Category: Food

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Chocolate Chunk Cocoa Mix

Seriously now–who, on your list couldn’t use a lovely jar of homemade cocoa mix–hmmmm?

Luckily, it very simple to toss together and makes positively a ton…or about 10-11 cups of cocoa mix.  Just perfect for funneling  into a few pretty jars and tying with ribbon.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups Hershey’s Cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

5 cups Carnation powdered milk

1 cup  Borden’s Non-Dairy Creamer

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Measure all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk them until they are evenly blended. Store the mix in a tightly covered container at room temperature until you’re ready to package it and pass it around to the neighbors. Unless, of course, you intend to save it all for…ummm…

food storage.

Hey–not a bad idea!

Be sure to add a tag to the jar that says,

“Spoon about 1/4 cup of mix into a large mug. Stir in very hot water. Top with mini marshmallows or whipped cream. Sip ever so slowly in front of a nice, warm, crackling fire.”

For a little variety, try crushing candy canes and adding 1/2 to 2/3 cup to the mix.

Chocolate Chunk Cocoa Mix
 
Print
Ingredients
  • 1-1/2 cups Hershey’s Cocoa
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 5 cups Carnation powdered milk
  • 1 cup Borden’s Non-Dairy Creamer
  • ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Measure all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk them until they are evenly blended.
  2. Store the mix in a tightly covered container at room temperature until you’re ready to package it and pass it around to the neighbors.
Notes
Be sure to add a tag to the jar that says, “Spoon about ¼ cup of mix into a large mug. Stir in very hot water. Top with mini marshmallows or whipped cream. Sip ever so slowly in front of a nice, warm, crackling fire.” For a little variety, try crushing candy canes and adding ½ to ⅔ cup to the mix.

 

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Christmas Candy Giveaway

“Giving away Christmas candy!” you say?

Well, not the actual candy—but a new, enhanced ability to create the candy…all by your clever, little old self.

Quite a skill indeed.

Just think of all the family, friends and foreign dignitaries that you will impress when you try the recipes in this pretty little  book.

Which is just what I did.

And look what happened. Yeah, I’d invite you over, but as you can see–there aren’t enough Caramel Nougat Swirls for the both of us. Sorry.

But you can certainly get the book yourself either HERE–nice and simple and over 30% off, OR

here–by winning our giveaway! “Oh, Launi, Launi!! How do we do that?” you ask?

Simple, I tell you.

Leave a comment in this post—for one entry.

Become our friend in the Google Friend Connect on the right side bar—for 3 entries.

Follow us on Twitter for 3 entries.

Follow us on Facebook for 3 entries…

for a possibility of 10 entries!!

We’ll announce the winner of the HP book “Candymaking” and a lovely candy thermometer to go along with it–on Monday December 13, 2010 at 10:00 am.

Jump in my friends~

it’s a sweeeet deal!

(Oooh, I crack myself up…)

 

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White Chocolate Gumdrop Fudge

Ok, all you dark chocolate purists out there…you may need to close your eyes for a few minutes, because what I’m about to say here, could–for you–border on blasphemy. I do apologize for that. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to forge ahead and share these daring words with you—you may want to sit down.

White Chocolate Fudge.

Be brave now–I was a non-believer once too, but not anymore because this stuff will have you singing Hallelujah along with a couple of angelic choirs. Smooth, creamy, melt in your mouth goodness with tiny gumdrop dabs mixed in–for good measure. Heaven, I tell you…pure heaven!

Oh, and did I forget to mention that this recipe is easy and whips up dang fast? Well, I’m telling you. Therefore, my dears–go now and make this, that your candy larders may be full against a time of fudge famine in all the land…

or something.

Gumdrop Fudge

Original recipe from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds white candy coating, coarsely chopped

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

1-1/2 cups chopped gumdrops– we used Dots

 

Directions:

Line a 9-in. square pan with foil; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine the candy coating, milk and salt. Cook and stir over low heat until chips are melted.

Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and gumdrops.

Spread into prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate until firm. Using foil, remove fudge from the pan.

Cut into 1-in. squares. Store at room temperature.

Brothers and sisters—Can I get an AMEN?
 
White Chocolate Gumdrop Fudge
 
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Ingredients
  • 1-1/2 pounds white candy coating, coarsely chopped
  • 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1-1/2 cups chopped gumdrops– we used Dots
Instructions
  1. Line a 9-in. square pan with foil; set aside.
  2. In a heavy saucepan, combine the candy coating, milk and salt.
  3. Cook and stir over low heat until chips are melted.
  4. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and gumdrops.
  5. Spread into prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate until firm.
  6. Using foil, remove fudge from the pan.
  7. Cut into 1-in. squares.
  8. Store at room temperature.
 
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Scotch Eggs

Saw this recipe online awhile back and was intrigued. Could there truly be something on the Scottish menu that isn’t deep fried or boiled in a sheep’s stomach? I can hear my little Scottish daddy laughing this very minute–because he didn’t think so. But I’m here to tell you that these tasty little breakfast bites are delicious—magnamoniously delicious–without frying.

No. Lie.

Simple ingredients too.

1 lb Bulk sausage

8 Hard Boiled Eggs

Bread Crumbs

Now, if you’re like me, you likely need a bit more flavor than boring old bread crumbs offer.

I had garlic croutons in the cupboard so we used them instead. Any flavor would work well. A food processor would have worked well too. I’m just saying…

Hard boil the eggs. Shell them–I shouldn’t have to tell you that, but I want to be clear.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Beat 1 raw egg in a bowl and set aside. 

Wrap a thin layer of sausage around each of the hard boiled eggs. I worried that this part would be hard–but the sausage was quite a team player and stuck to the egg very politely.

For further wise-woman insight, I’ll explain…

I used vinyl gloves for this bit because while the sausage sticks to the egg very nicely, it has a tendency to stick to your hands as well. Hence the gloves.  I roll about 1-2 Tbsps of sausage into a flat line from the bottom of my palm to the tips of my fingers. Lay the egg on top of the sausage and roll the sausage around it. Smush it around to cover the top and bottom of the egg. You’ll find that you’ll end up rolling it into a round ball. Now, dip your fingers into the beaten egg and gently spread over the sausage.  

Now, roll them in the bread crumbs.

Aren’t they cute? Bake them about 30 minutes–turning each one over after about 15 minutes, so that they cook evenly.

I thought maybe sausage gravy would be stupendous with these babies, but alas, we couldn’t wait. It was all I could do to get this picture before vultures started to circle. Warning Will Robinson–these don’t last long once the guys see them. I’m thinking they would make yummy lunch snacks…if you hide them.

Now go forth…

and make us proud.

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Happy St.Andrew’s Day!

(the patron saint of Scotland–of course!)
 
 
Scotch Eggs
 
Print
Ingredients
  • Bulk sausage
  • Eggs
  • Bread Crumbs
Instructions
  1. Hard boil the eggs.
  2. Shell them.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  4. Beat 1 raw egg in a bowl and set aside.
  5. If you are interested in more flavor you can mix a bit of sage or Ranch powder in with your sausage.
  6. Wrap a thin layer of sausage around each of the hard boiled eggs.
  7. Dip each sausage ball into the raw egg.
  8. Now, roll them in the bread crumbs.
  9. Bake them about 30 minutes–turning each one over after about 15 minutes, so that they cook evenly.
 

 

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Chocolate Pilgrim Hats

I know…I know. You’re thinking, “What?! Two cookie projects in one week?!! Launi, Launi–what are you doing?”

Hang on now–admit it. Aren’t these the dang cutest things you’ve seen in a long time? You know they are, so you see? I couldn’t help myself. Here they are…

Start with Fudge Stripe cookies, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups–the little ones,

Fruit roll-ups and Pez–any color. I was a bit disheartened to find that I only had pink Pez. Not sure how the pilgrims would feel about pink…but we forged bravely ahead.

At first, I thought we’d need frosting to glue everything together, but there is an interesting thing that happens when you put chocolate by more chocolate. They tend to stick. So, while I was mocking up the hats with sincere plans to make the frosting later, I came back and found that it really wasn’t needed.

I cut the fruit roll ups into strips with a pizza cutter, in a sort of rounded shape.

The better to lay flat around the hat…with.

Set the Pez up to the seam part of the fruit roll up. Again, I was thinking that we’d need frosting–and of course, you are welcome to use it, but these little beggars held together without it as well. And quite frankly, I’m not a huge icing fan–so why muck up a good thing if you don’t need to?

And there you have it my dears.

I think this yummy project would make lovely little diversions for the “kid’s table” on Thanksgiving.

What do you think?