From Green to Pink – Springtime Easter Treats

The last round of cookie and treat-making featured the green theme for St. Patrick’s Day. This week the temperatures don’t feel like Spring, but everything is turning green and the daffodils and magnolia trees are in bloom. To celebrate Easter, we searched for some fun treat recipes to make and box up for a delivery run to the family this weekend. Many of us have had at least the first COVID vaccination dose and several have had their second dose. We are hoping that very soon we will be able to meet safely in person without masks! It has been a long year of physical separation, but we remain patient and want to be fully vaccinated before we get together again.

In the meantime pink and pastel colors make this selection bright and festive.

How about carrot cake baked as a cookie with cream cheese frosting and a piped on carrot decoration?

https://www.landolakes.com/recipe/17080/carrot-cake-cookies/

We thought the little kids would get a kick out of Bird’s Nest Treats made with squiggly Chinese noodles and filled with jelly bean eggs.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/bird-s-nest-treats/

At Christmas I always make a big batch of Chex Mix using white almond bark, cereals, pretzels, peanuts and red and green M & M’s. Here is an Easter version using pink candy melts

https://wishesndishes.com/easter-bunny-tail-chex-mix/.

Nutter Butter Peanut Butter cookies get disguised as Spring chicks.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a19473539/nutter-butter-chicks-recipe/

To help fill the box we made this batch of bar cookies.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/golden-m-m-s-bars/

I have a new embossed rolling pin embellished with bunny rabbits and shamrocks that I used on a Butter Cookie dough (previously published with other embossed cookie patterns) and rounded out the collection with cut-out Royal-iced using the go-to recipe previously posted for Martha’s Star Cookie Tree . Tomorrow we hit to the road to make our deliveries.

Have a very Happy Easter weekend!

Day 3 – Baking and Candy Making

This day went by super fast! I did most of the baking and continued on with candy making. I rolled all of the Buckeye Centers and plan to do all the chocolate dipping tomorrow. I baked the Snickerdoodles, the chocolate wafers for the Cannoli cookies, the Christmas Tree graduated-size star-shaped cookies that will become a towering tree, the coconut Macaroons, and the Pecan Tassies.
I added the second and third layers to Duff’s Toffee, Chocolate and Orange cookies, but will do the final stages tomorrow. Here’s the cookie base with the raspberry jam layer, and the second photo is the butterscotch marshmallow nougat layer. For now, it’s resting in the freezer. I’ll cut it into 1-inch squares tomorrow then dip it in chocolate and top it with candied orange zest.

I hand-rolled the Cream Cheese mints and pressed them into red,green, and clear sugar crystals for decoration.

I tried this new cookie recipe for French Macarons and used my new silicone mat successfully. These cookies are so different and have a great chewy texture and almond taste. I always wanted to try to make them, and with a little bit of effort, they are not that difficult and look and taste very impressive. I went with the vanilla flavoring and plan to fill them with a pistachio paste and may use some Peach Lavender Jam and Strawberry Rhubarb Jam to fill them. I only ended up with enough cookies to make 40 sandwiches so I may be making a second batch before the week is out. There is a little bit of a learning curve with piping the right amount onto the mat. Too much makes an oversize cookie that bleeds over into the cookies next to it. With a little practice, I got the right amount measured out. This may be the new favorite this year!!

French Macarons

I bought a new 48-cup mini muffin pan and tried it out for the first time tonight on the Pecan Tassies. I should have bought this years ago!! The tarts popped out smooth as silk. I do need to adjust the baking time to a few minutes shorter due to the dark non-stick coating. I also baked the shells for the Pomegranate Tarts while the oven was hot. These will be filled the day of the party with a white chocolate pudding and topped with fresh Pomegranate seeds. I am all in for the night and will start back up with the chocolate-dipping process then hopefully switch over to some of the savory items.

Day 2 – Candy Day

Today was my day to sleep in a little bit, then I was off to church. When I got home I found that my new silicone macaron mat had arrived. It occurred to me that there could be many uses for this sheet and I planned to inaugurate it with the Pretzel Turtles. We had brunch – fried eggs and bacon with Everything Bagels. Kevin cooked up some of the Burger’s end pieces, which are thick-cut and delicious. After we ate, the candy making commenced. Our daughter, Amanda, came over while I was working on the first batch and lent a hand. The macaron mat turn out to be excellent for making candy, too. (note to self – buy a second one). I think it could be reversible since the back side is smooth and could be applied to other baking projects. I filled the raised molded circle rings with the melted semi-sweet chocolate for each Pretzel Turtle base. I chilled them for about 30 minutes and easily popped them off the sheet looking uniform and perfectly shaped!

I made the White Christmas next. The recipe makes a large portion and this is a very munchable Chex cereal treat that I have blogged about the last several years. It is a perennial favorite that I always repeat.

White Chunky Chocolates (previously posted) were next up. I use silicone oval ice cube trays to shape these treats. After chilling for about 30 minutes I popped them out and put them in storage containers in the refrigerator.

Amanda put together the Peanut Butter Chews in no time. They are quick and easy to make and have a sweet and salty crunch. The cooled off and set up on wax paper then went into a covered container for storage at room temperature. The next candy was a new recipe I’m trying. Since we visited the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky this Summer I wanted to use some of the foods we picked up on our travels throughout the year. These are really delectable and the recipe made about 6 dozen. I shaped them into balls and put them into Christmas print miniature muffin pan liners. For decoration we added a Georgia pecan half on top, slightly pressing it into the candy.

Bourbon Truffles

8 ozs. butter, softened
2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup Evan Williams Bourbon
2 cups finely chopped pecans
14 ozs. semi-sweet chocolate, melted

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 1 pound of sugar with the mixer on high speed. Add the Bourobn, remaining sugar, pecans and the melted chocolate. Mix well. Cool the mixture in the refrigerator, covered, until firm enough to handle, approximately 2 hours. With a teaspoon, roll into balls, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I bought a 7-lb. bag of Confectioners’ sugar and I think my calculation may have been off on the measurement because I was able to roll these right away without chilling. Math has never been my strong suit, but I don’t think it was detrimental in this instance. This is a LOT of Bourbon candy!

We had some quick sandwiches for supper then I made 2 types of cookie dough and two batches of Empanada dough. I think that about does it for today. Tomorrow cookie baking is on the agenda, including the much-anticipated new recipe for macarons!

Countdown Begins – Day 1

I set an alarm of sorts today, although I usually don’t on Saturday mornings. The high-pitched notes were coming from my stove timer signaling that the Summer Sausage I put in the oven last night had finished its 8-hour baking time. I padded into the kitchen and pulled it out to cool then got ready to get on the road. First item done!

We had a lot to do today. We’ve rented a booth at the Antique Mall in St. Mary, Missouri and needed to make the 1 1/2 -hour trip down to do an inventory and restock with some new items. On the way back we stopped at Oberle Meats. On a trip there last month we ate at a local restaurant and they offered a charcuterie board. That appealed to me as a light lunch with a soup and salad. The server told us the meats were from Oberle’s. We happened to drive by the store on the way out of town and stopped in to pick up some of their Krakow. The texture and flavor is wonderful! This inspired me to put out a charcuterie board for our Open House.

http://oberlemeats.com

With the Krakow sticks in the cooler we headed north to St. Louis We did some shopping at Costco (first time members) for bulk items, then on to the Hill for some Italian specialty items, then to Randell’s Liquors and finally over to the Global Market. After a quick supper we headed home to unpack our purchases and get a few items started. I’ve changed the menu up a bit this year putting some items on hiatus and adding a few others. We watched an episode of the Pioneer Woman where Ree Drummond made some Pretzel Turtles and they have been added to the Sweets category. This is her recipe – I am doubling the quantities she used to feed the crowd we anticipate.

Pretzel Turtles

24 pecan halves
24 mini pretzel twists
24 individually wrapped soft caramel squares, unwrapped
8 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Put the pecan halves on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake, shaking the sheet once halfway through, until lightly toasted, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a plate to cool.
Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Arrange the pretzels neatly on the baking sheet, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped caramel. Bake until the caramels soften (but are definitely not melting), 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and gently press a pecan half onto each caramel, just enough for the caramel to fill the pretzel. Set aside to cool completely.
Remove the cooled pretzel/caramels from the baking sheet. Spoon 24 small dollops (1 1/2-teaspoon helpings) of the melted chocolate all over the baking sheet, then lightly drop a pretzel onto the middle of each dollop, making sure the pretzel is centered. Allow them to cool completely before serving (you can hasten this along in the fridge).
Ree Drummond

It took a little while to unwrap 75 caramels, but with Kevin retired now, he is helping me out. I had two different brands of caramels and it was interesting to see the difference in how they softened in the oven. It looks like Kraft caramels are better suited to this recipe. They are cooling on the counter now and we’ll do the chocolate bases tomorrow. I also made a batch of Snickerdoodle dough and mixed the Buckeye centers. More on that in the morning. I have set a goal to get most of the candies done tomorrow so it’s time to turn in!

Chocolate is a Many Splendored Thing

Today I had two helpers. My good friend Mibs, who is now retired, came over about 9:00 and my sister-in-law, Linda came at 11:30. They were a tremendous help and together we worked on items that work best with the two-man approach. We made the perennial favorites, Beef and Chicken Empanaditas and Maple Glazed Chicken wings, and did the final steps to complete Duff Goldman’s Toffee-Chocolate-and Orange Cookies. They taste amazing! I also got to use my kitchen torch on them so it made them more fun. The candied orange garnish got a little crunchy and that added another dimension to the flavors.

We made about 120 of Dr. Naegler’s Cherry Mice and also tried a couple of new recipes. From this month’s Food Network magazine we made Strawberry Covered Chocolates. I am not dyslexic – that is the actual name of the candy. I was able to find the freeze-dried strawberries at both Trader Joe’s and Wal-Mart in the produce section.

Strawberry-Covered Chocolates

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
(as an alternative, I used 1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips)
Freeze-dried strawberries, crushed

Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and set aside. Bring the cream and butter to a boil, then pour it over the chocolate. Stir until completely melted. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours. Scoop and roll into 1-inch balls (or smaller) and roll in the crushed strawberries to cover. Chill until set. I am storing these in the refrigerator.

From Pinterest we used a recipe to make Melting Snowman truffles that turned out really cute. This is a great recipe to make with kids because they can help add the hats and faces.

Melting Snowman Truffles

1 package Oreo sandwich cookies (about 36 cookies)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
Family-size box of Mini Oreo cookies
1 1-lb. package vanilla candy coating
Assorted Christmas colors of store-bought writing icing in tubes

Crush the cookies and mix with the cream cheese until thoroughly combined. I put the cookies in my stand mixer and crushed them with the beater. Shape into 1-inch balls and place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet. Place in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Next, melt the candy coating in a double boiler. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Remove the cookie balls from the freezer and dip one at a time in the candy coating. Immediately put a mini Oreo on top for the hat. It’s okay for the chocolate to puddle a little to resemble a melting snowman. apply eyes nose and a mouth with the writing icing. These are so cute and delicious, too! Store in the refrigerator until serving time.

I’m planning to make the ever-popular Pimento Cheese Dip, Hummus and Elegant Cream Cheese mints tonight still if I don’t run out of steam. As Scarlet O’Hara famously said “After all tomorrow is another day”.

Sweet Treats

I was up early this morning to do some housekeeping then went out to get a haircut and pick up more groceries. The shopping is done in phases to get the fresh ingredients closer to the day of the party. I set to work on Duff’s layered cookies. I spread the raspberry jam over the crust.

The next layer is a nougat filling that is cooked on the stovetop.

It came together fairly quickly then I spread it over the jam layer and put it in the freezer. After about an hour I got it out, scored it and sliced it. Duff’s recommended serving is 1 x 3″ rectangles. Since we are going to have so many different desserts, I downsized them to 1 x 1-inch squares. Maybe I was working too slowly, but the jam was squishing out the sides. Kind of messy. I put the cubes in a storage container and put them back out in the freezer again. The next step will be dipping them in chocolate.

In between the steps for this complicated cookie I made the White Rumchata Fudge Bites, the Almond Roca, the White Chunky Chocolates and another new recipe from the December Food Network magazine.

The Barefoot Contessa’s Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

I’ve made home-made marshmallows before and it’s kind of like a science experiment. It’s amazing how a few ingredients turn into these delectable treats. A home-made marshmallow tastes so much better than the store-bought variety. I bloomed some unflavored gelatin then made the syrup.

I used a 8 x 12-inch glass dish and sprinkled it with powdered sugar and ready-made toasted coconut while the marshmallow was whipping.

The marshmallow batter is really, really sticky. I scraped as much as I could get out of the mixing bowl then used an off set spatula dipped in hot water to smooth the top out. More toasted coconut finished off the top. It will sit all night to dry then I’ll pop it out (I hope it comes out!) and cut it into squares tomorrow. Since the cut edges will still be sticky, Ina instructs us to roll them in powdered sugar. I test tasted the batter off the beater and it has an excellent vanilla flavor, Now it ‘s time to take a break for supper!

Savory and Sweet

We braved the Black Friday crowds and went shopping for some more ingredients this morning. The crowds weren’t too bad, at least not where we were shopping. We had a quick lunch then headed back home to continue decorating and cooking. After the groceries were unpacked and stored I made a batch of Snickerdoodle Dough. It seems like I start with these every year, just because it is Kevin’s favorite Christmas cookie.

Snickerdoodles

Mix these ingredients thoroughly in the bowl of a stand mixer.

1 cup soft shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten

Sift together and blend into the creamed butter and sugar mixture:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Rolling sugar:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix together in a small bowl and set aside.

Chill and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar and place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned, but still soft. These cookies will puff up at first then flatten out with a crinkled top. This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies.

I won’t bake these until tomorrow or Sunday and will probably make several more batches of dough and bake them back-to-back while I have the oven hot.

Another favorite is White Christmas Candy. This is a family favorite. It makes a large amount, but it seems like there’s hardly ever any left.

White Christmas

3 cups Corn Chex
3 cups Rice Chex
3 cups Cheerios
1 cup unsalted peanuts
3 cups broken pretzels, or tiny shaped pretzels
1 lb. M & M’s red and green Holiday candies (approximately 2 cups0
2 lbs. white almond bark or white chocolate melting wafers

Spread two large sheets of waxed paper, about a yard long each, on a countertop, slightly overlapping the long edges. Melt white chocolate in the top of a double boiler, stirring frequently. While it’s melting, combine all of the other ingredients in a large bowl. When the chocolate is completely melted, pour it over the dry ingredients and gently stir until thoroughly coated. Spread the candy out over the waxed paper. After it cools and hardens, break it into smaller pieces and store in a tightly sealed container.

We have tickets to see Straight No Chaser at The Fox in St. Louis tonight. This will be the third time we get to see this group and they have sold out the last two years they’ve toured here. I never get tired of their A Capella vocals and they are great entertainers. If you think you’ve never heard of them, here’s a link to their original Twelve Days of Christmas video on YouTube.

Straight No Chaser – Twelve Days of Christmas

Before we have supper and get ready to go to the show, I made one more item, this one savory. I make this recipe every year, sometimes using Mesquite Liquid smoke. This year I am using Wright’s Liquid Smoke, Hickory Flavor. I will knead this meat mixture every night for the next three nights then bake it low and slow for 8 hours overnight. Here’s a link to the previously-posted recipe.

Summer Sausage

Now it’s time to heat up some Thanksgiving leftovers and have supper!

April Fool’s Day and Disaster Recovery 101

April Fools Day is a little over a day away, so over the weekend I was plotting what look-alike dessert to take to work. Last year it was my all-time-favorite Spaghetti and Meatballs Cupcakes. Here’s the link to that post:

Spaghetti and Meatballs Cupcakes

I just got the April Food Network Magazine and found my answer for this year: the Cereal-Bowl Cake.

Cereal-Bowl Cake

I thought, that can’t be that hard, can it? In fact, let’s make two and Kevin can take one to work as well. I started out following the directions. Easy enough. Prepare a box cake mix and bake it in a glass bowl. Check.

I let the cakes cool, then I began to hollow out the Strawberry cake (Kevin’s flavor request). Then I frosted the cake. Then it collapsed….DRAT!!!!!!
Turns out, the joke was on me. It’s not as easy as it looks and I was way too confident.

There I was, left with this disappointing heap of partially frosted cake, and a lot of crumbs. Not to despair, I found the perfect solution! Make cake pops. Sort of. Who needs the sticks?

I mixed the remaining frosting and crumbs together breaking up the big chunks, until it was uniform consistency throughout. Next I used a small cookie scoop and molded them into bite-sized bits. These went onto a wax-paper lined cookie sheet then into the freezer overnight.

What do you do with a couple of dozen frozen cake balls? Dip them in chocolate, of course. Tonight I melted 3 cups of semisweet chocolate chips with 1/2 bar of Gulf Wax edible paraffin in a double boiler and dipped the frozen treats one by one. They rested on another wax-paper-lined cookie sheet until they firmed up. I’m storing them in the refrigerator stacked in layers on wax paper sheets, until Kevin takes them to school on Wednesday.

So, you may ask, what happened to the other cake? Well, lesson learned from the first attempt. The second go around was fairly successful, though not nearly as pretty as the professional version in the magazine. I got it all the way to the step where the frosted cake firms up in the freezer. Upon removing it from the freezer, I was dismayed to discover that It had suffered a fissure, much like the Liberty Bell. Never one to give up, I spackled it back together with the aid of some more frosting mortar reinforced with reserved cake crumbs and secured this plaster job with bamboo skewers. I finished it off by filling the concave side with softened Bobby’s Frozen Custard and “floated” some Froot Loops on top. It’s back in the freezer, standing solid until I take it to work. I’ll remove the skewers and garnish with a large serving spoon, then we’ll dig in. I don’t think anyone will mind its scars. It will taste just a good as if it hadn’t cracked. All in good fun!

Happy April Fool’s Day!

Sweet and Savory Snacks

The coming of Spring also brings the start of Trivia Night season. We went to our first game tonight and placed in the top 4, which is a respectable showing. We also were the high bidders on some excellent Cardinal Baseball tickets on the Silent Auction while supporting the Youth Mission group at the church holding the game. With every Trivia Night, there must be food. Tonight I made the ever-popular King’s Hawaiian Roll sandwiches, which has been posted previously on this site, but here is the link:

King’s Hawaiian Roll Sandwiches

For a sweet snack I pulled out a recipe that I hadn’t made for quite a while that just sounded good. It’s from an old Midwest Living Magazine and was a $1000 contest-winning entry. If you make these delicious bars, you will probably agree that it’s a winner. It’s very rich so I cut the bars into about 1 1/2″ squares. The surprise ingredient is club crackers. I used Keebler Original Club Crackers, which give the bars a nice crunch. It takes a bit of time and patience to assemble, but the results in the end are worthwhile.

Salted Caramel, Chocolate and Peanut Cracker-Stack Bars

8 ounces rich rectangular crackers
1 1/2 sticks butter
3/4 cup honey
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 cups finely crushed graham crackers
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups chocolate-covered peanut butter cups, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (use a 9-ounce package or 6 1 1/2-ounce packages)
2 cups dry roasted peanuts, unsalted
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (9 ounces)
1/3 cup butterscotch-flavored chips
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter

Line a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with nonstick foil, extending the foil over the edges of the pan. Arrange half of the crackers in a single layer over the bottom of the prepared pan. The pan I used was slightly wider at the top than on the bottom so I had to slightly overlap some crackers or break small bits off to get them to lie flat.

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, honey, brown sugar and cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add graham cracker crumbs, reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook the mixture for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of the sea salt. Pour half of the caramel mixture over the crackers in the prepared pan, spreading to cover (a long offset spatula is a great tool to use). Sprinkle with chopped peanut butter cups and peanuts.

Pour remaining caramel over. Arrange the remaining crackers in a single layer over the caramel (going in the same direction as the bottom layer for easier cutting later). Push slightly on the crackers as you place them to secure them in place.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate and butterscotch chips. Microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring after each heating time, for a total of 2 to 3 minutes until melted. Stir in peanut butter until smooth. Gently spread chocolate mixture over cracker layer; immediately sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Chill bars for 2 hours or until very firm. Using the edges of the oil as handles, lift the uncut bars out of the pan. Place on a large cutting board and cut into 32 or 40 squares, or smaller, if desired. I store these in the refrigerator to keep them firm and I think they also taste best chilled.

More Candy and Cookies

Yesterday I got quite a bit accomplished. I baked Snickerdoodles, Best Ever Gingersnaps, Spiced Almond Wafers, and Chocolate Cherry Checkerboard cookies. I also unmolded the White Chunky Chocolates and made Almond Roca Candy, White Christmas Candy, and Peanut Butter Chews. (Recipes available for all of these in the archive.)
The tins and containers are stacking up.

I tried a new candy recipe, Maker’s Mark Bourbon Fudge. We visited the distillery in Kentucky a couple of years ago and I picked up a cookbook there that had this easy recipe:

Maker’s Mark Bourbon Fudge

1 (12-ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup Maker’s Mark Bourbon
1/2 tsp. orange extract
1 (3/4-ounce) package slivered almonds

Combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a large bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Cook in microwave for 3 minutes on high. Remove from microwave and stir until smooth. Add bourbon and orange extract; mix well. Grease an 8-inch square pan and sprinkle the bottom of the pan with the almons. Pour mixture in pan and let stand until firm or chill in the refrigerator

I let it chill for several hours and it was still very soft when I cut it. I would recommend keeping it refrigerated. This morning after church and a late breakfast at home I mixed up the Buckeye centers and they are about to go in the freezer to chill for dipping in chocolate later.

Now, it’s on to more candy and cut-out cookies this afternoon.