Hersheys Mixed Nut Crunch

So yes, there are going to be 3 new posts today...and no I did not make them all today. I made the pie this weekend and this recipe and the next ones were made today. This recipe is from my Hershey Best-loved Recipes cookbook. I've been using various recipes from online so much recently that I've really missed using an actual cookbook. Originally the recipe is called "Cashew Macadamia Crunch" because it uses only cashews and macadamias, but I had a big tub of mixed nuts and I thought it was discriminatory only to use those 2 nuts. :) 

This is a salty and sweet pleasure for anyone! Unless you hate nuts, I can't imagine anybody not liking this candy. The nuts are held together by a gooey, sugary, and buttery mixture. The recipe also originally called for only milk chocolate chips, but after years of experience, I found that using half milk and half semisweet chocolate usually yields the best results. Hope you guys enjoy and tell me if you try it! :)

INGREDIENTS:

 2 cups (11.5 ounce package) Hershey's Milk Chocolate chips (or 1 cup Milk chocolate, 1 cup semisweet)

   *of course they tell you to use EVERYTHING Hershey, but I won't tell anyone if you don't. :)

2 cups mixed nuts

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2-3 tablespoons light corn syrup

DIRECTIONS:

1. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Grease foil. Cover bottom of prepared pan with chocolate chips.

2. Combine nuts, butter, sugar, and corn syrup in large saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring constantly until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium; cook, stirring constantly until mixture begins to cling together and turns a light golden brown.

3. Pour mixture over chocolate chips in pan, spreading evenly; cool. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm. Remove from pan and peel off foil. Break into pieces (you might need to use a knife). Store tightly covered in a cool, dry place (I kept mine in the refrigerator b/c to me it tastes better cold). 

Ingredients

Butterfinger Mounds and Chocolate Clodhoppers

Two candies in one post today! The Butterfinger mounds are from cookiemadness.com and the clodhoppers are from bakingchambers.com The butterfingers really do taste a lot like the actual candy. You could dip them in chocolate or just drizzle it on top if you want, but I was lazy and didn't feel like it today. The clodhoppers, also called chocolate brittle...AWESOME. Definitely use Hershey milk chocolate bars with this one.

Butterfinger Mounds

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups corn flakes

Place butter, sugar and corn syrup in a medium sized microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for about 1 minute or until bubbly. Stir to dissolve sugar. Quickly stir in butterscotch chips and stir until chips are melted. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla and stir until smooth. Stir in corn flakes.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Let sit until firm or chill until firm.

Makes around 12

 Chocolate Brittle (Homeade Clodhoppers)

1/2 Cup butter
1/2 Cup sugar (either white granulated sugar or light brown sugar both work, but I prefer to use the white sugar for taste preference)
20-30 Graham crackers (amount depends on size of cookie sheet)
Approx. 400g of your favorite chocolate bar (I like to use either Cadbury's milk chocolate bar, Hershey's cookies and cream bar, or Lindt's dark chocolate bar)

1) Preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
2) Melt butter and sugar over medium heat stirring occasionally and bring to a boil
3) Arrange graham crackers to fit evenly on cookie sheet
4) Pour butter mixture over graham crackers and spread to cover all graham crackers evenly
5) Place in oven for 8min then cool completely on a wire rack
6) Once cooled, break sugar coated graham crackers into bite size pieces
7) Melt chocolate in large pot over low heat stirring frequently
8) Once melted, add graham bits to melted chocolate and stir to cover each piece equally
9) Pour chocolate covered grahams back onto lined cookie sheet and spread evenly
10) Place in fridge to cool, once cooled break into pieces again and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Does it come to anyone's surprise that a recipe from Paula Deen is great? I mean really, if I could have any mother-in-law in the world, it would be her. I think one of her sons is still single--maybe I should get to work on that.  

In the meantime, here is a Paula recipe from http://www.foodnetwork.com It's essentially chocolate chip cookie dough (minus the raw egg) dipped in chocolate to make a truffle.  What drew me to this recipe was the use of sweetened condensed milk, which makes it sticky and wonderful. This recipe is for all your cookie dough lovers out there who make cookies just to scrape the bowl...I know you guys are out there--don't hide it, be proud! :)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate morsels
• 1 1/2 pounds chocolate bark candy coating, melted

Directions

In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and add milk. Add chocolate morsels and pecans, mixing well. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on waxed paper; chill 2 hours.

*Cook's Note: Since the dough is sticky, roll your fingers into flour. This will make it easier to roll.

Melt chocolate bark candy coating in a double boiler. Using 2 forks, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover. Place on waxed paper and chill to set. Store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

White Trash-revamped

If you guys haven't noticed yet, I LOVE homemade candy. Cakes, cookies...eh, they're ok and all, but candy is where it's at! I'm sure all of you have had white trash before so I decided to vamp up the recipe a little bit. I added peanut butter (of course I would right?) to the white chocolate in addition to Cadburry mini chocolate eggs. This stuff is amazing...really really really good. It is, however, kind of rich and after a few bites you've had enough.

The other great thing about this is that you don't have to use the stove or oven AND you just dump everything into one bowl. Instead of writing a paper, I made this and am watching Grey's Anatomy...I know I know, it's trashy at times--just let me have my guilty pleasure. Besides, when you're wanting to procrastinate school, anything sounds good other than the actual work itself. 

There is a little bit of justification to not doing school too. The Memphis Tigers (my school!!) play tonight so I of course have to watch and support. They are going all the way to #1 this year I feel it. Last year #2 was an ok spot, but I feel it...#1 here we come!

Ingredients:

2 cups Cheerios

1 1/2 cups peanuts

2 cups pretzel sticks, broken

2 cups Chex cereal (I just realized I forgot to add these :()

1 1/2 cups M & M's

1 bag Cadburry Mini Chocolate Eggs

1 package of white chocolate chips (around 16 oz.)

3/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:

Put all the ingredients except the white chocolate and peanut butter in a large bowl. Melt the white chocolate and peanut butter in a microwavable bowl (about 2 min.) until smooth and creamy. Pour over mixture and mix together, coating the dry ingredients evenly.  

Put wax paper on the counter and pour mixture on top, spreading in a thin layer. Let set and break into clumps. Store in an airtight container or plastic bag.

Poor Man's Toffee

Imagine this to be some late night informercial that you're watching because there's nothing worth watching at 2 am. The lady comes on saying "Are you bakers tired of baking? Well put away your mixers and mixing bowls and try this recipe out!"

Ok yes overly cheesy (no pun intended...you'll get it in a second), but I'm in the midst of "studying" for my African American Lit. midterm tomorrow...and by studying I mean NOT studying. But there are just times when you don't feel like melting or softening butter or measuring out a ton of ingredients. If you feel that way, then this candy recipe is a quick and different twist on a normal toffee or brittle recipe. 

Normally when I make this I use saltines for the base, but on http://vanillakitchen.blogspot.com I found a different version of brittle, a personal favorite candy recipe, using Cheez-It's. When I saw this my immediate reaction was 'oh sick.' I bookmarked it in case I changed my mind...and I felt adventurous tonight so I tried it. You actually don't taste the cheesy-ness of the crackers once it's finished. It really does all blend in together--the perfect combination of sweet and salty. I made my parents try it out and asked if they liked the saltines or Cheez-It's better. My dad was in favor of the Cheez-It's and my mom liked both equally. They do have a distinctly different taste. The saltines are more mild whereas the Cheez-It's give have a little kick...a little 'BAM!' as Emeril would say. :)

Usually people use toasted almonds to top their brittle, but not me. For some reason I felt inclined to use crushed Butterfinger on top...honestly I think it's b/c the Cheez-It's are orange and so is Butterfinger. Maybe I really do have the mind of a three year old and made color associations. For whatever reason, Butterfinger is way better than nuts on top of this. 

P.S. On a side note, keep checking the blog b/c very soon (as in tonight or tomorrow), there will be something I've never made appearing for the first time on my blog. I even will have to make a new label for it, so get excited and keep checking! Post a comment if you think you know what it is, and if you guess right...I'll send you some! Ok well not really, but you'll get gold star in my book. 

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter or margarine (you can cut some out to save some calories, but the toffee won't taste as good)

1 cup, packed light brown sugar

1 package of milk chocolate chips (about 2-3 cups)

3/4 box of the Big-size-Cheez'It's (the bigger ones cover more room)

2 Butterfinger bars, crushed

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a jellyroll pan with aluminum foil. Spread out the Cheez-It's until there are no holes (lay some on top of the others--don't just use one single layer). 

Melt the butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Once brought to a boil, simmer for 3-4 min. Pour mixture on top of Cheez-It's. Do not mix or stir them up! Bake for 6-8 min., until it bubbles. Let stand for 1-2 min. and spread chocolate chips across the surface. Let set for 1-2 min., or until the chocolate chips have melted. Spread the mixture until evenly coated. Spread the crushed Butterfingers on top. 

Set in the freezer or refrigerator until set. Break into bars.

Funfetti Friday!

Funfetti Cookies (I made mine a little large)

You  can use whatever food dye you want in the frosting, but I used pink of course :)

 

Funfetti Cake Balls

This is what they look like all mixed up and about to be put in the refrigerator.

My cat Cinnamon sat patiently watching me while I was baking in the kitchen...but I think he got a little tired from all that staring. 

So if you are one of those people who are stuck with having to bring dessert somewhere and have no time to make anything, here's two good recipes using a Pilsbury Funfetti Cake mix. Yes funfetti is supposed to be a kids cake, but why can't adults enjoy the sprinkles in a white cake too? The cookie recipe came from Pilsbury's official website, and if you wanted to add a special flavor try adding vanilla or coconut extract. The cake balls recipe comes from allrecipes.com, but you can also use any kind of cake to make these. I've made a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting from a mix and dipped them into semisweet chocolate. I've had great reviews of those red velvet cake balls too...they almost look like a glorified truffle.

Now if you think that you're too grown up to eat funfetti cake, make it for the kids b/c if it has sprinkles, they're going to be sold on it. I think these would be a great dessert to take to a kids birthday party. For a baby shower you could decorate the cookies with a blue or pink frosting (I used pink of course b/c I'm a girl and will put pink on everything). 

Funfetti Cookies

1 (18.9 oz) Pilsbury Most Supreme Funfetti Cake Mix

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs 

1/2 (15.6-oz) vanilla frosting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oil, and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With the bottom of glass, dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness. 

Bake for 6-8 in, or until edges are lightly golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Spread frosting over warm cookies. Immediately sprinkle each with sprinkles. 

Funfetti Cake Balls

1 (18.9-oz) Pilsbury Most Supreme Funfetti Cake Mix

1 can of vanilla frosting

white or milk chocolate to coat (about a package worth of of chocolate)

Bake cake according to instructions on the box.  Let cake cool slightly and crumble into pieces. Add frosting and form into balls. Let them set in the freezer for about 3 hours. 

Put parchment or wax paper on cookie sheets. Remove cake balls and coat with chocolate; place on cookie sheets. Let set in the refrigerator for chocolate to harden.  

Chocolate Billionaires

These very similar to a 100 Grand candy bar. If you want to make these extra special toast the pecans!

Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) package caramels

3 tbsp. water

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 cup crisp rice cereal

3 cups milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 tsp. shortening

Directions:

Line two baking sheets with waxed paper; grease the paper and set aside.  In a large saucepan combine the caramels and water; cook and stir over low heat until smooth.  Stir in pecans and cereal until coated.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared pan.  Refrigerate for 10 min. or until firm.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening over low heat; stir until smooth.  Dip candy into chocolate, coating all sides.  Place on prepared pans.  Refrigerate until set and store in an airtight container. 

Holiday Pecan Log

This came from www.tasteofhome.com These taste just like the ones you can buy.  If you want you can add piece of cherry like some pecan logs have, but mine are just the plain ones. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup + 2 tsp. butter, softened and divided

3 3/4 cups confictioners' sugar

1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 package (14 ounce) caramels

1 tbsp. milk or half-and-half cream

2 cups chopped pecans

Directions:

Butter an 8-inch square pan with 2 tsp. butter; set aside.  Combine confectioners' sugar and milk powder; set aside.  In a heavy saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, sugar, and corn syrup; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Stir in confectioners' sugar mixture, about a third at a time, until blended.

Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla.  Continue stirring until the mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon.  Spread into prepared pan and cool.  Cut candy in 4 strips; cut each strip in half.  Shape each into a log; wrap in waxed paper and twist ends.  Freeze or refrigerate until form.

Meanwhile, in a microwave, melt caramels with milk, stirring often.  Roll logs in caramel mixture, then in pecans.  Wrap in waxed paper.  Store at room temperature in airtight containers.  Cut into slices with a serrated knife. 

White Chocolate Holiday Bark

This easy candy came from the Food Network Channel, so you know it must be good. It has the sweet and salty taste embedded with the smooth white chocolate. I added a few roasted peanuts to mine because I didn't have enough pistachios. 

Ingredients:

1 pound finely chopped white chocolate

1 1/2 tsp. nut or plain oil

1/2 cup cranberries

1 1/4 cups shelled pistachio nuts, toasted and papery coating peeled

Directions:

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, simmering the water on a low heat.  You can use a candy thermometer to keep a check on it; it should read between 82 to 86 degrees.  Once melted, stir in the oil, cranberries, and nuts.  Spread wax or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Pour the mixture on it the cookie sheet and refrigerate until the mixture hardens. Break into pieces. 

Puppy Chow/Dog Food/Reindeer Poop

There's quite an assortment of names for this, but I find puppy chow the most appealing and least disgusting.  I'm sure everyone has eaten this at some point in their life so there's no need for me to tell you how wonderfully addicting it.

Ingredients:

9 cups Rice Chex cereal

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 to 3 cups confectioners' sugar (It really depends on how much you want. I tend to use half a bag or so)

Directions:

Melt the butter, chocolate, and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl for about 1 1/2 min. Add vanilla.  Pour the cereal into a large bowl and pour the chocolate mixture, coating the cereal thoroughly. Place the mixture in a large plastic bag if you don't have a lid for your large bowl; add the confectioners' sugar and shake until all the cereal is evenly coated. You can add any extras to this if you want; I added peanut butter M&M's to mine, though I like it without anything added the best.

White Chocolate Grapes

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com (here's the link http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/White-Chocolate-Grapes/Detail.aspx) This is definitely something everyone should try once. We had some grapes in the refrigerator which I knew would go bad soon, so I found this recipe. Obviously if you aren't a huge fan of grapes I don't recommend this recipe, but I found the white chocolate/peanut combination with the grapes to be excellent! Just a tip: make sure your hands and the grapes are DRY. Water and chocolate are not friends. The original recipe called for shortening, but we don't use shortening in our house to I substituted margarine. This made the chocolate mixture much more thick, but in my opinion it made it easier to coat the grapes with it. It's your call though, shortening or margarine. 

Ingredients

2 cups white chocolate chips

2 tsp. shortening (or margarine)

1 pound seedless grapes

1 cup finely chopped salted peanuts

Directions

Combine the white chocolate chips and shortening/margarine in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Spread the chopped peanuts out on a piece of waxed paper. Dip clean, dry grapes into the chocolate, then roll in the peanuts. Set of a wax paper until dry. Warm chocolate as needed in the microwave to keep it liquid. 

Cookies & Cream Fudge

This fudge is really sweet, and this coming from me says a lot. I would recommend lowering the amount of sugar if I were you. Mine weren't cut very smoothly in the picture b/c I cut them before setting all the way, but you can at least get the general idea about what they look like. 

Ingredients:

3 cups granulated sugar (you might try 2 cups instead)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

2/3 cup evaporated milk

2 cups white chocolate chips

1 jar marshmallow creme (or just melt half a 10.5 ounce bag of mini marshmallows)

1/2 cup finely crushed Oreos

1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

1 cup crumbled Oreos

Directions:

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Combine sugar, butter, and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 3 min., still stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Stir in white chocolate, marshmallow creme, finely crushed cookies, and vanilla extract. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle crumbed cookies on top. Gently swirl the cookies into fudge using a knife without touching the bottom of the pan.

Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil Cut into 48 pieces.

Brickle Candy

 This candy is good b/c it's salty, sweet, and not really hard. It almost has a toffee-like flavor in the caramel. I actually used whole wheat saltines in mine, but you can use graham crackers too.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 package saltine crackers

1 12 ounce package milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Lay out crackers on the cookie sheet. Melt the butter, brown sugar, and baking soda on a low heat. Stir constantly so it won't foam. Boil until a light brown/caramel color. Pour mixture over the crackers. Scatter the chocolate chips over the mixture. Cook for 10 min. When it comes out use a spatula to spread out the melted chocolate chips to form a coating. Put in the freezer for a few min. Remove and break into pieces.

Just the Beginning

As I stumbled upon a delicious recipe online at a random site, so began my addiction with searching the internet for amazing and new dessert recipes. Sure I can cook, but baking is so much more fun. I must admit that I MUST have a picture of whatever I'm going to prepare because it gives me the incentive to make it. Thus being said I've collected a lot (it's ridiculous actually) of recipes I have bookmarked...in bookmark folders...in alphabetical order. I know I can go a bit overboard at times, but hey just go with me. The first recipe I made is carmel popcorn balls (it's also festive too since Halloween is almost here) at the request of my dad. I don't like carmel popcorn myself, but I thought these were fantastic. The homemade caramel tastes completely different than the regular stick and hard kind. Hope you enjoy!

Caramel Popcorn Balls

Ingredients:

1 bag of microwavable popcorn

1/4 cup butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

 1/2 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Pop the popcorn and set aside. In a medium saucepan with a candy thermometer inserted, combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Stir well and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in condensed milk; simmer, stirring constantly, until thermometer reads 238 degrees F (114 degrees C). Stir in vanilla.

Pour caramel over popped corn and stir to coat. Let it cool for a few minutes. Shape into balls of desired size, but wet your hands before to prevent them from sticking. Place on wax or parchment paper.