New Favorite Christmas Recipes (for next year or maybe just for anytime I get the urge to make them)

I am officially in sugar-detox mode here. I didn't even get a caramel macchiato at the Bux this morning. Gasp. Just a plain old americano. Let's just not talk about those three milk bordeauxs I ate out of the See's Candies box this morning. Mmm'kay? It's not my fault anyway - Eric got me an entire box full of just milk bordeauxs for Christmas. I have no choice but to eat them before they get stale. So, they don't count in my sugar detox this week. That's right - I will probably eat the entire box of chocolate this week. Just to get them out of the house. We'll just call it sugar detox (except for See's Candies) week. 

As long as we are on the topic of sugar, I have three new recipes that I'm going to file away for next year. (I love to say "file away" because it makes me sound like I am really organized with a filing system. But don't you worry Dad ... I'm just as disorganized as ever). One of the recipes I found on a fave food blog called Our Best Bites and it's for Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies. The only change I am making for next year is I'm going to try using a box brownie mix for the base layer. I just cannot get from-scratch brownies to come out quite right - at least not the edges. The middle of the pan was super fudge-y but the edges were way too dry. Oh, I also chose to add an extra half-batch of the chocolate glaze to the top of the brownies. Because why would you want to skimp on a layer of chocolate?

Darn! There went the sugar detox . . . a few bites of those peppermint brownies ended up in my mouth while I was setting up that picture. But, bites don't count right? Just whole brownies. And, they weren't whole . . . nope, just, oh, 20 little (really tiny) bites.

The other two recipes are both for Oreo cookie balls. Yummy, yummy Oreo cookie balls. I will also confess to eating a lot of these too, since I discovered them on Christmas Day. My amazing dessert-maker-mother-in-law, Robyn, made them. I cannot even describe how delicious these little balls of heaven are. She sent a lot of them home with us too. Yes, they are already gone. They didn't stand a chance around here.

There are Peppermint Oreo Cookie Balls. Robyn's only change to the recipe was to use the Oreos that have the green mint filling rather than the original variety.  They look like this:

If you're not super fond of peppermint, there are also Snowman Cookie Balls.  And, these you can turn into adorable little snowmen, if you are so inclined.  See . . .

(I had to use the stock photos from the Kraft website because mine are all gone.  Oops! But, the ones Robyn made did turn out just like these.)

So - y'all just go file these fab ideas away for next year.  Or go right ahead and make them tomorrow, or in the middle of summer.  Because they are just that good.  (Oh!!  And, maybe I was the last one to figure this out, but you can now buy crushed candy canes at the store or on Amazon.  I'll miss taking a plastic bag of candy canes into the garage and pounding the heck out of it with a hammer.) Happy sugar high!