The holiday season is the perfect time to get out some holiday recipes and start baking for the Christmas season. Here are some holiday recipes from the teachers, staff, and students of Lakota West!

Oreo Balls 

1 (20 oz) package Oreos

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

2 (15 oz) package. Chocolate candy coating 

Place the cookies in a blender or food processor; cover and process until finely crushed. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and crushed Oreos until blended. Roll into 3/4-inch balls. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt one of the packages of chocolate according to the directions. Dip half the balls. Keep the other half of the balls in the refrigerator until needed. Melt the second bag of chocolate and dip the remaining balls. Place balls on waxed paper until hardened. Store in the refrigerator. Yields about 7-½ dozen. 

Snickers stuffed PB cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup creamy JIF peanut butter

2 sticks Parkay butter, softened

2 eggs

Cream these ingredients together until smooth.

Mix the following together and add to the above sugar/PB mixture slowly. 

 3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Once mixed, notice the stickiness– you want it to be firm enough to roll in your hands without sticking, but not too dry. Grab a small amount–maybe a tablespoon–and wrap around a FUN SIZE Snickers bar. Be sure to cover completely or the candy bar will leak out. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350/375 degrees Fahrenheit (depending on your oven) for three minutes, pull out, and use a fork to create a criss-cross pattern on the cookie–much like peanut butter cookies. Put back in the oven and bake another five minutes until golden. Let sit on cookie sheet for about thirty seconds to one minute, then plan on a cooling rack. Enjoy 🙂 This recipe makes about 30-40 cookies! 

Clam dip

1 package cream cheese, softened

1 can clams, with juice

1 medium white onion, chopped

Salt to taste

Wavy potato chips

Mash the juice from the clams with the cream cheese until combined. Add the onion and clams.  Chill in the fridge for an hour or overnight.  

Spritz Cookies

1 cup margarine or butter, softened

½ cup of sugar

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 egg

¼ teaspoon almond extract or vanilla

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix margarine and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Place dough in a cookie press. Form desired shapes on ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate with currants, raisins, candies, colored sugar, finely chopped nuts, or candied fruit or fruit peel, if desired. Bake five to eight minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately remove from the cookie sheet. To decorate cookies after baking, use a drop of corn syrup to attach decorations to cooled cookies. Yields six to seven dozen cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips (contains milk)

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/4 cups unsifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Heat oven to 375ºF. Stir flour with baking soda and salt, then set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color. Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for nine to eleven minutes or until golden brown. Note: The two cups of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips may be substituted with any variety of chip flavor (i.e.- Milk Chocolate Chips, 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips, etc.)