Good Eats: Holiday Sweets and Treats

Tis’ the season! The time has finally come where the ground is blanketed with snow, and the temperature outside is oh-so frightful. The good news, however, is that this means winter activities are beginning, and holiday festivities are upon us! This holiday season, the Duluth Pack staff have found five sweet treat recipes for you and your family to enjoy! From a delicious hot cocoa cookie recipe to classic peppermint Oreo balls, there is a treat here for everyone.

Sugar Cookie Dough Dip

Invited to a gathering last minute and need to bring something to share? This sugar cookie dough dip only requires three ingredients and can be made in a matter of minutes. Found on yellowblissroad.com, this dip takes just like a sugar cookie and is creamy as can be. This recipe yields a serving of one cup, but can easily be doubled or tripled, depending on how much you need!

Ingredients

• 1 cup of dry sugar cookie mix (like Betty Crocker)
• 8 ounces of cream cheese (room temp)
• 2 tablespoons of sweetened coffee creamer* or heavy cream/milk
• Festive sprinkles for garnish
• Graham crackers or Nilla wafers for dipping

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the sugar cookie mix, cream cheese, and coffee creamer. Beat with a hand mixer for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Place into a serving bowl. Add graham crackers or cookies of your choice around the dip.
3. Add sprinkles to the top of the dip.
4. Store in the refrigerator, if necessary.

*They used Frosted Cookie Coffee Creamer from International Delight in this recipe.

Christmas Cranberry Pound Cake

Another great recipe we have found for you this holiday season is a cranberry pound cake recipe. This cake is decadent with white chocolate and cream cheese frosting. This recipe is from omgchocolatedesserts.com, prep time is 30 minutes, and yields 12 servings.

Ingredients

• 187 grams cake flour-sifted (it’s about 1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tablespoons cake flour before sifting, but be sure to measure it on a kitchen scale because the cake could be dense or dry if you overdo it with the flour)
• ½ teaspoon of baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup cranberries (fresh or thawed)
• 5 ounces of white chocolate chunk
• ½ cup of unsalted butter softened at room temperature
• 1 ½ cups of sugar
• ½ cup of heavy cream
• ½ cup mascarpone cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons browned butter

Glaze:

• ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
• 4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:

• A handful of dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ½ cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You will want to rotate the pan halfway through the baking time.
2. Butter and flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
3. Combine cake flour, baking powder, and salt and sift it three times, set aside.
4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown 2.5 tablespoons of butter until it’s an amber color, remove the foam, and set aside to cool.
5. Whisk the egg with vanilla extract and set aside.
6. Mix the butter on medium speed until it is creamy, slowly add sugar and continue beating until it is creamy.
7. Add heavy cream and mascarpone and beat on medium speed.
8. Turn mixer on low speed and gradually add dry ingredients alternately with eggs.
9. Add handful flour in chocolate chunks and toss them to cover evenly. Toss cranberries with a handful of flour to cover them completely.
10. Add chocolate chunks in the batter and stir well, then gently stir in cranberries.
11. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smooth the top and gently tap the pan on the working surface to remove the air bubbles.
12. With a butter knife draw a line down the center of the pound cake and pour browned butter into the line.
13. Bake until the top of the cake is golden brown, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean (about 65 minutes). If the top starts browning too much tent the cake with aluminum foil
14. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on the rack.

Glaze:

1. When the cake is cooled, prepare the glaze.
2. With a mixer, cream together softened butter and cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add in powdered sugar and beat until smooth, then mix in vanilla extract. Spread on top of the cake. Place the cake in the fridge until the frosting sets.

Garnish:

1. When the frosting sets, melt 1/2 cup white chocolate chips with one tablespoon vegetable oil in a small saucepan over low heat until it is smooth (cool if it is too thin).
2. Sprinkle the cake with dried cranberries and drizzle with chocolate.

Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

These gingerbread crinkle cookies are fluffy and spicy on the inside and sweet and crunchy on the outside. This is a classic cookie recipe that is always a crowd-pleaser. By the author of twosisterscrafting.com, this recipe creates 18 –20 cookies and takes about 20 minutes to make.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup of butter (softened)
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup molasses
• 2 ½ cups of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Powdered sugar
• A mixer
• Cookie sheets
• Food Scale (optional)
• Cookie cooling rack

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream the butter and brown sugar until combined.
3. Add in eggs and molasses and mix until dough is fluffy.
4. Add in the baking soda and spices.
5. Finally, mix in the flour, a third at a time.
6. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
7. Using a food scale, measure 1.3 oz of cookie dough for each cookie. Roll the dough into a ball.
8. Roll the cookie dough ball in the powdered sugar until it is covered.
9. Bake cookies in a 375 degrees oven for 9-10 minutes.

Hot Cocoa Cookies

Rich, ooey-gooey chocolate cookies that are so good they will be gone before you even know it! These cookies would also be a great addition to your next holiday cookie exchange. They will stand out and for sure be the talk of the party. We found this recipe on glorioustreats.com. It yields 40 small cookies and takes a total of 45 minutes to create.

Ingredients

• ½ cup of unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups of brown sugar
• 3 eggs 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 25 large marshmallows (approximately)

For Icing

• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick, melted)
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup hot water
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Assorted sprinkles

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan (or in a microwave-safe bowl), melt the butter and chocolate, stirring frequently. Once melted, set aside to cool slightly.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs, and vanilla on low speed until well combined.
4. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend until just combined.
5. While mixing, add the flour mixture slowly and blend until just combined.
6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then cover the dough and refrigerate at least 1 hour. The dough should be firm. If making the dough a day ahead, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before shaping.
7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a tablespoon to scoop the dough, then roll the dough in your hands to create balls. Arrange the balls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets, then flatten slightly.
8. Bake cookies for 12 minutes.
9. While the cookies bake, cut the large marshmallows in half (crosswise). When the cookies have baked, remove from oven and press one marshmallow half (cut side down) into the center of each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven and bake another 2-3 minutes. Allow the pan of cookies to cool a few minutes, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
10. Prepare cookie icing by combining all ingredients in a medium bowl and mixing with a whisk. Place wire cooling rack (with cookies on it) over a baking sheet (to catch any excess icing). Spoon a small amount of icing onto the top of each marshmallow and use the back of the spoon to spread it a bit. After icing a couple of cookies, top with sprinkles before the icing dries.
11. Allow icing to set up about 30 minutes before serving.

Peppermint Oreo Balls

A holiday classic! You can never go wrong with having a plate of Orea balls on your dessert table at your next family gathering. This easy, no-bake, dessert recipe is quick and simple to make. This recipe creates 36 servings, takes a total of 35 minutes to make, and can be found on the blog Dinner then Dessert.

Ingredients

• 36 Oreos
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 16 ounces white chocolate melting wafers
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 48 crushed peppermint candies

Instructions

1. Place the cream cheese and Oreos in a food processor and process until combined. Scoop out small parts of the mixture and roll into 48 1-inch balls; Place balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for 20 minutes, or until hardened.
2. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate with peppermint extract in the microwave at 30-second increments, stirring between each one.
3. Once melted, dip each ball in it with a fork, scraping the bottom. Roll in peppermint candies and put the ball on the parchment paper.
4. Enjoy!

We hope you try one, or all, of these delicious recipes throughout the holiday season! If you enjoyed these recipes or would like to share your favorite holiday sweets and treats, email us at [email protected].

Happy baking, friends!