Coconut Bon bons and White Chocolate Pretzels

     This past week I've been working on all kinds of goodies, most of which have been given away (or eaten :-P). But I saved the best for last, since these are what we're taking with us to Florida. On Friday I made coconut bonbons and yesterday I made white chocolate covered pretzels and these are super-important holiday traditions for us. :-D Don't they look yummy, all ready to go? Put them in a nice little tin or colorful container and they make great, inexpensive gifts, too, and I don't know who doesn't love receiving them!

Coconut Bon Bons

     These are great for that chocolate craving. Yes, it had coconut in it, but even my dad, who hates coconut, got convinced to try one and said it was pretty good. I'm not a huge fan of coconut in general, but I love these (as does everyone who's tried them...). Here is the recipe if you would like to try it out. 

Mix together: 

     2 lbs of powdered sugar

     1/2 cup (1 stick) of melted butter

     1 can of sweetened condensed milk

     2 cups of shredded coconut (I actually just used 1 14 oz package) 

     This will make a sticky mixture and you will need to chill it (preferably overnight) before rolling it into little balls. Even after chilling, your hands will get sticky when handling it. Place the balls on cookie sheets covered with wax paper. I also put each batch in the freezer for a few minutes before dipping chocolate. I'm usually multi-tasking in the kitchen. 

     Melt a box (8 oz) of Baker's semi-sweet chocolate on low heat with a 1 x 1 1/2 inch square piece of parafin wax, cut up or shredded for better melting. Roll the coconut balls one by one in the melted chocolate, coating the whole thing with chocolate then return it to the wax paper. You can use a toothpick or a utensil made for dipping chocolates. You may find you need to add more chocolate if you find you are running out. If you need to thin the chocolate a little, add Crisco, 1 teaspoon at a time till you reach the desired consistency. Don't add to much or it will be too runny! When the chocolates are cooled and the chocolate has firmed up, they are ready to serve! 

White Chocolate Pretzels

     These are even easier to make than the coconut bon bons and are perfect for that salty-sweet combo you sometimes crave. 

     All you need to do is melt one or 2 packages of Baker's white chocolate and dip small pretzels into it and lay it on wax paper to cool. You can add a little parafin wax to it to make it dry harder, if you like. Just like with regular chocolate, use Crisco if you need to thin it up. And keep an eye on it, because it tends to scorch more quickly than the semi-sweet chocolate. But it is pretty simple to do. Try it out and let me know what you think. :-)