Month: December 2010

Gingerbread House Party

No recipe for today’s post (the holidays have kept me busy with other things!), but there are some drool-worthy candy photos!

When I was a little kid I would decorate a gingerbread house every December. Some years it would just be me, other years I would invite friends over, and one year I invited all the girls in my 5th grade class (15 girls in our basement on sugar highs… just imagine…). This year I wanted to re-live the fun with M & S. I gathered every candy imaginable, assembled the houses, made gallons of icing (or so it seemed), and helped the girls decorate their houses. It was a blast and I can’t wait to do it again next year.

If you’d like to try this, I bought the houses at Target and they’re about $10. The kit includes candy, but we obviously bought extras. Many, many extras! I improvised on the icing — but any royal icing recipe should work fine. My icing consisted of powdered sugar, a little meringue powder, and milk.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Thanks to all of my wonderful blog readers for a great year. :)

Buckeyes

Oh sweet lord in heaven: buckeyes. Given my obsessive love for all things peanut butter, it should come as no surprise that buckeyes rank high on my list of favorite treats. I will admit that these are not the prettiest of buckeyes – some are cracked, some are poorly coated in chocolate, some are a little lopsided. But that’s okay! I’ll have to work on my chocolate-coating skills for next time.

Yield: 36-42 candies

Buckeyes

Buckeyes

A delicious and bite-sized combination of chocolate and peanut butter!

Prep Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 14 graham crackers)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 12 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped

Instructions

    Make the filling:

    1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together until combined.

    2. Add the graham cracker crumbs and beat for 10 seconds.

    3. Add the sugar and butter, and mix on a low speed until the ingredients combine. Scrape down the whole bowl well, then mix again. The mixture will be quite sturdy and a little dry. Set it aside while you prepare the coating.

    Make the coating:

    1. Melt the chocolate either over a double boiler, stirring until it is completely smooth or in a microwave in 30 then 10 second increments, stirring before you start it again until it is completely smooth

    .2. Let it cool to tepid (about 100 degrees) while you shape the peanut butter centers.

    Assemble the candies:

    1. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scoop out slightly more than one tablespoon’s worth of filling and use your hands to form it into a ball.

    2. Place the ball on the prepared sheet and repeat the process until all of the candies have been shaped. They can sit close to each other but make sure they are not touching.

    3. Using a fork or large skewer, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll it about so that almost the entire candy is coating, leaving a small circle uncoated.

    4. Chill the buckeyes until they are set, about 30 minutes.

Notes

Buckeyes will keep in the fridge for about 3-4 days. Be sure to store in an airtight container.

Recipe credit: Smitten Kitchen

Special K Bars

My friend Lauren dropped off a big container of her homemade Christmas goodies. These Special K bars were included in the mix and I ate all of them in less than a day. Lauren gave me the recipe that she used and I made another batch, adapting her recipe just a bit!

Yield: About 18 bars

Special K Bars

Special K Bars

Do you call them Special K bars or Scotcheroos? Either way, these are the perfect no-bake dessert!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1-1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
  • 6 to 7 cups Special K cereal
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Instructions

    1. Cook the corn syrup, sugar, and vanilla over medium heat until it begins to boil; remove from heat. Use a large pot for this, as you’ll be adding in the other ingredients.

    2. Add the peanut butter and cereal, stirring until well-mixed. I used about 6-1/2 cups of cereal.

    3. Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9×13″ pan.

    4. Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips in a double boiler (microwave is OK if you make sure not to burn the chocolate). Pour the chocolate/butterscotch mixture over the cereal. Refrigerate to cool.

Cutting these bars can be a p-a-i-n. I found it was easiest to refrigerate the bars to cool them — and when you’re ready to cut them, let them sit out on the counter for about an hour. This warms them up and they become much easier to cut.

Notes

Your yield will depend on how big or small you cut your bars.

Oreo Truffles

Oreo truffles!! A holiday classic. These are super simple and easy to make — and you can really get creative with decorating them. Cover them in white, milk, or dark chocolate. Use sprinkles if you’d like. Try mint Oreos for a different flavor! You can also add extracts, like almond, to add an additional flavor (try about 1/2 teaspoon).

Yield: About 30-40 truffles

Oreo Truffles

Oreo Truffles

This is a perfect and EASY dessert that your kids or grandkids could help make!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 (16 oz.) package Oreo cookies
  • 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
  • 1 (24 oz.) package white almond bark (I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips)

Instructions

    1. Mix the Oreos and cream cheese together in a food processor – make sure they are well-blended. Shape the dough into balls about 1-inch in diameter. Chill the balls in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, or until firm.

    2. Melt the chocolate for the coating. A double boiler will work best, but you can also use the microwave if you’re careful not to burn the chocolate. If the chocolate is too thick, you can use shortening to thin it out (stir in about 1 Tablespoon of shortening at a time, until you achieve the consistency you want).

    3. Dip the balls into the chocolate to coat; carefully remove with a fork and let the excess chocolate drip off. Set to dry on wax paper.

    4. Optional: You can decorate with sprinkles – make sure you do so before the chocolate hardens. You can also drizzle the chocolate over the truffles instead of coating them entirely.

Notes

Your yield will depend on how big or small you make your truffles.