Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients

• 4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
• 1 (16 ounce) jar peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

No candy thermometer is required. Before you start timing the fudge, a rolling boil is required. This means that you are not able to stir the fudge to stop the boiling process. Once the candy is at that stage, then begin timing.

1. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. This fudge is creamy and flawless every time. For any fudge to be successful you must follow directions exactly as written. Candy is a persnickety thing, stirring at the wrong time will cause crystallization of the sugar granules. Ruining your recipe.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, brown sugar, butter and evaporated milk. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in marshmallow creme until well incorporated and melted. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth; spread in prepared pan. Let cool before cutting into squares.

I cut the fudge into squares, then seal in a large zip lock bag, placing it inside a rubbermaid container with a lid.

More Photos Cookie Exchange 2010 at Work

2nd Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange

I made the Cinnamon Sassies Cookie recipe for our cookie exchange this year, we'll give 1/2 dozen cookies to each participant. These cookies are like snickerdoodles on steroids......right out of the oven the centers are soft and chewy. The recipe is correct, it takes 1/4 cup of dough per cookie. So worth the extra effort. I put one or two of these on my cookie trays every year.

Here's mine, packaged and ready to go..











Recipe:

Cinnamon Sassies

* 1-½ cup Sugar
* ½ cups Butter Or Margarine
* 1 teaspoon Vanilla Or Vanilla Bean Paste
* 2 whole Eggs (large)
* 2-½ cups Flour
* 1 teaspoon Cream Of Tartar
* ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
* ¼ teaspoons Salt
* 1 cup Cinnamon Flavored Baking Chips
* 1 cup Chopped Pecans
* 2 Tablespoons Sugar (this To Roll Cookies In)
* 1 teaspoon Cinnamon (this To Roll Cookies In)

1. Heat oven to 375 F. If using a dark or nonstick pan, heat to 350F.

2. Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with a spoon until creamy.

3. Stir in flour, ceam of tartar, baking soda and salt. Stir in cinnamon chips and pecans.

4. Mix 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl.

5. Shape dough by forming 1/4 cups of dough into balls. Roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture.

6. Place balls 3″ apart on un-greased large cookie sheet. (Do not flatten.)

7. Bake 13-17 minutes or until set and light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool.

Recipe Friday Dec. 10th, 2010: Foolproof Fudge

This is the best recipe ever, creamy, smooth, definitely foolproof, I do the microwave one, it is so much easier to clean up, I make several batches one right after the other:



Ingredients

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
Dash salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt. Remove from heat; stir in nuts (optional) and vanilla.
Spread evenly into wax-paper-lined 8- or 9-inch square pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. (I always make this in the microwave, see below, last item under variations)
2. Lift fudge out of pan and place onto cutting board; peel off paper and cut into squares. Store covered in refrigerator.

Variations:
Creamy Dark Chocolate Fudge: Melt 2 cups miniature marshmallows with chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Proceed as above.

Milk Chocolate Fudge: Omit 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Add 1 cup milk chocolate chips. Proceed as above.

Rocky Road Fudge: Omit 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, salt, nuts and vanilla. In saucepan, melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. In large bowl, combine 2 cups dry-roasted peanuts and 1 (10 1/2-ounce) package miniature marshmallows. Stir in chocolate mixture. Spread in wax paper-lined 13x9-inch pan. Proceed as above.(Makes about 2 3/4 pounds)

Microwave: In 1-quart glass measure, combine chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt. Cook on HIGH (100% power) 3 minutes or until chips melt, stirring after 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Proceed as above.

Recipe Friday: Coconut Cream Pie

Coconut Cream Pie

1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups milk (whole or 2%, your choice)
3 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup toasted flaked coconut
2 (9 inch) graham cracker crust pie shells
1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1. Toast 1/4 cup coconut by spreading on a cookie sheet and baking at 350 degrees until just golden, about 5 minutes. (Don’t overcook or coconut turns bitter).

2. In a medium saucepan, combine milks, eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in 3/4 cup flaked (untoasted) coconut.

3. Pour into a pie shells (today I’m using a premade graham cracker crust, but you can use whatever you like) and chill 2 to 4 hours, until firm.
Before serving, spread each with whipped cream and sprinkle the toasted coconut across the tops.

Makes 2 pies; one to have and one to share.

I don't do this, I make a deep dish pie, using a 10" deep dish pie pan. The Paula Deen glass pie plates sold at Wal-mart are perfect for this recipe. It only makes one pie, though.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

This is an incredible cheesecake. Full of flavor, those ginger snaps are the bomb!!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake::::

Ingredients

Crust:

30 squares gingersnap cookies
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
5 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Whipped Cream, for serving, recipe follows

Directions

Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the gingersnaps to the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until crumbly. Transfer to a large bowl and add the melted butter. Stir until evenly mixed. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with 3-inch sides. Bake the crust until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely while preparing the filling.

Filling:

Put a teakettle filled with water on the stovetop, over medium heat, and bring to a boil.

In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and sugar and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the pumpkin and beat until incorporated. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, then add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and vanilla, and beat until blended. Add the flour and beat until incorporated.

Wrap the sides and bottom of the springform pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Pour the filling into the pan and put it in a small roasting pan. Pour the hot water from the teakettle into the roasting pan, filling halfway up the sides of the springform pan, about 1 1/2 inches. Bake until the center of the cheesecake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the water bath and let it cool on a wire rack.

Once cooled, use a paring knife to loosen the sides of the cake from the pan. Chill the cheesecake for at least 4 hours before serving. Serve with Cinnamon Whipped Cream.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream, chilled
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pour the heavy cream into a large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until thick and frothy. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, and beat until medium peaks form.

Yield: 1 1/2 to 2 cups

Oh My Cupcake Event

I spent last weekend at my daughter's house helping her with a church event. There is a gourmet cupcake shop in Sioux Falls, SD: Oh My Cupcakes, located at 524 S. Main Ave. It is ran by a woman that is quite successful. She will come to different churches to speak about how her Faith impacts her business.

We've got photos of Karen with the shop owner, me with my grandbabies. Olivia setting up the cookies for the Children's church. (there was daycare for those that brought children). Noah eating a cookie, the gift bags we made for all the attendees. The sprinkles we put into tubes, they were placed in the gift bags along with an altered notebook and a dozen cupcake liners, one dozen large and one dozen mini. They were really fun to put together.

The colors were pink and brown. We even had door prizes for the guests, made it fun.