Grandma's Fudge

I love this fudge. And I think I love it because it reminds me of my grandma. She always made this for Christmas and whenever I make it all the memories of her just flood back. She was an amazing cook, loved to shop (and took us shopping), never left the house without make-up and would do anything for anyone. Not to get all sappy but I still think of her often and know she’s up in heaven keeping us safe.

Now to the fugde…

Grandma’s Fudge
Grandma Wheeler

1 1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk
2 tablespoon butter of margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups miniature marshmallows OR 7 oz marshmallow cream
9 ounce Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line a 8 inch square pan with foil. 

Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt in medium saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. 

Stir in marshmallows, morsels, nuts (optional) and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until all combined. Pour into prepared pan; refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan, remove foi and cut into squares. Store with wax paper between layers.  

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Fudgy Bonbons

My sister-in-law, Jill, has shared many recipes with me.  She is a super good cook and baker!  She is not afraid to try new recipes and always passes on the good ones.  She mentioned these Fudgy Bonbons this past weekend so I suckered her into sharing the recipe and pictures with me – and you all! 

I’m so thankful for my family – because of them I’ve been able to hare Rocky Road, English Toffee, and Easy Peanut Butter Cookies with you all.  

I hope Jill brings these Bonbons to our Christmas Celebration……hint hint, Jill. :) 

FUDGY BONBONS

Jill King

1 (12 oz) package semisweet chocolate chips

¼ cup butter or margarine

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups flour

½ cup finely chopped nuts (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla

60 candy kisses (any variety)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  In medium saucepan, combine chocolate chips and butter; cook and stir over very low heat until chips are melted and smooth.  Add sweetened condensed milk; mix well.  Then add flour, nuts and vanilla; mix well.  Shape 1 tablespoon (use measuring spoon) of dough around each candy kiss, covering completely.  Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes.  Cookies will be soft and appear shiny but become firm as they cool.  Drizzle gel glaze or melted white chocolate over cookies.  Store in tightly covered container.  Makes five dozen cookies.  Mom’s note: 7 minutes of baking, they don’t look done but they are.

Thanks for stopping by!  

Magic Bars – Coconut, Chocolate Chips. Butterscotch Chips…

We had our Holiday Pot Luck at work today.  I know I’ve said this before but I’ve NEVER been to a Pot Luck I haven’t enjoyed and this one was no different.  There were 3 stations of food – main dishes, sides, and desserts.  Aside from all the good food, it’s so nice to chat with co-workers and have a good laugh.  I’m blessed to work with such a great group of people. 

Of course I chose to make a dessert for the party.  I added this recipe into my Christmas Baking line up last year.  Not sure where I found it but it’s a keeper! 

I think they call them ‘magic’ because you pour the can of sweetened condensed milk on top of all the goodies and then ‘magically’ it is all absorbed into the crust and coconut. 

You should probably give these a whirl. 

Magic Bars

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
½ cup butter, melted
¾ cup chocolate chips
¾ cup butterscotch chips
¾ cup M & M’s (optional – but could use Holiday colored ones)
1 ½ cup flaked coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a 9 x 13 pan, pour in melted butter.  Evenly sprinkle graham cracker crumbs and press to form a crust. 

Layer in coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and M & M’s (optional). 

Pour condensed milk over the top of the pan. 

Bake 25-30 minutes until light brown on top.  You can place in the refrigerator to chill or serve at room 

temperature.  I love them either way.

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English Toffee with Almonds

Yesterday, I shared my mom and dad’s Rocky Road recipe.  Today is English Toffee.  You will need a candy thermometer for this one but it’s worth the investment. 

English Toffee
Mom and Dad

Ingredients: 

1 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup butter melted
3 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped almonds
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped almonds
Candy thermometer

Butter a cookie sheet.  

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, melted butter, water and corn syrup.  Cook over medium-low heat stirring occasionally to the hard crack stage, 300 degrees F.  About 30 minutes.  (It is important to use a low heat and not rush this.)

When you reach 300 degrees stir in ½ cup chopped almonds.  Pour onto cookie sheet and spread to ¼ inch.  The cookie sheet will become VERY hot so be careful. 

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over hot candy and let stand 1 minute to melt.  Then spread to frost.  Sprinkle the remaining almonds on top of the chocolate (you can skip this if desired.) 

Refrigerate until candy is cool.  Break into pieces and enjoy!  

Thanks for the pictures, mom!  

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies - 4 Ingredients

Almost every day at 5:00 PM I call my sister as I leave the work parking lot – and if I don’t call her, she calls me.  We usually chat about our days as I drive home.  I also enjoy hearing my almost 18 month old nephew in the background playing as we chit chat.  And, let me tell ya, having a little iPhone Facetime with Grant is so much fun – watching him try to figure out what’s going on is the best. 

Last week, my sister was baking cookies for a Cookie Swap.  She was bragging up these cookies and how easy they were.  So, I asked her to snap a few pics and send me the recipe.  I like this recipe because I always have these ingredients on hand and who wouldn’t want cookies with a moment’s notice.    

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
Ginny Mossman

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.  Drop tablespoon sized onto lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  As soon as you pull from the oven, push down each cookie with a fork to give it that well known design.  (Makes 1 Dozen) 

Cool and enjoy!

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Twix Bars

Yesterday, we had our work Christmas Party at Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City.    We had Italian food catered and freshly brewed Boulevard beer.  I work with some really great people – my cheeks hurt from all the laughing.  Another perk was that we obviously couldn’t go back to work after having a few beers so we got to go home a little early.

View from the brewery...

What to do with a little spare time?  Uh, bake.

Twix candy bars are my most recent weakness.  Okay, almost all candy bars are my weakness, but Twix would be the one I would pick from a line-up.  So when I found this recipe/picture on Pinterest it was a keeper.

This is the start of my Christmas Baking.  Future posts will include…

Kiss Cookies
Cherry Mash
Magic Bars
Grandma’s Fudge
And maybe a few others…

Back to the Twix Bars.  You really need to make these!  Super easy and soooo good!

One of these days I need to capture my husband’s ‘approval face’.  It might only be cute to me, but he nods his head, raises an eye brow, puffs his lips, and usually says something like ‘those are good’ or ‘dang good’.  That is when I know the recipe is a keeper and the goods can be taken to my friends.

Here we go…

Twix Bars
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Cookie Layer

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

Caramel Layer

2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks

3 tablespoons milk

Chocolate Layer

1 regular size bag chocolate chips (milk, dark, or simi-sweet), melted

1 tablespoon butter (optional)

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (optional)

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.  Spray a 9" x 13" pan lightly with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla.  Add the flour.  The mixture may seem dry and crumbly but it will come together.  Take the dough (it will be somewhat stiff and even still crumbly) and press it evenly into the pan.

Prick the crust all over with a fork. The holes will allow steam to escape and the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles.  Bake the crust until it's lightly golden brown on top and the edges are deeper golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust. Set it aside to cool completely.

Melt the caramel and milk in the microwave – 30 seconds, stir, 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until melted completely.  Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill and firm up.

Melt the chocolate, butter (optional), and peanut butter (optional) slowly in a double boiler.  OR, in the microwave - 30 seconds, stir, 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until melted completely.  Pour evenly over the chilled caramel layer and spread to cover all of the caramel.

Return to the fridge until the chocolate is well set. Cut into 2" x 2" squares to serve. It's best to store these bars in the refrigerator – when they warm up the caramel tends to ooze.

Next time, I do think I’ll do the extra work and cut into the ‘Twix shape’ bars and coat in chocolate.  That would also keep the caramel in place and make them look just like a Twix.

Like my lamp?!?!  White Elephant gift from last year but I LOVE it...and I love The Christmas Story.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fudge Brownie Cupcakes

Thanksgiving was super fun this year.  We spent time with our family in Des Moines, Iowa, family in Omaha, Nebraska, and then spent the rest of the weekend in Lincoln. 

We even went to the Husker game and watched the ‘skers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes. Whoop whoop!

My nephew requested that I bring chocolate cupcakes to the Des Moines party.  How can anyone say no to a blonde hair, blue eyed kindergartener?!?!   I sure as heck can’t and never would – love being an Aunt!

I turned to How Sweet It Is for a recipe.  I’ve made a number of her recipes and they are ALWAYS hits. 

Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes were the winner.  While they are not a traditional Thanksgiving dessert, everyone loved them.  The brownie had the crispy top, chewy center, and chunks of chocolate chips.  The frosting was just the right amount of sweetness to compliment the brownie. 

My nephew loved them.  Success!   

This was the best brownie I think I’ve had to date.   I don’t think I’ll ever buy another boxed brownie mix again. 

Note: I tried using square cupcake liners that claimed to not need a special baking pan.  That didn’t work out so well so they were a little weird shaped, but once decorated, you didn’t really notice.  Next time I will use normal cupcake liners or make it as a bar. 

Next on the list – start making Christmas Cookies!