The Parcel Team’s Favorite Holiday Recipes

With all of the fun winter festivities coming up, we wanted to share with you some of our favorite holiday recipes to help you get into the holiday spirit! Enjoy all of the sweet treats and festive foods that are sure to be a crowd pleaser with your friends and family.


Jill’s Buckeyes:

Ingredients:

6 oz milk or dark chocolate

12 oz white chocolate

3 tsp vegetable oil

8 candy canes

Directions:

Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together until combined. Add the graham cracker crumbs and beat for 10 seconds. Add the sugar and butter, and mix on the lowest speed until it stops floating off everywhere, then increase the speed until the ingredients are combined. Scrape down the whole bowl well, then mix again. The mixture will be quite sturdy and a little dry — perfect for shaping. Set it aside while you prepare the coating.

Make the coating: Melt the chocolate either over a double boiler, stirring until it is completely smooth or in a microwave in 30 then 10 second increments, stirring before you start it again until it is completely smooth. Let it cool to tepid (about 100 degrees, though I’d go a little cooler next time for a thicker coating; I had a few ounces of chocolate leftover) while you shape the peanut butter centers.

Assemble the candies: Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scoop out slightly more than one tablespoon’s worth of filling (their suggestion; I used a scoop that made them a little smaller) and use your hands to form it into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared sheet and repeat the process until all of the candies have been shaped. They can sit close to each other but make sure they are not touching.

Using a fork or large skewer, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll it about so that almost the entire candy is coating, leaving a small circle uncoated. Play around with a few practice pieces; I found it easiest to stick the skewer in the side, angle the bowl I was using towards it and make sure it became submerged as I rolled the candy around. But don’t fuss too much; even the “ugly” ones won’t go to waste.

Chill the buckeyes until they are set, about 30 minutes.

Find the original recipe HERE


Sam’s Sweet & Spicy Jerky:

Ingredients:

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup orange juice

Zest of 1 orange

1-1/2 tablespoons honey

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 shallots, finely minced

1 jalapeno, finely minced

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. freshly ground black pep­per

1 tbsp. red pepper flakes

1 tbsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cayenne

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

2 pounds lean meat from horned or antlered game, sliced into 3/4-inch strips

Find the original recipe HERE

Sweet and Spicy Wild Game Jerky

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients except for the meat in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine well.

Add the strips of game meat to the marinade, being sure to cover it all completely. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 12 hours and up to 48 hours; the longer it’s in the marinade, the better.

Remove the meat from the marinade and drain. Pat it dry. Lay out the meat on dehydrator trays with space between the slices. Set the dehydrator to 145°-155° and dry the jerky for 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours or until completely dry. Dehydrators may vary.

You want the meat to still have some flexibility. The pieces shouldn’t crack in two when you bend them; rather, they should break to reveal a network of thin white lines.


Kourtney’s Mulled Cider:

Ingredients:

1 gallon apple cider

1/2 cup cranberries

1 orange (rind only)

6 cinnamon sticks

3 star anise

2 Tbs maple syrup

1 Tbs allspice berries

1 Tbs vanilla extract

Find the original recipe HERE

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 45 minutes – 1 hour.

If desired, stir in brandy, bourbon or rum. Garnish and serve.


Dylan’s Chocolate Protein Balls:

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate

2 TBS flax seeds

2 TBS chia seeds

1 TBS chocolate protein powder

Directions:

Stir oats, peanut butter, honey, chocolate, flax seeds, chia seeds, and protein powder together in a bowl until evenly mixed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Scoop chilled mixture into balls. Keep cold until serving.

Find the original recipe HERE


Ashley’s German Cardamom Cookies:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp rum (or water or brandy)

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp ground cardamom

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 pinch salt

4 ounces chocolate coating

German Christmas cookies cardamom recipe

Directions:

Beat together the butter and sugars. Mix in rum and if using, vanilla extract.

Sift or mix flour with cardamom, baking powder, and salt and mix it into the creamed butter to make a stiff dough.

Form this dough into two or three rolls that are 1 inch in diameter.

Wrap the rolls in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 or more hours.

Heat oven to 390 F.

Remove roll of dough from the refrigerator and place it on a cutting board. Slice the dough 1/4 inch thick and place the cookies on a cookie sheet.

Use a fork to create a crosshatch pattern on the cookies, flattening them somewhat.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until set and starting to brown slightly.

Remove cookies to rack to cool.

Melt chocolate couverture according to package directions. Dip cookies halfway in melted chocolate, place on wax paper, and allow to harden.

Find the original recipe HERE