Thin Mint Cookie Truffles

Ingredients:

1 (9oz_ package of Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies (or Keebler Grasshopper cookies)
1/2 package (4oz) cream cheese, softened
1 (12 oz) bag Guittard's Green Mint Chips

Directions:

1) In a food processor, pulse the Thin Mints a few times, and then blend them down until they are just crumbs. It might be easier to do this in two batches (even if you don’t have a food processor, you can still make these. Throw the cookies in a big Ziploc bag and start pounding them with a hammer until you have a lot of fine crumbs).

2) Next, mix the cream cheese and cookie crumbs together in a bowl until well-mixed. Roll the mixture into 1 inch size balls, and place them on a wax paper covered baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the fridge for about 30 minutes, so the balls are easier to dip in the chocolate and do not fall apart.
Once the truffles have been in the fridge for a while, melt the green mint chips in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave. Heat the chips for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between each heat burst. Repeat until the chips are all melted.

3) Roll each ball in the melted chips until it is fully covered. I usually use two forks to push the truffle around until it is all covered. Then, using the two forks, carefully pick up the truffle and allow the excess mint chocolate to run off before placing back on the wax paper. Repeat with all the truffles.

4) Stick the truffles back in the fridge for a couple of minutes or until the mint chocolate is hardened.

5) If you want to decorate your truffles as I did, melt about 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips (or almond bark or white candy coating-whatever you want) the same way that you melted the mint chips. Spoon the white chocolate in a small Ziplock bag and cut a tiny bit of one corner off the bag. Start small at first, then if you need, make the hole a little larger. Drizzle the white chocolate over the green truffles.

6) Place back in the fridge until you are ready to devour eat them.
*If you can’t find those green mint chips, these can be made with almond bark or vanilla candy coating. It would also be cute to set aside small amount of cookie crumbs and sprinkle them on top of the truffles. Sprinkles also look cute on these too!

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/01/no-bake-thin-mint-cookie-truffles.html

Irish Cream Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (I used keebler fudge stripes)
1/3 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
3 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup irish cream liqueur

Directions:

1. 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, confectioners' sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa. Add melted butter and stir until well mixed. Pat into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes; set aside. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. 2) In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, white sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa and flour. Beat at medium speed until well blended and smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the sour cream and Irish cream liqueur; mixing on low speed. Pour filling over baked crust.
3. 3) Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C), and continue baking for 60 minutes.
4. 4) With a knife, loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool, then remove the rim of pan. Chill before serving. If your cake cracks, a helpful tip is to dampen a spatula and smooth the top, then sprinkle with some chocolate wafer crumbs.
5. 
6. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/7284/irish-cream-chocolate-cheesecake/?internalSource=rotd&referringId=1451&referringContentType=recipe%20hub

Baileys Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

100 ml Baileys Original Irish Cream

200g good quality milk/dark chocolate

2 eggs, separated

25g butter

2 tbsp golden caster sugar

0.4 units per serve

Directions:

1)First melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once it's melted take it off the heat to save it burning. You could also melt the chocolate in the microwave.

2)Next melt the butter and add it to the chocolate along with the egg yolks. Stir until you've got a smooth, silky mixture.

3)In another bowl whisk the egg whites (use an electric mixer if you've got one) untill they form soft peaks. Add the sugar a little at a time and continue to whisk until the mixture is shiny and the peaks are stiff.

4) Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mix along with the Baileys. Then divide your mousse between four tumblers and pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours.

5) When your're ready to serve, whip up the whipping cream until it forms stiff peaks. 

6) Add a good spoonful of whipped cream to the top of each mousse and decorate with crumbled or flaked chocolate.

http://www.baileys.com/en-gb/recipes/desserts/baileys-chocolate-mousse.html

Christmas Grinch Punch

Ingredients

1/3 cup sugar

6 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons water

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

12 drops neon green food coloring

1 bottle (2 liters) lemon-lime soda, chilled

2 pints vanilla ice cream

Instructions

In a large saucepan, combine sugar and water.

Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved;

remove from the heat.

Stir in milk and extract.

Transfer to a bowl;

cool to room temperature.

Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Just before serving, transfer milk mixture to a punch bowl.

Stir in the food coloring and soda.

Top with scoops of ice cream.

Yield: 4 quarts.

Notes

1 cup equals 142 calories, 4 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 16 mg cholesterol, 46 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 0 fiber, 1 g protein

http://myhoneysplace.com/christmas-grinch-punch-recipe/

Rainbow Truffles

Ingredients:

1 pkg white cake mix, plus ingredients on back of box

1 small box sugar free/fat free vanilla instant pudding mix
1/3 can vanilla frosting
1 pkg white chocolate (or white almond bark)
Rainbow sprinkles
Red, golden yellow, lemon yellow, kelly green, royal blue and violet Wilton gel food coloring

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners. First, prepare your cake mix according to package directions, stirring dry pudding mix into the batter to combine. Divide the batter evenly among six small bowls. Tint each bowl a different color of the rainbow to the intensity of your choice. I made my colors bright, but pastels would be cute, too!
2. Divide the colored batter into the muffin cups–2 muffin cups per one color–and bake about 13-15 minutes or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with light crumbs. Allow to cool completely.

3. Once cooled, crumble the cake by color into six separate bowls. Add about one Tablespoon or so of vanilla frosting to each bowl and mix with a spoon until combined.

4. To make the balls, take a small pinch of red crumbs, followed by orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Once each color is in the palm of your hand, gently roll them into a tight ball. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and repeat until all the crumbs are gone. Allow to harden several hours in the freezer.

5. Once chilled, melt the white chocolate. Once melted and smooth, dip each truffle one at a time into the melted chocolate with a toothpick, turning it gently to coat. Allow excess to drip off, then carefully release the coated cake ball back onto the baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles and repeat until finished. Allow chocolate to harden, then store airtight up to 2 days.

http://thedomesticrebel.com/2012/03/07/rainbow-truffles/

Betty Crocker Chocolate Mint Brownies

Brownie Base
1 box Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix
Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

Filling:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbs butter or margarine, softened
3 tbs whipping cream
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon mint extract
2 drops green food colour

Topping:
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 1/3 cups (8 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1/3cup butter (do not use margarine)

1 Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.) Make and bake brownie mix as directed on box. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

2 In large bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread over cooled brownies. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until set.

3 Meanwhile, in 2-quart nonstick saucepan, heat topping ingredients over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Cool about 10 minutes or until lukewarm.

4 Pour topping over filling; spread to cover. Refrigerate uncovered about 2 hours or until set. Before cutting into bars, let stand 10 minutes at room temperature. Store covered in refrigerator.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/chocolate-mint-brownies/39ae52eb-e13f-407c-aeda-6e234de14751