I have a confession. Sometimes, I throw food away. Like, in the garbage can. Don't tell anyone, because actually, I think it might be illegal in Korea. (You have to recycle it.) (I'm not kidding.) Usually I do recycle it. (Like, into my mouth.) You know, just doing my part to make the world a better place and all. But SOMETIMES when that basket of home baked goodness has been staring you in the face for days on end and you cannot possibly will yourself to walk away and stop eating it... there is only one option. Look, all I'm saying here is -- don't be afraid to get rid of all those left over Christmas goodies so that you can make room for these delicious New Year's Eve treats.
FOR THE "CRACKERS" --
Find some type of squiggly edged cutter and using your favorite vanilla sugar cookie dough, cut out a bunch of cookies. Then poke holes in them with a fork. In case you are wondering, we have forks with only 3 tines. THREE TINES. I hate them. My husband loves them. I tell him that they are called FOURks for a reason. He says that that's NOT why they are called forks. We're kind of at an impasse here.
After you cut out the cookies and before you bake them, mix some yellow food coloring with some water and just a tiny, tiny bit of brown to make a gold-ish color. Or, you know, use gold food coloring if you have it.
This is my high-tech ultra expensive cookie decorating tool. I just got it for Christmas. I've been wanting one for YEARS. Its called ... a paper towel.
Fold it up and use it to paint the food coloring on the tops of the cookies. Get enough on there that it actually changes the color of the cookie, but make sure you don't leave any puddles. (That sounded kind of weird when I wrote that, but I actually can't think of another way to say it. Don't think any less of me.)
And then sprinkle some big old chunks of sugar on top. Not like super huge sugar cubes or anything, just some salt size sprinkling sugar. (WHAT IS THAT CALLED ANITA?)
Then bake your cookies. And done. In a matter of literally minutes you have made a giant pile of cookies that look just like crackers. Because on New Year's Eve, even the cookies want to dress up and party.
WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE BALL
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
2 graham crackers
Place the butter and white chocolate chips together in a medium size microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval. (White chocolate chips burn really easily, so be careful not to microwave for too long.) As soon as they are melted, add the cream cheese and salt and blend with a hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar, stirring by hand if necessary. Place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes or until firm enough to shape into a ball. While the mixture is hardening, crush up the graham crackers and place on a plate with the mini chocolate chips. After shaping the cream cheese into a ball, gently roll in the grahams and the chocolate chips. And then definitely eat that right away. Or refrigerate until you do.