Mini Leaf Christmas Trees Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line 18x14-inch cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper.
• Cut each cheese stick into 4 pieces to make 64 pieces. Separate each can of dough into 8 biscuits. Separate each biscuit into 2 layers for a total of 32 biscuit rounds. Flatten each biscuit round into 4-inch circle.
• Place 2 pieces of the same type of cheese on center of each round. Fold edges up and over cheese; pinch firmly to seal. Using photo as a guide, place biscuits randomly by assorted cheeses, seam sides down and next to each other in a tree-shaped pattern on cookie sheet, starting with trunk and working up to the top.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds or until melted. Stir in garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Brush mixture on tops of biscuits. Bake 29 to 33 minutes or until golden brown and biscuits are no longer doughy in center.
• Top with chives. In small microwavable bowl, microwave pizza sauce covered on High 60 to 90 seconds, stirring halfway through, until warmed through. Serve cheese-stuffed biscuits with pizza sauce.

Steps:

• For the popcorn garland: Thread 10 feet of unflavored, unwaxed dental floss through a sewing needle. Knot one end of the floss. Thread the needle through the softer part of each piece of popcorn, avoiding the harder shell. (Threading through the shell may cause the popcorn to break.) Slip off the needle and knot the other end of the floss to make a popcorn string.
• For the pepper garland: Poke a hole in one side of a pepper with a chopstick about 1/2 inch from the stem end, taking care not to pierce through the other side of the pepper. Twist the stick to slightly widen the hole. Repeat with the remaining peppers.
• Mix together the goat cheese, thyme, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl until combined. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with an 1/8-inch round tip. Carefully pipe the cheese filling into each pepper through the hole; do not overstuff the peppers or they may split. Refrigerate until ready to use. (This step can be done a day ahead.)
• Separate the kale into small, medium and large leaves. Using the largest leaves, start at the bottom of a 24-by-6-inch Styrofoam cone and begin to cover the cone with the leaves stem-end up. Overlap each leaf slightly and secure with a toothpick through the widest part of the stem, leaving about 1/2 inch of the toothpick showing. Work your way up the cone in rows, going from the larger leaves to the smaller leaves and overlapping the leaves and rows slightly, until only about 1 row of the cone remains exposed. To make the last row, position the kale leaves stem-end down, forming the top of the tree and covering the tip of the cone. Cover any thin areas or exposed Styrofoam with the remaining leaves. Chill until ready to decorate.
• Cut twenty 18-inch-long pieces of narrow decorative ribbon. Tie each piece around the stem of a pepper in a secure knot.
• Wind a 12-foot-piece of wider decorative ribbon around the tree, starting at the bottom and working your way up. Attach a pepper to the wider ribbon on the tree using the narrow ribbon to tie a decorative bow, so the pepper dangles from the wider ribbon (it should be secure but also be easy to untie and remove). Continue with the remaining peppers, spacing them about 6 inches apart on the wider ribbon. As you're working, hook each pepper bow to a toothpick end for support, adding additional toothpicks if necessary, until the tree is covered on all sides with the peppers. Decorate with the popcorn strand. Carefully transfer to a gold foil-covered 12-inch cake plate.

Steps:

• Place egg white in a bowl & beat in enough icing sugar to give a stiff spreadable consistency, cover icing with a damp cloth.
• Stack 3 cones together using a little icing between each, repeat with remaining cones.
• Starting at the base of the cone spread icing over 1/3 cone and place a row of mint leaves around the base, overlapping the 1st layer.
• Spread remaining cone with icing & continue arranging rows of mint leaves around the cone until about 6 or 7 rows are formed leaving a little space at the top.
• Repeat this procedure with remaining cones, icing & leaves.
• Cover top with silver cachous & sprinkle with a little extra icing sugar.

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, melt butter. Stir in marshmallows; cook and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat; stir in cereal and pecans. Let cool just enough to handle. , With greased hands, shape into trees. (Work quickly, as the cereal hardens quickly and becomes difficult to form.) Roll in green sugar. If desired, decorate with sprinkles. Place on a serving tray; dust with confectioners' sugar.