This gallery contains 2 photos.
I had heard of it, but hadn’t yet seen, much less entertained the though of it. I mean it brings …
You put WHAT in my Fudge?
18 Sunday Sep 2011
Posted in Baking, Candy, Dessert, Postaweek2011, Recipes
Tag Archives: Candy
Grad Pops!
05 Sunday Jun 2011
Posted in Cakes & Pies, Candy, Dessert, Postaweek2011, Recipes
Tags
Cakes & Pies, Candy, Dessert, Easy, Party Cakes, Postaweek2011, Recipes
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Congratulations to all of the 2011 Graduates… and especially to my awesome favorite “oldest neice” who graduated from high school …
Oreo Truffle Hearts
15 Tuesday Feb 2011
Posted in Candy, Cookies, Dessert, Postaweek2011, Recipes
Tags
Candy, Chocolate, Cookies, Cream Cheese, Dessert, Easy, Oreo Truffles, Postaweek2011, Recipes
Oreo Truffles are no secret to the food blog world, especially with Valentine’s day, but hey, I liked how these turned out, so why not post on them! Besides, it will ensure I get my post a week in… (LOL). This is your classic 3 ingredient truffle made with cream cheese, Oreos and candy coating. I would say it is pretty user-friendly. After I combined the first two ingredients I rolled level tablespoon spheres (I hate the other word) and placed them in the freezer to harden. Then I used a small heart-shaped fondant cutter resulting in these cute, one-bite heart truffles. I will post the recipe just in case you don’t know it.
P.S. I really don’t care for Valentine’s Day. It is so commercialized and a financial rip off, but I have three kids and I don’t want to be a Valentine Scrooge…
Oreo Truffle Hearts
adapted from, well anywhere.com
Ingredients:
- 1 package double stuff cookies (less about 10)
- 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
- Candy Coating for melting
Directions:
Finely crush the Oreo cookies (a food processor is ideal here) and combine with cream cheese until well blended. Roll into desired shape and size and refrigerate or freeze until hardened.
Melt candy coating according to package directions, dip and let the coating dry before indulging.
Sweets to Celebrate the Playoffs…
08 Saturday Jan 2011
Sadly, our home team will not see the NFL playoffs… again, at least not from field level. Actually, I really don’t care much about NFL football, I am more a high school and college fan. I just can’t appreciate the site of grown men running around knocking each other down. That is not the point of this post however…. Have you ever had a Oreo Truffle? They are an easy, three ingredient candy that is rather difficult to screw up. They can be easily adapted for different affairs. I’ve seen them at birthday parties, baby and wedding showers and holiday events.
This “adaptation” fits right in with the ongoing playoffs and would be a great addition to your Superbowl party. You could even choose candy melts in your teams colors for dipping. I didn’t have any colored melts, just some chocolate bark. Shaping them like football’s makes an unbiased candy that can be enjoyed by both teams.
Classic Oreo Truffles (original recipe from Kraftfoods.com)
Ingredients:
- 1 package Oreo cookies (originals)
- 1 (8 ounce) package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
- Dipping chocolate: Milk Chocolate and White
Directions:
Finely crush the Oreos and mix with the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 1-inch balls*. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, then remove and shape into oval football shapes. Return to fridge until the chocolate is ready for dipping.
Melt the dipping chocolate according to the package directions and dip the balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Refrigerate 1 hour or until the chocolate has set. Melt white chocolate and pipe on as pictured. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.
*I used my food processor to both crush the Oreo’s and to combine with the cream cheese. The Kraft recipe doesn’t call for them to be refrigerated, but this is helpful in keeping the shape and setting the chocolate.
Bakerella Pays a Visit!
13 Monday Dec 2010
Posted in Baking, Cakes & Pies, Candy, Dessert, Recipes
Tags
Ok, maybe not in person, but Bakerella’s Cake Pops book made its first, and definitely not last, appearance in the kitchen. I actually received my book the day it was released but had not had a chance to create anything from it. I’ve made cake pops before, but some of her creations are just amazing.
Well, this past Saturday my daughter and I went looking for Christmas gifts for her friends. You know, even dollar stores will set you back when it comes to presents… then we had this wise idea to prepare sweets for them… namely, cake pops! We were just going to do a “plain old” pop, then I saw how easy the trees would be. Now granted, our last-minute decision didn’t allow me to find all the necessary decor, so we improvised. I still thing they turned out great. My daughter did the majority of the work, I just dipped the pops in the candy coating. We tweaked the shaping slightly too, but without Cake Pops, there wouldn’t have been anything.
They are just slightly tedious, but we completed 48 of them in about 90 minutes. Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we did seeing the real thing. Check out the link to her site or pick up one of her books, you won’t be bored, I promise!
Caramel Popcorn, Quick & Easy
10 Tuesday Aug 2010
Tags
Summer break is, unfortunately, coming to an end… not summer mind you, just the break. Here in Florida, I anticipate weeks more of summer weather, ugh. I spent my summer working at a week-long camp about an hour from my home. My job position has taken on many more hats which have come to include working in the kitchen. I enjoy this, as I grew around food and catering… but don’t let anyone tell you it’s easy. I worked my butt off. Each week we served about 12 meals to an average of 100+ people.
For fun, here’s the breakdown of the baked goods I prepared this summer: 925 Cinnamon Rolls, 1,049 Blueberry Muffins, 1,502 Carnival Cookies, 216 Banana Nut Muffins, 432 Double Chocolate Muffins, 320 Chocolate Chip Cookies and 60 Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies.
It truly has been an interesting summer! So, to commemorate the excitement (or lack thereof) of returning to school (and work), make some caramel popcorn, pop open a cold Coke (Zero) and stand in line for school supplies. So long Summer 2010!
Easy Microwave Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients:
- 10 cups popcorn, air popped or 1 microwave bag
- 1/3 cup butter, unsalted
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Place popcorn in a large microwave-safe glass bowl, set aside.
In another glass bowl, microwave the butter until melted, about 45 seconds. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Microwave on high until mixture boils, 1 to 3 minutes, stirring once, then on high for 3 minutes without stirring. Remove bowl and stir in soda and vanilla.
Pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn and stir until most of the popcorn is coated. Microwave on 70% power for 1 minute. Remove and stir, then microwave at 70% for 1 more minute. Remove and stir again to coat popcorn evenly. Pour popcorn onto wax paper and cool completely, about ten minutes. Break apart and serve, or store in an airtight container.
You can add nuts or candy coated chocolate if desired. Add nuts with the popcorn before coating with the caramel.
Note: Add-ins such as M&M’s or chocolate morsels can be added, however if “melt-able”, add at the very end, or risk a big blob!
If you are using chocolate, add it just before pouring on cooling sheet…or you will have a big melted blob.
Enjoy! Makes about 10 servings, about 1 cup each.
Caramel Pecan Logs
25 Friday Dec 2009
Posted in Cakes & Pies, Candy, Dessert, Recipes
Tags
Two things brought on this recipe. One was the fact a friend gave me 4 quart size bags of fresh picked Georgia pecans. The second, being that I had to find something to do with 4 quart size bags of fresh picked Georgia pecans! So, amongst the millions of choices, I went with two holiday favorites. Pecan pie and one of my brother’s favorites, pecan logs.
I have never made a homemade pecan pie before, I have only cheated and bought a prepared Cracker Barrel pie (which is quite good, by the way). I searched several million sites for a recipe and narrowed it down. My final decision was based on the syrup used in the recipe. I bought some Lyle’s Golden Syrup from World Market and had yet to use it. So this recipe was perfect. Check out the link for the entire recipe and a great blog… **post with pics to follow**
The other recipe I chose, the pecan logs, was a first too. Like I said, my brother really likes these rolls. Anytime we eat out at Cracker Barrel, I am pretty sure he buys one. I found this Taste of Home Recipe while just browsing a cookbook and went with it. It IS a winner! It really was not difficult and just slightly time consuming. Oh, and I burnt my fingers a couple of times on the candy and the caramel, so be careful. By the way, this candy is VERY sweet, so you don’t need much to satisfy!
Enjoy the pictures and if you choose to prepare either recipe, enjoy. Merry Christmas!
Holiday Pecan Logs (A Taste of Home Recipe)
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons plus 1/2 cup butter, softened, divided
- 3-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 package (14 ounces) caramels
- 1 tablespoon milk or half-and-half cream
- 2 cups chopped pecans
Directions:
Butter an 8-in. square pan with 2 teaspoons butter; set aside. Combine confectioners sugar and milk powder; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, sugar and corn syrup; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Stir in confectioners’ sugar mixture, about a third at a time, until blended.
Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Continue stirring until the mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. Spread into prepared pan. Cool. *Let it cool enough to handle, but not completely, or you will have to re-heat it.
Cut candy into four strips; cut each strip in half. Shape each into a log; wrap in waxed paper and twist ends. Freeze or refrigerate until firm.
Meanwhile, in a microwave, melt caramels with milk, stirring often. *Heat for 3 minutes, stirring every minute. You will have to reheat it a few times too. logs in caramel mixture, then in pecans. Wrap in waxed paper. Store at room temperature in airtight containers. Cut into slices with a serrated knife. Yield: about 3-1/4 pounds.
*Suggestions:
- Make sure you roll the candy while it is still warm. I waited until the candy was completely cool before rolling and it was hard as a rock. I heated it in the microwave for just about 30 seconds and it was then easy to roll.
- Use a medium to large sized bowl to heat the caramels. Cover the roll with caramel but leave the ends open. Once you have covered the sides with pecans, dip the ends in the caramel then dip in the pecans. Otherwise you have nothing to hold on to and your precious fingers will burn!
Whole lotta Peepin going on…
10 Friday Apr 2009
I couldn’t get enough peeps… so today I bought more peeps, and more chocolate. I was able to find more bunny colors too, like yellow, green, pink and orange.
Instead of placing sprinkles on these, I left the chocolate plain… and was able to temper the chocolate a little better too, leaving a shiny smooth coating. Finally, I melted some white chocolate and replaced their eyes. This is such a fun and easy project. With one more day before Easter, you must try it.
Peep Show?
09 Thursday Apr 2009
I grew up on Peeps… except when I was a kid, Easter was the only time you could find them. Now, there seems to be one (or 2, or 3) for every holiday… and in cool colors and flavors too! All I remember were pink chicks and yellow bunnies.
Scattered about the internet are billions (ok, maybe not that many) uses for Marshmallow Peeps. Some of these include turning the sweet little chicks into road kill, others do cool things like this:
So whatever your “Peep Fancy” is, have a great Easter!
Chocolate Dipped Peeps on a Stick!
Ingredients:
- Lots of peeps
- Lots of dipping chocolate
- Lots of candy sticks (or craft sticks)
- Hot water, or a microwave
- An endless imagination
Directions:
Do you really need any? Enjoy!!!
Pronto Popcorn, Caramel Style
04 Wednesday Feb 2009
Caramel Corn Pronto!
Translate – Caramel Popcorn, quick and easy. 
I love to eat popcorn. My kids say that I bleed popcorn and diet coke, funny, probably true though. When I like to “switch things up a bit”, I make caramel popcorn. It is so much better than your store bought candied corn, and better for you too. I can control what popcorn is used, and how much butter and sugar is added, plus it is fresh.
Caramel Popcorn can sometimes be a long and tedious snack. Not difficult, but time consuming, as most recipes call for baking at a low temperature for about an hour. Enter, the microwave. This microwave caramel popcorn will get you the sweet snack in under fifteen minutes – start to finish. I found the recipe at the Jolly Time Popcorn site. Jolly time is one of my favorite microwave popcorn brands.
If you are short on time, and looking for a great, lighter, treat, try this one. I made this batch for a superbowl party this last Sunday. I made over 50 servings worth in under an hour. It was awesome.
Microwave Caramel Popcorn, Fast!
Ingredients:
- 10 cups popcorn, air popped or 1 microwave bag
- 1/3 cup butter, unsalted
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Nuts or Candy Coated Chocolate (optional)
Directions:
Place popcorn in a large microwave-safe glass bowl, set aside.
In another glass bowl, microwave the butter until melted, about 45 seconds. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Microwave on high until mixture boils, 1 to 3 minutes, stirring once, then on high for 3 minutes without stirring. Remove bowl and stir in soda and vanilla.
Pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn and stir until most of the popcorn is coated. Microwave on 70% power for 1 minute. Remove and stir, then microwave at 70% for 1 more minute minute. Remove and stir again to coat popcorn evenly. Pour popcorn onto wax paper and cool completely, about ten minutes. Break apart and serve, or store in an airtight container.
You can add nuts or candy coated chocolate if desired. Add nuts with the popcorn before coating with the caramel. If you are using chocolate, add it just before pouring on cooling sheet…or you will have a big melted blob.
Enjoy! Makes about 10 servings, about 1 cup each.
