Boxes of Russell Stover chocolates pop up everywhere this time of year — more so than usual, anyway! Instead of spending money on a box of chocolates that you have no control over what’s in them, why not try making your own for a little bit of a special touch for family and friends?

Make sure you plan ahead since these need to sit overnight in the refrigerator. You can add some chopped pecans, walnuts or even almonds too, and present them in one of those cute holiday-themed aluminum tins with the plastic lids for gift-giving.

Homemade Russell Stover Coconut Chocolates

2 c. powdered sugar
1 15oz can evaporated milk
1/4 c. coconut
1/2 lb. butter
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips and chill overnight. Melt chocolate chips in top of double boiler, or directly on stove over very low heat. Form filling mixture into small balls, dip in melted chocolate and set on waxed paper to harden. Do not refrigerate.

[image: flickr]

If you feel like doing some holiday baking but aren’t in the mood to spend a lot of time or even a lot of ingredients, consider chocolate meringues! They’re light, lower fat, and as easy as can be to whip up a batch to serve to guests or just have on hand when a sweets craving hits.

You can make these without any chocolate added and then just dip the plain meringues into some melted chocolate instead.
Milk Chocolate Meringues
from fosters.com
3 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup finely chopped milk chocolate
~ Heat the oven to 250 F. …read more

This candy recipe, from Food Network Canada, combines the best of two worlds — a crispy, brittle-like candy dipped in milk chocolate. I’m going to give this a try to see if it’s worthy of being added to my Christmas tins this year for neighbors and teachers!

Milk Chocolate Coated Sponge Candy
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 tbsp baking soda, sifted
1 lb. milk chocolate, divided
~ Place foil in a 9-inch square pan with 2-inch sides, extend foil over sides. Butter the foil very generously.
~ In a heavy large, deep saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar.
~ …read more

Who says you have to stick with pumpkin desserts and treats for Thanksgiving?
Why not break tradition and try one of the delicious goodies below with fudge or cookies or fun crafty things to do with kids. If you don’t feel like shaking things up that much, put a chocolaty treat beside the pumpkin pie so your guests can choose.
~ Oreo Turkeys from Cookies and Cups
~ How to Frost a (Beautiful) Cake Tutorial at Savory Sweet Life
~ S’more Cupcakes from Annie’s Eats
~ Butter Toffee Crunch at Blue Ridge Baker
~ Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa from Wasabimon
~ Nutella and Dark Chocolate Truffles …read more

I just came across this cute video for making Chocolate Cherry Christmas Creams. They’re made with some pretty basic pantry staples, including chocolate chips, evaporated milk, powdered sugar, and nuts (well, you may need to make a special trip to the store for the maraschino cherries).
I like the idea of making these for friends and family and arranging them on a platter in the shape of a Christmas tree or even a wreath. Dying the coconut red or green is also a nice touch! These would be great for Valentine’s Day, too, come to think of it!
Chocolate Cherry Christmas Creams
1 …read more

It’s that time — See’s Candies have rolled out their holiday candy selection just in time for gift buying, and if you’re like me that can’t be done soon enough!

From now until Friday, November 27th, you’ve got a shot to win a $25 gift card from See’s Candies. Use it on yourself, or use it to buy someone else a very tasty holiday treat. It also fits quite nicely in a stocking (I should know, my awesome husband puts a card in mine every year!).
(Don’t forget to check out their great Thanksgiving candies, too!)
To Enter:

To enter this giveaway, leave a …read more

PETA thinks they have a good way of boosting the morale of U.S. troops, saying that they’re going to send them some vegan chocolate with an image of Osama bin Laden imprinted on the front.

The “bin Laden Bites” are made by Harbor Candy, a chocolatier and long-time supporter of PETA, who say they were inspired to make them after reading an article about how hard it is for troops to get chocolate in Afghanistan. Biting off bin Laden’s head is just an added bonus, I guess.
PETA says they’re using the chocolates as a way of protesting bin Laden’s “torture and …read more

Just in time for holiday and Christmas shopping (think hostess gifts, stocking stuffers, teacher gifts, etc!), Patric Chocolates is offering up free shipping on all orders until Thursday, November 26th (Thanksgiving Day).

All orders of Patric’s yummy chocolate, whether it’s the bars, the drinking chocolate or baking nibs, made between now and Thanksgiving Day will receive the free shipping offer.
Chocolate is the perfect gift for any occasion, but especially during the holidays when people you don’t expect to give you a gift actually do — just pull out a chocolate bar (maybe with a cute little gift bow) for one of …read more

While perusing some of my favorite blogs yesterday, I came across this recipe for chocolate chip cookies made with olive oil instead of butter. I’ve made olive oil cake before, and I like using it when I make bread, so using it in cookies didn’t seem as weird to me as it might to some!

I found these at Crepes of Wrath, and since I always have the supplies on hand to make chocolate chip cookies, I printed out the recipe and headed straight for the kitchen. They were easy enough to make, though the dough is a little different that …read more

Would you believe there’s a Peanut Butter Fudge Day? This very specific holiday falls on November 20th, and if you start now you could probably perfect a batch just in time to send in to teachers or bring in to work so everyone can celebrate!

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com and combines both chocolate and peanut butter for a perfect bite of fudge that you’ll want to make a whole lot more often than just once a year. It’s also very easy to assemble — you’ve probably already got everything in your pantry!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
adapted from allrecipes.com
3 cups white sugar
1 …read more