Santa's Cookies...with a twist

Holidays are all about tradition. That's what makes them special and memorable.
One of parent's tasks in their children's life is to create great memories for them. Now is that time!

American sweets are not at top of my favorite dessert's list, but I managed to find and create some, with a twist for some American favorites and maybe some of them will become someone's new tradition, not only in North America.

And just think: Santa is probably pretty fed-up with cookies; a Nanaimo bar or Rice Krispies may just be the thing to impress him this year!

If you want more ideas for Holiday cooking, on the right side are some of my previous Holiday posts.

Happy Holidays!

Coconut Nanaimo bars

This tasty treat is the perfect holiday nibble for everyone! There's just something about the warming sweetness of the classic Nanaimo bar that can bring smiles and festive cheer to all. 

Ingredients:

Crust

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

½ cup walnut pieces

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Filling

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups icing sugar, sifted

2 Tbsp vanilla pudding/custard powder

Pinch of salt

3 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped)

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Lightly grease an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan and line it with parchment paper so that it comes up the sides.

2. For the crust, combine the graham crumbs with the cocoa powder and salt, then, add the coconut & walnut pieces. Stir in the melted butter and the egg and stir until blended. Press this into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes. Cool the crust completely before preparing the filling.

Filling

By hand, beat the butter with 1 cup (130 g) of the icing sugar, the pudding/custard powder and a pinch of salt until smooth. Add the milk and vanilla and beat in . Then beat in the remaining 1 cup (130 g) of icing sugar. Do not overbeat – the filling should be smooth but not fluffy. Spread this evenly over the cooled crust.

Topping

For the topping, melt the chocolate and butter in a metal bowl placed over a pot of barely simmering water, stirring gently with a spatula until melted. Cool the chocolate slightly and then pour this over the filling, spreading to cover it. If you wish, sprinkle the top with a little sea salt. Chill the pan for about 2 hours before slicing into bars.

 Oreo-Cheesecake-Cookies

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

3 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup flour

½ cup of mini chocolate chips

1 cup OREO® Cookies (crushed, roughly 10 Oreo cookies)

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

2.In a food processor, crush the Oreo cookies until they're fine crumbs. Set aside.

3.In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and well combined.

4.Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated.

5.Gently mix in the flour and stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

6.Using a medium sized cookie scoop, scoop the dough and put it in your hands to roll it into a ball. Roll the ball in the Oreo crumbs and cover the dough well.

7.Place on cookie sheet and repeat until all the dough has been used up.

8.Bake for 12-15 minutes (I had to bake mine for longer because my balls were a lot bigger so it took 20 minutes to bake).

9.Remove from oven when you see that the edges are getting browned. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to cool completely on a wire rack.

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days

Cookies & Creme Rice Krispies

Ingredients:

1 bag of large marshmallows

5 cups rice cereal

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

16-18 Oreos, crushed

Instructions:

1. Grease a 8x8" pan and set aside.

2. In a large ziploc bag, place the Oreos in, seal the bag, and with a rolling pin, crush the Oreos until they're smaller pieces. Set aside.

3. In a large pot, melt 3 tbsp. butter. Once butter has melted, add in the bag of marshmallows and stir until all the marshmallows have melted then remove from heat. Gently fold in the rice cereal then fold in the Oreo's.

4. Pour all the contents into the prepared pan and spread out evenly. To make this faster/easier, I usually spray my hands with some cooking spray and use my hands to press down on the mixture until it's evenly spread out.

5.Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

6.Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days