Chocolate Covered Treats

Our family just got back this weekend from New York City.  I promise to do a post about our adventure, but I must wait for Jay to get back from a business trip.  He has the camera with most of the pictures :)

For now, I will do a post about chocolate covered treats.  Did you know December 16th is chocolate covered anything day???? I didn't, not until Jay told me about it.  I figured a post about chocolate would be appropriate.  Today I did chocolate covered pretzels, cranberries, and marshmallows, which will be small food gifts this holiday season.

There really isn't a set recipe for this, but more of a process or technique.  First you need some food items that hold up well to dipping.  In the past I have dipped the following:

• pretzels; rods, miniatures
• nuts; cashews, peanuts, almonds, walnuts
• marshmallows
• dried fruit; raisins, cranberries, apricots
• Oreos

Next, get yourself good chocolate.  When I am visiting Buffalo, I buy a 10 lb bag of Merkens and keep them in the freezer to use all year.  You can also use a nice quality chocolate block or bar in the candy aisle.  I have used chocolate chips in a pinch.  Just make sure the chocolate is not waxy.

Prepare cookie sheets lined with wax paper to place dipped items on to dry. 

Then put a heat safe bowl over a pot of simmering water.  Add your chocolate to the bowl, and slowly allow the chocolate to melt.  Stir occasionally until you have a smooth bowl of chocolate. (Don't let the water boil, or you can burn the chocolate.)

Remove the bowl from the heat.  Now you are ready to dip.  I work in small batches.  For example, add a few handfuls of pretzels and fold them into the chocolate until coated.  Using a fork remove from the chocolate and lay on cookies sheets.  Sprinkle with candies to decorate.  Allow to cool and harden.  I stick them in my Florida room, but you can put them in the fridge. 



Once they are dry, bag them in cute cellophane bags or put them in tins.  These can be stored in an airtight container for several weeks.

For dipping nuts, raisins, or cranberries, line mini muffin tins with cupcake wrappers.  Then spoon the covered nuts or fruits into the paper.  Allow to harden and pop out of tin.  These make perfect clusters.

Any chocolate covered item makes a great addition to your holiday platters.  These even make great little desserts after a heavy calorie laden meal.  Happy Chocolate Covered Anything Day!!!!

Candy Bar Explosion Dessert Pizza

A lot of material for my blog comes from my husband.  He is constantly coming home from work, telling me of another potluck.  He almost always signs me up for a dessert.  Seeing he has had several dozen potlucks over the last several years, I keep trying different ideas.

So this time around, he asked for something he could make.  After he had success making my peanut butter cookies on his own, he thinks he's a pastry chef that can tackle anything.  I started throwing out ideas of things I believed he could handle, and he kept vetoing them.  Finally I said, "What about a dessert pizza?"  Aha!!! We found a winner.

To break it down I thought immediately of cookie crust, and I would use my soft sugar cookie recipe.  This recipe is actually quite simple; Jay could handle that.  Then I thought for the "sauce" we could do a ganache, again another simple recipe only two ingredients.  Finally, Jay could surely chop up candy bars for toppings.

So the week progressed, and his work schedule took over.  I knew he wasn't going to be able to make it himself.  So yesterday after dinner, I made the cookie dough so it could refrigerate overnight.  At this point, it was probably a good idea Jay didn't participate.  He was telling his co-workers, dessert pizza was a regular pizza crust (i.e. savory crust) with chocolate on top.  The overall response to this was not pleasant.  I informed Jay of his error, and told him to assure his co-workers I would be making it not him :)

So here it is, my version of dessert pizza.  I chose peanut butter cups, Snickers, and Twix for toppings.  You choose what ever meets your fancy.  Be creative, use Mounds or Almond Joy and coconut flakes, the possibilities are endless! Linking to these parties.

recipe for crust

2 Sticks of butter
1 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
3 Egg Yolks
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
2  tsp. baking powder
3 1/2 C. Flour
Cream together sugar and butter, add eggs and vanilla.  Slowly add dry ingredients until dough forms.  Press the dough into a pizza pan sprayed with baking spray. I used a 12" pan, and used about 3/4 of the dough. (you can cut the remaining dough into cut outs or freeze for another day.)  If using a larger pizza pan, you will use all the dough for the crust. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake crust for 17-19 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Allow to cool.

recipe for ganache

1 cup of chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
In a double boiler (I used a metal bowl over a simmering pot of water), melt chocolate chips and heavy cream.  Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.  Spread ganache over cooled crust.

Chop candy bars into bite size pieces.  I used 24 fun size candy bars in three different flavors.

Top the pizza with candy bars.

To finish the pizza, melt about 1/2 cup of white chocolate and drizzle.  Keep the pizza refrigerated until ready to serve.  Cut into classic slices.

On a side note, in case you are wondering what I did with the extra egg whites from the crust, I made an egg white omelet.

Chocolate Covered Apricots & Cashews

Okay, I found myself standing at the pantry snacking on chocolate chips.  I know it's not a healthy habit, but sometimes you just need chocolate. I've had one of those days.  Being practical, I figured if I made a snack that had fruit and chocolate, it would be a little more healthful.

I put a small bowl over a pot of simmering water and poured 1 cup of chocolate chips in the bowl.  Over a medium low heat melt the chocolate.  Then I took dried apricots and dipped half  and lay them on wax paper to cool.  After dipping the apricots, I still had some chocolate left.  I poured a handful of cashews into the chocolate and stirred. Next, using a spoon, scoop the nut mixture into mini muffin cups.  Allow to cool until chocolate is hardened.

In the past, I have given these sweet treats as holiday gifts.  They would also be nice as a quick dessert after a meal.  Sometimes you just want a bit of sweetness, and not a whole dessert.  Personally, they will be an indulgence over the next week or so, when I want something chocolate. 

You can dip any dried fruit or nuts you choose.  Adam loves chocolate covered cranberries. Also chocolate covered Spanish peanuts are wonderful.  Let your imagination run wild with this one!

Linking to these parties.

Not So Wholesome Wednesday (chocolate truffles)

Okay, I know I promised Wednesday's to be wholesome recipes, but honestly I forgot.  So I am posting a not so wholesome recipe for chocolate truffles. 

I have been making these truffles for years.  They are so simple and rich.  They can be made in an afternoon and it's a great project to get the kids involved in.  All you need is some heavy cream, chocolate chips, and some toppings to roll them in.  Be creative and let the kids help pick the toppings. 

The truffles are also a great holiday gift. You can package 6 neatly into a 1/2 lb candy box and make a great impression.  Another suggestion, fill a decorative tin with a dozen or so, and gift it to a whole family.

recipe (yields about 2 dozen)

1 cup of chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
assorted toppings (nuts, sprinkles, cocoa, powder sugar, etc.)

In a double boiler (I used a metal bowl over a simmering pot of water), melt chocolate chips and heavy cream.

Whisk until smooth and shiny.

Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for several hours or freeze for one hour.  Then using a 1" cookie scoop, scoop onto wax paper and refrigerate for 15 more minutes.

Then lightly roll the balls between your palms to form a smooth ball.  Immediately roll in toppings, such as sprinkles, colored sugar, Andes candies pieces, powder sugar, cocoa, etc.  If you want a hard shell topping dip into melted chocolate.

Refrigerate for several weeks in an airtight container.

Linking to these parties.

Candied Orange Peel

This post might seem a bit strange. I am giving instructions for candied orange peels, but you can use lemon or grapefruit peels too. The only clue I will give for this post is, you will need this for November 1st.  What happens on November 1st???? Cupcake of the month.

I work on the cupcake on the month about two months ahead of time.  I knew exactly what recipe I was using for the cake back in August, but I was toying with the garnish for bit.  Then I decided on candied orange peel to compliment the flavors in the frosting.

After researching instructions on it, I decided on Giada DeLaurentiis's method.  It was simple and only took about 45 minutes from start to finish. The result is yummy, and my husband requested a whole container of them to snack on.

To garnish eighteen cupcakes I used one orange.  Simply remove only the orange peel from an orange.  Be careful not to remove the pith. I used a citrus peeler and it worked beautifully.  Then cut the peel into thin strips about 1/2 inch wide.

Then bring about two cups of water to a boil and blanch the orange peels for about one minute. Drain, rinse the peels in cold water, and repeat this process.

In a small pot, combine 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water until dissolved. On medium heat, cook the orange peels until they become translucent. About 20 minutes.

Roll the orange peels in sugar to coat, and allow to dry on a cooling rack.

This is a great garnish for cakes or cupcakes. You can also dip half of the peel in melted chocolate.  Store the peels in an airtight container for a week or freeze for several months.