I hope that all your Christmas shopping is finished, cookies are baked and you have the luxury of taking it easy for a while. I have one more recipe to share that I made for the Wolfe Christmas gathering. I saw an idea for switching up the average chocolate chip cookie a couple of years ago and decided to give it a try with my own twist this year.
My goal was to make cookie chips and add them to chocolate, making a kind of cookie cluster. First, I made the cookie dough and put it in a pastry bag with a Wilton decorating tip and started trying to squeezing it through the tip to make the cookie chips. I think it would have been easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle. I had to put it aside and head to Michael's Arts and Crafts for a larger tip.
An hour later, even with the larger tip, I had about a third of the dough through the tip. I baked the tray that I had filled, baked them and I was very happy with how they turned out. I knew that I had just given all the time I had to that cookie chip making process so I rolled the rest of the dough onto a cookie sheet and baked it until brown, about 13-15 minutes. After it cooled, I broke it into chip sized pieces and set them aside.
I melted about 3/4 of a 17.6 ounce bar of Trader Joe's Belgium Milk Chocolate and added the broken cookie chips to the chocolate. I would suggest melting the chocolate in the microwave, beginning with 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval. As the chocolate becomes more melted, stop to stir in 15 second intervals. When the chocolate is completely melted, let it sit for about 10 minutes so that it can set up a little bit. (In general, this will help the chocolate stick to the cookie chips or anything else you would ever add to chocolate to make a cluster).
Next, I added the broken cookie chips and folded them in, using a large spatula. I spooned the mixture onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet and let them sit for a couple minutes. I then placed the cookie chips on top of these clusters for a nice looking presentation. I let them cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Viola! Inside-Out Chocolate Chip Cookies or Coni's Chocolate Cookie Chip Clusters!
I made cheesecake pops several years ago for our SoCal family Christmas and they were a big hit then, so I decided this was the year to make them for our Wolfe family Christmas. Did I mention that they are great to look at, everyone loves them and last but not least, they are a very time intensive project. I worked two days for the 52 pops that I made, and that was with help. My son scooped a whole cheesecake into the balls that I needed to work with, which helped so much. If he hadn't done that the night before, they would not have been completed in time for the party.
As it ended up, I was decorating until 4pm in the afternoon, which left me with just enough time to get myself ready and to the party by 6:30. Oh, and one other little detail, as I was walking out the door, I somehow fell down and found myself laying in a downward position on the steps, with my legs above me, stunned and bleeding. At least I wasn't home alone, my crash was heard and everyone came running, I was helped up, brushed off and headed for the party.
Isn't it funny how just when you think that you are on Holiday overload, and you are up against time with just enough time to accomplish what you have set out to do, real life continues on, just like every other day, and, splat, you find yourself ... on the ground or stuck in traffic, on a impossible to ignore phone call, in the slowest lane at the grocery store, etc. We still managed to arrive only 4 minutes late, and I'm hoping I won't still be feeling like I was run over by a truck in a few days, hopefully.
I digressed, now, about the cheesecake pops. I have a few suggestions about things that have worked for me. If you decide to make them, you need to allow two days, especially if you are baking the cheesecake from scratch. After cooling to room temperature, it needs to be refrigerated for 24 hours so that it becomes firm. I would suggest baking your cheese cake a little longer than you normally would, just to make sure that it firms up enough.
After the 24 hours in the fridge, you can scoop them out with the scoop size of your choice. I then roll mine in crushed graham crackers or crushed chocolate wafers. You know, the Famous ones in the small yellow box, usually on the top shelf on the cookie isle. Within the hour of dipping and decorating, I place a plate of about a dozen balls in the freezer on a plate. I wait about 30 minutes so that they partially freeze and then take them out one at a time to dip.
I take one of the Wilton cookie sticks and dip it into the warm coating, just covering about a half inch. I then poke it into about the middle of the ball and immediately put it into the coating, turning it in a circle until the whole ball is coated. I take it out of the mixture and keep turning the ball until all of the excess coating has dripped off into the bowl or has stopped shifting. Once the pop goes into the warm chocolate or candy coating, it will start to harden very fast, so you need to have your sprinkles/candies right there so that you can start sprinkling them immediately.
Next, I set them in a sturdy mug where they can harden completely and then I place them in the fridge or freezer, depending on when I need them. It usually takes a little longer than I think it will, so I suggest making these at least the day before you actually need them, if your schedule allows. It seems that mine never does; somehow, I'm always dipping and sprinkling right up to the very last minute! I always place them in individual bags, just because I don't like other peoples dirty fingers touching my food before it is eaten. That's about it.
Just tonight, I saw in the freezer that a dozen had been left behind accidentally. That will be an unexpected treat to add to our Christmas Eve or Christmas day dinner.Yes, there are two more Christmas gatherings in our near future. And I'm still loving it!!
It was so much fun spending time with family. It was our grandsons' first Christmas in Portland and they had fun meeting some family members for the first time. One of my sisters has a granddaughter and a grandson and one of my brothers has a granddaughter. It was the first time all five of the second cousins were together. It was so cute watching them running around and having so much fun together.
The following are pictures that moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles will enjoy seeing.
Every time I saw Ivan, he had another treat in his hands and on his face
