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Christmas Treats: Fudge, Cheesecake Cupcakes, Coconut Ganache Bars and some old favorites!

Happy Holidays everyone! I have been so ahead of myself this year that I actually have all by baking done and have time to give you a recipe post! Yay!

Every year I sit down and make a list of what treats I want to make. Peanut Brittle is always on the list (Recipe here!), and J always requests white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies (Recipe here!), so those are a given! The rest varies each year. For the past many years I had been making baklava, but I decided to take a break on that this year! Instead, I brought back a few old favorites this year: fudge, cheesecake cupcakes, and coconut ganache bars!

In lieu of doing a separate post for each recipe, I decided to add them all here. I know I hate when all the recipes are one post, so I’ll make sure to give you a printable for each one, and try to keep my commentary to a minimum! 😉 Let’s get started!

The Easiest Fudge You Will Ever Make!  Print this recipe!

Not even kidding! This is the simplest fudge ever! And best part– you can change the flavors so easily! Just decide if you want chocolate or white chocolate fudge, and what mix-in you want! Super easy! Flavor combinations I have tried: chocolate/caramels, chocolate/Andes mints, white chocolate/candy canes, chocolate/peanut butter, white chocolate/Oreo, and probably a few more!
The base recipe is 2 cans sweetened condensed milk for every 2 bags of chips you use (chocolate or white chocolate). 2 of each makes enough fudge to fill a cake pan. Actually, for white chips, use 3 bags for 2 cans…it sets softer than chocolate so you need more chips. Then, just one unit of whatever additive you want! So if you are doing chocolate with peanut butter, you would use one bag of peanut butter chips (or Reese’s Pb cups, or Reese’s Pieces (yum!))
This year I made tuxedo fudge (white chocolate with dark chocolate). I just love this flavor combination!
So I used 2 cans of milk, 3 bags of white chocolate chips, and 2 70% Cacao Ghirardelli chocolate baking bars (found next to the chocolate chips). I used 2 bars because they are much smaller than a bag of chips would be.

This fudge sets up pretty quick, so I like to have everything prepared. Put the chocolate in a zipper bag and break it up with a meat hammer. Use this technique for candy canes or cookies. If you are using other chips or small candies as your mix-in, then you won’t need to do this.
Line a cake pan with some parchment paper. This will make getting the fudge out of the pan super easy!

In a large pan, combine your milk and chips. Heat over med heat until it’s smooth and all the lumps are gone, then heat about 1 minute more. (if you want to flavor your fudge, with peppermint for example, you would do so now.)

Pour the fudge into your pan, then add the mix-ins on top.

Use a wood skewer (or something similar) to gently swirl the mix-in. Don’t mix too much! The heated mixture will melt the mix-in, so mix very little to make sure they remain separate and aren’t totally combined. 

Let this cool completely, then put in the refrigerator to cool more before cutting into it.

Use the overlapping parchment paper to lift it out of the pan, then cut into squares. I store mine in airtight containers in the refrigerator. 

In the past, I have given this fudge as gifts. One 2-can batch will fill 3 sandwich-sized Ziploc storage containers. So easy, and so decadent!

Coconut Ganache Bars  Print this recipe!

I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart’s Coconut and chocolate pie. It’s super simple, and so delicious! You know that smooth chocolate inside truffles that melts in your mouth? That’s ganache…and that’s what these bars are made out of! Yum!
To make these into bars, I basically just doubled the recipe and used a different pan. I used a lipped baking sheet for this. I think the proper name for it is a “jelly roll pan”, but just a regular lipped cookie sheet would work. 

Ingredients
1 stick (8 T) butter, softened but not melted
22 ounces (about 12 cups) sweetened coconut. I buy 2 bags then measure it on a food scale. It’s just over 1-1/2 bags. 
2 cups heavy cream
16 oz bittersweet chocolate chips. I use the Ghirardelli 60% Cacao baking chips, found next to the chocolate chips. And again, I just weigh them using a kitchen scale. But it equals about 1-3/4 bags. 

Start with the coconut crust. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a food processor, mix about 1/3 of the coconut and the butter until it forms a ball. Move to a large bowl and add the remainder of the coconut, mixing by hand until incorporated. 

Pour the coconut onto the sheet pan and press in with your fingers. Try to make it even so it’s the same thickness all the way across.

Cook until the center begins to brown, about 15 minutes. If your edges start to brown too much, you can cover them with tinfoil.

Let the crust cool while you mix the filling.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until it boils. Keep an eye on this and stir it regularly…you don’t want it to scald or curdle. Put the chocolate chips in a large bowl and pour the heated cream over top.

Stir until it’s all combined and smooth.

Pour the chocolate over the crust. Pour it around the crust, instead of just one big glob, to make it easier to spread. Spread out until it’s even and smooth. Refrigerate for an hour or more until it’s set.

Once it’s set, cut into squares and store in the refrigerator. This makes about 80 squares, so plenty to share! 🙂

Cheesecake Cupcakes  Print this recipe!

This recipe is adapted from one in a Taste of Home Holiday recipe magazine I bought years ago. The only real difference is I add a crust to mine. I have made these as cherry (like this year), fresh strawberry, and chocolate (with a chocolate graham cracker crust)! All are divine! 

Ingredients

1 package graham crackers
1/4 C melted butter
3 packages cream cheese (8oz), softened
1-1/2 C sour cream
1-3/4 C. sugar- divided
1- 3/4 tsp vanilla- divided
5 eggs, room temperature
Whatever topping you want to use– 1 large can of cherry pie topping, fresh strawberries, or chunks of chocolate to shave over top. 
Preheat oven to 300° and line 2 cupcake tins with liners. Start by adding your graham crackers to a food processor. I start with 1 sleeve and 1/4 C. butter, but usually end up needing to make a little more.  Grind the crackers into a coarse crumb and add the melted butter. Use a teaspoon to spoon the crumbs into cupcake liners. I use a heaping teaspoon for each, then use the bottom of my 1/3 C measuring cup to press it down. 

Using a mixer, combine the cream cheese, 1 C sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla until creamy. It will be super thick.

Then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.

I use the same 1/3 C measuring cup to spoon the filling into the cupcake molds. Fill them to about 3/4 full. Because I add a crust, I have enough filling for about 30 cupcakes. If you have another pan, then you can just make them all at the same time. I only have 2 pans, so I cover the reaming batter with plastic wrap until a pan frees up.

Cook for 25-30 minutes. They will crack on top when they are done. The cracks shrink up as they cool. Let these cool for about 5 minutes and work on the topping.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, the remaining 3/4 C. sugar, and the remaining 3/4 tsp vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

Use a teaspoon to spoon topping onto the cupcakes, then use the back of the spoon to spread it around.

Return the cupcakes to the oven for 6-8 minutes until set. Let cool completely before adding the fruit topping.

I used cherry pie topping for this batch. I refrigerate for an hour before eating. It helps keep the cheesecake from sticking to the liners. Store in the refrigerator.

These are amazing! Using a crust makes about 30 cupcakes.

Happy Holiday y’all! Enjoy! 🙂

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