Super Easy Candy Cane Hearts

So let's face it, it's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but it's hard to find the time to sit back and enjoy the season with all of the baking and shopping and decorating?  Here's a quickie sweet treat that I made with the kiddos.  They're super fast to make and super adorable (because they're hearts).

What you need:
Mini Candy Canes
Chocolates or Melting Candies
Sprinkles
Wax Paper

Step One: Unwrap the candy canes (ok, so this part is a little time consuming)
Step Two: Place them into a heart shape on a piece of wax paper.
Step Three:  Melt your chocolates in the microwave.  Be careful not burn!
Step Four: Fill the hearts and add sprinkles if you want.  Let them cool.

 

Serve them on a plate or wrap them in Christmas cellophane bags

 

 

Pumpkin Truffles

Pumpkin Truffles
Makes 18-24

1 C White Chocolate plus 3 C for Dipping

2/3 C Ground Gingersnap Cookies plus 1/3 C for Sprinkling on Top
2/3 C Pure Pumpkin Puree
1 ½ T Maple Syrup
1 Orange, Zest Only
4 Oz Softened Cream Cheese
½ t Cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
 

Melt 1 cup of white chocolate over a double boiler water bath.  *You can try the microwave, but white chocolate can be temperamental and needs to be watched. Add everything else except reserve the 3 cups of white chocolate and 1/3 cup of cookie crumbles.

 

 

Chill them for about 1 ½ hours.  Using an ice cream scoop or teaspoon, portion out the truffles.  Put them onto a wax paper lines sheet tray and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Melt the remaining white chocolate over a double boiler.  Line a sheet pan with wax paper. The truffles are a little soft, so rather than dip them into the chocolate, set it on a fork and spoon the chocolate over the top. It’s hard to coat the bottom of the truffles, so you may want to spoon a small dot of chocolate on the paper. Then put a coated truffle on top of each dot.  Sprinkle them with gingersnap crumbles and chill until ready to eat.

*Almond Bark may be easier for dipping than the white chocolate.

 

 

 

Bacon Brownies

Bacon Brownies

8 Oz Bacon

8 Oz plus 2 Oz Semi-Sweet Chocolte Chips

4 Eggs

1 T Vanilla

½ C Bacon Fat

1 C Sugar

½ C plus 1 ½ T Maple Syrup

Cracked Pepper

¾ C Flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a small glass oven proof dish or brownie pan with parchment paper.

Cook the bacon, and reserve ½ of the fat for the recipe.  Set aside 4 pieces of the bacon.  Finely chop the remaining bacon.

Melt 8 oz chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and ½ cup of maple syrup. Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the chocolate mixture. Stir in the bacon, bacon fat, vanilla, and a pinch of pepper. Lastly, fold in the flour. Pour into the pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

Melt 2 oz of chocolate and drizzle it over the top of the brownies.

Rough chop the remaining 4 slices of cooked bacon.  Heat a saute pan and cook the bacon with 1 ½ T maple syrup.  Let it bubble and carmelize for a few minutes.  Add some cracked pepper.  Spoon out evenly over the top of the cooked brownie and let it cool.

These were so decadent that I cut them into small pieces for serving. They are great served with a dark beer, red wine, or a glass of milk. Enjoy!

Boozy Irish Treats

 

 

Guinness Brownies with Irish Cream Cheese Swirl

For the Brownie Batter:

1 C Flour

¾ C Cocoa Powder

¼ t Salt

7 T Unsalted Butter, Softened

2 ¾ C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (about 12 oz)

4 Eggs

1 C Sugar

1 12 Oz Bottle of Guinness Extra Stout (open ahead of time, room temperature)

For the Swirl:

8 Oz Cream Cheese (soften at room temperature)

½ C Sugar

½ C Irish Cream Liqueur

1 Egg

1 T Vanilla

Pinch of Salt

5 T Flour

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a  9X13 pan.  Shake out any extra flour.

 

Beat the eggs and sugar.  Add in the butter.
 

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler.  Slowly add it onto the egg mixture along with the beer.

 

Mix the dry ingredients together and add them to the batter.

Pour ¾ of the mixture into the pan.  Set the rest side. * Feel free to make this recipe without the cream cheese swirl. Baking time would decrease by about 15 minutes.

 

Mix the sugar and cream cheese together.  Add the remaining ingredients, except the flour, until well blended.  Add the flour; pour it into the pan on top of the brownie batter.  Spoon out the remaining brownie batter in about 4 separate spits on top.  Take a knife and swirl the batters together.

 

 

Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

 

*I do want to warn you that the booze doesn’t totally cook out. It shouldn’t get you drunk, but I wouldn’t recommend serving this to children.

 

 

 

In 1759 Authur Guinness opened up his brewery called St. James's Gate in Dublin Ireland. In 1914, it was the largest brewery at the time and now is the largest stout brewery.  The main product is Guinness Drought, a dark stout beer with a thick creamy head. Did you know tht there are over 13 varieties of Guinness? Draught, Extra Stout, Bitter, Malta, and Red, to name a few. Guinness Extr Stout is one of my favorite beers because of it's thick, rich flavor. It makes a great beer for cooking and baking.

 

Guinness Float

 

 

1 12 Oz Bottle of Guinness Extra Stout

1 Shot of Brandy

Several Scoops of Ice Cream (vanilla, chocolate, coffee, or caramel)

 

 

 

Push Pops!

I remember being a kid and loving a frozen push pop on a hot summer day. We’ll they’re back!  They’re a little different though. Wilton is now carrying a washable plastic push pop holder and the trend is to fill them with all kinds of sweets like cakes, brownies, puddings, and frostings.  I found my push pops dispenser at a craft store and of course used one of those online coupons that they always have. Since its St Patty’s Day time, I thought that I’d go a little Irish with my recipes. 

 

Irish Coffee Push Pop

Makes 6

8 Oz Cream Cheese, Softened

¼ C Powdered Sugar

½ C Irish Cream Liqueur

Vanilla Wafers (about 30)

1 C Strong Brewed Coffee

½ C Whipped Cream

¼ C Chopped Semi-Sweet Chocolate

 

Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and Irish cream together in a mixer.

 

Dip a wafer in the coffee and put it in the bottom.  Spoon about 1T of the cream cheese mix on top.  Layer about 5 times.  Top with whipped cream and chocolate.  The bottom stand is also a cap, so you can store them covered in the refrigerator.  These are good refrigerated or frozen.

 

 

Minty Grasshopper Push Pops

Makes 6

About 3 Large Brownies or Chocolate Cake

5 Oz Marshmallows (about half a bag)

¼ C Milk

1/3 C Whipping Cream (plus ½ C whipped cream for topping)

½ C Cream de Mint Liqueur

 

Melt the marshmallows and milk in the microwave or in a double boiler. Set it aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

Whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold in the cream de mint.  Fold in the marshmallow mixture. It will be very runny, so put it into the freezer for about 45 minutes to an hour. It won’t set completely but will be easier to work with.  There were a few tiny holes in the bottom of the push pops that I have.

Put your brownies or cake into the push pop.  Pour the mint cream on top.  Top it off with whipped cream, cover and freeze.  Serve frozen.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Bark

Feel like making something quick and easy this Christmas? Barks are about as easy as it gets.  All you need is melted chocolate or almond bark and some of your favorite toppings. So why is it called bark anyway? Well, it starts as a thin layer of delicious chocolaty goodness that gets broken into rough pieces which is supposed to resemble tree bark.

There are no recipes for this post, so you'd better not pout! I'm telling you to get creative!  The most popular bark at Christmas would be to crush candy canes into melted almond bark or white chocolate.  I have taken it a step further and melted chocolate in a very thin layer and chill for bout 3 minutes.  You'll want to prepare it on a wax paper lined cookie sheet for easy clean up and the breaking of the bark.

Then you carefully spread the melted almond bark or white chocolate.  Be careful not to mix the two. For most barks, I would suggest that you mix some of the flavorings in and some on the top. With this one, you shouldn't. It's too risky that you'll mix the two chocolates together.  Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top and let it cool.  Break it apart and give it out to your friends and family! Below is the candy cane bark and also one that I made with crushed old fashioned Christmas candies and semi-sweet chocolate.

Other ideas include trail mix with milk chocolate, dried cranberries with pistachios and white chocolate, and candied orange peel with crystallized ginger and dark chocolate.

You can also get a little crazy like I did last year.  I did the base just like the candy cane bark above. Then instead of candy, I crushed pink peppercorns.  I know it sounds weird to the average housewife, but my foodie housewives and I loved it!

Enjoy!

The Bûche de Noël

The Bûche de Noël, also known as Yule Log, is a traditional French pastry that is served during the Christmas holiday season. It’s considered a jelly roll which is made from genoise or sponge cake and is typically filled with buttercream or preserves. It then gets shaped into a log and frosted with chocolate buttercream frosting.  Many times a log pattern is made into it by hand or with a special log pattern tool that you can find in a hardware store.  You can garnish it with meringue or marzipan mushrooms, holly, ribbons, berries, or anything else that reminds you of the French woodland forests. There are many recipe combinations for your Bûche de Noël.  Usually the yellow sponge cake remains the same in all logs.  The frosting should be chocolate for its log-like color, but there are also recipes where you would pour ganache over it or you can make a mocha buttercream.  The filling is an area for you to have fun with.  Traditionally the filling is the same chocolate buttercream that is on the outside, but that’s not very exciting for an inquisitive housewife to make. For mine I made a chocolate mousse and spread raspberry preserves on the inside. Try a layer of preserves like raspberry, orange, or apricot. For the buttercream, try flavoring it with espresso, citrus zest, eggnog, or berries.  You could even brush a little brandy or other liqueur on the cake before rolling it up. 

The name Bûche de Noël means “Christmas Log”.  So why did people in the 19^th century originally decide to make a cake resembling an actual log? Real Yule Logs (that come from trees) are linked to a long lived tradition of burning a log during winter solstice as a symbol of rebirth. Later it was burned to represent the light of the Holy Spirit. This tradition was not only in France, but in many countries like Ireland, Greece, and Scandinavia. The logs were decorated with ribbons, berries, and greens which resembles the Bûche de Noël. The French would burn yule logs on the fire on Christmas Eve. Napoleon Bonaparte issued a proclamation that the people of Paris had to close their chimneys during the winter months to stop the spread of illnesses. Since they couldn’t burn their logs the French had to find another way to celebrate. During this period the Bûche de Noël was born.

                                                                                                      

Bûche de Noël

                                                                                                                                      

Sponge Cake:

4 Eggs

½ C Sugar

1 C Flour

Pinch of Salt

2 T Unsalted Butter, Melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the eggs and sugar for several minutes until it reaches ribbon stage.  This is where it gets whipped up so much that when you move the whisk, a “ribbon” of the egg mix lightly sits on top of it.  Carefully fold in the remaining ingredients except the butter with a spatula. Pour the butter in slowly and fold that in s well.

I lined a large restaurant grade sheet pan with parchment paper.  If you use something of this size I would make this recipe 1 ½ times.  When I made mine it was a little thin and as you’ll see in the pictures it cracked a little.  If you use a 9x13 cake pan, your log will be a little shorter but will have a perfect amount of batter for the above recipe.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done.

Chocolate Mousse:

16 Oz Heavy Whipping Cream

6 Oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Melted

Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. 

Now here’s the tricky part, the chocolate will seize if you don’t do this quickly.  Rather than a smooth mousse, you’ll have whipped cream with chocolate chunks in it.  Take about a third of the whipped cream into a bowl and very quickly mix in about half of the chocolate.  Add the remaining chocolate to that mix.  Then fold it in with the rest of the whipped cream.  Let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
3 ½ C Powdered Sugar (sift if clumpy)
1 C Cocoa Powder
12 T Unsalted Butter
½ C Milk, Room Temp
1 T Vanilla

Mix the butter with a paddle. Add the remaining ingredients.

Assembling the Log

You will also need a 10 oz jar of Raspberry Jam

 

Peel the paper off of your cake to loosen but then make sure that it’s on the bottom of your cake.  Spread out a thin layer of the jam over the entire cake.  Spread out the chocolate mousse about a centimeter thick (recipe may have leftover) making sure to leave about ½ of space at the top of the cake.  This is just in case the mouse starts to squeeze out the top. 

Then roll it from the bottom to the top.  Use your paper to help you roll it up if needed.  Either use this shape as the log, or slice an angled piece off of one end and attach it to the side to make it more "log-like".

Frost your log with the chocolate butter cream.  This recipe with give you plenty of frosting so you will most likely have extra.  Use a toothpick or a fork to create a wood grain pattern.

Decorate it with holly, ribbons, meringue mushrooms or marzipan mushrooms.  I took prepared marzipan and shaped it into different sized mushrooms.  Then I took red dye with a little water and painted the tops of them.  With the others I took cocoa powder with a little water and painted the tops with my finger. 

You could also dip the tops in melted chocolate.  If you want to cheat, at Christmas time many stores carry already prepared marzipan characters and mushrooms that you could use. 

Have a Cool Yule!

Valentine's Sweets for your Sweetie

Valentine Heart Boxes

Like many of my do it yourself craft projects, I leave a lot of the imagination up to you.  Below are the different items that you my use to decorate these boxes.  Vintage Valentine’s cards can be found in antique stores.  Of course it’s best to find your supplies around Valentine’s Day.  Start by painting the boxes, inside and out before you decorate them.

You Will Need:

Heart shaped boxes

Paints (I like the metallic ones)

Old Valentines or scrap papers

Glitter and glue

Heart scraps and Dresden’s

This box had some decorative indentions in it.  I decided to paint it pink and then lightly follow the pattern with gold paint.  I decorated cherub scrap paper with glitter and then glue it to the lid.  Then I glued a small gold star shaped Dresden’s to the sides and then jewels in the center of each one.

By using heart shapes that are larger than the box, this style closely resembles a chocolate candy box.   I cut out red cardstock in the shape of a foil heart doily and then glued them together.  Then glued one as the base and one on top of the lid.  Then I decorated it with a heart shaped foil Dresden and a flower scrap paper.  Glittering flower scraps are difficult so I just glittered the edges.

This box uses an old Valentine that I embellished with glitter.  I glued it to a gold foil heart doily and then to the lid.  I happened to have a long gold foil border which is a long strip.  I trimmed up the bottom and glued it on.

Chocolate Truffles

There are so many ways to flavor truffles.  I’m always trying to come up with new flavors.  When “inventing” a new flavor, use extracts, dried fruits, citrus peels, and spices.  You don’t want to add a lot of liquid, so think concentrated. Coat them in cocoa, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc.  When choosing your chocolate, don’t be cheap.  I won’t name names, but there is a very popular “chocolate morsel” that I do not recommend for anything unless it’s chocolate chip cookies.  You don’t have to spend a lot, but use the better chocolate chips at your local grocery store. Semi-sweet chocolate is traditionally 35% chocolate liquor and 12% milk solids. Below is my basic truffle base.

Basic Truffle Base

1/3 C Heavy Whipping Cream

6 T Unsalted Butter

2 C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Cocoa Powder, Approx. ¾ C

Over  double boiler (pot of light boiling water with a metal bowl over it), heat the cream and the butter.  Stir in the chocolate.

*at this point you would add your flavoring

Let it cool in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and scoop them out.  Roll them into a   ball and then in the cocoa powder (or nuts, sprinkles).

*I find this to be very messy as this point.  My tips are to use a small ice cream scoop and to roll them lightly and quickly and put them into the cocoa in approximately multiples of 6 at a time. The heat from your hands will melt them. 

Clean and dry your hands, and then roll it in the cocoa.  I recommend storing them in the refrigerator until about 30 minutes before serving but refrigeration is not necessary.

My Most Inquisitive Flavors:

Dried cherries with chopped pistachios

Crystalized ginger with fresh orange zest, rolled in white and black sesame seeds

Crispy bacon with maple syrup and cracked pepper (substitute the butter for the rendered bacon fat)

Dried cranberries rolled in pecans

Port reduction with almonds

Nutella rolled in chopped hazelnuts

Chocolate Marzipan Candies

Marzipan is traditionally made by grinding whole almonds with sugar or sugar syrup and drying it into a paste.  It is popular in European deserts including cake icing, stollen, fruit cake, chocolate candies and rolled into figurines of animals, fruits, and vegetables. The recipe below is best with baking marzipan which is a slightly finer paste.

Melt semi sweet chocolate in a double boiler or slowly in the microwave.  Fill chocolate molds slightly less than half way. Pick up the mold into the air and carefully rotate it so that the chocolate coats the entire mold.  Refrigerate for bout 2-5 minutes.

Take the marzipan and roll it into small balls.  Put them into the molds and then cover with chocolate to the top.  Let them cool completely and then pop them out of the container. Serve as is or in small baking cups.