Christmas Candies

Two weeks ago my family had our Lynn Women First Annual Christmas Bake Off which we named "Lovin' From The Oven" :). It was soooo much fun! I made caramel popcorn (will post later!) and Christmas Candies. Unfortunately I forgot my camera for the event so my photos are a compilation of my family's phone photos and my iPhone photos.

I discovered these delicious little candies in Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Magazine. In the magazine is beautiful picture of the candy and a short (somewhat helpful) blurb on how to make them. But no worries friends, I have perfected the recipe just for you!

Tools Needed:
Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper (Don't use wax paper! It will burn in the oven!!!!)
The Usual
Heavy Plastic Baggie
Scissors

Ingredients:
Yogurt Covered Pretzels
Rolos
Pecans
White Chocolate*

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the yogurt covered pretzels (evenly spaced) on the baking sheet. As you can see from my picture I did not use parchment paper and I definitely wish I had. The candies came out just fine but parchment would have been a big help. Unwrap your Rolos and place one on each pretzel (in the middle of the pretzel) and place the baking sheet in the oven for 3 minuets.

Once you remove the baking sheet from the oven squish a pecan half into each Rolo like in the picture.

*Ok... so I had a few issues drizzling the icing over my creations. If you buy Ghirardelli white chocolate chips and melt them (How to melt chocolate) you cannot drizzle the chocolate. It is best to pour melted chocolate in to a heavy plastic bag and snip off a tiny piece of one corner so you can use it as a pastry bag. The chocolate will be hot so hold the plastic bag with a towel.
 If you buy melting chocolate you can drizzle the chocolate normally. Dip a spoon into the melted chocolate and let the first clumpy drip land in the pan. Drizzle chocolate over the edges and tops of candies.

I had so much fun making these pretty, delicious and surprisingly easy candies! Put your Christmas Candies into little goodies bags and give them away as gifts. As always ENJOY!

Easy Apple Strudel!

My friend Nick at Home Brew Brewery loves to brew his own beer.  In celebration of Oktoberfest he brewed a special batch and threw a party! I brought some delicious (and super easy) Apple Strudel. I started with this recipe from All Recipes. Because the recipe only called for brown sugar to be mixed with the apples... I spiced it up a bit!

Ingredients:
2 - 3 Granny Smith apples
1 Cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
2 1/4 Teaspoons nutmeg
1/4 Teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 Sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 Egg
1/4 Cup milk

Tools Needed:
The Usual
Whisk
Baking Sheet
Baking Brush
Foil

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Peel, core and slice up the apples and place them in a large bowl. I did what I like to call the "homemade peel" ...aka the lazy persons peel. I love the taste of apple peels and it's the healthiest part so I don't really see a reason to peel off all of the apple peel.

Stir the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper into the apples.

 Place puff pastry flat on the baking sheet and arrange apple filling down the middle of the pastry lengthwise. You may not be able to fit all of the apple filling into the pastry. 

Fold the pastry lengthwise around the mixture. Seal edges of pastry by using a bit of water on your fingers, and rubbing the pastry edges together. Whisk egg and milk together, and brush onto top of pastry. Cut several slits into the pastry.

Bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Here is a slice of the strudel with some of Nicks Oktoberfest home brew. I got a million compliments on the strudel at Nicks party. It is super easy and you will definitely enjoy it!

Chocolate Eclair Cake

My man (Chris) had his 26th Birthday this week so I made him his favorite dessert, Chocolate Eclair Cake! Chris's mother gave me this recipe. It is super easy and tastes fantastic!


Tools Needed:
The usual
9 x 13 Pan
Handheld or stand mixer

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) Package graham crackers
2 (3.5 ounce) Packages instant vanilla pudding mix
3 Cups milk
1 (8 ounce) Package frozen Cool Whip, thawed
1 (8 ounce) Container of sour cream
1 Container or prepared chocolate frosting

 Mix the pudding with 3 cups of milk according to the directions on the box. 

Line the bottom of your 9 x 13 inch pan with graham crackers.

Blend Cool Whip and sour cream into the pudding. 

Spread half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers, then top with graham crackers. Spread remaining pudding over graham crackers; top second pudding layer with another layer of crackers. 

Microwave the container of prepared chocolate frosting, uncovered in the microwave for 1 minute on half power. Pour over the top of the cake and spread out. Refrigerate for 4 hours or freeze for 2. The longer the eclair has to set in the cold the better. 

Cut and enjoy! 

Happy Birthday Chris!

Crookies!

I have been crazy busy this week trying to get ready for a Thanksgiving in Summer party I'm having this weekend! Next weeks blog post will be all about the Thanksgiving feast so get excited!!

I decided to make a dessert I tried a few weeks ago while in Odessa, TX for a family reunion. Crookies... tastes similar to a Twix bar and will probably be the easiest dessert you every made.

Tools Needed:
Baking pan
Spatula

Ingredients:
Crackers (I used Club Crackers but almost any kind of crackers will work. The recipe suggests saltines!)
Package of chocolate chips ( I used semi-sweet because I ♡ dark chocolate but most people would prefer milk chocolate)
1 Cup brown sugar
1 Stick of butter
Pam

Spay your cookie sheet with Pam. Spread one sleeve of crackers on to the baking sheet

 Melt on medium low one stick of butter and one cup of brown sugar. Pour evenly over crackers. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. Will be bubbly!

 Sprinkle one bag of chocolate chips over the crackers. The chocolate chips will melt fast so be ready to spread them out with your spatula.

 Pop your baking sheet into the fridge or freezer. Once the Crookies are set break them apart and... Enjoy!

Extra little tid bit for all those bloggers out there... I changed my Blogger icon from the standard B to a cute little cupcake. You can do the same sort of thing for your blog! Read this how to article.