Tag Archives: candy

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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Sweet Tart and Pixy Stix Cake!

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Ruthanne

 

Wondering what to do with all that Halloween Candy?  Have some fun with it and make this candy-filled cake!  The cake is marbled with Pixy Stix dust and the frosting is made of crushed Sweet Tarts and Smarties.  BRING ON THE SUGAR!!!!  The finished cake is sweet and tart and SO much fun!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 boxed white cake mix (plus the eggs, water and oil needed to make it according to package)
  • 8 Pixy Stix candies
  • 3-4 cups of powdered sugar
  • 1 c. margarine
  • 1-3 T. heavy whipping cream
  • Food coloring gels
  • about 1 c. of crushed Sweet Tarts and or Smarties (I think Bottlecaps or even Spree would work in this recipe as well)

DIRECTIONS:

Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray 2  eight or nine inch round pans with cooking spray. 
  • Place a piece of parchment paper (cut to size) in the bottom of each pan and spray again.
  • Make cake mix according to package.
  • Pour about 1 c. of cake mix into each pan.  
  • Sprinkle contents of 4 Pixy Stix over cakes (dividing equally)

    Pixie Stix dust sprinkled over cake batter-- FUN!

    ***note: blue and purple will show up the best in the baked cake, red and orange are very pale***

  • Use a knife to swirl colors together
  • Add the rest of the cake mix over the top (dividing equally) and repeat the Pixy Stix sprinkling and swirling.
  • Bake cakes at 350 for 30-35 minutes (use your cake mix directions as a guide and check often)
  • Cool cakes in pan over a wire rack.
  • When cool, tip pan over onto wire rack and remove parchment paper.
  • Use a serrated knife to make each layer level.

Frosting:

  • Cream together the powdered sugar and margarine in a large bowl. 
  • Beat on high for about 3 minutes (I used a whisk attachment).  
  • Add cream and beat for about another minute until a thick spreading consistency.
  • Crush candies in a small food chopper or processor.
  • Add crushed candies (and all the ensuing sugar dust!) to the frosting and fold it in. 
  • Add any food coloring you want to make frosting a desired shade.  (On its own the mix of candy colors make the frosting a terrible shade of gray). Adjust consistency if needed with powdered sugar.
  • Frost the cooled cake and decorate with remaining candies.


 

 

My thoughts:  I was expecting an overpoweringly sweeeeeeeet cake.  Not so– the cake has a wonderful tangy taste and the frosting balances it perfectly with sweet fruity fluff.  Your kids are going to FLIP over this recipe– they might even let you take some of their candy to make it!  Happy Sugar High to YOU!!! -r

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Homemade Caramel Turtles

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Ruthanne

Soft creamy caramel tops chocolate and pecans– a quick and easy treat.

INGREDIENTS:

  • about 2 cups of whole pecans.
  • 12oz (one bag) of Wilton Dark Candy Cocoa Melts
  • 32 Kraft caramels (unwrapped)
  • 1/2c. butter
  • 1 (14oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk

DIRECTIONS:

  • Line pecans  up in squares on parchment paper

  • Melt candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth.
  • Spoon chocolate over pecans, filling in the center space and spilling it over about half of each pecan.
  • While this hardens, make caramel sauce (this recipe makes more caramel than you need, but you can refrigerate the rest and use as an ice cream topping later…or you can cut this part of the recipe in half- you will just have 1/2 a can of sweetened condensed milk left…?)
  • Melt unwrapped caramels, butter and sweetened condensed milk over the stove until smooth.
  • Spoon caramel into the center of each turtle (try to keep as much as you can on the chocolate- it will harden some, but it is a soft caramel)
  • Allow these to harden (refrigerate if necessary) and ENJOY!!!!!


My thoughts: Easy and yummy!  I was surprised at how good the candy melts tasted in this- obviously using real chocolate would be a bit fussier and probably a much better flavor- but everyone loved these and I think the melts worked just fine.  These are messy looking turtles- I wouldn’t fuss over making them look perfect- I think the messy look makes them fun and DEFINITELY home-made!!!! 🙂

This recipes was shared on these wonderful blogs: The Girl Creative, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo, This Chick Cooks, At Home With Haley, Cupcake Apothecary

 

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Raspberry Lemonade Truffles

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Ruthanne

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These soft and creamy lemonade truffles are accented with a sweet raspberry white chocolate.  Truly a unique dessert that will have you thinking summer as soon as you taste one!

INGREDIENTS: (makes 30 truffles)

  • 1 (8 oz.) bar of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened to room temp)
  • 1 packet (0.23 oz.) of Kool-Aid Lemonade mix (unsweetened)
  • 5 cups powdered sugar (plus a little extra to coat your hands as you work with dough)
  • 1 bag (12oz) Wilton White Candy Melts
  • 1/4 teaspoon imitation raspberry flavoring
  • Red and yellow food coloring (enough to get the color you desire)

DIRECTIONS:

  • Cream together Philadelphia cream cheese and packet of lemonade.
  • Add yellow food coloring to desired shade of yellow.
  • Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, blending well between each one.  After 4th cup, coat your hands in powdered sugar and mix in 5th cup with your hands until well blended.
  • Using sugar-covered hands, roll dough into 1 inch truffle balls and set on parchment paper.
  • Melt candy coating chips in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
  • Add raspberry flavoring and red food coloring (to desired color) and mix well.
  • Spoon about 1/2 – 1 tsp. of chocolate onto parchment paper and then press a truffle on the top of it until the chocolate is visible around the edges.  Finish the rest of the truffles this way.
  • Spoon remaining chocolate into a ziplock bag and clip the corner.  Drizzle the chocolate over the truffles.
  • Allow topping to harden (about 5 minutes)
  • Peel off parchment paper and serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes about 30 truffles.

My thoughts:  Wow!  These have been a huge hit with everyone in my life that’s tried them!  They are an original creation for Real Women of Philadelphia.  For all of you who love to cook and bake, you really should check this contest out– its a lot of fun and the sweetest people are a part of this community!  I was longing for something to remind me that summer is coming (in spite of all the yucky weather lately!)  Raspberry lemonade is such  treat- and these truffles capture the essence of it to me.  I hope you get a chance to try them– let me know what you think!  :o)r-

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Caramel Coconut Cream Cups

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Ruthanne

These chewy coconut cookie cups filled with rich chocolate and fluffy cream cheese are topped off with soft caramel, chocolate and toasted coconut.  More than delicious, these are truly a unique dessert that will have all your friends and family wondering how in the world you made them!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 c.  yellow cake mix (any variety)
  • 2 c. crushed coconut cookies (I use WalMart brand)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 c. vegetable oil
  • 1 c. shredded coconut
  • 1/4 c. whipping cream
  • 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 16 Kraft Caramels (unwrapped)
  • 7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/4 c. margarine
  • 6 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 4 oz. Cool Whip (refrigerator temperature)
  • 12 oz. Wilton Dark Candy Cocoa Melts

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • In a mixing bowl combine cake mix, crushed coconut cookies, eggs and oil.  Blend well.
  • Scoop batter evenly into 12 un-greased muffin tins, pressing it down with spoon.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
  • Spread coconut over a small cookie sheet and toast at the same time your cups are baking for 10 to 15 minutes (check often to prevent burning!)
  • While cookie cups bake, make your fillings:
  1.  Chocolate ganache:  Place whipping cream in a small saucepan and heat it over the stove until it just starts to bubble at edges (20-30 seconds).  Turn off heat, add chocolate chips, over and allow to sit on warm burner for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes, stir until smooth.
  2. Caramel Sauce:  Place caramels, condensed milk and margarine in a saucepan and heat until caramels are fully melted and mixture is smooth (about 5 minutes)  stir constantly.
  3. Cream filling:  Combine cream cheese with sugar  until smooth.  Fold in Cool Whip.
  • Remove coconut from oven when it is a toasty brown.  Place in bowl to cool.
  • Remove cookie cups from oven.  They look like muffins at this point–using a tart shaper or the end of a wooden spoon, press the middles of the muffin in to form a cup shape. (NOTE:  because ovens vary in temperature, your cups may need to bake longer.  When you press the middle in it should look a little oily from the coconut oil in the cookies- but it should hold its shape–  if it’s doughy and wont stay pressed down, place it back in the oven for a few minutes.)
  • Tip the muffin pan over a clean counter to release the cups and carefully turn them all upright to cool.
  • Melt chocolate candy coating in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
  • Dip the top edge of each cup into the chocolate and then sprinkle with toasted coconut.
  • Spoon chocolate ganache evenly into each cup.
  • Place cream filling in a large ziplock.  Cut one corner and pipe the cream evenly into each cup.
  • Spoon caramel sauce evenly over each cup.
  • Drizzle any left-over candy coating over each cup and top with remaining coconut.
  • Keep refrigerated until serving.
  • Makes 12 cups.

My thoughts:  I “invented” this recipe for Kraft using Philadelphia Cream Cheese.  It has some of my favorite flavor combinations– coconut, chocolate and caramel– amazing!  It is also a great texture combination: chewy, creamy crunchy….yum.  This is a fairly time-consuming recipe.  If you love baking it is FUN FUN FUN!!!!  (I’m actually a little addicted to making these!)  I can’t give it an “easy recipe” tag though– its just too involved.  If you get a chance to try these let me know what you think!  Enjoy!!!! r-



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Chocolate Easter Eggs with Peanut Butter Filling!

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Ruthanne

These chocolate eggs are filled with a creamy peanut butter mixture.  Fill your Easter baskets with this easy to make recipe!!!

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

  • Combine margarine with peanut butter and add powdered sugar until mixture is thick enough to be rolled and molded by hand.
  • Form eggs in any size (I use an egg-shaped 1/3 cup measuring spoon, but you can shape by hand in other sizes as well)
  • Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well in between until smooth.
  • Using a fork, dip peanut butter eggs into chocolate until completely covered and slide off fork onto parchment paper.  Allow chocolate to cool and harden.
  • Decorate as desired (drizzle with other colored chocolate, or sprinkle with spring candy…).

My thoughts:  This is my second year making these eggs as a fundraiser for missions trips at my church.  We have improved our technique for making these in large quantities and had a lot of fun this year.  These are HUGE peanut butter eggs.  I always warn people to not eat a whole one all at once!  The filling is so creamy and rich.  I hope you get a chance to try these out for YOUR Easter baskets!  Here’s some shots of our egg-making extravaganza:

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Chocolate Cheesecake Fudge!

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Ruthanne

If you like cheesecake and you like fudge, this is a perfect combination!  Plus, I am convinced this is the easiest fudge recipe EVER!!!!!!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 bags (11.5 oz each) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tub (10 oz.) Philadelphia Original Favor Cooking Creme
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 c. finely chopped nuts

 

DIRECTIONS:

  • Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well between until smooth.
  • Add cooking creme, vanilla and nuts and stir until well blended.
  • Pour into a 9×9 pan that has been lined with aluminum foil.
  • Refrigerate for about 40 minutes (until fudge is hard).
  • Remove from pan, peel away foil, cut and serve!!!

 

My thoughts:  I created this recipe for Kraft.  They sent me all of their flavors of cooking creme to experiment with before it was placed in stores.  This is one of the “Original” flavor recipes I made.  I LOVE how easy it is and I love the cream cheese flavor– it adds a unique twist to the basic fudge recipe.  This is a wonderful dark chocolate fudge- but if you want it sweeter just use milk chocolate chips instead!  ENJOY!!!!!!!   r-

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