Truffles

I love truffles but I've always been afraid to try making them myself. Something about the words "double boiler" always scared me. Silly. I made these today for Krynn for Valentine's Day and they were really easy. I found the recipe on one of my favorite blogs: My Baking Addiction. I would love to bake every recipe on that site. Which would be bad because we'd never eat anything but sweets. Yum.

Basic Truffles

12 ounces chocolate, chopped (semisweet or bittersweet)

3 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/3 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a double boiler over barely simmering water, combine chocolate, butter and cream. Heat until melted and stir until smooth.

2. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla. (Claire started screaming at this point and I forgot this step. They were still good without, but I wish I had put in the vanilla.)

3. Pour into a shallow casserole dish and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about two hours.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small scoop or melon baller (I used my smallest cookie scoop) scoop out chocolate mixture and roll into one-inch balls. Place on prepared baking sheet. Roll balls in your desired coating. I used sprinkles, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: About 30 truffles.

Here is a link to the original recipe: Truffles. The blogger provides some good tips and ideas for making these extra special.

Chocolate Mellow Bars

Colored marshmallows are highly favored in our house by one little girl in particular. I wanted to make these candies during Christmas with her, but I ran out of time so we made them a couple of weeks ago instead. I remember Mom making these when we were little. I tweaked her recipe a little bit. These are also called Cathedral Windows and are meant to resemble the stained glass window panes in a church. I think they'd be really fun for Valentine's Day with pink mini marshmallows. You could pick out all of the pink ones from the package. Or you could have a little preschooler do it for you. They'd love it!

Ingredients:

8 ounces chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

1 egg, beaten

3 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup chopped nuts (I used slivered almonds)

1 cup shredded coconut

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan on low heat. Add egg; mix well. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Combine marshmallows and nuts in a large bowl. Pour chocolate mixture over the nuts and marshmallows. Cut two 13 x 9 inch pieces of wax paper. Divide coconut and sprinkle half of it down the length of each piece of wax paper. Divide the chocolate mixture in half and shape each piece into a log on top of the coconut. Sprinkle with the remaining coconut. Roll up like a jelly roll. Freeze one hour. Unroll and slice into 1 1/2 thick pieces.

Pretzel Turtles

I got this recipe from Our Best Bites. It's super easy, cute and tasty. Yum! I love sweet and salty.

Ingredients:
Rolos
pretzels
M&M's

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place pretzels on cookie sheet. Top each pretzel with a Rolo. Cook in oven for 3-4 minutes. Squish an M&M on top. Done!

Hot Chocolate Bark

Alayna, Carson and I have been working all morning on treats for our neighbors and friends. It has been so much fun, and it's one of my favorite things to do during Christmas time. We made up this recipe because Alayna said we should make some like hot chocolate. Carson even helped crush the candy canes by trowing the bag on the floor.

Ingredients:
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups white chocolate chips or white candy coating
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
3 crushed candy canes

Directions:
Melt semisweet chocolate chips in microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or until smooth. Spread thinly onto a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Next, melt the white chocolate same as the semisweet chocolate. Stir in the marshmallows and spread evenly over the semisweet chocolate. Sprinkle with candy canes. Chill in the fridge until hard. Break apart.

Caramels

I'll be happy to share my caramel recipe. I have a confession to make anyway. I have officially decided that I prefer caramel over chocolate. Never thought that would be true. But hey, I like it better. What can I say! And it's all because of these caramels. My most favorite candy ever!

Just made some the other day. Not to mention the fact that I've made the caramel popcorn recipe I posted four times in two weeks. I LOVE caramel!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1 /2 cups butter (real butter)

1 1/2 cups light corn syrup

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Cook and stir (don't scrape the sides of the pan) until mixture reaches 242 degrees on a candy thermometer or is a firm ball when added to cold water. Pour in a greased 13 X 9 pan. Don't scrape the pan when pouring. Let set until cool. Cut and wrap in wax paper. Or use as a caramel coating for caramel apples or pretzel rods.

* The original recipe says to cook the caramel until it reaches 238 degrees. I have found that the caramel is too soft and sticky when I only cook it this long. It doesn't hold its shape when cut. So, I make sure that it reaches 242. Put the thermometer in the middle of the boiling caramel, not on the bottom of the pan, to get the best results. This may vary depending on altitude and humidity. Also, if you find out you didn't cook the caramel long enough and it's too soft, you can pour it back in the pan and cook it again to a higher temperature and it will still turn out good.