Black Pepper Caramel Chocolates (Little Volcanoes) I recently received the book The Elements of Dessert as a birthday gift, and I've found it to be a goldmine of inspiration. At first glance I knew the recipes would be aspirational for the home baker. There are formulas and techniques therein that I may never use, (remember my feelings re: molecular gastronomy?) But the desserts are so utterly gorgeous, so playful. It made me seek out answers to new questions (pre-desserts? Anhydrous butter? Douglas fir milk?) One thing used throughout the book is chocolate texture spray. So, I found the next best thing. A few things to remember if you try the spray for yourself - 1) The dessert must be frozen before you cover it with the texture. 2) Use a large cardboard box in which to spray your dessert.
A little less than half the can was used for two dozen chocolates. Now, as far as chocolate bon-bons are concerned, caramel-filled is my favorite. You'll need a mold -like this inexpensive one from FreshWare- and a pound of chocolate for the shells. Patio Daddio BBQ: Pig Candy! How can you possibly go wrong with peppered bacon coated with dark brownsugar, baked, then glazed with pure maple syrup mixed with a little cayenne? Yeah, it's naughty good. The great folks at Burger's Smokehouse sent me some of their "crazy thick" (1/4") dry-cured bacon to try, so I thought I'd give it a proper treatment. Right out of the gate, let me say that this bacon is outstanding! Order some up, and thank me later. I spent about half of my childhood just down the road from them in Columbia, Missouri, so that makes it even more special for me. OK, if you've never made or experienced pig candy, strap yourself in for a serious porcine indulgence.
Ingredients1 lb Thick-cut peppered bacon, preferably Burger's 1/2 cup Dark brown sugar (more as needed)1/4 cup Pure maple syrup1/4 tsp Cayenne MethodPreheat your oven to 375*. Mix the syrup and cayenne well in a small bowl and set aside. Coat both sides of each bacon slice generously with brown sugar. Enjoy, but try not to eat it all at once. How to Make Fancy Dipped Oreos. You are going to love to make these. I've been making these fun dipped oreos with pattern tops for a while now and everyone wants to know how to make them and no one can believe how easy they are. There are a few different methods for making these kinds of oreos and I think I have gotten it down to the easiest method with the best result. I'm going to give you links to where you can buy the materials you need to make these and I'm writing this post early enough in case you want to do these for Christmas.
I put a three-tiered plate stand out full of these last year on my Christmas Eve buffet in a variety of holiday patterns and they were really cute (and got devoured). You can make these oreos for any occasion because the patterned transfer sheets that you need come in all kinds of themes and colors. The chocolate transfer sheets can be found online from many places. This is what the transfer sheets look like Besides the chocolate transfer sheets, you need an Oreo mold . Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Cups. Soooooo… you know that episode of Sex and the City where Miranda has to dump dish soap on top of chocolate cake just so she will stop eating it?? Uh. Yeeeeeah. These are like… of that caliber. And that totally almost happened to me. I ate what felt like a million, then had a plate of 5-day old green bean fries from the fridge and called it lunch.
I definitely recommend those. For lunch. Face? Inhale. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Cups [cookie dough adapted from cookie dough dip] makes 24 cups 2 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 3/4 cup powdered sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips In a small saucepan, heat butter until melted.
Line a mini muffin with with liners. Remove muffin tin and cookie dough, then place 1 teaspoon of cookie dough (I somewhat rolled mine) into the chocolate cups. Sigh. Raspberry Balls. Here is a flashback from the 70'sEvery Holiday season my Grandmother would make these wonderful raspberry balls.It took me years and years to figure out the recipe, but I got it!! It's incredibly simple and uses only 4 ingredients! Jello Gelatin, coconut, sweetened condensed milk, almond extract. And... You don't have to make them Raspberry.You can use any flavor Gelatin.The balls in the picture are cranberry balls. Yummm! Raspberry Balls1 large package flaked coconut.1 large box jello gelatin. 1 small box Jello gelatin (for coating finished balls.) Mix first 4 ingredients.Roll into small balls.roll to coat in the small package of jello.refrigerate in an air-tight container.Enjoy!
Salted Butter Caramels. I had a wee bit of a dilemma recently. In my refrigerator was a half-jar of crème fraîche, that I had to use up before I left for a recent vacation on the beach. I’d been thinking about making caramels with it, but I also knew that I would be slipping on a swimsuit within a few weeks. And being alone in my apartment with an open jar of ultra-rich crème fraîche was probably not a good idea. So what did I do? I hemmed and hawed about it, until I channeled my mother, who would have flipped out if I tossed away the rest of the crème fraîche. So I made caramels. I love candy making and used to dream of opening a shop that only sold homemade candy. When I moved to France, I picked up my wonderful copper candy pot at a flea market for about €30, which I treasure, and it’s really sturdy. Get yourself to Auchan, which I learned a few years ago, has heavy-duty foil.
Curiously, in France, it’s very easy to find crème fraîche in any supermarket. A few tips: 1. 2. 3. 3. 4. 5. Related Recipes and Links. Homemade Tootsie Rolls. Homemade Cow Tales ® Every summer a little voice inside my head whispers (with sing-song inflection) "It's time to make caramel" ...to which I reply "It's 100 degrees outside". My idea of fun does not include standing over a pot of boiling caramel in the dog days of summer; however, I begrudgingly heed the call... and obey. That's sort of how these came about. For those not familiar, Cow Tales® (not Cow Tails) are a nostalgic treat; an 8" length of soft caramel and creme filling. As a kid, I loved them and was inclined to choose one over a lollipop. I recently found them again and when I re-tasted for the first time in many years, my first thought was "this could be improved upon".
To beat the heat, I began my caramel endeavor in the a.m. I cannot wait to make these at Christmastime (1. for gift-giving, (2. in much cooler weather, (3. while enlisting some help from the ladies in my family. Edit 9/15/2012: A letter is received from Mitchell T. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Assembly: 1. 2. 3. 4. 4. 5. Homemade Taffy. Welcome to our Sweat Sweet Shoppe! If you are alarmed by red dye, excessive amounts of sugar and under age workers turn away now! If not, stick around and see how we made loads of homemade taffy! Here’s our recipe Homemade Taffy 2 1/2 cups white sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1 cup light corn syrup 1 1/3 cups water 2 tablespoons butter (plus lots extra to butter hands, we probably used over 1/2 of stick of butter on our hands) 1 teaspoon salt 1 – .21oz (6g) package unsweetened, fruit-flavored drink mix (like Kool-Aid) (we used cherry)****however I used Great Value brand from Wal-mart and those were the measurements on the package and it said it made two quarts of drink. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Butter large jelly roll pan or a cookie sheet with sides really well.
In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Directions: Once the taffy has cooled enough to handle, butter hands and begin pulling. Then pull…and pull…butter hands again…pull… and stretch…pull…more hand buttering…pull… and cut! Fleur de Sel Caramels Recipe : Ina Garten.