Fun with peppermint and gingerbread!
No-Bake Chocolate Peppermint Balls
8oz pitted dates
4 tablespoons of chocolate protein powder or coco powder
1 cup nut of your choice (I chose raw almond slivers as they are easier in the blender)
1 teaspoons peppermint extract
6 mini candy canes, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
Put all ingredients but the candy canes in a blender or food processor until the mixture is smooth. Roll the mixture into 2-teaspoon size balls, then roll in the crushed candy canes. You might need to put a little water on the balls before placing in the candy canes to get them to stick. This should yield 18 balls!
White Chocolate Covered Peppermint Pretzels
1 dozen pretzels of your choosing (I chose the flat baked kind)
White chocolate baking chips, melted
4 mini candy canes, crushed
Place pretzels spaced out on a cookie cooling rack. Melt the white chocolate (I prefer in a ramekin over boiling water on the stove over microwaving). Drizzle or dip the white chocolate over the pretzels while hot then let your kids sprinkle the crushed candy cane. I then like to put in the freezer to set and I leave them there until time to enjoy!
Gingerbread Cookies
Your favorite gingerbread mix (since I was baking with the kids, I chose not to make the batter from scratch)
Cream cheese icing, icing bag and a thin icing tip
Cookie cutters - we chose a traditional gingerbread man and snowflakes
You know the drill here! If you are going to do cutouts, make sure you add some flour to the mixture when rolling out so they don't get sticky and challenging to lift. I iced a few and let my kids watch before decorating their own. Enjoy!
Quick Tips:
If you don't want your kids involved in every step of the process, (especially if you have more than one that will fight over who does what) prep independently and pull them in to do their part when it's time. For these, I left rolling and sprinkling the candy canes and icing the cookies. They still felt involved and took pride in the final product (not like they would not have inhaled the treats anyway)!
To control the mess on your counter, check out these silicone baking mats we often use. They are 36 X 24 and come in a variety of colors.
Happy baking!
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