If you’ve been part of a cookie exchange or received some gifts from the kitchen this Christmas, then there is a good chance you have seen these.  A super simple, three ingredient treat that looks way more impressive than it actually is.  These cute little goodies are so sweet and so yummy.

When you shape these, make sure to make them small.  They really are rich.  If they are too big you may not be able to eat the whole thing, or you’ll feel too guilty taking a second one, and then you won’t get to try both kinds!

The recipe for the Oreo truffles came from the Kraft website.  I used candy coating instead of chocolate squares.  Melting chocolate just never seems to harden well enough.  Does anyone have any tips for coating with real chocolate?

After I made these I thought I should have used the white candy coating for a nice contrast from outer white coating to inner dark chocolate.  Then I thought about all the possibilities there are with these truffles.  You could use any sandwich cookie.  So I did the same thing with a package of Nutter Butters.  The white coating gave me some issues, so these were not as evenly coated as the chocolate.  The peanut butter truffles would have been delicious with the chocolate coating.  Who doesn’t like that peanut butter and chocolate combination?

I love the sprinkles of cookie crumbs on top of these truffles.  It gives them more of a true chocolate truffle appearance (and it helps to hide any uneven coating).  If you really wanted to dress these up even more and make them appealing to foodies, sprinkle with some flaked sea salt.  Some people might be averse to this sweet and salty combo, but it really is wonderful.  You can find flaked sea salt at many grocery stores.  It isn’t cheap, but you don’t use very much and it goes a long way.  This one by Maldon is the one I see most often.

If you don’t have a food processor, get to work with a large ziploc bag and a rolling pin to break the cookies into crumbs.  Make sure when you start coating the balls that you have 2 cookie sheets prepped with parchment paper, wax paper or Silpats.  This makes clean up a breeze, and removing the truffles much easier.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients

• 1 package Oreo cookies
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 package chocolate candy coating

Directions

1. Process Oreos in a food processor to fine crumbs.
2. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the crumbs in a small bowl.
3. Combine the remaining crumbs and the cream cheese and mix until evenly combined.
4. Form dough into ping pong sized balls, between 45 and 55 depending on size.
5. Melt chocolate coating according to package instructions.  Coat each ball and place on parchment or wax paper.  Sprinkle with reserved crumbs while chocolate is still wet.
6. Chill truffles for at least an hour, then store in sealed containers in the fridge until serving.

Nutter Butter Truffles

I know they’re supposed to taste like honey, and I guess they kinda do.  But they really just taste like sweet, sugary deliciousness to me.  If you’ve never tried candy corn mixed in with salted peanuts I highly recommend it; a great combination of salty and sweet.  They’re also good covered in chocolate.  You can find the chocolate covered ones at Central Market.  When I was visiting family in Austin I bought some in the bulk section.  They are evil…in a really good way.

Anyway, we have no Halloween plans.  Since we don’t have kids to take trick-or-treating and we’re not the kind of people who dress up our dog our plan is to stay home and pass out candy if we have any kids come to our house.  We haven’t spent Halloween here yet, so we don’t know how busy our neighborhood is.  I kinda hope no one comes…more Kit Kats for me!

Anyway, I get daily cookie recipes from Martha Stewart, and this is what came today.  The recipe is a small batch and I had all the ingredients so I figured I’d go ahead and make them.  They are adorable little cookies, and they taste pretty good.  So, this is how I celebrated Halloween this year.  Enjoy!

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

Makes about 36

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• About 36 candy corns

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter and sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Add flour, and mix until a dough forms.
2. Scoop out level teaspoons of dough, and roll into balls (chill dough briefly if it becomes too soft to handle). Place balls on baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
3. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are firm and cookies are dry to the touch (do not let cookies color), 9-10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven; gently press a candy corn into center of each cookie (surface of cookies may crack slightly). Cool on sheets 1 minute; transfer to a rack to cool completely.

I can still take pictures, but just can’t see what the pictures looks like until I load them onto my computer.  The photo below is the result of such a photo session.  Two usable photos out of about 25 total taken.  Not a great ratio.  I could not tell what was in the shot, how the lighting was, if I needed flash, if the zoom was too much, or how the focus turned out.  This is just not a way to take pictures!

Despite my camera woes, this cake was fun to make, not too terribly complicated, a great presentation cake, and quite delicious.  The marshmallows dusted with cocoa make the cake look like an actual mug of hot chocolate.

I absolutely love Fine Cooking magazine.  I have yet to make something from it that I haven’t liked.  This cake is on the cover of the current issue, and I could not resist its rich chocolate-y layers and fluffy white marshmallows.  I made it for Christmas dinner.  Here is the link to the recipe.

The cake is moist, the frosting is rich and creamy, and the marshmallows are heavenly, ooey-gooey goodness.  This is a rich and decadent cake.

The marshmallows are the most time consuming aspect of this dessert, but well worth the time and effort.  I considered buying pre-packaged mallows, but my wise mother-in-law convinced me to make the real thing.  It does make a difference, and the marshmallows are a lovely contrast to the rich chocolate cake and frosting.

Hot Chocolate Layer Cake

(courtesy of Fine Cooking magazine and Rebecca Rather)

For the cake

• 6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter; more for the pans
• 13-1/2 oz. (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for the pans
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 4-1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2-1/4 oz. (3/4 cup) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

For the frosting

• 2-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
• 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 oz. (2 cups) natural unsweetened cocoa powder; more for decorating
• 1/2 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

For the marshmallows

• Three 1/4-oz. envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar; more as needed

Make the cake

1. Position racks in the bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter three 9×2-inch round cake pans and line each with a parchment round. Butter the parchment, then dust with flour and knock out the excess.
2. In a 3-quart saucepan, combine the butter, oil, chopped chocolate, and 1 cup water. Heat over medium heat until melted.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder. Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture and whisk until combined.
4. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.
5. Set two pans on the top rack and the third on the lower rack. Stagger the pans on the oven racks so that no pan is directly over another. Bake, swapping and rotating the pans’ positions after 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, remove the parchment, and cool completely.

Make the frosting

1. In a 4-quart saucepan over low heat, combine the cream, butter, and vanilla bean and seeds and stir until the butter is melted.
2. Remove the vanilla bean and whisk in the chopped chocolate until melted.
3. Whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, syrup, and salt until smooth—be sure the cocoa powder dissolves completely.
4. Pour into a 9×13-inch pan and freeze until firm, about 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.

Make the marshmallows

1. Pour 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Attach the bowl to the mixer and fit it with the whisk attachment.
2. Clip a candy thermometer to a 3-quart saucepan; don’t let the tip of the thermometer touch the bottom of the pan. In the saucepan, boil the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water over medium heat without stirring until it reaches 234°F to 235°F, about 10 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin in a slow, thin stream.
3. Add the vanilla, carefully increase the speed to high, and beat until the mixture has thickened and cooled, about 5 minutes (the bottom of the bowl should be just warm to the touch). Line a 9×13-inch pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Sift 1 Tbs. of the confectioners’ sugar into the bottom of the pan, then pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan and sift another 1 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar on top. Let sit at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours.

Assemble the cake

1. Remove the frosting from the freezer or refrigerator. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes to soften. Change to a whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Put a cake layer on a flat serving platter or a cake stand lined with strips of waxed paper to keep it clean while icing. Top the layer with 1-1/2 cups of the frosting, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula to the cake’s edge. Repeat with another cake layer and 1-1/2 cups frosting. Top with the last cake layer.
3. Put 1-1/2 cups of the frosting in a small bowl. With an offset spatula, spread this frosting in a thin layer over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until the frosting firms enough to seal in the crumbs, 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Spread the remaining frosting in a smooth layer over the top and sides of the cake. If necessary, you can rewhip the remaining frosting to loosen and lighten it. Remove the waxed paper strips.
5. Use the foil overhang to lift the marshmallow from the pan. Using a knife that has been dipped in cold water, cut along the edge of the marshmallow to release it from the foil. Transfer to a cutting board and remove the foil.
6. Put the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl.
7. Cut the marshmallow into cubes of different sizes, from 1/4 to 3/4 inch (you will need to continue to dip the knife in cold water as you cut the marshmallows). The marshmallows will be very sticky—dip the cut edges in the confectioners’ sugar to make them easier to handle. As you work, toss a few cubes at a time in the sugar to coat, then shake in a strainer to remove the excess.
8. Mound the marshmallows on top of the cake (you’ll need only a third to half of them). Sift some cocoa powder over the marshmallows.

So, I was pretty excited about this challenge.  When I really started to think about it, I got a little sad.  I had no one to help me!  No one to stay up til 2 am with, piping icing on gingerbread cars to put in the gingerbread carport.  No one to spend hours with, piping icicles on the eaves. To make things even more difficult, we’re going out of town for the holidays so no one is really going to see it.  My great excitement for my gingerbread house was dwindling.

Despite my negativity toward this challenge, I was determined to complete it.  I am glad I did, because I ended up having a fun time despite the fact that my house looks like a bunch of 3-year olds decorated it for me.  Merry Christmas!

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

I used the gingerbread recipe from Good Housekeeping.  I have made gingerbread for a gingerbread house before, and never had such a hard time with the dough.  Your dough needs to be sturdier than gingerbread you would use for cookies.  This dough was so dry and crumbly that I almost gave up on the house altogether.  I ended up being able to roll it out and cut it into the shapes for the house, but it took a lot of time, patience and self-control not to throw the gingerbread on the floor and give up.

I made royal icing as the glue to hold the house together.  You can buy meringue powder to make this, but using egg whites is easy and much less expensive.  Here is the recipe I used.  It hardens up very well, and pipes easily from a pastry bag or zip-loc.

Royal Icing

• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, peppermint or any flavor extract

1. In a large bowl, beat the eggs whites and cream of tartar until foamy.
2. With mixer running on low, add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time.
3. Beat on medium speed until stiff and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
4. You can add food coloring if desired.  If not, place icing in pastry bag and pipe onto gingerbread.

After making the icing, it was time to assemble my lovely gingerbread house.  I open the container where I stored my walls and roof pieces to discover that one wall had cracked into two pieces.

Thankfully, the pieces were not shattered, just split down the middle.  But again, I considered giving up.  I figured that I would try to put it together first and then abandon the project if things started to head downhill.  It was a Christmas miracle!  I managed to put the house pieces together and you could barely see the crack.  Lovely.

I put cans of food inside the house and on the outer walls for support.  I let this phase of construction set up for a few hours before attaching the roof pieces.  Since I am always thinking and never make mistakes (ha!) I left a can of food inside the house when I attached the roof, so the only resident of this house is a can of pickled jalapeños.  It was pretty funny to both Ben and me.

Now, we decorate!  I bought a bunch of different candies, and proceeded from here without a plan.

I started with a Cinnamon Toast Crunch roof.  So cute!  Little sugary shingles.

Then I make a walkway with peppermint patties.

I lined the front of the house with gum drops, and attached candy cane pillars.

I made the log pile out of Oreo cookie sticks.  Tootsie rolls work well for a log pile also.

I am proud of this tree.  I think it is adorable.  I cut a few things out with the leftover gingerbread dough, including this little tree and my little gingerbread man.  I used green gumdrops and green Jujyfruits along with one single yellow gumdrop as the star for my tree.  I like the contrasting textures and slightly different greens.

A candy rock wall.

Good n’ Plentys serve as the bricks for this wall.

The back of the house is embarrassing!  What was I thinking?  Maybe I just wanted to finish the house?  I do not know, but it is not exactly a work of art.  Hershey bars and Jujyfruits.  I’m sure someone could’ve done something incredible with these candies, but I could not.

This wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had making a gingerbread house, but I had a good time.  This is something that I hope to do every year.  Next time, I will recruit some friends to help me.

If you go to the Food Network site and read the review on these cookies, you will wonder why I made them.  Bad reviews on taste and preparation.  What was I thinking?  Well, I wasn’t.  However, with a few modifications to the recipe, they taste yummy (still very sweet of course) but still make quite a mess of your kitchen.  Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good!

Here are the changes I made, and some I would make in the future:

1. Add powdered sugar a little at a time to the butter and peanut butter mixture, just until it is sturdy enough to hold its shape.  This should be 3-4 cups…not the 5 cups called for in the recipe.
2. Let the coins sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight, or put them in the freezer.  When you’re dipping them in the melted chocolate, they get very soft and will start to fall apart if they are not properly chilled.
3. Melt more chocolate than called for.  I did not have enough to coat all my little peanut butter coins.  I also added a little shortening to make the chocolate a little thinner and easier to coat the bites.
4. Let the graham cracker coated bites sit in the fridge again to firm up before filling them with the marshmallow cream.  I would recommend buying two containers of the cream, as I also ran out of that.
5. When sandwiching the cookies, make sure to use a very flat cookie as your base.  If it is not flat enough, then if will topple over and sticky marshmallow cream will spill out the sides.

If you can make it through the preparation and assembly of these cookies, you will loved by the people who you choose to bless with these little bites of peanut buttery, marshmallowy heaven.  Give yourself a good 2 days to get these done.  If you try to complete them after work one day, you will be sad and sorry.

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bites

Adapted from Sunny Anderson, Food Network

Ingredients

• 2 cups crunchy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 24 ounces (4 cups) milk chocolate chips, melted
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup marshmallow fluff

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter and butter until smooth.
2. Add in powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time until the mixture is sturdy.
3. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop the mixture and form into balls, then press into a coin shape the diameter of a quarter. Refrigerate to set up dough cookies, at least 1 hour.
4. To make bites, dip peanut butter coins in melted chocolate then toss in graham cracker crumbs until coated.
5. Arrange the coated coins on a wire rack or wax paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set.
6. Add the marshmallow fluff to a pastry bag or plastic bag and cut the tip.
7. Remove the coins from the refrigerator and squeeze about 1 teaspoon of marshmallow fluff into the center of half of the coins.
8. Then top each half with another coin to make a sandwich and place return to the refrigerator to set, about 1 hour.

So, you may want to discontinue reading this blog, unless you want to feel better about yourself and laugh at the woman who couldn’t make something yummy using peanut butter and marshmallow fluff.  I am ashamed!

I felt the need to redeem myself.

My original inspiration was marshmallow fluff.  But now it’s getting serious and I just need a spectacular Peanut Butter Fudge.  So, I tried this recipe from Alton Brown.  It uses the microwave and doesn’t require a candy thermometer.  I was a little skeptical, but the recipe was highly rated, and his recipes have always turned out pretty great when I’ve tried them in the past.

The final product was creamy, sweet, rich and while not seeping with peanut butter flavor, was very good.  It was also incredibly easy.  If you’re planning to make treats for people this Christmas, or need something to add to a cookie tray, this is an easy and yummy fudge.

Peanut Butter Fudge

(courtesy of Alton Brown)

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pound (about 3 and 3/4 cups) powdered sugar

Directions

1. Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes on high.
2. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes.
3. Add vanilla and powdered sugar to peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon.
4. Pour into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with waxed paper.
5. Place a second piece of waxed paper on the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool.
6. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

I had a jar of Fluff in the pantry.  Do not ask me why.  Someone must have snuck it into my shopping cart.  So I found this recipe for peanut butter fudge that uses a jar of the sticky and almost sickeningly sweet white goop.

This wasn’t the best fudge I’ve ever made.  A few years ago I used this recipe from Rachel Ray with terrific results.  I made a few batches; chocolate with peanuts and raisins, and white chocolate with cranberries and pistachios.  Both were delicious and simple.  The recipe can be easily adapted.  Change the chips to white, or peanut butter, and then add in the same amount of any nut, chopped candies or dried fruit.  Endless options!

I might try to create a peanut butter fudge using the Rachel Ray recipe.  This recipe produced good tasting fudge, but it was very dry and crumbly.  I am pretty confident that I did something wrong.  It tastes OK, but maybe not good enough to waste a whole lot of calories.  It may end up in the trash.  I don’t do that often, but when I have a choice between delicious cookie swap cookies and dry sugary fudge…it’s not exactly a tough decision.  If you want to try this and tell me what I did to make such a rock hard pan of sugar, please do!

Peanut Butter Fudge (cooks.com)

• 2 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 of 7 1/2 oz. jar marshmallow fluff
• 1/2 c. milk
• 12 oz. jar peanut butter

1. Cook sugar, butter, marshmallow and milk on stove top over medium-high heat until it boils.
2. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Remove from the heat, add peanut butter and mix until creamy.
4. Spread in an 8×8 pan and let cool.