Category Archives: Candy

Candy Surprise Cake!

Posted on September 16, 2012 by Ruthanne

Imagine the moment you cut into a cake and pull that first piece out.  Now imagine a waterfall of candy pouring out of the center of the cake.  Every child’s dream come true!  This recipe was inspired by a conversation at work; my friend Mary was telling us how she liked to surprise her kids with candy-filled cakes on their birthdays.  She used a variety of candies and one time actually filled the cake with runny orange frosting and called it a volcano!  I loved the idea and decided to bake my cake in a bowl to make it tall enough to fill (Mary used layers).  What a fun idea for the upcoming Halloween season- the possibilities are as endless as the candy on the shelves!  Here’s how it was made:

INGREDIENTS:

  • One boxed cake mix (any flavor you’d like- I used confetti)
  • Water, eggs and oil to make mix according to box
  • Candy to fill center of cake (I used Skittles and it took about 1 1/2 cups of candy)
  • 1 stick of salted butter
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 c powdered sugar
  • 1 t. clear vanilla flavor
  • Sprinkles to decorate with if desired.

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Prepare cake according to package and pour into a greased and floured 2 quart glass bowl (I used my 2 Quart Batter Bowl from Pampered Chef)
  • Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes- or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  • Cool for 15 minutes.
  • Run a knife around edges to loosen, and gently tip out onto a wire cake rack to cool completely.
  • Once cool, trim flat edge even and set on serving plate with dome side up.
  • Cut a round opening in the top of the cake, gently pulling the cake out.  Keep the top layer, but spoon out the core, leaving about an inch of cake at the bottom.

  • Gently pour candy into the center of the cake and place the top back on (like a pumpkin!)
  • Make frosting by beating softened butters, powdered sugar and vanilla on high until light and fluffy. 
  • Frost cake and decorate as desired.

  • Cut a slice and watch the smiles start!

My thoughts:  This is SO much fun to cut into and serve- it made everyone laugh when the skittles started pouring out!  It serves up messy (be prepared to scoop skittles out for each serving).   The Skittles started to get soft inside the moist cake eventually- they still tasted great- but if you want them fresh just serve this within a few hours of making it.  You’ll want to think this through for other candy types as well.  I’m guessing most would be best served right away.  Believe me— it is worth the surprise factor!!!!  Enjoy!!!! -r

9-24-12 My friend Angie from the Czech Republic just sent this picture of her cupcakes using this recipe:

SO fun!  Great job Angie!!  If you want to try a cupcake version of this cake, save some time with a Cupcake Corer to remove the centers!


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Kool-Aid Truffles

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Ruthanne

These chocolate-dipped truffles have creamy sweet centers made with the unique flavors of Kool-Aid drink mixes!  Your kids will love them!!!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese (softened to room temperature!)
  • 3 cups of powdered sugar
  • 3 cups of white chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 (0.16oz) packet of Kool-Aid drink mix (any flavor- see my choices below)
  • 2 bags of Wiltons Candy Melts in White chocolate or Dark chocolate
  • Sprinkles, cookie crumbles or colored candy melts (I used Blue and Red)

Blue Raspberry Truffle

Lemon-Lime and Graham Cracker Truffle

Chocolate-covered Black Cherry Truffle

White chocolate Mango-Peach Truffle

DIRECTIONS:

    • Cream together cream cheese, powdered sugar and Kool-Aid in a large mixing bowl.
    • Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments (stirring in between) until smooth and creamy.
    • Add melted chips and vanilla to cream cheese mixture and combine until completely smooth.
    • Refrigerate for at least one hour.
    • Remove mixture from refrigerator and use a small cookie scoop to make small balls of filling (I placed these on a plate and put them back in the fridge to chill while I prepared my chocolate to dip)
    • Melt the Wilton’s Candy Melts in the microwave in 30 second increments until smooth and creamy.
    • Dip chilled balls of filling in the melted chocolate, draining away excess and placing on parchment paper to harden (if you want pictures of how I dip things click here for a previous recipe)
    • Decorate with sprinkles, cookie crumbles or drizzles of fun colored chocolate. 

My thoughts:  These are so much fun to make!!  I just love them.  I actually divided the recipe in half (and used just 1/2 of a packet of Kool-Aid) so that I could try lots of flavors and not make 4 full batches.  One batch makes quite a few truffles- about 40 if you use a small cookie scoop to measure them out.  

My warning????  These are SO sweet. (SOOOOOOOO sweet!)  They almost make your teeth hurt they are so sweet.  They are great with a cup of coffee though, and they will cure you of your sugar cravings fast!  

Dipping them in chocolate is always the hard part if you haven’t done much candy making.  Keeping the fillings chilled helps and (of course) practice helps.  They are MUCH easier to dip than cake pops though.  If you don’t want to dip them, I’d suggest chopping chocolate up fine (or cookie bits, or candy bits) and just rolling the finished truffle filling in toppings instead.  Be amazing and create your own flavor combinations– I’d LOVE to hear about what you and your family create!!!  Enjoy!  -r

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Red Velvet Cake Balls- filled with Cream Cheese Frosting!

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Ruthanne

Surprise!!!  These red velvet cake balls are filled with cream cheese frosting!  A fun treat for birthdays, holidays, showers….it is all in the decorating!

INGREDIENTS:

  • One red velvet cake mix (with oil, water and eggs to make according to box)
  • One tub of ready-made cheesecake frosting.
  • 2 (12 oz.) bags of Wilton White Candy Melts
  • Sprinkles or dark chocolate candy melts to use for decorating.

DIRECTIONS:

  • Bake cake mix according to package and cool
  • While cake is baking/cooling- spoon 1/2 of the tub of frosting into a ziptop bag.  Clip a corner and pipe dime-size dollops of frosting onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper (pipe about 35-40) Place in freezer.

  • Cut cooled cake into pieces and chop into fine crumbs using a food processor or food chopper.
  • Mix cake crumbs with remaining frosting until it can be formed into balls that hold together (you may not need all the frosting).
  • Roll about one tablespoon of cake into a ball, press it flat and put a frozen frosting bit in the center.  Wrap cake dough around frosting and smooth into a ball. (try to keep the frosting bits frozen- I did only 5 at a time and kept the rest in the freezer.  The frosting will not freeze hard- it will be more like taffy when you peel it from the parchment paper).

  • Refrigerate cake balls for a few hours.
  • Melt Candy Melts in microwave in 30 second increments until smooth.
  • Dip cold cake balls into white chocolate candy melts (this is the hardest part for me….I made a huge mess trying different techniques and finally settled on a fork, tapping it against the edge of the bowl until excess has drained away.  Some people use toothpicks or spoons or special dipping tools….I think this part is just a mess for me no matter how I do it!)
  • Place dipped cake balls on parchment paper to harden.  If you are decorating with sprinkles, do this before the chocolate hardens.  Otherwise, just drizzle with some dark chocolate for a more elegant look:

My thoughts: These are SO good.  The frosting in the middle is a fun surprise and it adds a yummy creaminess to the cake balls.  Hassle?  Yes.  I am convinced that cake balls and cake pops are not my gifting– so many people make them look effortless and that is NOT the case for me!  I love the taste though….so once in awhile….ENJOY!!!

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Sweetheart Brownies

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Ruthanne

Easy cutout brownies decorated like Sweethearts Candy.  A fun Valentine project that your kids will love!

Ingredients:

  • 2 boxes of Little Debbie Fudge brownies
  • Wiltons Candy melts in as many colors as you want…like:
    Yellow
    Pink
    Blue
    Purple
    You will need about 2 (14oz) bags total.

Directions:

  • Unwrap brownies and use a small heart shaped cookie cutter to cut two hearts from each brownie (recipe makes 24 hearts).
  • Melt Wilton Candy Melts in the microwave in 30 second increments until melted and smooth.
  • Cover each brownie in candy melts and using a fork tap off excess and place on parchment paper to harden. (picture of this process)
  • Melt red candy melts and place in a ziptop bag.  Clip a corner and pipe saying on the top of each heart (you could use frosting and cake decorator tips for this as well).
  • Allow hearts to harden and ENJOY!

My thoughts:  Wondering what to do with the extra brownie pieces?  Put them in a ziptop bag to keep them soft and use them to make brownie sundaes— yum!  Two desserts for the price of one!  Happy Valentines Day friends!

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Peppermint Crunch Bars

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Ruthanne

Crispy bars of fudge and peppermint topped with a chocolate glaze.

(I told you I would have to try another recipe with those wonderful little Kraft Mallow Bits!!)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 (8oz) package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
  • 4 c. semi sweet chocolate chips (divided)
  • 4 c. crisp rice cereal
  • 2 c. peppermint Mallow bits
  • 12 T butter

DIRECTIONS:

  • Melt 2 c. of chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments until completely melted and smooth.
  • Soften cream cheese in microwave until smooth and creamy.
  • Combine soft cream cheese and melted chocolate.
  • Add crisp rice cereal and mallow bits(save a few to sprinkle on top!).  Stir until completely coated with the chocolate mixture.
  • Press mixture into the bottom of a foil-lined 9 x 13 cake pan.
  • Melt remaining 2 c. of chocolate chips and butter in microwave until smooth.
  • Pour chocolate glaze over the top of peppermint crisps and sprinkle with remaining mallow bits.
  • Refrigerate for a few hours before cutting.  To cut: remove from pan using foil and cut into squares

My thoughts: Easy, fun and YUM!  Enjoy!

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Raspberry Confetti Kisses

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Ruthanne

Happy New Year!!!!

Nothing says New Years Eve like confetti, and these crisp melt-in-your-mouth raspberry cookies will be everyone’s party favorite!!!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/8t. salt
  • 3 1/2 T. raspberry Jell-O
  • 3/4 c. sugar
  • 1T. vinegar
  • Confetti sprinkles

INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 250 degrees
  • Beat egg whites with salt until foaming.
  • Add Jell-O and sugar as you beat mixture and beat until it stands in peaks.
  • Add vinegar and gently mix.
  • (if you want, you can add a few mini chocolate chips at this point! yum!)
  • Spoon or pipe into small circles on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
  • Sprinkle with confetti sprinkles or jimmies.
  • Bake at 250 degrees for 25 minutes, turn oven off and allow to sit for an additional 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool completely.

My thoughts: These are great with chocolate chips in them if you like raspberry and chocolate together. I opted for confetti for a fun New Years treat!  These are like cotton candy- light and fluffy sugar that melts in your mouth and is a tiny bit chewy at the end.  A unique and fun “end-of -the-year” party cookie.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

 

Want another confetti-themed dessert idea?  Try Confetti Cups made with sugar cookies and Fruit Loops—make them in mini-muffin tins for bite-sized New Years fun!

Enjoy!  r-

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Hot Chocolate Pops!

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Ruthanne

You’ve heard of cake pops, cookie pops, brownie pops, doughnut pops and even pie pops— but have you ever tried a Hot Chocolate Pop?  Creamy chocolate surrounding a marshmallow surprise center- pop it into a cup of hot milk and YUM- a perfect yummy creamy cup of cocoa.  Wrap them up and they make the PERFECT winter gift!

Ingredients:

  • Wilton White Candy Melts and Wilton Dark Candy Cocoa Melts.  You will need about one 12 oz. bag per 8 pops.
  • Marshmallows (one for every pop you intend to make!)
  • Stir sticks (I found these cute dowels at Michaels)
  • Small plastic cups (I used 3 oz. clear plastic cups by Solo)
  • Clear plastic bags I used Wilton Lollipop Bags -they are so easy- perfect size and come with a bow!
  • Cute tags– use mine if you want or make your own!! 🙂

Hot Chocolate Pop Labels

Hot Chocolate Pop Labels- Mint

Hot Chocolate Pop Labels- Instructions for use.

Instructions:

  • Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
  • Spoon melted candy into a zip-top bag and seal.
  • Clip a corner off and squeeze about a teaspoon of chocolate into the bottom of each cup.  Tap cup against counter to spread chocolate and remove bubbles.
  • Place cups in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes until chocolate is hard.
  • Press dowels or stir sticks into marshmallows
  • Squeeze about 2 teaspoons of chocolate (I used a contrasting color) into cup and while it is still melted, press marshmallow into cup (this will squeeze the chocolate up along the sides of the cup.) Tap to remove bubbles.
  • Top with chocolate until marshmallow is completely covered -or—
  • (If you are using contrasting chocolates) Refrigerate about 10 minutes until second layer is hard and then add contrasting chocolate over the top, completely covering marshmallow.
  • Place cups in fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour.
  • Clip top of cup with scissors and tear it down the side which will release the pop.
  • Serve or gift wrap!  Enjoy!!!
  • To eat pop: Use a BIG mug (20 oz.) and heat up about 10oz. of milk in it.  Place pop in hot milk and stir until smooth and creamy!

My thoughts:  I love these so much…I love to come up with fun and creative edible gifts each year for giving in bulk (Bible studies, family get-togethers, hair stylist etc…) and these are just FUN!!!  I am wholeheartedly a blonde and my 1st use of these involved a full cup of hot milk plus a pop -resulting in  a huge lake of hot milk on the counter…so learn from me and use a big cup with room in it for the pop- lol!  

Also– I found MINT Wiltons candy melts and that is how I got the mint cocoa flavor.  I just added a little layer of green candy melt before I put lots of white melts and a marshmallow– I like how it turned out!  I wish I’d thought to take pictures as I went for you- I just forgot!  (NOTE: see below!!) Experiment with colors and flavors- these are pretty forgiving projects!

Enjoy– and a very Merry Christmas to you!!!!  -R

Ok– I had to make a second batch because I ran out.  Since I was making them again I took the time to take some pictures for you of the process:

A little bit of chocolate in the bottom of a 3 oz. cup.

White chocolate added over dark and marshmallow pressed into center.

Dark chocolate added over white and marshmallow– don’t forget to tap the bubbles out!

Everything is so pretty set up for pictures….this is what my counter ACTUALLY looked like at the end!

Pops ready to go in the fridge to harden!

Clip the top of the cup and tear down the side to release. (I used paper cups too this second time and they worked great– you just have to peel them off a little more.)

I hope these help– have fun!!  r-

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Chocolate Bonbons!!

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Ruthanne

 

Thanksgiving is past….shopping has begun…must be time for CHRISTMAS BAKING!!!!!  These fun little fudge cookies take advantage of all the great flavors of Hershey kisses available this time of year and they are SO beautiful on the table!

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

  • Soften Philadelphia cream cheese in microwave until completely smooth.
  • Melt chocolate chips in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well in between.
  • Add cream cheese to melted chocolate and blend well.
  • Add flour and stir into a thick dough consistency.
  • Flatten about 1 tsp. of dough in your palm, place a kiss in the center and gently wrap the dough around the kiss until it is completely covered.
  • Roll cookie into a ball and place on an un-greased cookie sheet.
  • Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
  • Remove warm cookies from cookie sheet and place on parchment paper.
  • Decorate as desired- like this:

 

From top to bottom:

1.  Mint truffle kisses: Dip 1/2 of cookie in green Wiltons candy melts, drizzle entire cookie with dark chocolate melts.

2. Coconut kisses: Dip top in white Wiltons candy melts, pipe a little bit of dark chocolate melts in the center and top with coconut.

3.  Caramel kisses:  To make a caramel color I mixed white melts with dark chocolate and added a bit of yellow food color.  Dip 1/2 of the cookie in this and drizzle with dark chocolate.

4. Cherry Cordial kisses: Dip top of cookie in white  melts, dab a tiny bit of green melt in the center and pull up to make a cherry stem and add a red sprinkle in the center.

5. (see top picture) Candy Cane kisses: Dip 1/2 of cookie in white melts and drizzle with red and green melts.

My thoughts:  I have become a Hershey Kiss Hoarder because of this recipe.  As soon as I see a new flavor I have to try it in these cookies– and then I buy like 5 bags so that I can have them for this recipe all year long.  All the flavors shown ARE available right now except for the coconut (EASTER, sorry…)…  One note:  the firm centered kisses (coconut, raspberry, mint truffle, candy cane etc.) work best in these cookies, as the soft centered ones tend to leak out a little (see my top picture- I’m missing some caramel 😦 )  These are the perfect bite-sized treat for any kind of occasion and kids have SO much fun wrapping dough around kisses!  ENJOY!!!!  r-

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Acorn Candies

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Ruthanne

These adorable little acorns are a perfect edible decoration for your fall table!

INGREDIENTS:

  • One bag of Hershey milk chocolate kisses (unwrapped)
  • One bag of mini Nutter Butter cookies
  • 1/4c. (or less) of Wilton Dark Candy Cocoa Melts
  • About 35-40 peanut butter baking chips

 

DIRECTIONS:

  • Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments until smooth.
  • Dip the base of a kiss in the chocolate, wiping off excess against side of bowl and place on top of a Nutter Butter cookie.
  • Allow chocolate to harden.
  • Repeat this step with the peanut butter chips.  (I found that when you press the chip on the top of the cookie it doesn’t slide off even though it has to sit at an angle.)
  • Allow chocolate to harden and serve!!!!

My thoughts:  What is it with acorn cookies this fall??  I just couldn’t resist trying these and then they were so cute I just had to share them with all of you! 

I always Google my recipe ideas when I try them to see how original I’ve actually been.  When I Googled my last recipe for peanut butter acorn cookies I saw this idea ALL OVER the place and I loved them SO much!  Easy and adorable!!!! *love*

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Coconut Macaroons

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Ruthanne

Chewy coconut cookies with a crisp toasted edge.  Wow your friends with these yummy (gluten free!) coconut macaroons!!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 bag (14oz) of sweetened coconut
  • 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 T. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

  • Combine vanilla and condensed milk in a large bowl. 
  • Add coconut and blend well.
  • In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks and add a pinch of salt.
  • Add egg whites to coconut mixture and fold them in.
  • Spoon mixture onto a parchment papered cookie sheet.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (check for browned tops– you can see mine got a little over-done!)
  • Cool and enjoy!!

My thoughts: I made these with my friend Brie today- she can’t have gluten and these are blissfully free of it and soooo good.  I’ve been making these for many years and they are the best coconut macaroons I’ve ever tried.  Enjoy!!!! r-

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