16 Nov
Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Crisp Squares
Posted by Michelle as Brownies and Bar Cookies, Candies and Confections | 40 Comments
The idea for these beauties was hatched when I made the Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars, which sport a chocolate, peanut butter and rice krispy mixture on top of gooey marshmallows. It’s insanely addicting and when making them, I have to refrain from just eating the topping straight out of the pan with a spoon. I decided that I needed to come up with a treat that combined the marshmallows, chocolate, peanut butter and rice krispies, and fast. I went back and forth between combining all of the ingredients together into the ever-popular treat squares, and making a peanut butter version that is then covered in chocolate. Sort of a la peanut butter cups. Now, peanut butter cups and Reese’s Pieces might be my favorite candies ever, so for that reason alone, I decided to go the chocolate-covered route.
13 May
Classic Fudge
Posted by Michelle as Candies and Confections | 14 Comments
You say “fudge” and I immediately smell the salty air that wafts up from the shores of the Atlantic. Although fudge is a traditional gift toted around in tins at Christmas-time, it always reminds me of the beach. A quaint little beach town (or crowded boardwalk, for that matter) wouldn’t be complete without a homemade fudge shop nestled in between the salt water taffy store and the “I forgot sunblock, aloe, and a souvenir” store. You can’t walk within 100 yards of it without being completely immersed in the smell of rich chocolate goodness. Seems as though it might be a tad unethical to sell that stuff to people who are already on the verge of passing out from sucking in their stomachs all day at the beach, no?
At any rate, fudge is such a popular confection that I’m amazed I have never made it myself. Perhaps it has been the increasing temperatures and warm breezes that have me daydreaming about feeling sand between my toes, and led me to stirring chocolate and chopping walnuts.
16 Feb
For the Love of Peanut Butter and Cinnamon
Posted by Michelle as Candies and Confections, Cookies | 27 Comments
Any of you that know me in real life or who have followed my blog for any significant length of time are well aware that I’ve been plagued by food allergies for the past 5 years or so. I started having seemingly random reactions and after undergoing a few rounds of allergy testing I found that I was indeed allergic to many things, the most severe of which were: peanuts, tree nuts, turkey, cinnamon, shellfish, and other seafood. Talk about debilitating! It took some serious time for me to adjust and get used to reading labels, asking questions when going out to eat or eating in someone else’s home. I actually never got used to it – food allergies can be very stressful and the ones I tested allergic to were many things that I was used to eating on an almost daily basis. I was basically told to avoid all of these foods and then underwent about a year and a half of weekly allergy shots to deal with the environmental allergies that were uncovered as well.
Fast forward five years…
I recently decided that since I had the great misfortune of “growing into” these allergies that I had never had before, that perhaps it was possible for me to “grow out” of them as well. I scheduled an appointment with my allergist for re-testing and started the process two weeks ago. During the first round of re-testing I found that I had absolutely NO indication of an allergy to peanuts or cinnamon. I came home and ate a spoonful of peanut butter and bought Cinnamon Struesel Frosted Mini Wheats. I admit to being a bit nervous to try these, as I had been pretty much programmed to fear them for so many years, but after many successful tests, I can indeed tell you that I appear to be cured! During the second round of tests last week I also found that I have absolutely no indication of an allergy to tree nuts, turkey, shellfish, or seafood either!
Now, celebration was indeed in order. Brown Eyed Baker’s Chief Culinary Consultant presented me with a whole box of Reese’s Big Cup peanut butter cups. Oh boy! It didn’t take me long to dig in and I savored each and every bite. These were the one thing I was most looking forward to eating after getting the all-clear for peanuts. Mmmmm…
The celebrating didn’t stop there. Next up was trying a snickerdoodle cookie that the CCC had been raving about. Holy crap! These were by far, hands down, one of the best cookies (not just snickerdoodles) I have EVER had. First of all, they’re huge. Second of all, perfectly chewy. Thirdly, a wonderful, not-too-overpowering cinnamon/sugar flavor. And last, but certainly not least, these have little cinnamon-sugar nuggets baked right into the cookie. I’m not sure exactly how that’s done, but I’m determined to figure it out.
I’m sure you all want to know where you can find these cookies… they are sold at Noodles & Co. – take a look at their website and see if there is one near you!
Stay tuned for many recipes featuring all of these wonderful ingredients!
27 Apr
Daring Bakers: Cheesecake Truffles
Posted by Michelle as Candies and Confections | 46 Comments
And squares.
I love cheesecake. It’s my favorite dessert, and I will eat it in just about any form. Rolled in a ball and dipped in chocolate? Bring ‘em on!
More about the challenge, and the recipe, after the break…
15 Apr
Homemade Marshmallows
Posted by Michelle as Candies and Confections | 42 Comments
This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was chosen by Judy over at Judy’s Gross Eats. She chose homemade marshmallows, which were surprisingly quick and easy to make! I had just caught a segment on the Martha Stewart Show not too long ago on which they were making homemade marshmallows. It didn’t seem all that hard, but I probably would have never taken the initiative to try them myself if this Dorie recipe hadn’t been chosen, so thank you Judy!
These marshmallows turned out lighter and fluffier than any store-bought marshmallow that I have had in the past, and were completed with minimal effort. It took me less than 30 minutes from the time I started prepping the pan until the marshmallow mixture was poured in to set. That’s not too bad! I’m thinking that this year in place of my customary Christmas tins for friends and family, I might do some homemade cocoa mix with homemade marshmallows.
Be sure to check out the blogroll on the Tuesdays With Dorie blog to see all of the other marshmallow creations!
Last week: Fresh Orange Cream Tart
Next week: I am taking a pass on TWD and will be *attempting* a cake for our anniversary (that happens to fall on Tuesday) that mimics our wedding cake (at least in flavor!).
Marshmallow-making tips and the recipe after the break…
18 Dec
Christmas Baking: Peppermint Bark
Posted by Michelle as Candies and Confections | 20 Comments
I made peppermint bark for the first time last Christmas and I found it so easy yet such a luxurious-looking treat that I decided I would make it once again for the gifts I am giving to some friends and family. I do not include any peppermint oil or extract in mine, as I like the mint flavor that comes from the crushed candy canes, however you could certainly add it if you want more of a peppermint punch! I’ve also found that trying to actually “cut” the bark doesn’t work so well – a better method is to merely take the tip of a sharp knife and insert it into the bark and apply some pressure, which will start the bark breaking into pieces.
Keep reading »
18 Dec
Christmas Baking: Buckeyes
Posted by Michelle as Candies and Confections | 9 Comments
My history with peanut butter is a sad and tragic one. I grew up infatuated with peanut butter and would put it on everything and anything imaginable, no doubt eating it in some form everyday. I even had a peanut butter and jelly sleeping bag when I was little. Then about three years ago I started to develop asthma symptoms and when I saw an allergist and had tests done, it turns out I was allergic to peanuts (among a variety of other things). So I have not eaten peanut butter since June of 2004. I don’t have an allergy so severe that I cannot touch it or smell it, since of course I was eating it right up until the day I was tested and I never came close to death. So I live vicariously through others, taking in huge whiffs of peanut butter when I open the jar to make peanut butter treats for everyone else.
This weekend I got started on my holiday baking and goodies-making and kicked it off with buckeyes. These, along with peanut butter blossoms, are the most requested Christmas treats from my sister. Of course it’s pure torture for me to smell them and not be able to eat them!
Some tips on making buckeyes:
- I find it best to mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. It will take some time to all come together and takes a lot of patience and elbow grease!
- The mixture WILL be pretty dry and crumbly, so when shaping the balls you will need to press the mixture together before rolling it into a ball.
- In order to avoid the toothpick holes at the top of the peanut butter balls, an alternative would be using something like a dipper for coloring eggs to lower the balls into the chocolate.
- This recipe yields 7-8 dozen buckeyes.
