It's Just Getting Started!

The holiday baking has begun in our house and what better ingredient to get it started than Peanut Butter?!?! We pretty much always have it on hand, so it ends up being a staple in many of my desserts.
We had a Christmas party at work on the first Friday of this month and I picked an easy recipe to start off the holiday season. Although I would be remiss if I did not point out that easy does not mean it's not tasty -- these three ingredients make a wonderful treat!

Ritz Crackers + Peanut Butter + Chocolate = Quick and Easy Christmas Goodies!

It's so easy to throw these together, I'm almost embarrassed to explain. But here goes. **To note, Lovebug picked out the Snowflake shaped Ritz, so I had to give them a picture since they were to be covered in chocolate.**
Put some peanut butter on one cracker... add another to the top and smoosh together.
Cute little sandwiches! Then you can stick them in the fridge to firm up a bit or you can get right to the dipping. Simply melt some chocolate chips in the microwave (although, I must admit, this is NOT always so easily done. Sometimes the chocolate burns or doesn't melt. That can be extremely frustrating, but be patient and stick with it and it can turn out wonderfully.) I usually add a bit of vegetable shortening to the chocolate chips to make it smooth.
Then dip away! I usually use a fork because it allows some of the chocolate to escape underneath so they aren't sitting in pools of chocolate. They turn out a bit neater this way.
After they've been in the fridge a bit and the chocolate has hardened, they are ready to serve. This is me, not wanting to waste any chocolate from the bottom of the measuring cup, layering it on with the spatula and diving right in before it had a chance to set up. Also delicious :o)

Now this next recipe is a new one for the holiday season. They are called Peanut Butter Buckeye Pretzel Bites. Now I've had a few buckeyes in my time and they are absolutely wonderful! So I thought a twist on the original could also be good. And boy, did I receive some flattering comments from these babies. "Life-Changing" is the first one that comes to mind.
This recipe requires a few more ingredients than the last, but they are pretty standard and the only thing I actually had to buy were the pretzels. You start off by combining butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Then you roll them into teaspoon-size balls.
Then you place one PB ball on top of a pretzel and place another pretzel down on top and squeeze together. At first I was afraid the PB mixture would squeeze right through and make a mess, but they stayed together pretty well. Once you have created the little sandwiches, stick them in the freezer (or fridge -- that's the only place I had room!) to let them set up a bit.
Once they come out you dip them halfway in melted chocolate. I'm not sure why the recipe stated only halfway, I think they would be good totally coated, but they did look pretty and it saved me some time only having to dip them in part way. These little babies were good and will definitely be added to my holiday cookie/candy rotation!
Last, but not least, are the creation my friend, Marsha, from college introduced to me. Having Ritz crackers and chocolate chips on hand, all I needed to buy were candy canes and I was set. This is also an extremely easy recipe, but is met with great results. I took these and the pretzel bites to a meeting at work and they were -- simply put -- devoured! It's surprising how the Ritz cracker seems to morph into something else. Most people have a hard time believing that's what it is.
I've heard several people compare these to Thin Mints that the Girl Scouts sell. So if you want a knock-off Christmas version, try these! Melt some chocolate chips in the microwave, dip in one ritz cracker...

Before the chocolate hardens sprinkle on some crushed up candy cane pieces. Once you have completed all of them, once again, put in the fridge to set up.

And there you have it, three super easy, yet delicious Christmas cookie/candy recipes. I wanted to go ahead and share these because I'm having a bake day here at my house this weekend and didn't want to feel too overwhelmed with pictures and recipes. So I'll be posting a few at a time throughout the month. Maybe you'll be able to give one of these a shot-- 17 more days until Christmas!

To life... full of holiday treats!