Christmas throw up and some holiday recipes

As my son has said and he was absolutely right...

Looks like Christmas has thrown up at This Old House 2.  Every year I say I'm going to simplify a bit, not drag everything out and cram it around the mantles and shelves and hanging from mirrors and chandeliers... and every year I still do it anyway.

 Except the SNOW VILLAGE.  Oh, when I was a young brand new wife I couldn't wait to start collecting  my DEPT 56 SNOW VILLAGE!!...OMG it's gonna be so awesome setting up that beautiful snow village with it's old cars and light up houses and fences and trees and shops and trees  and barn and more trees and street lights that work!  River with trout in it! little wreaths on each door!   That fake glorious snow!!!.. (actually that pain- in -the- ass- gets- all- over- everything -even in- your -mouth- snow).  It's still sitting in the rubbermaid containers downstairs for the third year in a row.   I'm kinda over it.

  
All three of my christmas cactus are in bloom in the kitchen window... 

 The keeping room mantle.. ask me how much I love those battery operated candles.. 
 

Some new recipes I will try

this year -

Canoli Cheesecake!

Ingredients
7 oz pkg cannoli shells
3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
2 tablespoons sugar
4 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange zest
5 large eggs
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Confectionery sugar for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment. Crush canolli shells in a food processor, add butter and 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to pulse until med-fine crumbs. Press crumbs firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Let cool.

Beat ricotta cheese, remaining sugar and flour in bowl of electric mixer on medium until well blended. Add whipping cream, vanilla and zest; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing just until blended after each addition. Pour over crust.
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, then sprinkle top with the chocolate chips delicately, pressing chips in lightly. Continue to bake 10 more minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake. Cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or more. Before serving sprinkle with confectionery sugar. Top with whipped cream if desired. Store leftovers in refrigerator, serves 10.

 

I've been told by a reliable source that this is very easy to make and delicious. 

 

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recipe and photo courtesy laurenslatest.com

Christmas Funfetti Cake Batter Truffles

Yield: 24 small

Ingredients:

1 cup white cake mix
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon Christmas sprinkles + more for decoration
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips or vanilla almond bark

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk cake mix, flour and sugar. Stir in melted butter, vanilla, milk and sprinkles. Mixture should be moist and be able to hold its shape easily when formed. Using a cookie scoop, form mixture into even balls and refrigerate 20-30 minutes.
In the mean time, melt chocolate in a double boiler or slowly in the microwave. Using a fork, drop one of the cake batter truffles into the chocolate and roll around to coat. Tap off the excess gently and transfer to cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Top with more sprinkles, if desired.

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OREO PEPPERMINT CRUNCH COOKIES

see photo and recipe credit above 

 

Ingredients

1 box white cake mix (15.25 oz.)(I use Pillsbury)

1 stick butter, melted (8 Tbsp.)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup Oreo cookie chunks

1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch pieces

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Combine the cake mix, melted butter, egg, and extracts. Beat until a soft dough forms. Add the cream cheese and beat in gently until combined. Stir in the peppermint crunch pieces and chocolate chips first. Then gently stir in the cookie pieces by hand being careful not to break up the cookie more. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.
2. Roll the dough into 36 balls. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. Do not over bake. The cookies will be very soft and look undone. Let them sit on the hot cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then gently remove them with a spatula to a piece of wax paper on the counter.
3. Very gently tap the tops of the cookies with the bottom of the spatula to even out the tops. Let them sit until completely cool. Store in a sealed container. Makes 36 cookies.

Notes

I like to use a Silpat to bake these cookies. It helps to keep them from spreading too much, but it isn't necessary.

 Has Christmas thrown up at your house yet?   If you care to share some of your favorite holiday recipes, or some new ones!.. please paste a link in the comments section below...