Cindys Xmas Bon Bon Tree Recipes

HOLIDAY CAKE BON BONS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Make and bake cake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool 15 minutes.
• In large bowl, crumble warm cake; stir in frosting until well blended. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until firm enough to shape.
• Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Shape into balls. (If mixture is too sticky, refrigerate until firm enough to shape.) Freeze 30 minutes.
• Line another cookie sheet with foil. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave 12 oz candy coating uncovered on High 1 minute 30 seconds; stir. Continue microwaving and stirring in 15-second intervals until melted and smooth. Remove one-third of the balls from the freezer. Using 2 forks, dip and roll each ball in coating. Place on foil-covered cookie sheet. Decorate as desired. Refrigerate cake balls about 10 minutes or until coating is set. Melt remaining candy coating in 12-oz batches; dip remaining balls. Serve at room temperature. Store in airtight container.

BON BON COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix powdered sugar, margarine, vanilla and food coloring. Work in flour and salt until dough holds together. (If dough is dry, mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons milk).
• For each cookie, shape dough by tablespoonful around date, nut, chocolate chips or cherry to form ball. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until set but not brown, 12 to 15 minutes; cool.
• Dip tops of cookies into glaze. Decorate with coconut, nuts, colored sugar, chocolate chips or chocolate shot, if desired.
• Glaze: beat 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth and of desired consistency. Tint parts of glaze with different food colors if desired.
• Chocolate glaze: beat 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 ounce melted unsweetened chocolate (cool) and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth and of desired consistency.
• Chocolate bonbon cookies: omit food color. Stir 1 ounce melted unsweetened chocolate (cool) into margarine mixture.

BONBONS

Steps:

• In large bowl, combine margarine, confectioners' sugar, condensed milk, coconut, chopped walnuts and vanilla. Stir well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until mixture has thickened enough to roll into balls. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place close together, but not touching, on cookie sheets. Freeze until hard.
• While bonbons are freezing, line a cookie sheet or flat surface with waxed paper. Combine chocolate chips and shortening in the top of a double boiler, over, not in, simmering water. Stir until melted. Using a toothpick or a fork, dip each bonbon in the melted chocolate. Place on waxed paper to dry. When chocolate has hardened, store bonbons in plastic bag in the freezer.

BON BON CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the shortening and cream cheese until well blended. Stir in the flour, you may need to use your hands to help it form a dough. If the mixture seems too dry, add a couple of teaspoons of water. Cover and chill several hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets.
• Before rolling out the dough, dust the rolling surface heavily with confectioners' sugar. Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 1x4 inch strips. Place a cherry on the end of each strip. Roll up each strip starting with the cherry. Place on prepared cookie sheets and dust with a little of the confectioners' sugar.
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should brown slightly. Dust again with the confectioners' sugar. Allow cookies to cool before serving, the cherries are very hot!