Between Christmas shopping, studying, writing papers and taking exams I haven’t had much time to cook or make new recipes lately. The nice thing about having a living room full of Christmas lights, stockings and a tree is it makes it easy to fall back into the holiday spirit after a stressful day.

I made these buckeyes last night for myself and my roommates because who doesn’t love a chocolate and peanut butter nightcap? I have to admit that I’ve made recipes like this often enough that I’ve stopped measuring things as I go along. Really you can make this in any proportion as long as the dough comes out the right consistency. They aren’t the prettiest buckeyes but they’re taste makes up for their appearance.

If you want to change the flavor slightly add a touch of vanilla or cinnamon.

Peanut Butter Buckeyes

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 20 buckeyes):

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter*
• 6 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 1/4 cups bittersweet chocolate chips OR 10oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

*If you’re using no-stir peanut butter, melt it in the microwave briefly before mixing it with the other ingredients

Method:

1. In a large bowl mix together the peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar until it forms a dough that sticks to itself. If for some reason your dough is too thin, slowly add more powdered sugar until it’s workable.
2. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a non-stick surface.
3. Put the peanut butter balls in the freezer to set.
4. While the peanut butter balls are hardening, melt the chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler.
5. One by one dip the peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate to coat their outside and put them back on the non-stick surface.
6. Refrigerate the peanut butter balls until the chocolate has set. Keep cold until ready to serve.

Most people who love cooking have their “signature recipes” that they get asked to make all the time. At the holidays my mom always makes a savory cream cheese ball with onion, green pepper, pineapple and walnuts. As good as that is, if you follow this blog you’ll know I’m much more into sweet than savory. What could really be better than sweet cream cheese?

Another thing that prompted me to make this was a bag of Food Should Taste Good chocolate tortillas and wondering what in the world you serve chocolate tortillas with. The crunchy and lightly-sweetened tortillas went perfectly with the smooth cream cheese and powdered sugar. I couldn’t imagine eating this any other way but I’m sure sliced apples or graham crackers would match well, too.

I used honey glazed roasted pecans from Oh Nuts for the coating. If you don’t have pecans you can use any number of things as a coating. Try sliced almonds or crushed green and red M&Ms, or even holiday-themed sprinkles.

Dessert Cream Cheese Ball

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 12 servings):

• 1 8oz block cream cheese
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon half & half
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup glazed pecans, crushed

Method:

1. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, half & half and salt.
2. Scrape the cream cheese mixture onto a sheet of clear plastic wrap. Form the cream cheese mixture into a ball using the wrap to cover your hands and keep it together. Stick the ball in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to set.
3. Unwrap the cream cheese ball and coat it with the pecans, pressing them in lightly to make sure they stay.
4. Transfer the cold cream cheese ball to a serving plate. Serve with chocolate nachos, graham crackers, or sliced fruit.

We can save worrying about eating healthy for after New Years.

I came home for the holiday weekend on Wednesday night last week. Normally I cook more for the holidays but by the time I arrived most of Thanksgiving dinner had already been planned. I decided to contribute some ad hoc cookies because, well, when are extra cookies ever a bad thing?

I’m usually a purist when it comes to peanut butter cookies using this recipe. However I wanted to try one with flour and butter for a different texture to mix things up. The added ingredients make a cookie that chewy rather than crispy and slightly richer. On top I added a chocolate drizzle for the chocolate lovers in my family(but mostly for myself).

Mixed some chopped peanuts or chocolate chips into the batter before baking these for an extra crunch.

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies {Gluten-Free}

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 14 cookies):

• 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons creamy or chunky peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips(optional)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl mix together the sugar, flour, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, melt together the butter and peanut butter and mix.
4. Pour the melted butter and peanut butter into the flour mixture and mix it together.
5. Beat in the egg until all of the ingredients form a dough.
6. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2-3 inches apart on a greased cookie tray.
7. Bake for 16-18 minutes until the outside is firm to the touch.
8. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely before moving.
9. Melt down the chocolate chips and drizzle the melted chocolate on top of the cookies.

I love almond butter. I like it even more than peanut butter most of the time. But I don’t buy it nearly as often because it’s over twice the price. That just isn’t fair, is it? These cookies were worth the splurge.

The nice thing about almond butter is that the flavor is simple and delicious. It’s easy to dress up and make fancier with extracts and spices. These taste incredibly like a gingersnap and have a very similar texture, too. It’s hard to believe the ingredients are so simple and naturally gluten-free. 

If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice handy, just use about a teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg.

Spiced Almond Butter Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12-14 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 12 cookies):

• 1 cup almond butter
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until it forms a dough.
3. Line a baking tray with a non-stick surface. Make the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on the tray, flattening them with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.
4. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges begin to brown.
5. Remove from the oven and let them cool before transferring them to a serving plate.

I promise you these taste way too good to be made with 4 ingredients.