butterfinger truffles

okay this was the second recipe i chose. i've started making some candy (almond roca, carmel candies) but i have never ventured to making truffles, they always looked way too complicated. but after reading the recipe (... and saw how short the ingredient list was and no oven time) i thought i'd give it a try. i'm stepping out of my baking comfort zone on these ...

recipe
10oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1tbs. unsalted butter
1c heavy cream
11/2c chopped butterfinger candy bars (about 8oz.)
4tsp. unsweetened coca powder
chopped/ peanut halves

place the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. then pour it over the chocolate. let stand for 1 minutes before stirring together. once the mixture is smooth then stir in the chopped candy. cover and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
line a baking sheet with foil. using a melon baller scoop 3/4'' balls from the chocolate mixture. roll the truffles in cocoa powder. garnish with a chopped or half peanut. chill again until firm.

again from bon appétit. okay so not the typical looking truffle but pretty damn close. i say they look yummy and homemade. and they are really good! the butterfinger makes it and adds some crunch. some suggestions for next time: try chilling overnight to make it easier when scooping, do a better job rolling the chocolate in a more ball-like shape, get ready to make a real mess in the kitchen when dousing in the powder so prepare the tupperware before hand. but a good first truffle recipe.

lemon slice-and-bakes

looking through the december issue of bon appétit today i found two good- looking recipes to bake for my mom's new years party tomorrow. the first are these lemon shortbread cookies. they looked very elegant and new-year-like and didn't require an extensive list of ingredients (but you DO need fresh lemons/ juice, considering its the main ingredient).

recipe
cookies
21/2c flour
1/2tsp. salt
1c unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4c sugar
2tbs. finely grated lemon zest
1tsp. vanilla extract
4egg yolks

icing
11/4c powdered sugar
2tbs. fresh lemon juice
food coloring (optional)

use an electric mixture to mix the butter, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla together. mix until fluffy then add the egg yolks one at a time. add the dry ingredients. divide the batter in half; roll each half into 10'' long log about 13/4'' in diameter. wrap in plastic wrap and let cool for an hour.
preheat oven to 350degrees. using a sharp knife cut the log into 1/4'' thick rounds. bake for 16-18minutes then let cool before frosting.
for the frosting whisk together the two ingredients until the consistency is how you want it. spread or drizzle over the cookies! makes atleast 2 dozen.

this recipe (from bon appétit magazine) was very easy to follow and turned out so well. the dough was easy to work with and the frosting (more like a glaze) was delicious. i added some sprinkles to them too. i pulled them out of the oven at fifteen minutes and the bottom was slightly golden brown, think that's the best way to go for sugar/ shortbread cookies.

chocolate peanut butter pretzel brownies

need i say more ? these are quite something. i saw them on a blog i've been following and i've wanted to try making them ever since. perfect to try on a rainy tuesday. and ingredients wise i had everything but the pretzel sticks, not bad for homemade brownies.

recipe
brownie
8tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter
2oz unsweetened chocolate
4oz semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate chips)
1tsp. instant coffee (optional)
3/4c sugar
3eggs
1tsp. vanilla
2/3c flour
1/2tsp. baking powder
1/4tsp. salt
coarse sea salt for topping (just a little bit!)

peanut butter filling
4tbs. unsalted butter (melted)
1/2c powdered sugar
3/4c peanut butter
1/4tsp. salt
1/2tsp. vanilla
handful of pretzel sticks

preheat oven to 325degrees. grease an 8by8 baking pan and line with parchment paper so that it overhangs on two sides and grease the paper as well.
in a double boiler melt butter, chocolate (and coffee) over the heat proof bowl. once melted, remove from heat and add the vanilla. in a small bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. once the chocolate mixture has cooled slightly mix in the sugar then the eggs one at a time. fold in the dry ingredients and pour into the greased pan.
for the peanut butter filling, whisk together all the ingredients until smooth. pour this filling on top of the brownie batter and then use a butter knife to swirl the two together. arrange the pretzels however you like. top with some sea salt. bake for 40-45minutes. let cool before serving.

this recipe comes from Joy the Baker blog. (http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/) adapted from martha stewart. i think i'll be using her blog alot more ... the only thing i would remember to do next time was swirl the peanut butter filling more into the chocolate mixture and take out the brownies earlier! i think i over-baked mine, and they were in for 40minutes. i also opted out of adding coffee but that's just what i prefer. oh and a suggestion from my mom: break up the pretzels instead/ easier to eat and everyone gets a bite with pretzels. but other than that, very good. it's nice to change things up from just the plain old chocolate brownies.

chinese almond cookies

continuing with my tis the season theme ... so i've never celebrated the chinese new year, nor have i ever been to a chinese new year party but nonetheless these probably would go very well at one of those gatherings. very easy to make and different from the ordinary cookie. remind me of those pecan sandies you would buy at the store. i thought i would give them a shot ....

recipe
11/3c flour
1/2c sugar
1/2tsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
1/2c butter
1egg
1/2tsp almond extract
24 almonds
powdered sugar

preheat the oven to 325degrees. mix together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl fitted with an electric mixer. then cut the butter into the mixture. add the egg and almond extract. mix well until the dough comes together and forms one big ball. roll the dough into small balls and press an almond into the top of each cookie. bake for 12minutes or until the edges just barely turn brown. let cool before dusting lightly with powdered sugar. makes 2dozen.

this recipe comes from a blog i stumbled upon called elephantine. super easy and requires very little ingredients. also a bonus is that the butter doesn't have to be at room temperature! one thing i would add is that they seem to bake for a few minutes longer than 12minutes (i'd say 2/3 more minutes). but other than that a good recipe to have to bake quick, easy, delicate cookies.

gingerbread cookies

tis the season, no better way to do this then bake some homemade gingerbread cookies. we've been using martha stewart's recipe for these cookies for a few years now and they are quite delicious. really moist and makes the best dough! mmm ...

recipe

2c flour

2tsp ground ginger

1tsp ground cinnamon

1/2tsp ground nutmeg

1/4tsp ground cloves

1/4tsp salt

1/4tsp baking soda

1/2c unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3c packed brown sugar

1/3c molasses

1egg

in one bowl mix together the dry ingredients/ spices (flour, spices, baking soda and salt). then in an electric mixer beat the butter and brown sugar together. add in the molasses and egg. slowly add the dry ingredients until the dough just begins to form. place the dough on a floured plastic wrap, pat down and chill for 1-2 hours.

then preheat oven to 350degrees. divide the dough in half. work with one half at a time and roll out/ cut out shapes. bake for 8-10minutes. cool then frost. 

these cookies are always a favorite around the holidays. and martha stewart's recipe seems the easiest to use when you're trying to make homemade gingerbread. i ran out of ground ginger so instead i used some leftover real ginger and just shredded some. i also took the cookies out at exactly 8minutes and they were perfect. so good!