Sunday, December 13, 2009
Holiday Candy Sensations
Classic Rum Balls1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ cup dark or light rum
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 ½ cups very finely crushed vanilla wafers
1 cup finely chopped, toasted walnuts or pecans
In a large bowl, sift together 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and allspice. Stir in rum and corn syrup. Stir in vanilla wafers and walnuts; mix well. Cover mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until slightly firm. It’s OK if mixture appears crumbly and dry; do not add more liquid.
Place the remaining ½ cup confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl.
Scoop out portions of the chocolate/rum mixture using a tablespoon; form into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in confectioners’ sugar, making sure to coat evenly.
Place on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day place each rum ball in ruffled candy papers; place a sheet of waxed paper between the layers to keep from sticking. Rum Balls will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Yield: 5 ½ dozen
Simply Decadent Truffles2 ½ packages or 20 squares, semi-sweet baking chocolate, divided
1-8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
Chopped nuts, optional
Chocolate Sprinkles, optional
Melt 8 of the chocolate squares as directed on package. Beat cream cheese in medium bowl with electric hand mixer until creamy. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until firm.
Cover baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper. Shape chocolate mixture into 30-36 balls, using about 2 teaspoons chocolate/cream cheese mixture for each ball. Place in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm.
Melt remaining chocolate squares as directed on package. Using a toothpick, dip truffles into melted chocolate one at a time; roll truffles in chopped nuts or chocolate sprinkles, if desired. Return to baking sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm. Place each truffle in a ruffled candy paper; store covered in refrigerator. Yield: 3 dozen
Variations: Add 1-2 teaspoons peppermint, rum or almond extract; or ¼ cup orange or raspberry liqueur to the chocolate mixture before shaping into balls.
Chocolate Swirl Bark with Cherries & Pistachios2 cups (1-12 ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 ounces (3 squares) white candy coating
1 cup toasted pistachios or pecans, chopped and divided
1 cup dried cherries or cranberries
In a medium-size microwaveable bowl, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth and set aside. In a separate microwaveable bowl, melt white candy coating; stir until smooth and set aside.
Mix 1/2 cup pistachios into semi-sweet chocolate; spread onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Mix cherries into white candy coating; pour over dark chocolate; run a knife through both layers of candy to swirl. Sprinkle remaining pistachios over bark. Chill in refrigerator until firm. Break into serving-size pieces. Store bark in air-tight container in refrigerator. Yield: approximately 1 pound
Creamy French Fudge1-14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1-12 ounce package milk chocolate chips
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
Combine sweetened condensed milk, milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips in a shallow 2-quart microwaveable baking dish. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes, stirring at 1 minute intervals.
When chips are melted, stir in vanilla and nuts. Pour fudge into a buttered 8” x 8” x 2” pan. Allow to set-up at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Cut into 1” squares. Store up to 10 days in air-tight container or wrap securely in plastic wrap. Yield: 64 pieces
Variation: Replace equal amounts of choclate chips with either white chocolate chips or almond bark. This is a very nice change from traditional chocolate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Order Now! There's still time to order Pork Chops & Applesauce and Sweet Apple Temptations for holiday gift-giving. With the lagging economy many people are cooking at home more to save money. Pork Chops and Sweet Apple are ideal gifts offering sumptious comfort food recipes that'll be saving hard earned dollars until we can see this recession in our rearview mirror. Don't delay, click here to purchase: http://www.porkchopsandapplesauce.net/new/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scheduled Arts & Crafts Shows
Book Signing Events
Hope to see you!
Highland High School, 4700 Coal Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM, 87108, Saturday, Dec. 19, 9 AM to 4 PM.
Velocity Christmas Craft Show, Calvary of Albuquerque, 4001 Osuna Road NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87109, Fri. & Sat, Dec. 11 & 12.
Purse Party, 8001 Wyoming Blvd NE, Suite D4, Albuquerque, NM, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2 PM to 4 PM.
Liz & Gil Silva Home, 7709 Apache Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM, Fri. and Sat. Dec. 4 & 5, 9 AM to 6 PM.
Happy Holidays!
C. Briggs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
# posted by Cynthia @ 5:20 PM 
Comments:
<< Home
Love the truffle recipe. I can't wait to see how many ways I can coat them and pretty them up! Thanks, Cindy.
Hope Clark
Post a Comment
Hope Clark
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home
