Wednesday, December 23, 2009

"Ritzy" Holiday Cookies



About 4 years ago my older sister and I took a day-after-Thanksgiving road trip to upstate NY to visit a younger sister and her family.  While we were there our younger sister was participating in a Christmas Bazaar and had a bunch of Christmas goodies for sale, including these.  I'm not sure who originally got the idea for them, but I know I can't take credit.  I just know I could gain ten pounds every Christmas just eating the things.  And since Horse Lover is also a peanut butter lover, they are her favorite that she requested this year.


"Ritzy" Christmas Cookies

2 sleeves Ritz crackers
Creamy peanut butter
24 oz. Almond Bark vanilla candy coating
Sprinkles (if desired)

Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on a Ritz cracker.  Top with another cracker to make a sandwich.


Do this for all the Ritz crackers you are using and line them up neatly on wax paper.


Now it's time to melt the almond bark for the coating.  Some brands of almond bark are sold in big bricks (as shown in yesterday's post) and need to be broken up before placed into a bowl for melting.  However, some brands are sold in cubes as shown in this picture:

These are nice if you can find them because it is a whole lot easier to work with - especially if you're not using the whole package. Either way, you're going to melt the almond bark the same way.  Start off by microwaving it for about 1 minute, then stir.  Keep microwaving in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until completely melted.

 Drop a Ritz sandwich into the bowl of melted candy coating.  Using a fork, flip it over and make sure it's coated well all around.
 
Then pick it up with the fork and give the fork a couple of taps on the side of the bowl.  This gives you a smoother coat on top, and also knocks off some of the extra almond bark that you really don't need.

Place cookie back on wax paper to set.  If using sprinkles, be sure to put them on when the coating is still melted to they'll stick.


As you can see, my kids love to help out with these by putting on the sprinkles.


If desired, leave a few cookies plain.  I prefer them without sprinkles, myself.  But then, they don't look quite as festive, do they?








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