Pretzel Turtles

OH EM GEE! Ben's cousin Margie introduced me to this delectable sweet treat on Christmas. I can't believe how easy they are to make. I just love the sweet/salty combination. I brought some to the Yamat Christmas celebration, and some family members couldn't place the chewiness of the caramel - but what a winner!

Ingredients:
- package of rolos
- package of small pretzels
- package of pecan halves

Directions:
- preheat oven to 350 degrees
- unwrap rolos
- place pretzels on parchment or foil lined cookie sheet
- place a rolo on top of each pretzel
- bake for 2-3 minutes or until rolo is soft (but not totally melted)
- remove from oven and gently press a pecan half on top of each rolo
- allow to cool and set

It's crazy how divine these are! Another easy crowd pleaser!

Raspberry Thumbprints

I decided to try this recipe to bring to the Mendaros Christmas Celebration. My sister-in-law ended up eating a bunch of them after they cooled! It's such a simple butter cookie recipe but super fabulous!

It was titled "Raspberry Ribbons" since they are made to be long finger shaped cookies, but I found that it was easier to make them into individual cookies versus shaping and cutting the dough.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam

Glaze Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup confectioners'sugar
- 1 tablespoon evaporated milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
- Roll dough into 1" balls and line on baking sheet about 1 to 1.5 inches apart. Press your thumb in the center of each cookie creating a well. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and fill depressions with jam. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes. Place on colling racks.
- In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients until smooth. Add additional evaporated milk to thin glaze as needed. Drizzle over warm cookies. (I actually divided the glaze ingredients in half).

I guarantee that they will disappear!

Cake Bites

Photo by Ben's cousin Jasmine G.

Merry Christmas! My gift to you is my favoritest "almost home-made" super easy decadent and fabulous looking cake bites!

It's exactly just that, a cake bite. A pefectly sized tasty morsel of cake, frosting, and candy coating. It's the lazy version of Bakerella's cake pops.

Ingredients:
- Box cake mix (and ingredients as directed)
- Cannister of vanilla frosting
- Packages of chocolate and vanilla Wilton candy melts (can be found at Michael's Craft store and Joanne Fabrics) or Almond Bark (can be found in baking aisle)
- Sprinkles

Directions:
- Bake cake as directed. Once cake is cool, crumble cake until fine.
- Mix about 1/3 to 1/2 of the frosting until the cake has a doughlike consistence (start with less rather than more since some cakes are more moist than others)
- Form "cake dough" into 1" balls and place on wax paper lined tray. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Melt candy melts as directed (I usually do it by microwavie - ultimate laziness)
- Dip balls into melted candy and make sure that it is thoroughly covered. Tap off excess and place on wax paper to set.
- If using sprinkles, add them right after dipping so that they stick on.
- Drizzle vanilla candy melts on the plain ones (I place a few vanilla candy melt pellets in a plastic ziplock, melt in the microwave, cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag, and drizzle over the cake bite in a zig-zag pattern).




Cakepop variation:
- Dip lollipop stick tip in melted chocolate then insert into cakeball
- Gently dip and roll cakepop in melted chocolate, tap off excess
- If adding sprinkles, add immediately
- Place cakepop on plastic wrapped styrofoam to set

My favorite cake/candy melt combinations are chocolate devils food cake with milk chocolate candy melts and lemon cake with vanilla candy melts.

This is such an easy and fun process, and the results are pretty. I'm so craving a chocolate one with a cup of coffee now... ;)

A Christmas Gift to Me

FINALLY! I have wanted a KitchenAid mixer since the dawn of man...

For some reason or another, I could never bring myself to purchase one. The guilt of what I thought was such an indulgent purchase always got to me. So to ease that guilt, I decided on an in-between model, and it was on sale (yay for holiday sales!).

Meet my new BFF already working away!

Baking Party!

What a wonderful way to spend the day with girlfriends catching up!

I spent the afternoon with my high school girlfriends Gail and Michelle baking holiday treats. We had a bunch of recipes, but it took us some time to decide which to do first. Next time, we need a timeline! Here are a few of the treats we created while spending quality time.

Chocolate Fudge, Whoopie Pies, Magic Cookie Bars, Peanutbutter Cup Cookies, Peppermint Bark Snowflakes (not pictured)

Scotch Kisses

I found this online in my search for a recipe for See's Scotch Kisses. The consistency of my caramel didn't turn out well because I was missing a candy thermometer which has significantly higher temperatures markings than your typical meat thermometer. Candy making is a science! Sugar consistency changes at diffrent temperatures hence the need for a candy/sugar thermometer.

The caramel taste was still divine! I really enjoyed the flavor of the nutmeg in the caramel, but Ben and the kids didn't care for it saying that it was "too spicy." I will definitely attempt this recipe again as well as homemade marshmallows next time! mmmmmmmmm

Vanilla Nutmeg Caramels
Ingredients:
1 cup golden syrup
2 cups sugar
3/8 tsp fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 TBSP plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened

Directions:
- Combine the golden syrup, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges. Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes. Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more.
- Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F.
- Meanwhile, combine the cream and nutmeg in a small saucepan and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.
- When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful. Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
- Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 260°F for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F; for firmer chewy caramels.

Scotch Kisses
Directions:
- Cut wax paper into 4×4″ squares.
- Using a pair of clean scissors, cut marshmallows into 1/2″-1″ pieces
- Using a spoon, scoop about a tablespoon of caramel. Place in the top-center of the wax paper.
- Spread the caramel on the wax paper, so it is flattened and reaches from almost the top of the wax paper to between a third and half of the way down. There should be at least an inch of uncovered paper on each side of the caramel.
- Place a piece of marshmallow in the center of the caramel.
- Tightly roll the paper toward you, so the caramel surrounds the marshmallow.
When the paper is completely rolled up, twist each end tightly right next to the caramel (but not too tightly, or the paper will tear).
- Wrapping took a while to get the hang of without the caramel coming out. Definitely a sticky process!

T-Day Treats

I am not a good cook, but my baking skills make up for it! My contribution for this Thanksgiving will be a buffet of sweets which will include one of my all time favorite desserts for the holidays, Pumpkin Crunch Cake*. It's easy and super delicious! I'll admit that it's not the most visually pleasing of my treats, but once someone is brave enough to try it, the word spreads of its yummy goodness, and it disappears! I swear! Unfortunately, I have no pictures at this time but will post after T-Day.

Ingredients:
- (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
- 4 eggs 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon salt 1
- package yellow cake mix 1 cup chopped pecans (I substitute walnuts since they're less expensive)
- 1 cup margarine, melted 1 (I love butter so I use unsalted sweet cream butter instead)
- container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
- Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking pan
- In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix well, and spread into the prepared pan
- Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture, and pat down
- Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the cake mix, then drizzle with melted margarine (The drizzle covers the whole top, so it's basically covered in butter)
- Bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until done
- Top with whipped topping when ready to serve.


*Recipe shared by allrecipes.com