Molasses Chews

Normally I have a huge Christmas baking list that I have to whittle down to something manageable. This year, I'm feeling a little burnt out, I think. This is the only new recipe I tried this year (and it's a keeper!). I mostly made cookies and candies I've done before, and not that many (see my Christmas baking list at bottom of post). I have to admit, it was kind of nice enjoying my favorite treats again.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup whole milk
1 cup unsulphured molasses
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Candy thermometer

Directions:
Line an 8x8-inch glass baking dish with wax paper and lightly grease with cooking spray.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine butter, chocolate, milk, molasses, and sugar over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Insert candy thermometer in the pan.

When the temperature reaches 248 on the thermometer, remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla.

Carefully pour the molasses caramels into the prepared pan. Allow to cool and set for at least two hours. Remove the molasses chews from the dish and cut into bite-size squares. If you find the caramel sticking to the knife, spray the knife with cooking spray. Wrap the individual chews in wax paper.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Christmas Baking List 2014:
Kiss Cookies
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies 
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies
Homemade Marshmallows
Pumpkin Caramels!
Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

Homemade Tootsie Rolls

Source

Every since I made my first homemade caramels, I've loved candy making. I've made sea salt caramels, pumpkin caramels, marshmallow, truffles, chocolate covered cherries, candied citrus peels, candy corn, different types of fudge, and bon-bons. (Click here for candy recipes). So when I saw this tootsie roll recipe on Pinterest, I had to try it.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
1 to 2 cups instant non-dry milk powder

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together honey, cocoa powder, and vanilla using a spatula or spoon. Pour in melted butter and mix well. Add powdered sugar and salt; mix until well incorporated.

Add the milk powder 1/4 cup at a time until dough forms. Remove the dough from the bowl and onto a work surface. Knead the dough by hand and continue to add the milk powder until the dough becomes firm. You may not use all of the milk powder. When the dough is firm and only slightly sticky, roll it into a ball. Spray cling wrap with cooking spray and wrap the dough in it.

Let the dough rest for a 1 to 2 hours. I cut the dough into strips. Next time, I think I'll roll them out into logs then cut them into pieces. Wrap in wax paper and store at room temperature.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Butterscotch . . . Somethings

In the summer, we usually hit up the local ice cream shop. 99% of the time Eric orders a butterscotch milkshake. I think next to peppermint, it's his favorite flavor. So I had planned on making butterscotch fudge for him this Christmas. I used the Nestle Toll House recipe for butterscotch fudge. The only alteration I made to the recipe was taking out the nuts. But the fudge never set. I even tried freezing it. The recipe had awesome reviews; I don't know what went wrong, but the fudge was a fail. However, while some kitchen fails have to go in the trash, others can be transformed. So that's what I attempted to do with the butterscotch fudge. It tastes damn good (Eric said he'd happily eat it with a spoon) so I turned it into a truffle-like candy I'm calling a "something." But these somethings need to be kept in the freeze, otherwise they don't exactly melt, but become gooey and lose their shape. Even transformed, they're not my most successful concoction, but Eric loved them so much that I thought I'd share the recipe anyway.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 2/3 cups (11-ounce package) of butterscotch chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extra
nuts, powdered sugar, sprinkles, etc.

Directions:
Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt and bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring continuously. Let boil for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Stir in marshmallows, chips, and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously until the marshmallows and chips are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared pan and freeze overnight.

Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the butterscotch "fudge," roll into ball, then roll the ball in chopped nuts, powdered sugar, sprinkles, whatever you'd like. I used up some leftover pecans and powdered sugar. Set the balls on waxed paper lined plate and refrigerate. Since these suckers become gooey rather quickly, it's better to work in batches.

Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

2012 Christmas Baking List
Christmas Kiss Cookies
Tea Cookies
Cornflake Wreath Cookies
Candied Citrus Peels
Christmas Candy Corn
Homemade Chocolate-Covered Cherries
Sea Salt Nutella Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Spiced Cranberry Juice

Check out last year's baking list!

Sea Salt Nutella Fudge

Source

I've made homemade caramels, marshmallows, and even candy corn. But for some unknown reason I've been intimidated by fudge. I don't know why. It's not difficult to make. So I decided to tackle it this holiday season. I absolutely love hazelnut-chocolate spread and I love chocolate and salt, so when I found this recipe I knew it had to be my first fudge recipe. But I do have a confession. I didn't use Nutella. I used Jiffy's Hazelnut-chocolate spread. It's cheaper and just as yummy.

Recipe comes from here.

Ingredients:
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature and cup into little blocks
sea salt

Directions:
Line the bottom and sides of an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray (you can also grease it with butter).

Combine the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, chocolate chips, hazelnut-chocolate spread, and butter in a medium glass (heat proof) bowl.

Create a double-boiler by setting the bowl over a medium-size saucepan of simmering water. The bottom of the bowl shouldn't touch the water. Stir in chocolate chips. Mix until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth.

Double boiler

Pour the fudge into the prepared dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate for 2 to 5 hours or until the fudge is firm.

Sprinkle with salt

To cut the fudge, remove the parchment paper from the dish. Run a knife under hot water, dry it off, and use it to cut the fudge into squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Enjoy!

~Krissy

2012 Christmas Baking List
Christmas Kiss Cookies
Tea Cookies
Cornflake Wreath Cookies
Candied Citrus Peels
Christmas Candy Corn
Homemade Chocolate-Covered Cherries
Peanut Butter Fudge
Spiced Cranberry Juice

Check out last year's baking list!

Christmas Candy Corn: Peppermint and Cinnamon

For Halloween I made homemade candy corn and it was a hit with everyone who tasted it--even those that don't like store bought candy corn. I knew right away that I was going to experiment with other flavors. So for Christmas I made a batch of Peppermint Candy Corn and a batch of Cinnamon Candy Corn.

I do have a confession to make though. Two confessions actually. Number 1: I wasn't paying close enough attention to my candy thermometer and let the peppermint candy corn go two degrees higher than it should have (230 instead of 228). This made the dough less pliable and harder than it should have been, which in turn made molding the candy difficult. So my Christmas candy corn doesn't look nearly as pretty as my Halloween candy corn. Confession Number 2: I didn't realize I was only one drop away from being out of red food coloring. Though I made sure to cook my cinnamon candy corn to the correct temperature, it's the wrong color. But at least the candy taste good, even if it doesn't look the prettiest.

Peppermint Candy Corn
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup non-fat milk powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon peppermint extract*
Green food coloring

*I'm not a huge peppermint fan, but Eric loves it. 1 teaspoon of extract is more than enough for me, but the first thing Eric told me when he tried these was that they needed more peppermint extract. So if you're a huge peppermint lover like Eric, you could add an extra 1/2 to 1 teaspoon.

Directions:
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar, milk powder, and salt. (Sifting is very important). Set aside.

Over high heat bring corn syrup, granulated sugar, butter, and peppermint extract to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. When the mixture just begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-high. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture to 228 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat.

Gradually stir in the sugar mixture until it's completely incorporated. Now I'm going to be honest with you, doing this with a spatula wasn't easy. I finally got to the point to where I kneaded the rest of the sugar mixture into the dough (for lack of a better word). If you decided to do this, be very careful. The dough is still quite hot and can burn you. I only handled it for maybe 10-15 seconds at a time.

Once the sugar mixture is completely incorporated, place the dough on a piece of wax paper for 10-15 minutes or until the dough is cool enough to handle.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Add about 3 drops of green food to two of the pieces and knead the color into the dough. If you're worried about staining your hands, use gloves, but the food coloring washed right off my hands. Leave the third bowl uncolored.

Roll out a large piece of wax paper over your work area. If you want, you can roll three ridiculously long, thin ropes of dough (two green, one white) or you can do what I did and work in batches. If working in batches, make sure to cover any unused dough with plastic wrap or else it will dry out. Line the ropes up so they form a long rectangle with green on top, white in the middle, and green again on the bottom. Press the ropes together and flatten them a little. Using a knife, cut the rope into little triangles.

Store the candy corn in an airtight container, making sure to separate the layers with waxed paper. Keep container at room temperature.

Cinnamon Candy Corn
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup non-fat milk powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon extract OR 1 heaping tablespoon ground cinnamon*
Red food coloring

*My grocery store sells every type of extract under the sun except cinnamon extract. So I took a risk and used ground cinnamon. This didn't affect the texture of the candy corn and gave it amazing flavor. BUT it does make your candy brown, which isn't the most appetizing color. You can probably dye it red with food coloring but as I was making this I discovered I only had one drop of red food coloring left so mine turned out brown. Plus you can't make white and red stripped candy corn (or little stripped candy cane!) if you use ground cinnamon. Next time, I'm going online and ordering cinnamon extract.

Directions:
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar, milk powder, and salt. Set aside.

Over high heat bring corn syrup, granulated sugar, butter, and cinnamon extract (or ground cinnamon) to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. When the mixture just begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-high. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture to 228 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat.

Gradually stir in the sugar mixture until it's completely incorporated. Once the sugar mixture is well combined, place the dough on a piece of wax paper for 10-15 minutes or until the dough is cool enough to handle.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Add about 3 to 5 drops of red food to two of the pieces and knead the color into the dough. If you're worried about staining your hands, use gloves, but the food coloring washed right off my hands. Leave the third bowl uncolored.

Roll out a large piece of wax paper over your work area. If you want, you can roll three ridiculously long, thin ropes of dough (two red, one white) or you can do what I did and work in batches. If working in batches, make sure to cover any unused dough with plastic wrap or else it will dry out. Line the ropes up so they form a long rectangle with green on top, white in the middle, and green again on the bottom. Press the ropes together and flatten them a little. Using a knife, cut the rope into little triangles.

Store the candy corn in an airtight container, making sure to separate the layers with waxed paper. Keep container at room temperature.

Despite my pliability and color issues, I got a little creative with the candy corn dough. There really is so much you can do with this recipe aesthetically.

Uncolored peppermint snowballs

Peppermint snowman decorated with different sprinkles. (Maybe a good decoration for a gingerbread house?)

Cinnamon stars and candy canes

Enjoy!

~Krissy

2012 Christmas Baking List
Christmas Kiss Cookies
Tea Cookies
Cornflake Wreath Cookies
Candied Citrus Peels
Homemade Chocolate-Covered Cherries
Sea Salt Nutella Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Spiced Cranberry Juice

Check out last year's baking list!

Homemade Candy Corn

Candy corn. It's a love it or hate it kind of candy. My mom loves it. Eric could eat it by the truck load. One small handful and I'm good until next year. But I have friends who venomously hate this autumn candy, who can go on a ten minute rant about how much they hate this candy. However, this homemade candy might just change their minds. They taste like candy corn, but like a better vanilla-y, buttery version. Plus, there's a great versatility to these candies. Swap out the vanilla extract for peppermint extract, change the colors, and you have candy corn for Christmas.

I found this recipe on a few different websites, but here's the one I used with a few minor changes.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup non-fat milk powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red food coloring
Yellow food coloring

Directions:
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar, milk powder, and salt. (Sifting is very important) Set aside.

Over high heat bring corn syrup, granulated sugar, butter, and vanilla extract to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. When the mixture just begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-high. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture to 228 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat.

Gradually stir in the sugar mixture until it's completely incorporated. Now I'm going to be honest with you, doing this with a spatula wasn't easy. I finally got to the point to where I kneaded the rest of the sugar mixture into the dough (for lack of a better word). If you decided to do this, be very careful. The dough is still quite hot and can burn you. I only handled it for maybe 10-15 seconds at a time.

Once the sugar mixture is completely incorporated, place the dough on a piece of wax paper for 10-15 minutes or until the dough is cool enough to handle.

I halved the recipe so you'd half twice as much dough if you prepare the entire recipe.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces and place each in its own bowl. Add about 3 drops of yellow food coloring to one of the bowls and knead the color into the dough. If you're worried about staining your hands, use gloves, but the food coloring washed right off my hands. Add about 2 drops of yellow food coloring and 2 drops of red food coloring to the second bowl and knead it into the dough to make orange dough. Leave the third bowl uncolored.

Roll out a large piece of wax paper over your work area. If you want, you can roll three ridiculously long, thin ropes of dough (one in each color) or you can do what I did and work in batches. If working in batches, make sure to cover any unused dough with plastic wrap or else it will dry out. Line the ropes up so they form a long rectangle with white on top, yellow in the middle, and orange on the bottom. Press the ropes together and flatten them a little. Using a knife, cut the rope into little triangles. Half of your pieces will look like normal candy corn (white-yellow-orange) and the other half with look like inverted candy corns (orange-yellow-white). I won't lie, this is a time consuming process, but the end result is so cute and delicious, it's worth the effort.

Aren't  they cute?

Store the candy corn in an airtight container, making sure to separate the layers with waxed paper. Keep container at room temperature.

The original recipe says that this makes 100 pieces. However, that all depends on how thin you roll your ropes. With each batch my candy corns kept getting bigger and bigger.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Also Check These Fall Recipes:  
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Mini Pumpkin Pies
Pumpkin Caramels
Pumpkin-Black Bean Stew with Spicy Sausage
Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Brownies