Have a Merry Choco-Christmasby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 24 Dec 2007 12:00 AM How much is too much? Is it possible to have too much chocolate? My sister-in-law certainly doesn't think so. With less than two days until Christmas she is in her kitchen whipping up her famous chocolate macadamia nut clusters. I didn't have the heart to tell her that if I see one more Christmas cookie I may just run in the opposite direction. But, that's just because I spent the last three weeks churning out more than 300 cookies to give to friends and neighbors. (Did I mention I sampled a few dozen along the way?) My sister-in-law is by no means a procrastinator. She simply waited until my brother was off of work and able to keep their baby occupied to start her Christmas baking. If you are like her and are only now stepping into the kitchen to tackle your holiday baking consider the following recipes. Not only are they simple, but they also include everyone's favorite Christmastime sweet---chocolate. CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA CLUSTERS Ingredients for the Cookies: 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 1 large egg 1/4 cup (2 ounce) unsweetened chocolate, melted, cooled 1/3 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts (you could use hazelnuts to substitute) Ingredients for the Frosting: 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons buttermilk 2 cups powdered sugar Directions for the Cookies: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl (it's best to use an electric beater), cream together sugar, butter and egg. Mix in cooled chocolate, buttermilk and vanilla until blended. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and nuts in a separate bowl; add to chocolate mixture. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls about 1 inch apart onto buttered baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Chocolate Frosting: Melt chocolate and butter together over low heat or in the microwave. Stir in buttermilk and powdered sugar until smooth. Frost cookies. CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER MERINGUES Ingredients: 3 egg whites Pinch salt 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup peanut butter chips 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Directions: Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat egg whites with salt until peaks just start to form. Gradually beat in sugar until whites are stiff enough to hold their shape. Stir in chips, cocoa and vanilla. Drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheets. Bake 35 minutes. Transfer cookies onto rack while still attached to parchment paper; cool, and then carefully remove cookies. Makes about 3 dozen. Related Articles: Christmas Cookie Exchange: Pinwheels and Tassies Hawaiian Style Christmas Cookies Peanut Butter Lovers' Dream Cookie Easy Holiday Cookie Bar Recipes Cookie Exchange: Pignoli Cookies Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevantfood tags children | weight loss | holidays | Food | Coupons | baby | Kids | ideas | christmas | Scrapbooking User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags chocolate, cookies, Christmas cookies, macadamia nuts, recipes Discuss this article
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