Bacon Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Ahh, bacon, you magical thing! This was a little appetizer I made inspired by a recipe from Kraft. The original recipe has a few more ingredients including parmesan cheese which I didn't have. We didn't really notice though, it was yummy and pretty easy to make!

BACON CREAM CHEESE PINWHEELS

INGREDIENTS:
8 slices bacon, chopped
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teapoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent roll dough


DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small frypan cook bacon over medium heat, stirring frequently until browned and crisp. Drain and set aside.

2. In a small bowl combine cream cheese and milk until well combined. Stir in salt, garlic powder, basil and black pepper.

3. Open can of crescent roll dough and unroll flat. Divide into 4 sections (2 triangles of dough each) and pinch diagonal seams together to make a 4 single sheets of rectangular dough. Spread cream cheese mixture over sheets dough, stopping 1/4 inch from edges. Sprinkle evenly with cooked bacon bits. Starting with one end of each rectangle, roll dough into logs, pressing end seam against logs of dough to seal. Cut into pinwheels approximately 1/4 inch thick. Arrange pinwheels flat on a baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.

White Chocolate Pretzel Bark

Damn you Paula Deen! How dare you show a fragile pregnant woman a vat of salty/sweet white chocolate bark, hence triggering a craving that forces her to the grocery store to buy the ingredients to make your recipe! This is a recipe adapted from Paula Deen's Pretzel Peanut Bark. I adjusted the ingredients slightly and added M&M candies. It's a nice combination of salty, sweet, smooth and crunchy.

WHITE CHOCOLATE PRETZEL BARK

INGREDIENTS:
2 (11 oz) bags white chocolate chips
4 cups pretzel sticks, broken but not crushed
2 cups salted peanuts
2 (3.14 oz) bags plain milk chocolate M&Ms

DIRECTIONS:

1. Using a double boiler, melt white chocolate chips until smooth, stirring often.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine melted white chocolate, pretzel sticks, peanuts and M&Ms. Stir until well coated. Pour out onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread evenly across pan. Allow to cool completely before breaking into bite sized chunks.