Posts Tagged ‘candy’

Once again my procrastination paid off.

I desperately needed a snack for my sons cub scouts and didn’t want to leave the house….it is a whole ordeal these days (put the dog out, the kids think we are going to be gone for ever so they need toys and snacks, get dressed…a whole ordeal)…anyway back to the food.

So, boy scouts…food…what goes better with cub scouts than s’mores?

It just so happened that the other day we went to Trader Joe’s (I love that place) and got these little guys.

You see that? Low Fat…so they are good for you

We had some marshmallows in our pantry for who knows how long and always have chocolate (that I make sure we NEVER run out of).

So the S’mores bites were born. It was a beautiful thing.

These couldn’t be easier (that what I am all about, easy fast, good food).

Just a few easy steps.

On a lined cookie sheet lay out your gram crackers.

Place 1/2 a jumbo marshmallow on top.

Pop in oven on low broil for 2-3 min.

Remove and stick in freezer for 10 min.

In a microwave melt chocolate and shortening (to thin). Dip marshmallow gram crackers in and pop back in frezzer for 10 min, or until set.

Devour.

Now I left half un coated in chocolate for those non-chocolate weirdos people

That easy. It took me longer to write this than to make them.

S’mores Bites

Ingredients

• Desired amount of gram cracker cookies (I used 64)
• 1 bag jumbo sized marshmallows, halved
• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 Tbsp shortening

Directions

1. Turn oven on to a low broil.
2. Lay desired amount of gram cracker cookies out on a lined baking sheet.
3. Top each with ½ of a jumbo marshmallow.
4. Pop in oven for about 2-3 min.
5. Remove and stick in freezer for 10 min
6. Melt chocolate and shortening in microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between each.
7. Dip gram crackers into chocolate and stick back in freezer for about 10 min or until set.
8. Store in fridge

I absolutely love love love cinnamon….not the ground brown kind (although I do love that), but the hot kind, the fake kind, the red kind. The Big Red, Red hot candy kind.

When I was a teenager I used to chew so much Big Red my mouth felt like it was raw. But I loved it.

So while browsing the candy isle the other day I saw a box of Red Hots candy. And the little man on my shoulder (we all have him..mines name is Frank ) put them in my basket. I didn’t, he did He is a mean little man.

So why not make something with them, instead of going to the dentist because I ate a whole box and broke my teeth and the hard little guys.

So the Red Hot Cookie was born……

These didn’t last long in my house….about an hour maybe two.

They have that wonderful Red Hot cinnamon taste.

Fabulous, just fabulous.

Red Hot Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 egg
• ¾  cup cinnamon candies (i.e. Red Hots)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 vanilla bean seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp cream of Tartar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup water
• 2 ½ cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375.
2. Cream 1 cup butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add egg, 1 tsp vanilla, cinnamon and 1 vanilla bean seeds.
3. In a food processor, process ¼ cup of cinnamon candies into a powder (a few chunks are ok). Add to butter mix.
4. Mix in flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt until fully incorporated.
5. Drop by the tablespoon full onto a lined baking sheet. Bake 8-10 min or until done.
6. Remove and let cool.
7. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, boil water and ½ cup cinnamon candies until candies are dissolved.
8. In the bowl of an electric mixer (with the whisk attachment) cream butter, vanilla bean and vanilla. Add Cinnamon water.
9. Mix in powdered sugar.
10. Pop in refrigerator for about 15-20 min to firm up.
11. Scoop frosting into a Ziploc bag (or piping bag), snip if a corner and squeeze out to frost.

So my incredible goddess of a sister-in-law was just plain evil the other day. For my birthday she got me (among tons of other amazing things) these….

I know mean huh…..

I could eat an entire box in the blink of an eye.

I think she is out to sabotage me trying to lose weight

So I ate about 1/2 the box and decided to try to make something with me. The creative juices were flowing….or was that the sugar rush?

It just so happens that my local grocery store was having a sale on brownie/cake mixes. And since they were on sale I had to buy them. Of course the were supposed to be for much much later.

Oh well…..

So lets do this.

Cut your remaining cookies into quarters (at least 1/2 a box worth or 2 cups). Look at my pretty baby….hey Im not sure I like the way she is looking at that box

Make your brownies according to the box. Only bake for 16 min. Remove and top with cookies and chocolate chips.

I only did half because the hubby doesn’t like coconut.  Crazy man (but he sure is hot)

Pop back in oven for 10 min (or until brownies are done).

Remove and smother with caramel.

Remove and let cool.

There you have it. Pure deliciousness.

I think I will forgive my sister-in-law.

Up close and personal.

Samoa Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 pkg brownie mix (I used the family size 13×9) (typical additional ingredients are eggs, oil and water)
• ½ box Samoa Girl Scout Cookies (cut in quarters)
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ cup corn syrup
• Pinch of salt
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Pre heat oven to 350. Make brownies according to package. Pour into a greased and floured 13×9 dish. Bake for 18 min.
2. Remove brownies from oven (when timer dings) and top with chopped cookies and chocolate chips.
3. Bake for 10 more min or until brownies are done.
4. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine butter, cream, sugar, corn syrup and slat. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Stir occasionally.
5. Mix will bubble and darken. Continue to watch and stir until temp reaches 245 on a candy thermometer (or until it forms a firm ball when dropped into a glass of cold water).
6. Remove from heat and stir in Vanilla.
7. Remove brownies and smother with caramel. Set aside to cool.

Holly cow…some one seriously needs to stop me.

I ate pretty much the entire batch of these.  I saved a few for my hubby and kids to try (I was in a sharing mood)

Hope none of you are on a diet.

Lets get started…..I need to make more of these little devils.

First make a batch of brownies. Let them cool and cut into squares, about 1 inch by 1 inch.

These start out just like the Cake Batter Candies.

First mix up your condensed milk and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Add your peppermint oil (or extract)  and vanilla. Add in remaining powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, until it becomes firm.

Take 1 tsp of your peppermint mix and place it on 1 brownie. Pop in the freezer for about 10 min.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt your chocolate and shortening until smooth.

Take your frozen peppermint brownie concoction and dip it in the chocolate. Rest it on a fork and let any extra chocolate drip off.

Pop in freezer for 5-10 min to set up.

Eat….or send to me

Brownie Peppermint Patties

(adapted from SavorySweetlife.com)

Ingredients

• 1 batch brownies, cooked and cut into 1×1 inch squares.
• 1 can (14 oz) condensed milk
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp peppermint oil (or 1 Tbsp peppermint extract)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 ½ Tbsp shortening

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix condensed milk and 1 cup of powdered sugar until fully combine.
2. Add vanilla and peppermint. Mix well.
3. Add remaining powdered sugar until dough is pretty firm (like play dough)
4. Place 1 tsp of peppermint mix on top of 1 brownie square and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
5. Pop in freezer for 10 min.
6. For the chocolate coating, in a microwave safe bowl add chocolate chips and microwave in 30-second increments, making sure to stir after each. Takes about 2 min total.
7. Stir in shortening until smooth.
8. Remove peppermint brownies and dip into chocolate. Pop back into freezer of fridge to set.
9. Store in freezer

It all started with this stuff. Holly cow. If you don’t know about it….now you do. And please be warned, I went thru a whole jar in one day! It is that good.

So I finally got brave enough to experiment with caramel. This has always scared me; Im not sure why it just has. But I needed my fix

This was my first go and please excuse me as I toot my own horn here, it turned out AMAZING!!! Go me

I made these incredible cinnamon rolls (recipe by the incredible Pioneer Woman) and needed something to top it with.

I didn’t want boring old cream cheese frosting….so……..I made…dun dun dun dun…..Caramel Cream Cheese frosting. Something a bit different, but still the same enough for my husband and kids to want to eat.

This doesn’t have to be just for these fabulous cinnamon rolls. You can put it on and in everything (cupcakes, cookies, or just on a spoon and straight into your mouth).

First up make the caramel.

In a medium to large pot, combine brown sugar, butter, salt, corn syrup and vanilla. Cook until it is nice and bubbly. Add in cream and cook a bit more.

I don’t have a candy thermometer so I used a trick I learned back in middle school cooking class. Put some water in a small bowl and you can test the doneness of your candy (or in this case caramel) by dropping just a little bit in the bowl. Take it out and test it. You want what is called a Firm ball. The syrup is formed into a stable ball, but loses its round shape once pressed. It should be just like a nice soft chewy caramel.

In a medium bowl cream your softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1/2 stick of butter. Add vanilla and mix until nice and smooth.

Pour in your caramel and stir until fully combine.

There you have it. Not to hard to make.

It is crazy amazing on top of cinnamon rolls.

Give it a try. Have it on the weekend, so the calories don’t count

Caramel Cream Cheese

Ingredients

• 9 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup corn syrup
• 4 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ cup cream
• 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• ½ stick butter
• 3 Tbsp Powdered sugar

Directions

1. In a medium-large pot, over medium heat, combine 9 Tbsp butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, 2 tsp vanilla and salt.
2. Cook until mix begins to bubble. Add cream
3. Turn heat to low and cook until temp reaches 245-250 (firm ball stage on a candy thermometer).
4. In a separate bowl cream ½ stick of butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar. Add remaining 2 tsp vanilla.
5. Stir in caramel until fully incorporated.
6. Enjoy!

(dancing) I just cant seem to contain my self with these little guys. (still dancing)

After reading a post that the beautiful Jessica from How Sweet It Is wrote, I had to get my hands on these. Unfortunately I just couldn’t find them. I scoured the internet and went to Macy’s to see if they had any….no go.

So I said….’Oh Darn’….yea we will go with that.

I guess I am just going to have to try to make them. So I did. They were so much easier than I thought they would be.

I am going to warn you….these are extremely habit forming.

Here is the line up….

First, in a large bowl combine your milk and 1 cup of your sugar.

Then add in your cake mix, vanilla and remaining sugar. (Add your powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Be careful..I busted my hand mixer trying to make this. Ended up finishing the mixing with a spatula. It gets thick)

Add in your sprinkles and form.

Pop in the freezer for a bit and make your chocolate.

Dip them in. Pop back in freezer to set and dive in.

Just try to stop at one.

I dare you….

Good huh?????

Now I don’t know how they compare to the other ones, but they are pretty darn good.

Cake Batter Chocolates

Ingredients

• 1 can (14 oz) condensed milk
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup yellow cake mix
• ½ tsp French vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp sprinkles
• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 ½ Tbsp shortening

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix condensed milk and 1 cup of powdered sugar until fully combine.
2. Add cake mix and vanilla. Mix well.
3. Add remaining powdered sugar until dough is pretty firm (like play dough)
4. Mix in sprinkles.
5. Form in to cubes (or balls) and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
6. Pop in freezer for 20 min.
7. For the chocolate coating, in a microwave safe bowl add chocolate chips and microwave in 30-second increments, making sure to stir after each. Takes about 2 min total.
8. Stir in shortening until smooth.
9. Remove cake batter cubes (or balls) and dip into chocolate. Pop back into freezer of fridge to set.
10. Store in fridge.

In my house Reece’s peanut butter cups are like gold; particularly the trees, heart, eggs or pumpkins they come out with. When they come out I go gang busters and pretty much buy out the store. We freeze some and the rest are devoured.

This recipe is yet another one I adapted from my beautiful mother.

For as far back as I can remember my mom would make these, but in ball form, around Christmas. She would make all kids of delish treats. (Maybe I can bribe her to give me the rest of the recipes I believe this began my love for Christmas.

These little treats taste, I think, better than the Reece’s. Give them a try…..let me know what you think.

Here is your line up…….

First you are going to get your helper all ready. Then put your butter and peanut butter in a large pot. Over medium heat, stirring somewhat constantly melt butter and peanut butter until nice and smooth.

Transfer to a extra large bowl and add your vanilla. Stir until fully incorporated and slowly add your powdered sugar. As you add it will get harder to stir. You want to mix until your powdered sugar is fully mixed in.

Spread this peanut-buttery goodness onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Take another piece of parchment paper and put it on top. Using even pressure roll, using a rolling pin, to compact and make evenly smooth.

Remove top layer of parchment paper and stick in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours. I  did mine overnight.  Good night!!!

Time to cut out. I highly recommend choosing a shape that doesn’t have to many angles (like a star); also I found using a metal cookie cutter works best.

In a small bowl pour about 1 cup of powder sugar. Dip your cookie cutter in.

Take your Peanut Butter out of the fridge . Firmly press your cutter into the peanut butter.

Gently push out and place onto another lined cookie sheet.

Dust off any extra powder sugar and pop into the freezer for about 10-15 min.

In the meantime, lets get started on the chocolate shall we….

Over a double boiler (or a pot with boiling water and a bowl on top) pour your chocolate chips and vanilla in. Melt over medium-low heat.

Once there are no more clumps turn heat to low.

Take a rubber brush and coat the bottoms of the peanut butter. Stick in freezer for 10 min and repeat with the tops.

If you choose to add decoration/sprinkles do so once you coat the top.

Take a clean paint brush and paint the sides. Now as I was finishing up the very last one of these, my darling husband came in and said ….

“Why didn’t you just dip half (a heart) in then freeze it and dip the other half in?”

It took all I had not to punch him, but I didn’t. So to save you some time, give that a try.

After you finished paining or dipping, place in the freezer for another 10 min……or in your mouth.

Store in the fridge….if there are any left.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs creamy peanut butter
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 lbs powdered sugar + 1 cup for coating cutter
• 2 bags (12 oz each) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine butter and peanut butter in a large pot.  Melt over medium heat. Stirring semi-frequently so that the peanut butter doesn’t burn.
2. Transfer to an extra large bowl and add vanilla.
3. Once fully incorporated slowly add powdered sugar.
4. Combine until powdered sugar is fully incorporated.
5. Spread out on a parchment lined cookie sheet and top with another piece of parchment paper.
6. Using pressure and a rolling pin, roll out peanut butter mix (keep top sheet of parchment on when doing this) until even, smooth and compacted.
7. Pop in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
8. Remove and remove top sheet of parchment paper.
9. In a small bowl put the 1 cup of powdered sugar and coat cutter.
10. Using medium pressure begin to cut out shapes.
11. Place on a separate lined cookie sheet. Dust off any excess powder sugar.
12. Pop into freezer for 10-15 min.
13. Meanwhile melt chocolate over a double boiler. Stirring until smooth.
14. Remove peanut butter shapes and coat bottom with a rubber brush. Pop back into freezer for 10 min and do the same for the top. Add sprinkles if desired.
15. Using a clean paint brush, paint the sides with the melted chocolate.
16. Store in fridge when not in your mouth.

**Now a shortcut that I realized after doing my very last one was to dip half of the heart into the chocolate then freeze and then dip the other half.**