Lately, all I've been doing is trying out new, difficult recipes, especially ones from other countries, just to see:

1) if I can do it; and

2) how they taste.

I've found I'm very curious about foods from various cultures, especially traditional foods shared during the holidays. Well, guess what? It's hard work! Oh, but I love it....don't get me wrong! So, in the midst of all this back-breaking work, I thought I'd take a slight break and try something easy. (I know, I'm a slacker!).

Oh. My. Goodness.

I couldn't have picked a better recipe! I found this recipe by Trish over at Mom on Timeout and it is super simple and super good! Not to mention, perfect for the holidays!

Need to bring something to a party and don't have a lot of time? THIS is it! It will look like you slaved over a hot stove (oven?) all day. YOU will be the HERO! Come on! Give this a try! You don't even need any fancy equipment unless you call a fork fancy....

Step 1: Gather the Ingredients

1/4 cup softened butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar
1 - 2 teaspoons peppermint extract (I ended up using 2 teaspoons to give it a good, minty flavor)
food coloring (preferably gel colors; optional)
granulated sugar (for rolling)

Step 2: Let's Get to the Mixing!

Mix the butter and corn syrup in a large bowl until well incorporated.

Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and extract and thoroughly combine. NOTE: Start with 1 teaspoon, and add 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you are satisfied with the minty flavor.

Mix in 1 more cup of powdered sugar. It will feel like you can't possibly add another cup, but you can do it! And when you're done, it will start looking like more of a dough.

Step 3: More Powdered Sugar??

Yup...more...and maybe even more after that!

Put the minty dough on a surface sprinkled with another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

Now for the fun part. Kneading!! You like kneading, right??

Knead in all that wonderful powdered sugar until you have a nice, smooth dough. You may need to add even more powdered sugar (yes, I said more) if it's still too sticky to work with. Go with me on this...really.

When you're done, you'll have a nice smooth dough to play with...er, work with.

Step 4: Let's Color!

This is an optional step, but with Christmas coming, I really loved the red and green colors that Trish used in her post, so I used some Wilton super red, and Wilton kelly green gel colors to get my intense colors. Using gel colors ensures you're not adding extra liquid to the dough. If you need to use regular water-based food coloring, you may need to add yet even more powdered sugar. (Oh My Goodness....what's with all this powdered sugar???)

Split the dough into thirds, or however many sections you need for your chosen colors.

Put a bit of coloring in each section and knead it until you have consistent color throughout.

Step 5: Time to Make the Balls

Take bits of dough and roll them into 1/2" - 1" balls. I have a set of teaspoons that includes a 1/2 tablespoon that was the perfect size for these babies. I used the 1/2 tablespoon and portioned out a few at a time.

Once you have your balls, roll them in a bowl of the granulated sugar then transfer them to a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Now, with your fancy fork, lightly flatten them to get those cool lines.

Continue doing this until you've used up all your dough.

Keep them on the lined cookie sheets for one day, then transfer them to an air-tight container.

THAT'S IT! Told ya it was easy....now go enjoy!

Merry Christmas