Italian Chocolate Balls

I've been baking like crazy this month...Cake and Cupcakes for Ben's 5th birthday party, a baby shower cake for a coworker and friend, cookies for The Great Food Food Blogger Cookie swap, cookies for a work cookie exchange....and then good old christmas cookies for family and friends. Woohoo! I've used some of my old standby recipes- Orange Drop Cookies (15 dozen made so far...woah!), Cutout Cookies (6 dozen), and Angeletti (3 1/2 dozen) as well as some new recipes. Preparing for Christmas stresses me out....but the baking relaxes me, which explains why I am making so many cookies!!

Two of the new recipes I tried came from a little box set of cookie recipes I found in the gift shop at the hospital I work in. It's called One Smart Cookie, and it's published by Daymaker inspirational gifts, and it has 50 cards with cookie recipes. It's a cute little gift set...and I have one to give away to one of you as well!

This is a great recipe...coconut, nuts and chocolate all rolled into one, and the best part is that it doesn't require any baking!

Italian Chocolate Balls adapted from One Smart Cookie
Makes 2 dozen


1/2 Cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup flaked coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tsp salt
1 16 oz bag milk chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips in large bowl, and stir  with wooden spoon until combined. Roll into small balls. Melt chocolate chips according to package directions, stirring until smooth. Dip* balls in chocolate and pace on waxed paper to cool.

* I have issues dipping things in chocolate...so I melted the chocolate, and spooned it onto each of the cookies. Might not be as pretty, but they're still a big hit around here!

Giveaway Time!- 

Leave a comment here telling me what your favorite christmas cookie is, and you're entered to win. You can gain additional entries by following Baked by Beth on  twitter and/or facebook and then leave me another comment with your handle(s). Winner will be chosen 12/30 and notified by email.

Congrats to Cindy B, the one and only entrant! Those are some odds...I'll email you to get your shipping info, Cindy. Enjoy the recipes!
Enjoy!

Christmas Cookies: Angeletti

I love baking Christmas Cookies, and this year is no exception. I have been trying some new recipes this year, and am excited to share them with you! This recipe is a new one, at least new to me- and I love it. I've made 4 batches in the last 2 weeks. This recipe came to me in an email from Real Simple highlighting 50 recipes for Christmas Cookies. I flipped through, and decided that these sounded simple as well as yummy. I was definitely right on both counts! This is a kid friendly recipe- no mixer required. My little guy enjoyed helping me make these, from the stirring all the way to adding the sprinkles as a finishing touch!

Angeletti  adapted from RealSimple.com

Makes 36 cookies

Cookies:
1 stick unsalted butter,melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups flour, plus more for rolling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze:
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs in a medium sized bowl and whisk until combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until dough comes together. Flour your hands, roll even tablespoons of dough into balls, and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes or until cookies are puffy and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool completely before adding glaze.

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream in a small bowl. If you're watching your waist (it's Christmas...so splurge!) you can replace the cream with water or milk. Stir until combined, then dip the top of each cookie in glaze to coat. Apply festive sprinkes and enjoy!

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!