My daughter is a fan of chocolate.  What tweenager isn't?  Especially girl tweens.   When I broached the subject of what we should have for "dessert" on Christmas, she immediately popped up with FUDGE!  She's a big fan of fudge, too.  So, we did some research and found this recipe on Food.com.   She made it mostly herself, and it turned out spectacular.  If you like the mint and chocolate combination, you will love this.  It is super easy to make, too!

I didn't get a picture of what the fudge looked like when cut into squares. In all honesty, we cut it while everyone was here for Christmas dinner, and it was gone before I thought about taking a picture!!  It's that yummy!

  Ingredients:

• 1 12-oz bag of chocolate chips (about 2 cups worth)
• 1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk, divided
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 6 oz white candy coating
• 2-3 teaspoons peppermint extract
• green food coloring
• Assorted sprinkles, if desired

Directions:

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with wax paper, or with foil lightly greased with butter.
2. In a heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate chips with 1 cup of the sweetened condensed milk.   Stir until smooth and saucey!
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4. Spread half the melted chocolate into the pan.  Chill for at least 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in another heavy saucepan, melt the white candy with the remaining sweetened condensed milk until smooth.  Stir in peppermint and add the food coloring until it is your desired shade.
6. Spread over the chilled chocolate layer.  Put back into the fridge for another 10 minutes, or until firm.
7. Warm the remaining chocolate mixture.  Spread over the chilled mint layer.  If decorating with sprinkles, add these now.
8. Chill for at least 2 hours, or until firm.
9. Cut into squares and devour!

I have not tried it, but I am betting that the white candy layer in this could be changed to any flavor and color to suit different palates or occasions.   I would like to try it again with red coloring and maybe a cherry flavoring, perhaps for Valentine's Day. 

  I got this recipe from the Taste of Home website.   They were amazingly easy to make, and so good, I thought I wouldn't have any for Christmas day to share.  I was pretty sure my Boyfriend and Brother were going to devour them up!   Luckily, they are easy to make, so whipping up another batch wouldn't have been an issue.  They are ooey and gooey and so, well, heavenly!   I see these often in my future. 


Ingredients:

12 whole graham crackers  (yeah, I didn't use that many)
2 cups miniature marshmallow
2 cups caramel sauce  (I used the homemade sauce, which is linked.  Store-bought would be fine)
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup flaked coconut



Directions:

Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with foil. Place graham crackers in pan; cover with marshmallows.

Heat caramel over medium-low heat until smooth.   Spoon warm caramel over the marshmallows.

Sprinkle almonds and coconut evenly over top.

Bake at 350° for 14-16 minutes or until browned. Cool completely. Cut into 2-in. squares, then cut each square in half to form triangles.

  I love this mix.  It was super easy to make (once you melted the chocolate right), and can be adapted to fit ANY holiday or occasion. Simply add color!   It says you can melt the chocolate in the microwave, but this did not work for me.  It was too clumpy to drizzle.  I melted it on the stove and it was fantastic. 

For Christmas, I used Christmas themed M&Ms, and green and red food coloring.  Adapt candies and colors to suit the current holiday or theme.  One of these I saw even substitued red hots for the M&Ms!   Be creative!


Ingredients:

8 cups air popped popcorn (plain)
2 cups (approx.) pretzels (can be twists or sticks)
1/2 cup M&Ms or desired candies
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts (or any nut of choice)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate or milk chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
milk as needed
Sea salt
food coloring in desired colors
sprinkles as wanted


Directions:

  First off, I dipped my pretzels in melted chocolate and rolled them in sprinkles for added festivity.  You can do this step, or not.  It's totally up to you.  It was fun for the kids. 
  Melt chocolate over low heat on stovetop.  If using the white, you can add food coloring or leave it white.  Once melted, dip half of the pretzel into the chocolate.  Place on wax paper lined baking sheet.  If desired, cover with sprinkles.  Do this while chocolate is still sticky!  Let dry. 

Layer a wax-paper lined baking sheet with popcorn.  Sprinkle evenly with roasted nuts and candies.  Melt chocolate chips over low heat on stovetop.  I had to add a bit of milk to mine to get a thin enough consistancy to drizzle.  Drizzle over popcorn mix.  Do the same with the white chocolate, adding food coloring if desired.  Drizzle over popcorn mixture.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  If desired, add sprinkles and colored sugar. 

Once the chocolate drizzles have hardened, break the popcorn mix apart and add coated pretzels.  Store in an airtight container.

  Over the Christmas holiday, we had bought a bag of pears from Costco with the idea that we would slice them up and serve them with some homemade caramel for snacking on.  Well, that didn't happen, so here we were with a bag full of pears and in desperate need of something to do with them.  They were starting to turn, so I knew I had to bake them into something, and quick. 

 I found this recipe, which Boyfriend decided sounded perfect.  I made my attempt.  My results were less than spectacular, though the taste was alright.  Enough that he asked that I still blog it, so that next time we can tweek it a bit and hope for better results.  The biggest and most important suggestion I would make is to use fruit that is still firm and not getting soggy.  It came out very wet.  We are talking standing liquid in the pan, almost full.  While the taste was still pleasant, it isn't a very good visual. 


Ingredients:

topping:

                                       (I had the pears in this picture, and they weren't suppose to be.  My bad!)

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup canola oil

filling:

3 pounds firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

 

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350*F.   Spray an 8x8 pan lightly with cooking spray.

 

For topping:

  In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix with a fork until thoroughly and evenly moistened.  Set aside.

 

 

For filling:

  Mix all ingredients in a larger bowl.  Stir until pears are well coated. 

 

 

To assemble:

   Dump filling ingredients into prepared pan.  You can be fancy and arrange them all pretty, or just do like I did and dump them and then just make sure they all fit in there okay.   Then sprinkle the topping over top, until all the topping is used.  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until pears are tender and topping is browned. 

 

                                                                         (before baking)

 

                                                                                  (all done!)

 

  Serve hot, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream if that's your thing! 

For today's post, I am going to share with you my most raved about recipe from Christmas dinner.  For those of you who have never watched South Park, you may not find the name nearly as humorous as some of us.  They are not at all what he describes, though one of these days I'll have to try those, too...

When I was making the colored ones, I did not have enough white chips, so I used a small handful of butterscotch chips, too.  It was awesome. 

The video, by the way, is not at all appropriate for work.  Or little ears.  Or around people who might be insulted or disgusted by it.  But it's funny, because he's talking about food... but he's not...

Chocolate Salty Balls

1 1/2 C pretzels

1/2 C creamy peanut butter  (I used about a large, heaping, humongous tablespoon more...)

1 Tbsp butter, softened

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 Tbsp powdered sugar

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

For this round, I also used

white chocolate chips

red and green food colorings

and

various sprinkles

·         Crush pretzels into small bits.  I did this by putting them into a ziploc baggy and then pounding the crap out of them with a mallet.  I imagine a chopper would work, too...

·         In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and salt. Stir until all ingredients are completely blended and smooth.

·         Add pretzel bits to peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly.  Add powdered sugar and mix again.

·         Prepare a chilling tray--a dinner plate covered with waxed paper works well.

·         Take about a teaspoon of the peanut butter pretzel mixture into your fingers and gently pat it into a ball with your fingertips.  If they start to stick to your fingers too much, run your hands under some cold water.  It helps.

·         Place the peanut butter balls onto the plate. When you have rolled all the balls, place the entire plate into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

·         After the peanut butter balls have chilled, prepare your chocolate. Pour the chocolate chips into a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. If needed, microwave for another 10 seconds and stir again. Continue until the chips are completely melted, which means they stir easily into smooth, fluid chocolate with no lumps.  If wanting to do colored balls, do it the same way, but with the white chips.  Drop food coloring into it a little at a time until desired shade.   I did some of each.

·         Place one peanut butter ball into the melted chocolate and gently roll it around with a fork until completely coated. Remove from the bowl with the fork and place back on the waxed paper plate. Repeat for all other balls.

·         Once all the peanut butter balls are coated in chocolate, return the plate to the refrigerator and chill another 30 minutes.

Yesterday I got a baking bug and made another Caramel Apple Cheesecake and another Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie.   Our family is in nummy-love with those two desserts, I think.  And the kids just discovered how easy it is to make the homemade caramel.  I have a feeling I am going to have to stock up on sweetened condensed milk, butter, and brown sugar now!! 

The recipe for the gingersnap pumpkin pie calls for just one-half cup of canned pumpkin.  In my last stock-up of pumpkin, I had only bought the large 15-oz cans.  So, that left me with LOTS of pumpkin left-over.  I needed something to use up the rest of that.   Enter my daughter, who saw me baking and immediately wanted to bake, too.  I told her that we had all of this pumpkin left-over, so maybe we could find a pumpkin cookie recipe.  She eagerly agreed, so I hunted and found this one.

Well, my daughter wound up finding some unused clay while I was looking, so her baking bug left her for clay works.  I wound up making them myself.  But she thoroughly enjoyed them nonetheless- enough for me to go ahead and offer them up here!  They came out very cake-like, with a smooth pumpkin-pieish flavor to them. 

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin (mine was missing 1/2 a cup, but it didn't affect it any)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups chocolate chips (I used about half that, since I don't like a lot of chocolate chips)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F.  Lightly spray cookie sheet(s) with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips.  Beat on medium speed until well mixed.  Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by tablespoon onto prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for about 13-15 minutes or until edges begin to brown.  Cool for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. 

 I decided to bring the desserts for Thanksgiving this year.  I was mostly inspired by some absolutely to-die-for sounding recipes that I wanted to try, and seemed perfect for the occasion.  This was one of them.

The list of ingredients and directions seems long and complicated.  It took me a bit to get to this one, because of that dauntingness.  However, once broken down into the steps, it really wasn't that big of a deal.  It might have helped that I had help (thank you, Boyfriend 'O Mine)!

Let me tell you, even with all of the work- it is so worth it!  Everyone raved over this.  It went so quick I barely was able to get a piece of my own.  Boyfriend O'Mine had to grab a piece and hide it away to ensure he got a slice.   And now he wants me to make another one, and I have to say I am completely okay with that!  It's delicious. 

Ingredients:

for the crust:
1&1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
5&1/3 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2-3/4 cup caramel

for the apple filling:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

for the cheesecake:
8oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice

for the topping:
3/4 cup heavy cream
3-4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 - 1/2 cup caramel


Directions:

To make the crust:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350*F. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter.  Toss with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened and the ingredients are evenly mixed.
3. Transfer to a 9-inch round baking pan.  Press the crumbs in an even layer around the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
4. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden.  Let cool for about 10 minutes.
5. Pour a layer of caramel into the bottom and spread evenly.  Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

To make the apple filling:

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. 
2. Mix in the brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Cook for about 1 minute, or until bubbling.
3. Mix in the apple slices and toss well to coat. 
4. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until tender and most of the liquid has been reduced- about 15 minutes.
5. Let cool for a few minutes, and then pour into the prepared pie pan.   Set aside.

To make the cheesecake layer:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. 
2. Combine cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth. 
3. Mix in the vanilla, egg and lemon juice and beat until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
4. Spread evenly over the apple filling in the pie pan.
5. Bake about 30 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
6. Remove and let cool to room temperature.
7. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I let mine refrigerate overnight and did the Thanksgiving morning.

To make the topping:

1. In an eclectic mixer with whisk attachment (or, with your hand holding a whisk...), beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.  
2. Spread gently over top the cheesecake layer.
3. Drop dollops of caramel on top and swirl in.  My caramel was a little too thin, so I just drizzled it over the top, and the effect was just as pretty.

Slice and serve!


We had some of the apple filling leftover afterwards, so Boyfriend 'O Mine used them as toppings for his waffles Thanksgiving morning.  How yummy is that?!

  Another dessert item I decided to take with me for Thanksgiving were these little cookies.  Okay, they really aren't little, but they sounded interesting none-the-less.  I needed to use up that big ol' can of pumpkin I had opened, and who doesn't like snickerdoodles? 

Ingredients:

for cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1&1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2&3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons cinnamon and 3 teaspoons sugar (can be white or brown) mixed together for rolling.


for filling:
8oz cream cheese
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Directions:

for cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 400*F.
2. In a medium bowl cream sugar and butter together until fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
4. In a separate bowl stir together dry ingredients except cinnamon and extra sugar together.
5. Add to creamed mixture and combine well.
6. Chill dough for about 20-30 minutes.  (I chilled mine overnight and it was just fine)
7. Roll into tablespoon sized balls and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating evenly.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and soft. 

for filling:

1. Beat all ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth.  Adjust sugar to taste (I completely left out the white sugar). 
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  This I also refrigerated overnight with no negative consequences.

to assemble cookies:

1. Remove cream cheese mixture from refrigerator.
2. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of mixture onto the flat side of a cookie.
3. Press another cookie onto it to make a sandwich.
4. I then stored these in the fridge until we ate them!

  Pumpkin pie is a huge staple of Thanksgiving dinners.  Really- how often do you not see pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving?  It's blasphemous! 
 
  I, however, get tired of having the same thing over and over again.  It becomes mundane and boring.  When I signed up to bring a dessert, I knew that a pumpkin pie would not only be expected, but that I might very well get shot if I didn't!  Not wanting to do the same thing again though, I began searching for a twist on the traditional pie that would satisfy the family's desire for pumpkin pie, as well as my desire for something a bit out of the norm, without straying too far.

When I found this recipe, I knew it was the one.  It kept with the traditional pumpkin pie, but gave a bit more pizazz to it.  The addition of gingersnaps was just the kick I wanted.  It went over really well with everybody, and it has been requested that I make more! 

Ingredients:

1&1/2 cups finely crushed gingersnaps (about 32 cookies)
1/4 cup butter, melted
4oz cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sugar
1&1/2 cups whipped topping
1 cup cold milk
2 packages (3.4oz each) instant butterscotch pudding mix
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and butter.   Press into the bottom and up the edges of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate.  Bake at 375*F for 8-10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool.
2. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Fold in whipped topping.  Spread over crust.  The original recipe I had did not call for it, but I think at this point it needs to be refrigerated for a bit, otherwise the next step does not work very well.  Refrigerate at least until the cream cheese is somewhat set.
3. Beat milk and pudding mixes in a small bowl for 1 minute.  Stir in the pumpkin, pie spice, vanilla and cinnamon. Spread over cream cheese mixture.
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. Garnish with additional whipped topping.  I used a homemade whipped topping, and then sprinkled more crushed cookies on top.  I then evenly spaced whole cookies on top.

  A cheesecake I wanted to make for Thanksgiving called for caramel.  Well, I thought I would be snazzy and make my own at home.   When I got around to it, I realized I did not have enough of the heavy cream to make it.  Frantic, I searched for an alternative.  I knew you could make caramel using just a can of sweetened, condensed milk, however, I did not have the hours necessary to make it.   While scouring the Internet, I came across this recipe.  It still uses the sweetened condensed milk, but only takes a handful of minutes to prepare- not hours.   

It came out perfectly.  Just the right consistency and flavor.  We used what we needed for the cheesecake, and the rest we plan to use for a whole variety of things: on top of the waffles (using the leftover apple filling from said cheesecake), drizzled on top of ice cream, as dippers for apples, Boyfriend even dunked his string cheese into it to try and said it was pretty tasty! 

This recipe makes about 4 cups of sauce.

Ingredients:

2 cups brown sugar
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk (more, if needed)


Directions:

Stir sugar and condensed milk together over low to medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved..  
Add butter and vanilla.  Stir well.
Remove from heat and add milk.  Stir until well mixed and thickened.
Use immediately, or store in the fridge.

 

Is there really any better way to start off a food blog than with cheesecake?  How about Oreo cookie cheesecake?  How about Oreo cookie cheesecake cups?  Do I have your attention yet?  These little morsels are a cupcake-wrapper full of heavenly sin.  As a matter of fact, in the time it took my boyfriend to take these delicious pictures, I had devoured 3 of these bad-boys.  I will pay for that on the treadmill later, but my-oh-my are they worth it.  

  I guess this recipe is originally from one of Martha Stewart's cookbooks (go figure), but I found it here.   It is super easy to make, and absolutely divine.  I halved the recipe, and used a standard 12-cup muffin pan.  The halved recipe gave me 18 cheesecakes.  I think I may have found a new family-gathering dish.

Ingredients:

• 42 Oreo cookies (or any similar cream-filled cookie), 30 left whole and 12 crushed
• 2 pounds cream cheese (according to my math, that's 4 8-oz boxes), room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• pinch of salt

Directions:

  1.  Preheat the oven to 275*F.   Line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners.  I don't know how well this would turn out without liners.  If you try that, let me know!  Place one whole cookie at the bottom of each liner.

2.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on high speed until creamy, scraping the edges as needed.  Add sugar, and beat until combined.  Add vanilla.

3.  Add eggs a bit at a time, and beat well, again scraping sides as you go.  Add in sour cream and salt and beat until mixed.  Stir in crushed cookies by hand (well, with a big spoon or something.. I wouldn't recommend using your hands, although you'd have lots of yummy gooeyness to lick off!)

4.  Spoon cheesecake batter over cookies in cupcake pan, filling cups until they are almost full.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until cheesecake is set (it doesn't wiggle when you jiggle it).  Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Transfer to the fridge and let set for about 4 more hours or more.  I highly recommend you go find something outside to do during this time, since the anticipation can be insane!

5.  Devour.