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!

Hope and Encouragement

This post isn't food related, but if I was able to send a cake or cupcakes successfully with the card this post is about, I certainly would have!

I took part in a giveaway hosted by (in)courage, a division of Dayspring cards meant to serve as means of spreading hope and encouragement to the special women in our lives. I read a post on the (in)courage website offering a package of 10 hope and encouragement cards for simply agreeing to send a card and blog about the recipient or the situation. Easy enough! I love Dayspring cards, so this was a no brainer. I love sending unexpected cards in this day of e-everything!

I received the cards the other day, and I love them all! The graphics are colorful, the wording is sweet and compassionate, and the most of the cards are 3 dimensional- with textures, cutouts, or both! I can't wait to use them all up.

The recipient I chose for the card to blog about, Debbie, has been a part of my life since I was in 7 years old. She came into my life as my piano teacher of 13 years, but over time we became friends, and now we are more like family. I was a shy, somewhat withdrawn child, and related better to adults than to kids my own age, and Debbie recognized something in me that I didn't see in myself until much later in life. As far as Hope and Encouragement go, Debbie has always been one of the people I'll call or email  if I feel like I need to be uplifted.

We're separated by distance now, but Debbie is always in my heart and on my mind. When I was home for a visit in June, she gently reminded me that not everyone uses social networking sites as much as I do.  I've always loved the process of finding *just* the right card, and sending it as an unexpected surprise. When I saw this card, I thought of Debbie, and the promise I made to be better about staying in touch!

"Once in a while, a friend comes a long who changes things. She makes your heart more thankful, your laughter a little easier, and your life that much sweeter."

"There's a joy in friendship only God can give- and you've shown me how wonderful that can be."

So, Debbie, if you happen to read this, I hope you how much I love you, and how important you've been to me for such a long time now. I also hope this card brightened your day, and lets you know that even though you don't use Facebook, you're still on my mind! I am always looking forward to my next visit home- and our next girls night out!

Thank you, (in)courage, for the opportunity to use your cards to express my gratitude for such wonderful friendship and for the opportunity to share this story!

I'm going to use this as an opportunity to host my first giveaway!

I recieved 10 cards, and want to share 5 with you to thank you for reading my blog. All you need to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me who you'd send a card of Hope and Encouragement to and why.

Entries must be recieved by midnight, EST, Monday, September 13. I'll use Random.org to determine a winner, and will post the results on Tuesday. Please be sure to leave your name and email address- I'll email the winner on Tuesday, and if I don't recieve a response by Friday I'll pick a new winner.

Good Luck!