How was your Christmas Day? Ours was very quiet although we did manage a lovely video call with our daughter and her family in the UK. We still had the full turkey dinner, even though there were only two of us. There’s also plenty of leftovers so we won’t starve over the next few days. We also ate far too much chocolate especially since my friend Liz introduced me to the most amazing chewy chocolate bites. I loved them so much I simply had to make some for myself with a little tweak to the recipe.

FIRST THE BOX

Before I eat them all, these chewy chocolate bites would make a great gift, so I thought I should decorate a Mini Pizza Box to put them in.

I began by creating the background layer for the top of the box from Cinnamon Cider Card. I placed the card into the Tin Tile 3D Embossing Folder so the pattern was centred. Then I ran it through my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine, before gluing the card to the lid of the box.

Next I took some Cinnamon Cider Card and fixed some Adhesive Sheet to the back. Then I cut out the word “chocolate” using a die from the Love You More Than Dies set.

After pulling out the coordinating Nothing’s Better Than Stamp Set I chose “today is a ” and “kind of day” sentiments. Then using Cinnamon Cider ink I stamped “kind of day ” in the bottom right corner of a strip of Very Vanilla Card.

Next I peeled the backing off the die-cut ‘chocolate’ and fixed in onto the Very Vanilla strip at a slight angle. With that done I then stamped the “today is a” sentiment in the space above.

To complete the box decoration I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to fix the sentiment onto a piece of Brushed Metallic Cardstock. Then I simply mounted the assembled layers onto the embossed background using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE BITES

These chocolates are seriously yummy, however they have a chewy texture that makes them last longer than many other treats. I’m not a great baker but even I managed to make these, although I got bored with all the measuring. So here’s what I actually used and did to make them…

INGREDIENTS – 1 bag each of Hershey’s Chipits in Butterscotch (300g), Reese Peanut Butter (300g) and Milk Chocolate (270g). Plus a 350g bag of Joe’s Kettle Cooked Salted Peanuts, and a 200g bag of Great Value (Walmart) Regular Rippled Potato Chips.

METHOD – First empty the three bags of Chipits into a large bowl and microwave for 2-3 minutes until they are melted. I checked the chocolate a couple of times and stirred it to speed up the melting process. Meanwhile, chop up the peanuts into small pieces in a food processor. Then crush the potato chips into tiny pieces. Once the chocolate is totally melted add the peanuts and potato chips and stir well. Finally put about a teaspoon of the mixture into mini cupcake cases and chill until firm.

This recipe made 10 dozen bites with a few extra for taste testing. After all I wouldn’t dream of offering these to anyone without checking them first! They are quite sweet, which I suppose is good as you can’t eat too many. However I plan to try this recipe again but next time will use semi-sweet chocolate chips rather than milk chocolate ones. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Well that’s all from me for today. We’re planning to have another quiet day at home. Whatever you’re doing, I hope you’re able to take a little time for yourself.

For other projects using the Nothing’s Better Than Stamp Set and coordinating dies, see these earlier blog posts:

• Today’s plan – make a Christmas fridge magnet
• Cookie, biscuit or HobNob?
• Banner’s for today’s sneak peek
• Today’s plan may involve chocolate

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Nothing’s Better Than Stamp Set and coordinating Love You More Than Dies using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included both options below in case you want to explore this further.

GOING AWAY BUT NOT RETIRING – The Brushed Metallic Cardstock used today will disappear after January 4th. It’s not retiring though, but will be available again in the July to December 2021 Mini Catalogue. However if you want it before July please remember to order by January 4th.