http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/christmas-package-cheese-snack-688436/

Christmas Package Cheese Snack

Spread some holiday cheer at your family gathering with this savory appetizer.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces of cream cheese (softened)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Scallion
• Red bell pepper

Instructions

1. Mix the dried dill, garlic powder, and salt into the softened cream cheese.
2. Pack the mixture into a rectangular container lined with plastic wrap (you can reuse the cream cheese box).
3. Refrigerate it for at least 3 hours. Before serving time, set the unwrapped block of cheese on a platter and decorate it with a scallion bow and red pepper polka dots and gift tag.

I had these at Alison and Doug’s holiday party last year – had never had them before and loved ‘em – I looked up the recipe the next day. Yum! Thanks Alison and Doug for the inspiration!

No Bake Butterscotch or chocolate haystacks or birds nests

Approximately 24 servings

Butterscotch –

1 cup Butterscotch Chips – (Hershey’s)
1/2 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
1 tablespoon Shortening-(do not use butter, – margarine or oil)
1 1/2 cups Chow mein noodles — coarsely broken

Line tray with wax paper. In medium microwave-safe bowl, place butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips and shortening. Microwave at HIGH (100%) 1 minute; stir.

If necessary, microwave at HIGH an additional 15
seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Immediately add chow mein noodles; stir to coat.

Drop mixture by heaping teaspoonfuls onto
prepared tray or into paper candy cups; let stand
until firm. If necessary, cover and refrigerate until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator. About 2 dozen candies. Variation:

Chocolate Haystacks:
Substitute 1 cup Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Chips for butterscotch chips. Proceed as directed above with peanut butter chips, shortening and chow mein noodles.

You can use this recipe and form haystack candies or tiny bird nests for Easter. Put tiny easter egg candies or marshmallow chicks in the nests before they cool completely.

If you have never made it, bark is such an easy treat to make for the holidays — simple, quick, stores well, can make it in advance, packages up prettily, people like it. All good! I’ve tried many different flavors of chips and recipes from white choc/peppermint, dark choc/raspberry (or peppermint), choc/almond, and now I came across this recipe, which sounds awesome:

http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/homemade-christmas-gifts/gifts-from-the-kitchen/festive-chocolate-bark-684248/

Once you’ve sampled this melt-in-your-mouth confection, you’ll be tempted to fill your own candy dish with it instead of giving it away as gifts. Best to plan on making a couple of batches from the start. Just enlist a young helper–swirling the white and semisweet chocolates is a particularly popular job–and package the finished candy in see-through cellophane bags to show off the mouthwatering goods.

Ingredients

• 1 cup shelled pistachio nuts (about 1/2 pound in shell)
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

• 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup dried, sweetened cranberries

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350º and lightly toast the pistachio nuts on a baking sheet, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let the nuts cool.
2. Melt the semisweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Or microwave it, in a dry microwave-safe bowl, uncovered, on medium power for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once. Remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir until smooth. Melt the white chocolate separately, following the same directions.
3. In a small bowl, combine the nuts and cranberries, then stir half of them into the semisweet chocolate. Using a spatula, spread the mixture to about a 1/2-inch thickness on a large cookie sheet. Drop the white chocolate by tablespoonfuls over the dark. With the tip of a butter knife, swirl the chocolates together to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle on the rest of the nuts and berries.
4. Refrigerate the bark for about 1 hour or until firm, then break it into pieces. Store the bark in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month. Makes about 1 3/4 pounds.