bark (1 chocolate, 1 vanilla)

1 box of Ritz crackers

1 jar of peanut butter

Directions

Melt the almond bark in a steel bowl over a boiling part of water. Spread some peanut butter on a Ritz cracker and put another cracker on top of that, like a sandwich. Then put the sandwich in the melted bark and make sure to cover the sandwich completely. Remove the sandwich from the bark and put it on parchment paper to cool and harden. 

Chocolate Peppermint Mousse Cake

I love most any combination of chocolate and peppermint, and this time of year gives me the excuse to try out different recipes that combine those two flavors. — Colleen Harrison

Ingredients

Pound cake

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

3 cups sugar

5 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate peppermint mousse

1 cup heavy or whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese or sour cream (1/2 cup)

1 12-ounce bag semisweet mint chocolate chips, chopped; or one 12-ounce bag semisweet chips plus 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 tablespoon corn syrup

2 tablespoons butter

1 candy cane or 5 peppermint hard candies, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F.

With a mixer, cream butter and shortening together. Add sugar, a little at a time. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl and add to mixer alternately with milk, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. Mix in vanilla. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan or sheet cake pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely.

Once pound cake is completely cooled, slice evenly into three layers.

In a large bowl, combine the whipping cream and sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in the mascarpone and 1/3 of the mint chocolate chips.

Place half the remaining mint chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave 1 minute or just until shiny. Stir until smooth. Gently fold the melted chocolate (plus half the peppermint extract if using plain chocolate chips) into the whipped cream.

Spread the bottom layer of the cake with half the chocolate cream filling and top with the middle cake layer. Spread with the remaining chocolate filling. Set the top layer in place. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to set. (Can be made up to 1 day ahead to this point.)

Melt the remaining chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave about 1 minute or just until shiny. Stir in the corn syrup, butter and the remaining peppermint extract (if using plain chocolate chips) until smooth. Pour this glaze over the cake. Top with the crushed candy. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares

I found my recipe on Pinterest. My 3-year-old son loves marshmallows, and I wanted to try to find a treat he would like without having to eat them straight out of the bag. This quick and easy recipe looked like something I could easily try. — Kim Ehrich

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 cup peanut butter

1 bag butterscotch chips

1 bag mini colored marshmallows

Directions

1. Melt together butter, peanut butter and butterscotch chips on very low heat until mixed, stirring constantly. Cool for a bit (so as not to melt the marshmallows).

2. Stir in mini marshmallows.

3. Pour in a greased 11-by-13-inch pan.

4. Refrigerate and cut into small squares.