Cherry Cordials

One of my favorite chocolate candies :)

Makes: 2 1/2 dozen

Cooking Time: 5 min

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup (stick) butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 (10 ounces) jar stemmed maraschino cherries, well drained
• 1 (11 ounces) package milk chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Instructions

1. Line baking sheet with waxed paper.
    
2. In small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, butter, and milk; mix until stiff dough forms. Shape dough evenly around each cherry and place on baking sheet. Freeze 15 minutes, or until firm.
    
3. In small saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening over low heat until smooth. Remove coated cherries from freezer and dip each into the chocolate mixture, coating completely.
    
4. Return to baking sheet and chill for 1 hour, or until chocolate is firm. Serve, or cover and chill until ready to serve.

Source:  Mr. Food

The Golden Box from Chocolate.com would make

an excellent gift for your favorite chocoholic!

Brownie Bonbons

Great idea for gifts or entertaining!

Quick and easy semi-homemade . . . 

my favorite kind of recipe :)

A variation I would try is a chocolate

coating instead of  candy canes.

Ingredients

• 1 (19.8-ounce) package brownie mix, batter prepared according to package directions
• 1/2 cup finely crushed candy canes
• 
  

Instructions

1. Bake brownies according to package directions.
    
2. Place crushed candy canes in a shallow dish. Remove brownies from oven and allow to sit 5 minutes. While brownies are still warm, use a small ice cream scoop or a spoon to scoop them out; roll into 1-inch balls.
    
3. Immediately roll in crushed candy canes, coating completely. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Source:  Mr. Food

No time for baking? 

Bakery in a Box from 

Chocolates.com is a great choice!

Chocolate Indulgence for Valentine's Day!

Have you ever had Chili's Molten Chocolate Cake?  

It is one of my favorite desserts from Chili's!  Pure chocolate indulgence :)

The Food Network Kitchens has come up with their version . . . 

impress your sweetie with this restaurant-style dessert!  

Cooking Channel TV has the recipe!  Emeril never lets me down!  

I can't wait to make this New York Style Chocolate Cheesecake :)  

How about adding some glazed strawberries on top

to make it extra special for Valentine's Day?

Design Sponge has a recipe with photo instructions

 on how to make one of my favorite candies!  

Surprise your sweetie by making a batch of these

 homemade chocolate peanut butter cups . . . 

Karen at Mommy's Moments has an awesome recipe for

 Fudge Lovers Cream Cheese Cake that gets my vote.  

This is what I'm making for my sweetie . . .

Chocolate Covered Strawberries . . . it is as easy as melting

 chocolate chips of your choice in a double boiler and

 dipping the strawberries in the melting chocolate.  

Click here for an article with variation ideas.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake from Fine Cooking

I seriously want to try to this recipe!  My sweetie may get two sweet treats . . .

Christmas Candy

My theme for this week is homemade gifts from the kitchen.

Economic times are getting rougher by the year for many of us . . . 

are you giving more homemade gifts than ever?

The following is a list of awesome sweet treats that you can whip up
and delight anyone on your holiday gift-giving list.

I have a craving for some peanut brittle . . .

2 Minute Microwave Fudge
5 Minute Fudge
7 Layer Bars
Aaron's Buttery Cashew Brittle
Almond Bark
Amanda's Peppermint Creams
Ann's Cream Nut Candy
Bavarian Inn Peanut Bars
Beth's Delicious Fudge
Brownie Fudge Dessert
Buckeyes
Buckeyes
Butter Toffee
Candied Yams
Candy Bar Brownies
Candy Cane Brittle
Candy Cane Fudge
Caramel Krispie Treats
Caramels
Carmel Corn
Carol's Christmas Treats
Chocolate Almond Bars
Chocolate Balls
Chocolate Billionaires
Chocolate Chow Mein Candy
Chocolate Covered Cherries
Chocolate Covered Nuts
Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Chocolate Nut Caramels
Chocolate Popcorn
Chocolate Silk Bon Bons
Chocolate Truffels
Christmas Candied Walnuts
Christmas Crackle Candy
Christmas Mice
Chunky Mallow Candy
Cinnamon Hard Candy
Cinnamon Popcorn
Cranberry Nut Fudge
Cream Cheese Candy
Creamy Chocolate Truffles
Creamy Microwave Pralines (Texas Stye)
Crispy peanutbutter balls
Dark Chocolate Fudge
Deborahe's Holiday Chocolates
Disappearing Marshmallow Brownies
Dish of Dirt
Divinty
Dorothy's Peanut Butter/Butterscotch Noodle Cookie
Dreamcicle Fudge
Easy Candy
Easy Divinity
Easy Divinity Easy Divinity Candy
Easy Fudge
Easy Granola Candy
Easy Microwave Carmel
Easy Microwave Fudge
Easy Pecan Logs
English Toffee
English Toffee
English Toffee Bars
Fabulous Fudge
Fake Brittle
Fantasy Fudge
Festive Chocolate Truffles
Five Minute Fudge
Fool-Proof Fudge
Frosted Pecans
Fudge
Fudge
Fudge Brownies
Fudge for One
Fudge Puddles
Georgia Nuggets
Grandma Donna's Nummies
Grandma F's Delicious Fudge
Grandmother's Holiday Fudge
Hard Candy
Hard Tack Candy
Hazelnut Fantasy Fudge
Ho-Ho Hash
Holly Confection
Honey Comb
J & D's Peanut Butter Balls
Jeanne's Tiger Butter
Jen's Chocolate Meringues
J's Cream Fudge
Kim's Famous Cashew Brittle
Magic Marshmallow Fudge
Mama's Fudge
Maple Rum Balls
Margie's Best Candy
Martha Washington Candy
Martha Washington Mounds
Marzipan
Melting Moments
Melting Moments
Memaw's Reese's
Meme's Best Ever Peanut Butter Fudge
Meringues
Micky's Mints
Microwave Peanutbutter fudge
Microwave Pralines
Milk Fudge
Milky Way Bars
Million Dollar Fudge
Mimi's Famous Fudge
Mocha Truffles
Mom's Mints
Mr. Monroe's Famous Fudge
Mrs. Eisenhower's Fudge
Never Fail Fudge
Never Fail Fudge
No Bake Rum Balls
No Cook Peanut Butter Fudge
No Fail Fudge
Novia Scotia Treats
Nut Mallow Goodies
Nutty North Pole Fudge
Orange Balls
Orange Glazed Pecans
Out Of This World Fudge
Oven Carmel Corn
Peanut Brittle
Peanut Brittle
Peanut Brittle
Peanut Brittle (Microwave)
Peanut Butter Balls
Peanut Butter Balls
Peanut Butter Balls
Peanut Butter Bars-An Elve's Favorite Treat
Peanut Butter Candy
Peanut Butter Candy
Peanut Butter Cups
Peanut Butter Cups
Peanut Butter Fruit Squares
Peanut Butter Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Peanut Butter Snowballs
Peanut Clusters (mircrowavable)
Peanut Krispies
Peanut Patties
Pecan Candy
Pecan Kisses
Penuche
Penut Butter Buckeyes
Peppermint Bonbons
Peppermint Bark
Peppermint Bark
Peppermint Bark
Peppermint Wands
Popcorn Cake
Popcorn Cake
Potato Candy
Potato Candy
Potato Candy
Potato Candy
Praline Kisses
Pralines
Pralines
Puppy Chow
Puppy Chow
Puppy Chow
Puppy Chow (for Humans)
Quick and Easy Mini Marshmallow Sandwiches
Quick and E-Z Fudge
Raspberry Fudge Balls
Reindeer Chow
Reindeer Chow
Reindeer Chow
Reindeer Chow
Reindeer Droppings
Reindeer Food
Reindeer Food
Rocky Road
Rocky Road
Rocky Road Bark
Rudolph's Favorite Pecans
Rum Balls
Salt Water Taffy
Sea Foam Candy
Skor Fudge
Snowballs
Snowballs
Snowballs
Snowballs
Snowy Day Brownies
Snowy Divinity
Snowy Pretzels
Spiced Pumpkin Fudge
Stained Glass Candy
Sugared Nuts
Super Peanut Clusters
Treacel Fudge
Triple Layer Bars
TripleLayer Chocolate Bars
Truffles
Truffles
Turkish Delight
Turkish Delight
Turkish Delight
Turtles
Uncle Ferd's Butter Crisp Cracker Candy
Uncle Jack Hallwood's Peanut Butter Fudge
Very Easy Fudge
White Christmas
Willy Wonka Bars
Winter Strawberries

Chocolate Fudge

Food gifts are the best . . . I love to give them as well as receive them . . . especially sweets. Fudge is one of the perfect gifts to give anyone. The methods of packing and gift wrapping are endless . . . just about everyone loves fudge . . . it is one of those universal gifts . . .

When I quit working and suddenly had to adjust to being a one-income family, store bought gifts were the first thing to go . . . especially the past extravagance of Christmas. I was blessed with the ability to create cool and unique items that everyone in the family loved to receive. Handmade gifts are so appreciated by most people because they are special and made with lots of love. Teenagers into designer names are the exception . . . but I made them realize that setting the trends and being unique was more cool than being like the sheep who follow everyone else.

This is the only fudge recipe I use . . . CHOCOLATE . . . it is the only one I need . . . it is that good and relatively easy.  Even in my working days, we had a tradition of taking vacation days around the Christmas holiday, we baked and cooked non-stop in preparation for our annual Christmas party and made lots of food gifts for our guests to take home. I remember one year spending two days just making batches of fudge, one at a time . . . those were the good ole days for me! 





Makes 100 1-inch pieces


12 ounces German sweet chocolate, broken

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels

7 ounces marshmallow creme

4 1/2 cups sugar

13 ounces evaporated milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups broken walnuts






Place chocolate bars, morsels and marshmallow creme in a bowl.

Combine sugar, milk, butter and salt in a heavy 3 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil on high, stirring constantly. When the mixture boils, lower heat to medium and set a timer for 6 minutes. Keep mixture boiling steadily and stir constantly during this time to prevent scorching.

At the end of 6 minutes, pour boiling syrup over chocolate and marshmallow creme. Beat until chocolate is melted and well blended. Beat in the vanilla and nuts.

Pour into a lightly buttered 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Let cool at room temperature for 24 hours. Cut into 1 inch squares and pack in airtight containers.







I have no idea where this recipe came from, but I have used it year after year since I was out on my own.