Peanut Butter Fudge

If you know someone that loves peanut butter AND fudge, then make this as a surprise for them. Or make them for yourself. I mean. Come on. Who doesn't love peanut butter? Well, besides people who are allergic and have a sensitivity? This looks sooo good! I'm excited to give this a try!



1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil until your thermometer reaches 234 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 4 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over confectioners’ sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8x8 inch dish. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

Cannoli Cupcakes

Cupcakes are awesome! Everyone loves them. But what if you want to put an Italian twist on them? Well. Cannoli cupcakes do just that. Cannolis are amazing if you have tried them. If you live in Canada, then just think about one of those donuts that have the cream stuff in the middle at Tim Hortons in them. It's kind of like that. Anyways... Cannoli cupcakes look so good! I have yet to make them. These look like a good thing to have for a picnic or at a party! It's making me hungry just by looking at the picture!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Cannoli Topping

• 2/3 cup Mascarpone cheese
• 2/3 cup Ricotta cheese, strained slightly*
• 5 Tbsp powdered sugar

Sweetened Chocalate Whipped Cream

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, for garnish

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together butter and sugar on medium high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes, occasionally scrapping down the sides of the bowl. Stir in eggs one at a time mixing until combine after each addition. Mix in sour cream and vanilla. With mixer set at low speed, slowly add dry ingredients and mix just until combine, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Divide batter among 12 paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full (about 1/4 cup batter per each). Bake in preheated oven 21 - 24 minutes until lightly golden and toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool. Cool cupcakes completely.

For the cannoli topping

• In a small mixing bowl, using a rubber or silicone spatula, blend together Mascarpone and Ricotta cheese while running and pressing mixture along bottom of bowl to create a smooth texture while removing any lumps. Add in 5 Tbsp powdered sugar and mix until well blended.

For sweetened chocolate whipped cream

• In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend together heavy cream, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, cocoa and vanilla until combine. Increase mixer to medium-high speed and whip until stiff peaks form.

To assemble cupcakes

• Spread about 1 1/2 Tbsp cannoli filling over the top of each cupcake, then pipe sweetened chocolate whipped cream over cupcakes. Garnish with mini chocolate chips. Serve within the next 3 hours (as the whipped cream will begin to break down after that). Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.
• *Measurement taken before straining. To strain, I just placed the ricotta onto a layer of clean paper towels then wrapped it up and squeezed to strain out the liquids, then did this same step once more with a new batch of paper towels. You don’t need all of the liquid removed just some of it. I used part skim Ricotta but whole milk Ricotta works too.

Vanilla Sugar

Ever had a recipe that called for Vanilla Sugar? Don't know what Vanilla Sugar is? What happens if you know what it is and can't find it anywhere? Well, for those who don't know what Vanilla Sugar is, Vanilla sugar is a common ingredient in various recipes, such as Dutch, German, Polish, Swedish, Finnish, and Croatian desserts and various European desserts. You can make it with sugar and vanilla beans or with vanilla extract. The recipe that I have is made of sugar and vanilla extract. The reason that I looked up this recipe was because I had found a recipe for home made hot chocolate. I'll make another post for the hot chocolate. But I think that this is a MUST HAVE recipe, not just for home made hot chocolate!
1-2 cups of sugar + 1 tsp vanilla extract. Spread over parchment or wax paper lined tray and allow to dry for a few hours. Store in a plastic bag. May have to crush sugar with a rolling pin.

Tiny Teddy Cars

This is a really good recipe if you have young ones at home. It looks cute and is the perfect snack for them when they come home from school. It's not exactly the most healthy snack but it should carry their chocolate craving for the day. It doesn't take a long time to make. Hopefully when you and your child make these, it turns out well and yummy!

 

Prep Time:

20 mins

Cook Time:

2 mins

Ingredients:

• 100g milk chocolate, melted
• 1 bag Milky Way bars (you will need 24)
• 1 box Tiny Teddy biscuits, honey flavour
• 1 bag Smarties (340g)

Method:

Set out a tray or serving plate for the Teddies.

Sort the Smarties into colours and cut 12 Smarties in half with a sharp knife to use for steering wheels (keep in mind steering wheel colours need to match with wheel colours).

Remove the wrappers from the Milky Way bars.

Cut 24 Tiny Teddies in half at the belly button using a sharp knife.

Place the melted chocolate into a resealable bag and snip a tiny corner off. Squeeze out a few drops of chocolate to glue 4 Smarties 'wheels' on each car then place on the serving tray.

Place a few drops of chocolate on the top of each 'car' and sit the Teddy's on. Place a drop of chocolate on the 'car' in the front of each Teddy and glue on steering wheels

Tiramisu Bowl

I had this recipe in a calender from last year. And yes, there are calenders with recipes in them. This calender had a lot of recipes for meals and stuff. But I found this in the month of April. It's a calender from Walmart. I never made it but I hope that I will soon. I hope you all enjoy it.

Ingredients
1 pkg(250 g) Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese, softened
3 cups cold milk
2 pkg (4 serving size each) Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding
2-1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping, divided
48 Nilla Vanilla Wafers
1/2 cup brewed Nabbo Full City Dark Coffee, cooled, divided
2 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, grated
1 cup Fresh raspberries

Directions
1. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Beat in milk and pudding mixes. Stir in 2 cups whipped topping
2.Line 2-1/2 L bowl with 24 wafers; drizzle with 1/4 cup coffee. Top with half each of pudding mixture and half of the chocolate. Repeat all layers.
3. Top with remaining Cool Whip and raspberries. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Cheesecake Cookie Bars

I made this for my family's New Year's Day dinner last night and have yet to have it with my family. It looks pretty good so far. I love how I test things with my family first. They're kind of like my lab rats! I hope it all goes well.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
 1 tsp vanilla
Fresh Strawberries, for garnish, if desired (I'm using raspberries, the strawberries looked awful!)

Directions:
Mix brown sugar, flour, pecans and melted butter. Reserve 1/3 cup crumbs and press remaining into an 8" square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare filling. Blend cream cheese and sugar well. Beat in remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour evenly over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Return to oven and continue baking for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until set. Once cooled, cut into squares and then diagonally to make a triangle shape. Garnish with fresh strawberry halves, if desired.

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

One of my all time favorite cookies to make during the holidays are ginger cookies. It has been a tradition in my family for who knows how many years and I have always enjoyed making them. The smell of the ginger, the flow of the molasses. Everything seems to be in order and it always makes me in the holiday spirit from the first batch that I make. They have been a hit year after year at my parents' Christmas party with their friends and on Christmas Eve when all my family comes over. I hope you and your family and friends enjoy them as much as mine do!

Ingredients
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons sugar (If you are planning on making them into 1-inch balls, you'll be needing around 6-7 tablespoons of sugar. This is what I do from personal experience. The size the recipe tells you is WAY to big if you are planning on having a party or giving them as a gift.)

Directions
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for thirty (30) seconds. Beat the 1 cup sugar. Add egg and molasses; beat well. Stir flour into egg mixture.
Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, about 1 heaping tablespoon dough for each. Roll balls in the 2 tablespoons sugar to coat. Place balls about 2 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in a 350 degree oven (300 for some ovens. You know your oven the best so it's your call.) about 10 minutes or until light brown and still puffed. (Do not over bake). Cool cookies on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Chrstmas Peppermint Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 ounces (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
8 large candy canes or 30 peppermint candies, crushed
2 pounds white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
2. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, and add egg, then yolk, beating well after each addition. Beat in peppermint extract.
3. Slowly add flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Shape dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days).
4. Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
5. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut out circles, and place 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll and cut scraps once. Freeze cookies until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining disk. Alternately, form dough into tablespoon-sized balls with your hands. Freeze the balls for about 15 minutes, then press flat with a glass.
6. Bake until cookies are dry to the touch, about 12 minutes. Transfer parchment, with cookies, to wire racks, and let cool. (Undecorated cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.)
7. Sift crushed candy, and separate larger pieces from dust, reserving both.
8. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water. Remove from heat. Dunk cookies into melted chocolate. Using a fork, turn to coat, let excess drip off, and gently scrape bottom against edge of bowl. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, and sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of either candy pieces or dust on top. Repeat, sprinkling half the cookies with pieces and the rest with dust. Refrigerate until set, up to 3 hours. Decorated cookies are best served the same day.

Easy No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

I know that this isn't holiday baking related, but these looks SOOOOO good! CAUTION! IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WITH A PEANUT ALLERGY, DO NOT GIVE THEM THIS! IF YOU ARE GIVING THIS AS A GIFT, DOUBLE CHECK AND BE CAREFUL!

Ingredients
1 cup butter melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (use the boxed kind, or grind them in a food processor. Tiny granules.)
2 cups confectioners’ sugar (aka powdered sugar)
1 cup + 4 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners’ sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 inch pan. (I did mine in a 9X9 square pan because I wanted them thicker) In the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring every 30 seconds until melted until smooth. Spread over the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

Candy Cane Brownies

1 cup

granulated sugar

250 mL

1/3 cup

unsalted butter, softened

75 mL

2

eggs

3/4 cup

all-purpose flour

175 mL

1/2 cup

Compliments Cocoa

125 mL

1/4 tsp

salt

1 mL

1 cup

Compliments Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

250 mL

1/2 tub

Compliments White Frosting

225 g

1/2 cup

Crushed Compliments Candy Canes

125 mL

1 BROWNIE

Energy:

330  Calories

Protein:

3 g

Fat:

13 g

Carbohydrates:

49 g

Sodium:

125 mg

Cholesterol:

35 g

Fibre:

2 g

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease an 8-in. square baking dish. Using an electric mixer (stand or hand-held) on medium, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 5 min. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined, about 2 min.
2. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa and salt. With mixer on low, add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread batter in prepared baking dish and bake until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached, about 20 min. Let cool completely then evenly spread frosting over brownies, sprinkle with candy canes.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt


Directions
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

These cookies are awesome to make at any holiday. All you need are the cookie cutters for the holiday. For this holiday, to be culturally diverse, you could use a star or a gingerbread man cookie cutter. I love making these cookies because there are so many ways you can create the final product of these cookies. Especially for the holiday season. Hopefully this recipe helps you with the holiday season.

The Holiday Season!

Halloween's behind us and the holiday season is soon approaching. Christmas trees, the manora (You know the Jewish Candle holder thing? My Jewish readers will know what I'm talking about), and so many more inanimate objects that come with this holiday season. It doesn't matter what religion you believe in, all that matters is that we come together as one. Well, that is, if you have a religion. But that doesn't matter. My favorite holiday memory is when I was a little girl going to my grandparent's house on Christmas Day and my late grandmother (She passed away two years ago on New Years Eve. Bless her soul) was finishing up making the Christmas dinner. She was always the last one to sit down to eat. Even then, she was always thinking about what else she could put out. She put her everything into the meal. She always made cookies for my church's cookie walk and manage to have the time to make some extra for Christmas dinner. And let me tell you, the cookies that she made were the best cookies around.
Anyways, I should get back to doing some school work. I should start thinking about what kind of desserts I'm going to make for Christmas. And if you want me to make any cookies for your family this holiday season, just let me know. My last day of classes is on December 14th. So that means that I will be available after that. Well, when I'm not working at my job that is!
Natalie

Hey Everyone!

So. I have several friends that have started blogs. One of them is a doctor who is currently working down under. And yes I mean in Australia. And another friend who's blogging about going second hand. Well I thought Natalie, none of your friends have a baking blog. You should start one. So I guess this is my baking blog. I'll try to blog often and I hope people find this. I'll post recipes and my favorite baking memories. Who knows! People might find this blog and actually enjoy it! And yes, I tend to be weird on occasion. Isn't everyone?

Natalie