Baking with #holidaycandy! Kid-friendly Recipe :)

This weekend, while waiting on sleep to arrive, I got the idea to create our own fancy Christmas cookies. I really like this idea, because Noah can help in the kitchen :) My step-dad made a step-stool for me to carry about the house (because I'm kinda short) and now I let Noah use it to help in the kitchen, too.

The Christmas candy section at Walmart is in full-swing! I picked up a few bags of Nestle Jingles. There's a Nestle Jingles Crunch and a Butterfinger variety; I bought both :) My mom always included the Crunch Jingles in our stockings, so it's kind of a "full circle" feeling to be including the Nestle Jingles in my child's stocking this year. Before I start filling stockings, I'm going to do a little baking and "no baking" with my best guy--my little Noah :)

You can view my shopping trip & photos here.

On to the recipes!

The first recipe is one that I printed from here. There are many to choose from--I chose this one, because we really love chocolate around here. I substituted the Butterfinger Jingles with the Nestle Crunch Jingles , because I'm using the Butterfinger variety for the Christmas cookies.

"Cakey" Chocolate Jingle Bars

I sprayed the chocolate bell with food-safe silver spray

"Cakey" Chocolate Jingle Bars

Printable recipe seen here.

Ingredients

30 NESTLÉ BUTTERFINGER Jingles, unwrapped
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Powdered sugar (optional)

• Directions
  
  PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
  
  
  COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
  
  
  
  
  
  BEAT granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until combined. Beat in eggs. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in Nestlé Jingles. Press into 9-inch-square baking pan.
  
  
  
  
  
  BAKE for 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

  

  Before Baking

  
  
  NOTE: Try substituting NESTLÉ Milk Chocolate Jingles. Sixteen servings.
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

My Recipe: Joyful Jingles Cookies

I love any no-bake recipe that can be shared with children. Encouraging children to cook with you is a great idea for so many reasons--socializing, early math skills, science of cooking etc--so, when you remove the danger of a hot stove, it leaves a really relaxing and fun activity for the family to enjoy.

I came up with something that uses affordable products, a microwave, a fridge and sprinkles!

Let's get to it!

What You'll Need:

• One pack of Nestle Jingles Butterfinger variety
• One candy/cookie mold (found in the wedding section). If you can't get one of these, you can use a muffin pan the same way. It's really about the shape, so use your imagination. Plastic and silicon molds work best for releasing candies.
• Cookie icing (found in the wedding section of Walmart)
• One pack of sandwich cookies, like Oreos
• Variety of sprinkles/cake glitter for decorating

Directions

Step 1

Unwrap the Jingles and place them in a microwave-safe bowl. Discard wrappers.

Step 2

Microwave the bowl of Jingles for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes. This will depend on your microwave's power. As soon as you notice the candy start to melt, remove it from the microwave and stir it quickly until it becomes smooth and creamy. Don't overheat it. Don't add water to it.

Step 3

Have your cookie molds and cookies ready to go. Place a large spoonful of melted chocolate in the cookie mold, then top with a sandwich cookie. Press the cookie down, so that the chocolate is evenly dispersed. Add chocolate over the cookie to cover it. You can gently tap the cookie mold to help the cookie settle and remove any air bubbles that may be trapped in the chocolate.

Step 4

Pop the cookie mold into the freezer for a few minutes. Remove it from the freezer as soon as the chocolate is firm. You can use the refrigerator instead, if you'd like. 

Step 5

Turn the cookie mold over to help the cookies come out onto a clean plate. Now, you're ready to decorate them!

Beautiful & Yummy :)

Hope you enjoyed my ideas. We had a lot of fun decorating and creating holiday treats :) You can view Nestle holiday recipes on their site here. Also, be sure to check them out on Twitter and facebook :)

Happy baking, everyone!

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Nestle #CBias #SocialFabric