If you know me at all you know that I have one enormous sweet tooth! While I’m a health conscious person and always do my best to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle, I live by the motto my mom gave me as a kid – “everything in moderation, EVEN moderation”. In other words, it’s important to let yourself indulge every once in a while! And what better time to do this than the holidays?! If you’re looking for a healthy holiday baking post, this is unfortunately NOT the article for you (but you can check out my healthy holiday buckeye balls for an easy and delicious healthy treat)! But, if you’re looking for some decadent and fun Christmas recipes that will bring joy and spirit to your family for years, keep on reading! ?? I’ve compiled a list of my 3 chocolate no-bake holiday treat recipes – all of which are just as much fun to make as they are to eat! And the best part is you don’t even need to fire up your oven to make these delicious goodies! Â I’m going to do us all a favor and NOT post the nutrition labels for these recipes. Although, if you need a health-related justification for making/consuming these, I will say that each of these no-bake holiday treat recipes involve heavy amounts of dark chocolate! You can check out this article to read about all the benefits of dark chocolate before making these goodies. ?? (Oh, and if you need a health-related justification for red wine, I’ve got that too ??).
Let me paint a picture for you before giving you these Christmas candy recipes. You come home from work on a chilly December evening and head over to the Christmas tree to turn on the lights. Your house is twinkling with sparkly reminders of the season and you pick up your matches to bring all your favorite Christmas candles to the party! You place the wood wick candle closest to you so you can hear it’s flickering throughout your candy-making session ?. You change into your comfiest set of Christmas Jammie’s and turn on some Michael Buble Christmas music to play softly in the background. You pour yourself a small glass of red wine to sip as you prepare to get down in the kitchen. Then, you take a deep breath and get out your ingredients, Christmas baking dishes, a stock pot, and a wooden spoon. Turn on your kitchen light and pick one (or all) of the recipes below. You recruit a loved one (or two) to help for added fun and enjoy your evening of creating lovely Christmas treats and memories in the warmth of your home. â¤ï¸ Turn the act of making these Holiday goodies into an experience instead of a chore and you have yourself a cozy holiday memory to last for years!
… and here we go!
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**Note- for each of the recipes below I’m going to post the photos of the process AFTER posting directions so to keep the recipes cohesive and seperate from one another!**
Treat #1: 3-Ingredient Oreo Cookie Truffles
Oreo Cookie Truffle Ingredients:
- 1 package double-stuffed Oreos
- 1 8oz package cream cheese (low fat)
- Ghirardelli semi-sweet (60% cocoa) dark chocolate chips
- … and some Candy Canes as an optional garnish!
Oreo Cookie Truffle Recipe:
Step 1: Prepare Truffle Filling – pour all of the Oreo cookies into a food processor and grind into a crumbly mixture. Then, add about 1/2 the cream cheese and pulse the food processor some more until fully incorporated. I don’t really like cream cheese too much so I use a small amount, but when I make these for friends I will add more cream cheese (either 3/4 the package or the entire package). Adjust the amount of cream cheese to your desired flavor and consistency! The truffles need to be able to be shaped into small balls, so be sure to add enough cream cheese for the mixture to become malleable! (If you don’t have a food processor, crush the Oreos in a bag and use a hand mixer to incorporate the cream cheese!)
Step 2: Roll and Dip Truffles – Roll the oreo/cream cheese mixture into 1 inch balls and place on a wax-paper coated baking sheet. Meanwhile, heat chocolate chips (3/4 bag) in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each to melt chocolate without burning. Once balls are formed and chocolate is melted, carefully dip each Oreo ball into the chocolate with a spoon and cover fully. Place back onto baking sheet to cool and repeat for each truffle.
Step 3: Garnish, Cool, and Serve! – Once all Oreo truffle balls have been coated, crush candy canes in a plastic bag and sprinkle the dust & candy cane pieces over the top of the chocolate truffles. Then, place in the refrigerator until the coating hardens – about 15-20 minutes. Store in the fridge and enjoy! ?
Photos from the Oreo Truffle Making Process:
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Treat #2 – Nana’s Old Fashioned Fudge
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How to make Nana’s Old Fashioned Fudge:
I cannot take credit for this recipe as it has been passed down in my family. I learned this recipe from my Nana and have practiced it over the years with my mom. This old-fashioned fudge recipe has brought so much joy to my family over the years, and while it is the most challenging Holiday treat recipe I’m sharing with you today, it is the most rewarding in my opinion! I am THRILLED to share this wonderful recipe with y’all as it has become more of a tradition than a recipe in my home. This is the kind of recipe you want to devote an evening to – it is a treat to make as much as it is to eat! I hope you enjoy ?.
Nana’s Old Fashioned Fudge Ingredients:
- 2 Cups Sugar (granulated)
- 3/4 Cup Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
- 1 1/4 Cup Milk
- Pinch of Salt
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla
Fudge Recipe: **These directions need to be implemented very carefully and often take several attempts to get “perfect” – but that is part of the fun of making this treat! Follow and execute these steps to the best of your ability, and worst-case scenario, you end up with a nice jar of fudge topping for ice cream ?**
Step 1: Pour Sugar, Cocoa, Milk, and Salt into medium sized stock pot. Stir ingredients over medium heat until combined and bring to a SLOW BOIL. Measure out butter and vanilla into cups off to the side so they are ready to go later in the recipe.
Step 2: Once the mixture begins boiling, keep it at a boil (but a SLOW one) uncovered and without stirring until testing for completion. Watch mixture to be sure that it does not over-boil and that it does not stop boiling. Adjust heat as necessary throughout the cooking process to maintain that slow-rolling boil (pictured below). You will boil this mixture until the candy is ready to set – step 3 will inform you how to test for completion. Meanwhile, prepare your fudge setting dish by rubbing butter all over a large cookie sheet.Â
Step 3: After about 10 minutes of a slow boil, begin periodically checking the mixture for preparedness by something called the “soft ball method”. I’m sure this would be easier to do with a candy thermometer, but I’ve never had one and have never used one with this recipe (and am not even sure of the temperature that needs to be reached). The soft ball method works just fine, and here’s how! Pour some cold water from the sink or fridge into a clear cup (the water needs to be cold, but not SUPER cold). Spoon a few tiny drops of the fudge mixture into the water until it falls to the bottom. In the water, use your fingers to attempt to form a soft ball with the mixture. If this is not achieveable and the water begins to cloud up with chocolate, the mixture is NOT ready. But, if you can accomplish this task and even remove the ball from the water to further shape between your fingers, it is ready! The ball should be very soft and malleable, barely able to stick together, and leave the water relatively clear. See the picture below.
Step 4: Once the fudge is ready (using ball method to determine), remove from head and throw in butter. Begin to whip the fudge with the butter away from heat in the pot WITHOUT STOPPING. This part can get a bit exhausting – I often recruit my husbands’ help to whip! Whip for about 3-5 minutes, or however long int takes for the fudge to turn from runny to thick and fudgy. Once you can feel the fudge begin to thicken, throw in the vanilla and beat about 5 more times before pouring onto the baking sheet. You want to pour the fudge BEFORE the shine from the vanilla disappears, so adding the vanilla needs to be well-timed and done right before you pour the fudge!
Step 5: Pour the fudge and allow to set on the cookie sheet at room temperature. Now we wait. The fudge will only set if you executed the ball-method correctly, so this is the moment of truth! You can tell that the fudge will set if, moments after pouring, you notice that you can “scrape” solid pieces of fudge off the side of the pot. See my spoon below to see what this looks like. ALSO, my favorite part of this recipe is eating the fudge scrapings from the pot as I wait to see if it will set ???.
Step 6: When (or if) the fudge sets, rub a cheese knife with butter and slice the fudge into 1-2 inch pieces. This fudge is to be enjoyed at room temperature and WITHOUT heavy chewing – the beauty of the fudge is that it will melt in your mouth! Eat it slowly and enjoy ?.
I encourage you to give this fun and delicious recipe a try this Christmas season! And PLEASE let me know if you make this correctly – I would LOVE to see if someone can nail this recipe on the first try!!
Here are sequential photos of the Fudge-making process:
Treat #3 – Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark
This is the easiest recipe of the 3! Whip this up in no time to share with friends, neighbors, and colleagues! It’s the perfect addition to any party or pot-luck, and awesome to leave out on your kitchen counter to snack on through the week ?.
Peppermint Bark Ingredients:
- Ghirardelli Semisweet Chocolate Chips (1 package)
- Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips (1/2 package)
- 1 Tbsp Peppermint Extract
- Candy Canes/ peppermint pieces for garnish
Peppermint Bark Recipe:
Step 1: Prepare Chocolate & Baking Sheet-Â Melt both dark and white chocolate seperately in small bowls (again, in 30 second intervals and stirring between to prevent burning). Prepare setting sheet by rubbing a cookie sheet with butter.
Step 2: Add Peppemint Extract and Pour- Add about 1 tbsp peppermint extract into the bowl of melted dark chocolate. Stir to combine, then pour this mixture onto the baking sheet.
Step 3: Drizzle white chocolate & Garnish -Â This step is pretty self-explanatory! Dip a spoon into the melted white chocolate and drizzle all over the dark poured mixture. Do this to desired amount (I use all of the white chocolate on mine to get the appearance shown below). Finally, garnish by dusting candy cane bits all over! Set sheet in the fridge to cool and break into pieces when it has set. Serve, store at room temperature, and ENJOY! ????
See photos of the Bark-making process below:
Give any of these recipes a try this holiday season and you will be filled with Joy and satisfaction (and maybe a bit a tummy ache.. but hey, it’s worth it)! Then, head over to some of my other healthy recipe posts (like this delicious Brussel sprout and sweet potato hash that I guest posted on one of my favorite teacher blogs) and Holiday fitness tips to work off all the damage ?.  But for now, just enjoy! Merry Christmas from my family to yours! ?
â¤ï¸ Kelsie
