Dark Chocolate Rocky Road Fudge

Hello, friends!   Long time, no see.   I interrupt this long hiatus to let you know that I'm still here and still cooking away, though with far fewer kids at home, a lot more gray hairs, and three houses removed from the DC area, where 99% of these recipes were posted from.  I don't eat sweets super often anymore, but here is a recipe I've been tweaking one batch at a time every Christmas over the last several years.  I think I *finally* got it perfect this year and I'm excited to share it with you all.   Who knows maybe I'll post again in another few years?!  Merry Christmas!

Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients:  

 

2 cups sugar
10 oz. evaporated milk

1/2 cup butter

13-14 -ounces  marshmallow fluff or creme

1 tsp. salt

2- tsp. vanilla

4 cups (2-10-oz packages) semi sweet chocolate chips (I like the Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips)

4-oz unsweetened baking chocolate

ROCKY ROAD

add 1 cup chopped walnuts and 2 cups mini marshmallows 

Directions:   Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan.  

Stir over medium heat until well blended.   Bring to boil, stirring occasionally, but watching closely. Once fully boiling, turn the heat down to low, set the timer for 2-½ minutes,  and stir constantly.  

After 2-½ minutes, remove from heat, stir in chocolates and vanilla until chocolate is smooth and melted. 

After the chocolate is smooth and well incorporated, stir in walnuts and marshmallows until just combined. 

Pour into a parchment paper lined 9x13-inch pan and allow to cool.  Store covered. Enjoy!

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Lemon Cream Pops

With popsicle season arriving quickly, I am having fun digging out some of our favorite frozen treat recipes again.  I credit these creamy pops as the recipe that won my family officially over to the joy of homemade popsicles.  They were sweet, but not too sweet and the silky texture was downright addicting!  Next time I will try them with limes instead! 

Recipe Source:  Taste of Home

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Lara. 

The ingredients:
1 can (14-ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (it took me 2-1/2 lemons to get the right amount)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon peel

Directions: 
In a bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. 

Pour into 6-7 ice pop molds or 3-ounce paper cups and insert sticks. 

Freeze for 6-8 hours or until solid. 

Enjoy! 

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Homemade Twix Bars

Lucky me, I have a couple of children who love to bake even more than I do.  My waistline isn't sure it's such a blessing, but man oh man, my tastebuds sure do appreciate their culinary interest.  These bars are ones my daughter whipped up one day right before guests arrived.  Unfortunately she had not read ahead in the recipe to notice that they needed time to set up beforehand, so we served them to our guests as a not-so-lovely chocolate-caramel soup.  We cleaned up from dinner that night, set them aside, and totally forgot about them until a couple of days later when we rediscovered them as perfectly set-up chocolate-caramel bars of goodness!  After tasting them the second time, there was no forgetting them anymore and it did not take long for the rest of them to disappear.   These were one of the best desserts I've had in a long time!  

Click here for printable recipe (link updated).

Posted by Lara.

The ingredients:
SHORTBREAD LAYER:
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Beat together butter and sugar and add vanilla. Stir in flour and salt until smooth. Press dough into a 9x13-inch baking dish (or up to a 12x16-inch pan) and poke several times with a fork.  (How big your pan is, will determine how thick your layers are.)

 
Bake at 325-degrees for about 22-25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Set aside and allow to cool completely.  

CARAMEL LAYER:


1-1/2 cups butter
1-1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
6 Tbs. corn syrup
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter then stir in remaining ingredients, except vanilla.

 Stir in remaining ingredients except for vanilla and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to medium-low and stir at a low rolling boil for about 7 minutes.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  

Pour caramel over cooled shortbread and allow to set up for several hours or overnight.  We placed ours in the fridge to hasten the process.   

CHOCOLATE LAYER:

3-4 cups chocolate chips (we liked ours with dark chocolate)
2 Tbs. shortening

In a medium microwaveable bowl, melt chocolate chips and shortening together on high heat for two minutes, stirring every thirty seconds.  Return to refrigerator to set, then cut into bars. Makes about 30 bars.
Store bars in a tightly covered container in the fridge with wax paper between layers.  Allow to sit at room temperature for a few minutes before eating.  

Enjoy!  

NOTE:  For an extra special treat, try these in a candy mold.    We coated the outside of the mold with melted chocolate, allowed it to set up, then placed a very small piece of shortbread (or Rice Krispies) and a spoonful of caramel into the mold and covered it with chocolate.  My daughter won a cooking contest with these tasty and pretty treats! 

Recipe Adapted from:  Boy Cheese Sandwich

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Oatmeal Cream Pies (Little Debbie Knock Off)

I come from a family who loves sweets and a mom that didn't love to bake, so we grew up getting our dessert fix from boxes of Little Debbie snacks.  My parents had to hide them so we kids didn't make off with entire boxes of them at a time.  My idea of a great day was when dad packed my lunch and put in an entire treat, rather than splitting it in half like my mom did.  The Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies were simple, but always one of my very favorites of all the varieties. Now I'm all grown up and haven't bought a box of Little Debbies in well over a decade, so when I found this recipe on Pinterest I immediately became mildly obsessed with trying them.  I talked my daughter into whipping up a batch one day, which instead of alleviating my obsession, seemed to only increase it.  They actually taste similarly to the Little Debbie version and while I wouldn't call them healthy, this homemade version certainly doesn't have any preservatives or chemicals of the boxed version.  We've since made them a few more times and I can say that these are among my new favorite cookies.  I love it with lots of the coconut extract, but you could reduce that if you prefer.  You want to cook these only until they look ALMOST done.  If you overbake them, they will lose their fabulous chewy texture.  Enjoy! 

Makes about 12 sandwich cookies.

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Lara.

The ingredients:


Soft Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/4 cups sugar
3 Tbs. molasses
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. coconut extract (can use less if you don't care for coconut flavor)
1-3/4 cups + 2 Tbs. all purpose flour (I used half white whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour)
1 cup oats, ground slightly in blender  (don't skip the blending--it really makes the texture)
2 tsp. cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger

Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup  shortening
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 jar (7-ounces) marshmallow creme

Directions: 
COOKIES: 
In a medium bowl, whip together butter, shortening, sugar,  and molasses on medium-high speed  for 1-2 minutes.  Add eggs, vanilla, and coconut extract.  Beat together.  Add flour, blended oats, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.  Beat together until just mixed. 

 Form about 2-tablespoons of dough into balls (I didn't make them quite this big) and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until they looking slightly underdone.  Take care not to overbake, as they will lose their fabulous chewy texture.  Allow to cool in the pan for about 10-minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. 

When cookies are completely cooled, place a large spoonful of marshmallow frosting on the flat side of a cookie and sandwich together with another cookie.  VOILA!  A beautiful oatmeal cream pie cookie that taste similar, but better than the storebought version!   Makes about 12 sandwich cookies.

FROSTING: 
Whip together butter, shortening, and powdered sugar.  When smooth and fluffy, add the jar of marshmallow creme and whip together until well combined. 

Enjoy! 

Recipe adapted slightly from Cooking Classy.

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Indian Rice Pudding

Lately it seems like it takes all my effort just to be able to pull together an easy-to-fix dinner each night, let alone trying a new recipe and actually taking pictures of it.  Couple that with my effort to cut refined sugar out of my diet and this poor blog is getting more neglected by the week.   This recipe is one that I've had in the files for a couple of years now and one that I've been making more often now that we're trying to eat more simply. We use brown rice and coconut sugar in place of refined sugar and serve it with some fresh berries for a dessert that's wholesome and delicious!   Rice pudding looks humble, but with its subtle coconut flavor and creamy texture it's one the kids love too.  I usually make a double or triple batch and put some in their lunches for a special treat! 

Picture shown using brown rice and coconut sugar, so it's darker than it would be if you used white rice and white sugar. 

Click here for printable recipe. 

Posted by Lara.

The ingredients:
1 cup cooked long grain or basmati rice (brown or white rice is fine)

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar (it was good with coconut sugar as well)

1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/3 cup unsalted pistachios, chopped (optional)

Directions: 
In a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, combine the cooked rice and milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium, add the heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar, and cinnamon and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Use a whisk to help prevent the cinnamon from clumping. Once the mixture just begins to thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the raisins and pistachios (if using).

Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding, to prevent a film from forming on the surface of the pudding (we skipped the plastic wrap and didn't have any issues).

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Enjoy! 

Recipe Adapted from:  Food Network

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Dense Chocolate Chocolate Cake

Everyone needs a good chocolate cake recipe and this has been my go to recipe for years.  (I even had a 5 year old girl convinced that she wanted this cake every year for her birthday cake, she thought it was that good!).  I have to admit that I love the ease of cake mixes, but I hate how potentially dry they can be.  With pudding, sour cream, and cream cheese added to the mix, this cake turns out perfectly moist and flavorful....just the way I like it!

 Click here for printable recipe.

Post by: Jen
recipe source: Philadelphia Cream Cheese Collection

Ingredients:

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 c sour cream
1/2 c water
2 eggs
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 4 oz pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
1 c chocolate chips, optional

Directions:
Peaheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream the cream cheese until it is is smooth. Mix in the eggs, and water and blend until smooth.

 Add in the cake mix and the pudding mix and blend together until all mixed well.

 This is a VERY thick batter.  It may work your beaters!  Stir in the chocolate chips at this point if desired.

Grease and flour your pan.  I love to use a bundt pan for this cake, but it works just fine in 2 round cake pans, or a 9x13 pan.  If I am not covering the cake with a ganache, or frosting, then I like to flour the pan with cocoa powder so as to not leave a flour residue on the cake.  OR if you have the flour/butter spray combo then use that because that stuff is amazing for greasing and flouring pans!

 Spread your batter into the pan.  This is thick, so you will spoon your batter into the pan and then spread it out.

 Bake in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour or until toothpick in center is clean.  It will take less time if using 2 rounds or a rectangle pan.  I would check around 40 minutes.  But check by looking in your oven rather than opening your oven if possible.

 Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.  (unless you are using a 9x13 pan, and you want to leave it in the pan)  Cool completely.

 You can put whatever you want on the top.  Frosting, chocolate ganache,  fresh fruit, powdered sugar,whipped cream, pie filling,  etc...  Here it is with chocolate ganache.  It will be very chocolaty.  In fact when I made this again recently, my 8 year old son requested that I make it not too chocolaty.

 I love this recipe because it tastes great and it is great to serve to guests.  Plus it looks really cool with powdered sugar!

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Andes Mint Fudge

What can I say about this fudge?
First let me tell you how incredibly easy this fudge is.  No need for candy thermometers or timers with this fudge...my twelve year old daughter whipped us up this fudge 100% by herself (she even took all the process pictures herself). 
Second, it's amazingly tasty. 
If you like mint and chocolate, then you are in for a treat with this creamy delight! 
Lastly, it's beautiful! 
With it's different colored layers, it's a gorgeous addition to your goodie plates!
Easy, tasty, and beautiful...
What are you waiting for?

Recipe Source:  Finding Joy in My Kitchen. 

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Lara.

The ingredients:


2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 can (14-ounces) sweetened condensed milk, divided
8 oz. white baking chocolate (or 1-1/2 cups white chocolate chips)
1-1/2 tsp. peppermint extract  (we like the Watkins peppermint extract from Walmart--it's cheaper and has a better flavor)
2 drops green food coloring
1 tsp. shortening (like Crisco)
1/2 cup Andes mint chips (or regular Andes mints chopped up)


Directions
Line a square 8x8 or 9x9-inch baking pan with tinfoil or parchment paper and lightly spray with nonstick spray. 

In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk with 1 cup chocolate chips.    Heat over medium-low heat.  Stirring frequently, heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.   
Spread the chocolate mixture evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. 

Place the pan in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the next layer. 
Grab a second small saucepan and combine 8 oz. white chocolate (either white baking chocolate or 1-1/2 cups white chocolate chips) along with the rest of the sweetened condensed milk.
As with the first layer, heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is melted and smooth.  Then add 1-1/2 tsp. peppermint extract and 2 drops of green food coloring. 
Add additional food coloring drop-by-drop until the desired color has been reached, then gently pour the green/minty layer over the set chocolate layer, taking care to keep the layers separate. 

Place  pan in the refrigerator until set (about 10 minutes).  Meanwhile, in a microwaveable bowl combine the remaining cup of chocolate chips and the teaspoon of shortening. 

Microwave, stopping it every thirty seconds to stir,  until smooth and melted (about 2 minutes).  Pour the melted chocolate over the mint layer, spreading it carefully.  Before chocolate is set, sprinkle the Andes mint chips over the top, lightly pressing them down as you go. 

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2-4 hours.    Allow to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before cutting and serving.   Store covered in the fridge or freezer. 

Enjoy! 

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