Toostie Roll & Bit-O-Honey Fudge aka "Obama Fudge"

Nothing says I love you like homemade sweet treats, except maybe a diamond ring, and a new pair of shoes. So when my super amazing and supportive cousin was feeling down, I knew it was time to fire up the burners for some good old fashion love in a pot. I don't like chocolate myself, but these were not for me and I know that my sugar toothed relative would appreciate the sacrifice involved in whipping up these fudge bites ( I don't even like the smell of chocolate really). I have lovingly nicknamed these bars my Obama Bars, they remind me of Michelle and Barack side by side looking like the sweetest bits of  classic Americana.

Happy Birthday Mr. President!

Heres What You Need:

Toostie Roll Layer of Fudge:

• 24 tootsie Roll Midgees

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 1/2 Tablespoon Peanut Butter

• 1 1/4 tablespoon Milk

• 1 3/4 Cup Confectioners sugar (store bought or make your own*)

Bit - O- Honey Layer of Fudge:

• 24 Bit-O-Honey Small Bites

• 1 1/2 tablespoon butter

• 1 1/2 Tablespoon Peanut Butter

• 2 tablespoon Milk

• 1 3/4 Cup Confectioners sugar 

• Sliced Almonds ( Optional)

Here's What You Gotta Do:

1. Cover and 8 inch x 8 inch baking dish in Aluminum Foil, lightly oil the pan and set aside.
2. In a heavy bottom pot melt together the tootise rolls, butter, peanut butter and milk over a low heat. Stir mixture constantly to avoid burning the fudge before the ingredients melt.
3. When the the candy mixture is melted and smooth, ( about 5 minutes) slowly add the sugar in 1/2 at a time. Stir well until all of the sugar is melted and the fudge mixture is smooth
4. Spread the Tootsie roll fudge in the prepared dish, this is your bottom layer. Set pan aside.
5. In the same clean pot or another heavy bottomed pot melt togehter the Bits-O-Honey, butter, peanut butter and milk over a low heat. Stir mixture constantly to avoid burning the fudge before the ingredients melt. The Bit-O- Honey will take about 5 minutes more than the tootsie rolls, be patient its so worth the added trouble.
6. When the the candy mixture is melted and smooth, slowly add the sugar in 1/2 at a time. Stir well until all of the sugar is melted and the fudge mixture is smooth.
7. Spread the Bit-O-Honey  fudge in the prepared dish, this is your top layer.
8. Press the sliced almonds into the fudge and let the fudge cool.
9. Once cool, take the foil out of the pan and cut the fudge into what ever shape you choose.
10. If you will not be serving immediately, make sure to store the fudge in a airtight container.

Classic Candies

* After mixing in the homemade powdered sugar. 

Find out how to make powdered sugar in a pinch in the post called "Confectioner's Sugar in a Pinch- DIY Your Own"

The first layer of Tootsie Roll fudge spread out in the baking pan. 

Showing the second layer of "Bit-O-Honey" Fudge smoothed out and topped with sliced almonds.

The sweet brown layers reminded me of Mr. and Mrs. President, 

side by side, making the world a better place. 

The nuts, well you can't be a politician without dealing with a few nuts. 

Okay so I did pinch off pieces of the Bits-O-Honey layer. 

Don't judge me it looked so good!

Care packaged and ready to go!

Life is Delicious...Go Taste It!

DIY: Confectioner's Sugar in a Pinch

I wanted to make my cousin some "Obama Fudge" but was missing only one ingredient: confectioners sugar. One quick google search and boom...DIY confectioner's sugar. Who knew it was this easy...oh apparently the whole dang internet!

Here's What you Need:

• 1 cup sugar 

• 1 tablespoon Cornstarch

• A blender

Here's What you Gotta Do:

1. Blend the cornstarch and sugar for 2 minutes, stopping the blender to stir the sugar every 30 seconds or so. 

1. Stop when the sugar is powdery and not grainy to the touch. If more blending is needed pulse an additional 30 seconds and check the texture. 

1. Let the sugar dust settle in the blender before opening. Store in a dry container or plastic bag.

 Use whatever variation of sugar you want, mine was organic whole cane sugar because that's what I had in the cupboard.

Note: For best results, unless you have a heavy duty blender, stick to blending in 1 cup batches. I got a smoother less grainy powder this way. 

The After Photo

Note: the cornstarch can be omitted if you are using the sugar right away, but it does a great job of preventing the sugar from flaking and clumping.

Life is Delicious...Go Taste It!

White Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods

My family is  2,347 miles away for most holidays, but they are always right here when I need them. We make use of pretty much every form of social media and phone service to keep each other in "the loop". When the miles stretch out during the holidays I love to send them hugs via the U.S. Post. For Valentines Day I decided something sweet and homemade would be perfect. These white chocolate covered pretzel rods wouldn't completely derail everyone's New Years resolutions for healthier snack choices, but believe me, I ate enough of the reject rods to know that these chocolate covered hugs satisfy the most intense sweet tooth. Colorful "glitter" sugar and almonds add a touch of whimsy that is perfect for gift giving and party treats. 

Here's What you Need: 

• 2 cups of white chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
• 2 x 12 oz bags of large pretzel rods
• 1 cup sliced almonds crushed  (optional)
• Edible Colored Sugar Glitter (optional) 

Here's What you gotta Do:

1. In a double boiler, bring a cup of water to a gentle simmer in the bottom pot. 
2. In the top part of the double boiler, add the chocolate chips.  
3. When the chocolate begins to melt, stir in  the vegetable shortening. Stir until the chocolate is mostly melted and remove from heat. 
4. Continue to stir until all of the chocolate is melted and has a smooth consistency throughout. 
5. Lay out parchment paper or any smooth surface to place your dipped rods on to dry without sticking. 
6. Use a spoon to cover about 3/4 of the rod in white chocolate. 
7. Sprinkle the rods with "glitter" or almonds.
8. Place the covered rods on the parchment paper to dry. 
9. The chocolate will be dry and easily handled in about  7 to 10 minutes. 

* Store extra in a ziplock or airtight jar. 

I found it easier to work with 5 rods at a time

Let the chocolate dry completely before handing the rods. 

Yum!

The "glitter" really made the rods sparkle. 

They were as good as they looked. 

The almond covered rods were for my sister and her husband who are cutting back on their empty calories.  Just ignore the whole "white chocolate" thing. 

Photo from my mom when the treats arrived.

 They loved them!

I packaged the rods in cute plastic bags with ribbon, 

and those bags where put inside of an airtight Ziplock. 

Everything was dutifully padded and boxed. 

I shipped the Valentines Day Package express to ensure everything arrived fresh. 

“I think careful cooking is love, don’t you?

The loveliest thing you can cook for someone

who’s close to you is about as nice a valentine as you can give.”

– Julia Child

Life is Delicious...Go Taste It!

Colored Sugar "Glitter"

I usually refuse to work with glitter. Period.  It spreads everywhere, gets into everything, and its impossible to get rid of. It is the herpes of the craft world. But I really wanted to make my White Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods special for Valentine's day. I found this recipes all over Pinterest, but everyone complained that the sugar melts. Well, I just turned the heat down and viola...a fun way to add some bling bling to your sweets.

Here's What You Need:

• 1/4 cup Sugar ( white or light works best)
• Food coloring of your choice
• A glass jar with a lid ( optional)

Here's What You Gotta Do:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Pour sugar into a jar that has a lid.
3. Add drop by drop the desired food color. 
4. Put the lid on the jar and shake the sugar in between drops until you reach your desired color intensity.
5. Spread the sugar out over a 8x8 baking pan and bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes.
6. When sugar is dried, pull the pan out of the oven and let your "glitter" cool for 5 minutes.
7. Pour and store in a airtight container for later use

I didn't have white sugar but the natural light sugar worked just fine

• For the pink color, I used two drops of red food coloring
• For the teal color, I used 4 drops of blue and 2 drops of green food coloring

I tried mixing it in a bowl at first, but the jar was the best way to get the color evenly distributed through the sugar. 

Sparkly Goodness that you can wash away.

Blinged Out Pretzel Rods!

Outrageously Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

          I’m one of those wierdos who doesn’t like chocolate. I’ll let you catch your breath and wonder about my humanity. Ok, every now and then I do have a sweet tooth. Whenever Bertha (my inner fat girl) starts demanding cheesecake, I usually remind her of how many minutes on the treadmill I’ll have to spend to cancel out the calories. That usually does it. But there are those days when she will not take no for an answer and I end up elbows deep in a tub of Pecan Praline ice cream. 

         Since investing in workout clothes and and waist band for my IPhone, I decided to outwit Bertha with some healthy versions of my favorite treats. I love oatmeal cookies and I know that doesn’t sound too bad, oatmeal right? Wrong! The Outrageous Oatmeal cookie from Starbucks comes in at a shocking 360 calories and 140 of those bad boys are from fat. They are delicious but really? Below is a quick fix for your Bertha. Oh, and not that Bertha cares, but these cookies are vegan.

Outrageously Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

Here’s What You Need:

3 ripe bananas

2 cups of old fashion oats

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ cup chopped dates

¼ cup chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons Coconut Oil

Here’s What You Gotta Do:

1) Preheat oven to 375°F.

2) Mash the Bananas in a large mixing bowl.

3) Add all of the other ingredients to the mashed bananas and mix well.

4) Lightly grease and flour a cookie sheet.

5) Use a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough for each cookie.

6) Bake for 20 minutes. (Oh my goodness these things smell so good- Bertha is going nuts) Cool on a cookie rack.

Over ripe bananas are sweetest and perfect for this sugarless cookie.

Dates add sweetness and the walnuts lend a nutty crunch.

Yum. 

Life Is Delicious...Go Taste It!

When Life Gives You Lemons...Make Lemon Curd

             On lazy afternoon I peeked into the refrigerator and realized the only thing in there, besides condiments, was half a pan of corn bread. I did mention that this was a lazy afternoon, so I warmed up the corn bread and while it was delicious, it needed something. I scoured the jars of exotic marinades and tubes of sauces and came across a half eaten jar of lemon curd. I had never had lemon curd before but my beau seemed to like it. I spread the creamy concoction on the corn bread and took a small bite. It was instant love and I was left wandering how could I not have known about this tart-sweet jar of heaven. 
            When I returned home to my own empty refrigerator I knew that lemon curd would be on my shopping list. Soon after wandering down the baking aisle I spotted the exact same brand of lemon curd that had turned me out and out of habit I picked up the jar and turned to its ingredients list. Ugh, why did I have to go and ruin a good thing, it's true; ignorance is bliss. The decadent spread was made with egg, heavy cream, and the neighboring brands were no better; featuring other undesirable ingredients like animal based gelatin and butter. I knew this could not be the end of my new love affair with lemon curd. There were so many dishes I wanted to slather it on; pancakes, waffles, toast, fresh fruit, and of course, corn bread. I was able to rekindle the food flame by using coconut milk instead of heavy cream and corn starch instead of gelatin or eggs as a thickener. The result was a sweet tooth satiating tryst that only felt naughty. 





Here's what you need:

• ¾ cup coconut milk
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice 
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ cup unbleached organic sugar (or sugar replacer) 
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

 Here's what you gotta do:

1. In a medium sauce pan combine the coconut milk, lemon juice, cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla. 
2. Heat pan at medium heat for 2 minutes, stir occasionally to break up any lumps. Turn heat to low and continue cooking for another 3 minutes or until the mixture is thick and lump free. 
3. Once the mixture has thickened remove from heat and add the zest.
4. Let the lemon curd cool for 2 minutes before serving.


* Store remainder in refrigerator for later use. Tastes good warm or cold!

Snazzy red grater I picked up for $1

Lemon zest can be made by using a zester or a vegetable grater with a fine grating plane (aka little holes). Before juicing the lemons run them across the grater lightly to remove to top yellow layer of lemon peel. You don't want to get to the pith (white layer) of the lemon, this part is bitter and will make your curd bitter rather than tangy. One large lemon will make about a tablespoon of zest.






                   Life is Delicious...Go Taste it!