Heartland Cooks - 12/23/12 Quick Holiday Treats - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

This week's on Heartland Cooks we explore sweet treats to make your mouth water this Christmas without taking up all of your time. We hope you enjoy these holiday recipes sure to bring smiles to your table!

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Lumps of Coal

Submitted by Jean Wilson of Chester, IL

Ingredients:

1 package Oreo cookies

5 cups mini marshmallows

4 Tablespoons butter

Directions:

In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

Add the crushed Oreo's. Stir until well coated.

Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch lumps of coal.

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Melted Snowman Cookies

Discovered on Pinterest by Lauren Keith.

(Recipe appears in the 2012 KFVS Holiday Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 Package store-bought sugar cookie dough (or your own recipe)

1 Bag white chocolate truffles

1 tub white icing

1 tube black gel icing

1 tube orange gel icing

1 bag M&M's candies

Directions:

Bake cookies and allow them to cool. Spoon some white icing into a cup and melt it in microwave 20-30 seconds (only long enough to make it pourable, but not liquid).

Pour the icing over cookies. Place one white chocolate truffle in the frosting at the end of each cookie as the snowman's head. Place M&M's in frosting to look like the snowman's buttons. Using black gel icing, draw arms and face on snowman. Use orange gel to accent snowman's face with a carrot nose. Enjoy!

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Chocolate-Eggnog Cheesecake Squares

Submitted by Jean Wilson of Chester, IL

(Courtesy of Pillsbury)

Ingredients:

Crust

2 Cups chocolate cookie crumbs (from 15-oz box)

1/2 Cup butter or margarine, melted

Filling

2 Packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 Cup sugar

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 Cup dairy eggnog

2 Eggs

1/2 Cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 Teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Line 13x9-inch pan with 18x18-inch square of heavy-duty foil so foil extends over long sides of pan. Spray foil with cooking spray. In small bowl, mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press in bottom of pan.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Beat in flour, eggnog and eggs on medium speed until smooth, scraping sides of bowl if necessary. With rubber spatula, fold in chocolate chips. Pour filling evenly over crust.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until edges are set. Center will be soft but will set when cool. Cool one hour. Refrigerate at least two hours. Sprinkle evenly with nutmeg.

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Jaime's Mom's Chocolate Fudge

Submitted by Jaime Travers, KFVS Stormteam

Ingredients:

¾ cup butter

3 Tablespoons milk (2% or whole works best)

11.5 oz. milk chocolate morsels

1 cup butterscotch morsels

1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

14 oz. condensed milk

12 oz. semi sweet morsels

10 oz. peanut butter morsels

7 oz. marshmallow cream

1/8 to ¼ tsp almond extract (depending on taste)

Directions:

Melt butter, stir in condensed milk and regular milk. Add all morsels until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in marshmallow cream and extracts. Pour into greased 9x13 pan and chill.

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Cornflake Cookies

Submitted by Jessica Stratton of Cape Girardeau

Ingredients:

½ cup sugar

½ cup white (clear) corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

3 ½ cups cornflakes

Directions:

Heat sugar and corn syrup until sugar is dissolved only - do not boil (med/high heat).

Add 1 cup peanut butter, stir till peanut butter is smooth and warm.

Remove from heat add 3 1/2 cups corn flakes until coated.

Drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper to cool.

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Oreo Bonbons

Submitted by Dave Horn, KFVS Weekend Breakfast Show director

Ingredients:

1 package Almond Bark candy coating

1 package Oreo Cookies

1 8 ounce tub whipped cream cheese

Directions:

Crush Oreo Cookies using blender or other method. Mix in whipped cream cheese. Melt Almond Bark according to directions. Dip Oreo/cream cheese balls into melted almond bark and set aside. Allow Almond Bark to harden before stacking bonbons.

Dave's tip: use mint Oreo's for a different flavor!
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If you have a recipe you'd like to show off, we want to hear from you! Send Carly or Jaime an e-mail with your recipe. You share the recipe and we'll do the cooking!

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