PEANUT BUTTER TRUFFLES

                                                                          

Eric told me this recipe from America's Test Kitchen is delicious and easy, so when I wanted to make a sweet bite to go with our football food I decided they would be perfect.  They did not disappoint! The peanut butter inside with the crunch of peanuts was a perfect complement to the chocolate coating.  Who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate together anyway?!  What makes this an even better recipe is how easy they are to make.  The original recipe only makes 20 that are 1/2" in circumference, so I doubled their recipe and made mine into 1" balls.  What I am blogging here is the amount of ingredients I used. Scott especially loved them since chocolate paired with peanut butter is one of his favorite sweet treats, so  of course it was one of the main reasons I chose to make these.  Gotta spoil all my boys!

1 c. (114 grams) powdered sugar

6 TB creamy or chunky peanut butter (I used chunky for even more crunch.)

2 oz (56 grams) cream cheese, softened

1/4 c salted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped coarsely, plus 20 peanut halves

1/2 t vanilla

8 oz (226 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped or 1-1/3 c semisweet chocolate chips

2 TB vegetable or peanut oil

Line a large plate with parchment paper.  Stir sugar, peanut butter, cream cheese, chopped peanuts and vanilla in a bowl until uniform.  Roll mixture into 1" balls, and space them evenly apart on prepared plate.  Freeze, uncovered for 15 minutes.

Microwave chocolate and oil in bowl, covered at 50% power, stirring occasionally until smooth, 2-4 minutes. (Because I doubled the recipe it was taking the chocolate too long to start melting so I did it on full power for 30 seconds until it started melting.  Then I kept stirring it on shorter microwave times.  Once it was almost completely melted I took it out of the microwave and stirred it until all of it was melted. If it is overheated in the microwave the chocolate will start to harden and can't be salvaged, so be very careful when melting chocolate in the microwave.)

Stick a toothpick into a ball and dip it into the melted chocolate to coat, letting excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.  Return the ball to the plate, remove the toothpick and immediately place a peanut half over the toothpick hole.  Repeat with remains balls.  Freeze balls, uncovered until the chocolate has hardened, only about 10 minutes.  Serve, or store in refrigerator until serving time.  (Truffles can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 1 week.)

DENISE'S CROCKPOT CANDY

                        
Denise made this chocolate goodness and brought it to a girls' weekend a couple years ago.  I have made it several times but finally remembered to put it on the blog.  To be as simple as it is, it is extremely yummy.  It makes so much that I froze quite a bit of it, and we like it frozen as well as room temp.  So make a batch and refrigerate some, freeze some, and you have a delicious treat any time you have a chocolate craving.

2 lbs. salted dry-roasted peanuts
4 oz. German's sweet chocolate
12 oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
2-1/2 lbs. white almond bark

Put the peanuts in the bottom of a 4 qt slow cooker.  Layer the chocolate over the peanuts, beginning with the sweet chocolate, followed by the semisweet chips and then the almond bark.  Set the temperature on low and cook for 2-3 hours, checking it periodically.  Once it all melts, stir it with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Drop the candy into mini cupcakes liners using about 2 TB per liner.  Allow the candy to cool completely before removing the cupcake liners.

Store in the fridge or freezer.  Keeps several months in the freezer.

“BOOZE BALLS”

These are actually chocolate truffles but when Diane, my aesthetician, asked me for the recipe she appropriately named them booze balls – I love it!  There are a couple of great things about these – one is that they are extremely easy and two is that you can change them up with different kinds of booze and/or coatings.  Absolutely anyone can do these and look like a professional confectioner.  The chocolate ganache inner part is the same, then choose a flavor, add in the booze or choose a nut butter or coconut, and then pick a coating.  My first ventures were vanilla and kahlua coated with pistachio nuts and vanilla and coconut rum coated with toasted coconut.  I will list possible choices below, but as long as you follow the basic recipe you will be great.  Have fun trying different combinations.  I made these again for Valentine's Day and added them to a tray of dark chocolate dipped strawberries and white chocolate dipped pretzels (and finally remembered to take a picture!)  The balls in the middle are the truffles, and they were all the khalua version with some dipped in ground pistachios, some in toasted coconut, and some in ground chocolate goldfish crumbs -- Yum!

GANACHE:

12 oz. good-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli – 8 oz. semisweet and 4 oz. bittersweet)

1 c. heavy cream
1 TB butter
Pinch of salt

Chop the chocolate and put in a heatproof bowl.  Bring the cream, butter and salt to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat; pour over the chocolate and let sit until completely melted, about 10 minutes.  Stir with a rubber spatula or whisk until smooth.

FLAVORS:

Whisk in 1 t. vanilla extract or ½ t. vanilla and ½ t. of one of the following extracts:

Almond

Orange
Cinnamon
Mint
Raspberry
Cherry

MIX-INS (OPTIONAL)

Stir in up to ¼ c.  (Choose only one)

Brewed espresso

Strong brewed tea
Liquor or liqueur ( brandy, bourbon, rum, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, etc.)
Peanut, almond or hazelnut butter
Shredded coconut

Stir until smooth and shiny, then pour into a shallow baking dish and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.

COATING:

Crushed cookies (amaretti, biscotti, Oreos, chocolate wafer cookies, etc.)

Chopped toasted nuts (pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans)
Sweetened cocoa powder
Shredded or toasted coconut
Crushed nut brittle
Crushed toffee bars

Roll tablespoonfuls of the ganache into balls using a small cookie scoop like the old-timey ice cream scoop that scoops out the cookie itself (I will see if I can find out the proper name for it and update this later – this is just easier to use because it makes a ball – I have two sizes of these scoops and I use the smaller one which makes about a 1” ball.) Finish making it into a ball using your hands and roll in any of the above ingredients.  Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.  (To make these in advance, roll into balls but do not coat; cover and freeze up to 2 weeks.  Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before uncovering and then roll in coating.)

HOLLY’S SPICED PECANS

1 c. sugar
½ t. cinnamon
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1-1/2 c. pecans
½ t. vanilla

In medium saucepan mix sugar and cinnamon. Stir in milk and cook to soft-ball stage. Add pecans and vanilla. Stir until hard and dump on waxpaper. Separate pecans.

SUSIE DAY’S OREO TRUFFLES

Only 3 ingredients yet amazingly good!  This is another favorite of everyone who trys them -- I am constantly asked for this recipe as well.

1 bag of Oreos (not double stuffed)*
1 – 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened and cubed
Dipping chocolate (White or chocolate)(about 12 oz.)

Process Oreos in food processor until fine. Add cream cheese and continue processing. When all is blended (it looks like a glue-like blob), roll into bite-size pieces and place on wax paper. Put in refrigerator or freezer until firm. Melt chocolate ** and dip pieces, covering entire ball. Set on wax paper until chocolate sets.

* I have also used the mint oreos and they are really yummy, but they are double-stuffed so there aren't as many chocolate cookies in the pkg.  At first I was scraping the filling out of some of them, but then it was hard to adjust the amount of cream cheese.  I bought a package of the thin chocolate wafers (can't remember the name right now but they are usually with the ice creams cones in my HEB.)  I processed the whole pkg of them and left the stuffing in all the oreos and they came out perfectly.  During the holidays some stores also have the peppermint oreos as well -- absolute heaven.

** Be sure not to overheat your chocolate or it will get hard.  The best way is to use a double boiler on a low heat and once the chocolate is all melted turn the fire off.  The water in the bottom will keep the chocolate melted.  Also be careful not to get any liquids in the chocolate or it will not set back up.

FUDGE

5 c. sugar
1-1/3 stick butter
1 lg. Can evaporated milk

18 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 jar marshmallow cream
3 c. chopped pecans
1 t. vanilla

With a stick of butter grease the sides and bottom of 2-7X12 oblong pyrex dishes. Set them side by side next to a trivet on the counter. Also next to the trivet set a wooden spoon or whatever heavy spoon you will want to work with, your opened packages of chocolate chips, opened jar of marshmallow cream with a large tablespoon in it ready to scoop, your chopped pecans and vanilla with the measuring spoon. It is critical to your success to have all of this ready when your mixture comes off the stove! You will have to work fast so that your fudge remains smooth and shiny on top and doesn’t set up too quickly.

Now – In a heavy dutch oven over medium low heat melt the butter, then add the sugar and evaporated milk. (Be sure heat is not too high.) Use the bottom of a metal spatula to continue scraping the bottom the entire time this mixture is cooking so it does not stick. Once the mixture begins a slow boil time it for 8 minutes, continuing to stir constantly. (This entire process takes about 20 minutes of stirring so get a stool to sit by your cooktop!) When the timer goes off after 8 minutes of slow boiling get ready to move quickly.

Move the pan onto the trivet and dump in the chocolate chips and begin stirring with your wooden spoon. When they are almost all melted stir in the marshmallow cream. When it is almost melted stir in the vanilla and pecans. As soon as the marshmallow cream is invisible pour half of the fudge into each of the 2 pyrex dishes. As you pour smooth the top as you are pouring it – if it is uneven it’s no big deal and if you continue to smooth it you will lose the shiny top – just trust me, ok? Set both dishes to cool until totally set, at least an hour. If you had a helper to hold the pan while pouring into the pyrex dishes, get spoons and the two of you enjoy scraping the leftover fudge in the pan. Once someone has done this once, you will never have trouble getting someone to help you hold the pan again!

Once the fudge has completely set up, take a sharp knife and cut into 1” squares and put in a container with a lid (Tupperware or cookie tin). Put wax paper between layers of fudge so it won’t stick. The fudge is best if kept in the refrigerator.

DIVINITY

2-1/2 c. sugar
¾ c. Karo corn syrup
½ c. water
¼ t. salt
2 egg whites
1 t. vanilla
¾ c. nuts

In a saucepan over medium heat cook sugar, Karo, water and salt until it forms a permanent thread. In a bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly pour hot mixture over the egg whites, beating by hand constantly. (It will help if you have someone beating while you are pouring, but be careful not to get any of the boiling syrup on the person stirring – I had a burn scar on my hand for years one time as a result of this!) Add vanilla and beat until the mixture holds its shape. Add nuts and quickly drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until firm and store in a sealed container.

CHRISTMAS BARK

This is constantly being made during the holidays.  People generally think it is some sort of toffee and are so surprised to find it is made of crackers.  The salty/sweet combination is fabulous, and the fact that it is so easy to prepare makes it even better.  I used to make multiple batches of fudge, but since I found this recipe I usually only make fudge once.  EVERYONE asks me for this recipe.

1 sleeve saltine crackers
1 c. butter
½ c. light brown sugar
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place crackers in one layer on parchment-lined baking sheet with sides. Melt butter and brown sugar in medium saucepan. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour butter-sugar mixture over the crackers. Spread evenly. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. When they start to melt, spread evenly over entire layer of crackers. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top. Refrigerate 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator and crack into pieces.

CHOW MEIN CANDY

12oz. Butterscotch chips
6 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Small can cashews
About 2/3 of can chow mein noodles (When this recipe originated years ago the can was the size of a can of corn; now I can only find a larger can.)

Melt chips in double boiler. Stir in cashews and noodles. Drop by spoonfuls on wax paper till set. Store in container with lid.

CARAMEL POPCORN

6 qts. Popped corn (unsalted)
1 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar
½ c. Karo corn syrup
1 t. salt
½ t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven at 250 degrees. Melt butter in large saucepan. Stir in brown sugar, syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stiring for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Stir well; the texture will become frothy. Gradually pour mixture over popped corn in large roasting pan and mix well. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and dump onto wax paper. Cool completely. Break and store in a sealed container.