Peppermint Mocha Cake Balls

Bakerella is my hero. She is the author of the first blog I ever read and followed. I am unsure if she invented cake balls, but she certainly made them popular and shared them with the world- and we owe a debt of gratitude to her for sharing this amazing addition to the truffle community.

This recipe is one of the many cake balls I made for Christmas. It blends my two favorite flavors: chocolate and peppermint. This technique can be made into any combination of cake balls you'd like. One of my favorite cake ball combos is butter pecan cake with Duncan Hines Rainbow Chip frosting...yum! See Bakerella's website for a million other fabulous combinations. Once you make them a few times, you'll learn what works best for you.

Christmas Cookie 2012- Andees Mint Cookie

Do you get giddy when your co-workers bring in their daughter's girl scout cookie form every year and then spend a small fortune on the best mint cookie in the world? Wait no longer... this cookie will give you your Thin Mint fix.  This cookie is not only amazing, but also extremely easy. Four ingredients to make this decadent cookie from Six Sister's Stuff. I changed it slightly, but anyway you go, this is a great cookie.

Christmas Cookie 2012- M&M Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter Cookies

It's December 2nd and I've officially started my Christmas cookie baking. A few years back, a received come good advice regarding Christmas cookies. Clinton's friend's mom always gives out the most amazing cookie trays every year. There are at least 30 different cookies on the tray. I asked her how she has time to make so many. She told me that she starts mid-November and freezes them in her deep freezer. I tried this last year and it worked! You'd never know the cookies weren't fresh. So, that's my strategy again this year. I'll make a few different cookies a week and have a great collection by Christmas.

Now, to have the time to give out the cookies I make...

For these two cookies, I doubled my normal chocolate chip cookie dough and divided it once everything was mixed minus the chips.