“Twas 6 nights before Christmas, and all through the house,”
The smell of chocolate was everywhere, and the dog was staring like a hungry mouse…”
“The gingerbread treats were formed, covered in peppermint chocolate, and sprinkled with care,”
In hopes that this second batch would have the right amount of holiday flair.”
“The hard-working baker was far from ready for bed,
As visions of the Snowball Pizza from earlier that night danced in her head.”
“She pulled the treats from the fridge and felt oh so merry,
Red, green, white and delicious, they had certainly been blessed by the holiday fairy.”
“She excitedly packed them into treat bags, buckets and more,
And went to bed dreaming about candy and Christmas cheer galore!”
Would you believe that until 6th grade, I thought I was destined to be the next Walt Whitman…or at least Dr. Seuss. Needless to say, the poetry thing never panned out, but thank you for indulging me just this once…
Anyway, SO much to cover and SO little time.
I’m so excited to share today’s recipe for Peppermint Gingerbread Truffles, because it was one of those brilliant recipe ideas that completely flopped the first time and was a homerun the second time around! Of course, that meant, as indicated by the insightful poem above, that meant I was up into the wee hours of the night perfecting these little truffles, as National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation played in the background.
My eyes are a little heavy today, but waking up this morning and biting into these cute, little treats, packed with equal parts of gingerbread and peppermint bunch, made the late-night baking session totally worth it. I literally giggled with glee and felt the first hint of Christmas cheer seep into my soul. Then I went crazy dipping other things into festive chocolate, but more on that later.
No holiday post would be complete without a no-fuss workout to help you balance all of the eggnog, candy, cookies and other treats that you’ll be eating over the next couple of weeks. So please, check out my Jingle Bell Rock Your Workout at the end of this post.
Enough of the chitchat: let’s get to the no-bake, no-fuss recipe!
- 1 box Gingersnap cookies
- 1 full package Laughing Cow Cinnamon Cream Cheese (6 ounces)
- 2 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 10 ounce bag Wilton Candy Cane Color Burst Candy Melts
- Festive sprinkles
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Chop up Gingersnaps finely in a food processor or blender. Check to see that no big chunks remain, and stir the ginger and cinnamon into cookie crumbs.
- Place Laughing Cow Cream Cheese and regular cream cheese in small bowl and microwave for up to 60 seconds until well-combined.
- Use a mixer to combine the Gingersnaps with the cream cheese, beating until well combined.
- Shape into about 45 1pinch balls and place on baking sheet. Place in freezer for 20-30 minutes. (Freezing ensures that the chocolate coats properly).
- Melt chocolate using melting pot, double boiler or microwave, according to package instructions.
- Carefully dip balls in chocolate, using soon and place back on baking sheet. Cover in sprinkles.
- Refrigerate balls for 20-30 minutes to ensure chocolate sets.
If I could post every.single.picture that I took of these gorgeous Christmas stars, I would. That’s how beautiful they are!
The secret ingredient in these delectable goodies is the Laughing Cow Cinnamon Cream Cheese that I talked about on Wednesday. It adds a nice sweetness to the Gingersnap, without being too overpowering, and as a bonus, it’s lowfat! It is necessary, however, to use a bit of the full-fat cream cheese goodness to help hold these suckers together! Also, if you don’t have Laughing Cow on-hand, regular, reduced fat or Philadelphia Snack Delights Cinnamon Cream Cheese will work.
This recipe is so simple, but the holiday flavors are so strong! If you need a last-minute recipe for Christmas Dinner or a holiday party this weekend, look no further!
Simple lay ’em out on a tray in some mini-cupcake holders and dress with festive candy.
And no, no, your eyes are NOT deceiving you. I covered pretzel goldfish in red and green white chocolate. It was late when I finally hit the hay last night, but instead of drifting to sleep, my mind drifted to my favorite snack and what it would taste like doused in white chocolate.
Shockingly, the answer to this question is: ridiculously, mind-blowingly delicious.
Time for a swim, little fishies….
I am sincerely disappointed in myself for not thinking of this one earlier…
I bought the Wilton Chocolate Melting Pot on-sale for $20 and decided it would be my Christmas gift to myself this season. And I must say, while melting over a double-boiler and in the microwave is completely fine, this baby definitely helps make melting chocolate a whole lot easier, and it’s nearly impossible to mess it up. I HIGHLY recommend this if you plan on melting chocolate every holiday like I do!
These magical truffles will also make great party favors or small gifts to coworkers to those that are really down to the wire/don’t want to spend a lot of money.
For those that are curious, here’s how it went down in the Mad Christmas Scientist’s Kitchen last night… (ps, I really don’t understand those bloggers that post pictures of perfectly clean kitchens as they mix and blend away..am I the only one that experiences more than a few little messes along the way? That is why the dog is always by my side during late-night baking sessions…)
Before I share the workout with you, I wanted to post a quick play-by-play of the Snowman Pizza that we made last night. It was so simple, yet so much fun. The best part was getting creative about how to use vegetables to bring the snowman alive! Definitely suggest this one for the little ones.
Warning, snowman’s eyes may slip out of place during baking process.
I felt a little morbid eating Mr. Snowman’s head.
It probably didn’t help that I added a basil-olive oil mix to the top to make it look like hair…
But, onto brighter thoughts.
Don’t think I’d let you out of here without a nice holiday workout! In honor of the great day of December 25th, this entire workout only has one amount of reps for your to remember: 25. Think you can handle it?
All you need is a set of dumbbells and a little bit of motivation. So, blast those Christmas tunes, bake up some truffles and get to this workout. STAT.
Happy Almost Holidays to All!
That pizza is SO cute!! How sad it must have been to have to eat it’s head! 😉
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl recently posted…Easy Mexican 7-Layer Party Dip (Vegan) + Giveaway Winner!
I made these for my holiday party and everybody absolutely LOVED them. Thanks so much for sharing the easy recipe. Would love to see more 🙂
I love truffles, so I definitely need to make these! And for the record, my kitchen always ends up completely covered in flour when I’m baking.
Colleen @ Jimmy Choos on the Treadmill recently posted…Merry Christmas
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