Chocolate Covered Orange Balls

"A friend gave me this recipe at a cookie exchange party in 1981. I won a 2nd place in a cookie contest with this recipe. It's a GREAT holiday cookie!"  Original recipe yield: 3 dozen.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound confectioners' sugar
1 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers, crushed
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 pound butter
1 (6 ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 1/2 pounds milk chocolate, melted

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine the confectioners sugar, vanilla wafers, walnuts, butter and orange juice. Mix well and shape into 1 inch round balls; allow to dry for 1 hour.
Place chocolate chips in top of double boiler. Stir frequently over medium heat until melted.
Dip balls into melted chocolate and place in decorative paper cups.

Chocolate Covered Peppermint Patties

"These cool peppermint patties are made with mashed potatoes."  Original recipe yield: 4 dozen.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
8 cups confectioners' sugar
8 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons shortening

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, mix together the potatoes, salt, butter, and peppermint extract. Gradually mix in confectioners' sugar; mix in enough to make a workable dough, between 6 and 8 cups.

Knead slightly, and roll into cherry-size balls. Flatten balls to form patties. Arrange on sheets of wax paper, and allow to dry overnight.

Place chocolate and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Dip patties in melted chocolate, and let cool on wax paper.

Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

"Ridged potato chips are dipped into tempered milk chocolate for an elegant treat that everyone will enjoy. This recipe also works for pretzels, popcorn and any kind of nut."  Original recipe yield: 1 pound.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound high quality milk chocolate, chopped
8 cups ridged potato chips

DIRECTIONS:

Place about 3/4 of the chocolate into a heat safe bowl, and place over the top of a pan of simmering water. If you have a double boiler, use that. Heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted, then continue to heat the chocolate to 110 degrees F (43 degrees C), stirring occasionally. You may use a meat thermometer if your candy thermometer does not go that low.

As soon as the melted chocolate reaches temperature, remove it from the heat, and stir in the remaining chopped chocolate until melted. Continue stirring until the chocolate has cooled to 90 degrees F (32 degrees C). Touching a dab of chocolate to your lip will feel cool.

Use tongs to dip potato chips one at a time into the chocolate. Place on waxed paper starting at the point farthest from you and working your way in so as not to drip on your finished chips. Cool until set. You may refrigerate if you like.