White Chocolate Pretzels

1 pkg. long pretzel rods
1 pkg. almond bark, or vanilla candy coating
Decorations, such as red and green sprinkles, holiday M&Ms or crushed up candy canes

Place the candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl. Make sure you do not get any water in the bowl. Any water at all will cause the candy coating not to melt properly and separate.

Microwave the candy coating for 1 min., then stir and microwave an additional min., until it is completely melted and smooth.

Stick a pretzel rod into the chocolate, and with a spoon, cover about 3/4 of the pretzel with chocolate. Let the excess drip back into the bowl.

Sprinkle the chocolate with either red and green colored sprinkles, crushed up peppermints, or stick red and green M&Ms to the chocolate.

Place the decorated pretzel on a piece of waxed paper or aluminum foil, and let it dry completely, about 1 hr. Gently pull the pretzels off the paper.

Babe Ruth Bars Recipes

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white corn syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
6 cups cornflakes cereal
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanuts

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the peanut butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and white sugar.
Cook stirring occasionally until smooth.
Remove from heat and quickly mix in the cornflakes, chocolate chips and peanuts until evenly coated.

2. Press the entire mixture gently into a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Caramel Apples w/ Chocolate

Makes 8 apples
1 piece of Styrofoam
1 apples
8 ice cream sticks
12 packages (14 oz each) creamy caramels
2 tbs. water
3/4 cup pistachios, chopped
8 foil cupcake liners
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
Place Styrofoam on a flat surface.

Lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
Remove stems from apples.
Insert wooden stick into stem of each apple.
Place caramels in saucepan.
Add the water, heat stirring until caramels are melted.
Working quickly with one apple at a time, and keeping caramel over low heat, dip the apple into the caramel, turning to coat the apple, remove the apple from the caramel and gently shake.
Pat pistachios onto top of apple, place on prepared sheet.
Refrigerate until caramel is cool.
Heat chocolate in top of double boiler, until melted.
Drizzle chocolate over apples.
Press apples sticks into Styrofoam.
Refrigerate until the chocolate hardens.
Remove from Styrofoam to foil cupcake liners

Cognac Truffles

Ingredients:
3 1 oz square of unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 c confectioners' sugar
1/3 c butter
3 egg yolks (I use the whites to make macaroons or meringue cookies)
1 tsp vanilla or 2 TBSP of cognac

Instructions:
Melt chocolate. Combine sugar and butter in bowl. Cream together. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time. Stir in melted chocolate and flavoring. Chill mixture. Break off pieces and form into balls. Roll in coating.
Air-dry 1 hour. Store in air-tight container in very cool place. Makes
about fifty truffles.

Suggested coatings: ground almonds or other nuts, cocoa, more melted chocolate, confectioners' sugar, coconut, chocolate or colored
jimmies.

Note that this uses raw egg yolks. I find a melon baller to be very
handy in forming the truffles.

Chocolate Anise Truffles

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Anise liquor
1/2 cup butter
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
2 cups pulverized anisette cookies

Instructions:
In a double boiler melt the chocolate, constantly stirring with a wooden
spoon. When the chocolate has melted, add the butter and slowly stir it into the chocolate as it melts. Continue to stir for another minute
until it is well mixed and smooth. Add in the Rum and stir until well
mixed, then sprinkle in the pulverized anisette cookies (a little at a
time, as sometimes it takes less) until the mixture is slightly thickened but still smooth. You want the mixture to remain as a thick sauce at this point.

When you have thoroughly mixed in the anisettes, rest the top of your
double boiler in a bucket of ice and WHISK the truffle mixture slowly
until it has cooled (about 15 minutes). Do not stop whicking or the
butter and rum will separate out of the chocolate-anisette. When the
sauce is completely cooled it should have a soft but solid consistency
which you can then spoon out and form into truffles and coat with
chocolate powder or confectioners sugar.