The best one is still approaching. The one night a year where everyone digs up all of their sparkly gear and sets out to drink champagne, liquor, and all sorts of delicious concoctions that bartenders spend the whole year dreaming up.
Yep, it's almost New Year's Eve!
I can't really participate in libations this year, doctors frown on the whole pregnancy and alcohol thing.
But I can eat rum that's been baked into some delicious sugar cookies and then stuffed with chocolate.
Or I can eat bars baked with rum and topped with still more chocolate and pecans.
Heaven is near folks.
As 2012 approaches I intend to celebrate with these Drunken Stuffed Rum Balls and Rum Toffee Bars.
Both variations start with the same dough making these cookies super easy. Plus if you dip the Drunken Stuffed Rum Balls in cocoa and powdered sugar it looks like you spent time making THREE different kinds of treats, when it's really a snap!
These are kid-friendly, pregnancy approved, and party ready! I hope you had a great 2011 and I wish you an even better 2012!
And these may be a splurge, but after all the work you've put in this year to stay healthy, fit, and happy; I have a feeling you just might deserve this little treat.
Cheers and on with the recipes!
Basic Drunken Sugar Cookie Dough
2 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Cup Unsalted Butter; softened
1 1/2 Cups White Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Rum
1. In a large bowl stir the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together to combine.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. 
3. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Stir until a smooth dough is formed.
Drunken and Stuffed Sugar Balls
1 Batch Basic Drunken Cookie Dough (recipe above)
1/2 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Butterscotch Chips
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1. Prepare drunken cookie dough according to recipe above.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Combine the chocolate and butterscotch chips in a bowl.
4. Pour the cocoa powder and powdered sugar into separate deep bowls.
5. Using your clean hands, pinch a small walnut sized peice of dough and flatten into your palm. Make an indentation into the middle of the dough with your thumb. Fill with the chocolate and butterscotch chips. Fold the sides of the dough over the chocolate and butterscotch chips. Use a little extra dough to cover the chips if needed.
6. Dip the stuffed sugar rum ball into the cocoa powder and place on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat the balling and stuffing process and alternate dipping the cookies into the cocoa powder and the powdered sugar until all of the dough has been used. Refill the cocoa powder and powdered sugar bowls if necessary.
7. Bake in the oven for 11-14 minutes. Remove and set on cooling racks to cool for about 20 minutes or just eat them! Yummy rum and chocolate/butterscotch explosion in my mouth!
Servings: 48 cookies
Nutritional Skinny (per cookie):
118 Calories / 5.4 g fat / 15.3 g carbohydrates / .3 g fiber / 1.3 g protein
Rum Toffee Squares
1 Batch Basic Drunken Cookie Dough (recipe above)
1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Butterscotch Chips
1/2 Cup Pecans; Chopped
1. Prepare drunken cookie dough according to recipe above.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Spread the dough on a greased baking sheet. Making the dough as even as possible and trying to smooth the dough all the way to the edges. I greased my hands and used them to press and smooth the dough.
4. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. The edges should be browned and the dough slightly puffed up. Top with the chocolate and butterscotch chips and return to the oven for another minute.
5. Remove cookie squares from the oven and spread the chocolate and butterscotch chips using a spatula or large butter knife. Even coat the top of the dough with a nice layer of chocolate. Then sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top of the smoothed chocolate. Allow to cool for at least an hour. I chilled mine in the refrigerator to make sure the chocolate set and the pecans stuck to the chocolate.
6. Then slice into squares using a pizza cutter. Serve immediately or keep fresh in the refrigerator until ready to serve! They will remain soft if kept in the fridge. My favorite kind of cookie is a soft cookie!
Servings: 48 bars
Nutritional Skinny (per bar):
126.7 calories / 6.3 g fat / 15.6 g carbohydrates / .4 g fiber / 1.4 g protein
Mental Health Tid Bit: As I said, I did spend time trying to figure out how to make these sweet indulgences a little less, well; indulgent. However, I ended up letting them be those perfect splurges that we all deserve. After all it's the end of a chapter. And a pretty big one for me and the beginning of a new start. A new year. So let's have our cake and eat it too. For one last blow out this year and really enjoy each bite. We deserve it after all the dieting, healthy eating, planning, and tread-mill time you've put in. Sit back, enjoy your hard work, and give yourself a pat on the back for another good year.
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