2-on-Tuesday: Jeweled White Chocolate

Here's a super quick candy presentation to dazzle your guests. They don't need to know it only took you a few minutes in the microwave to create! Just smile and say, "I'm so glad you like it!" To be sure you'll have a couple of grumblers who'll argue White Chocolate is not chocolate, at all. They're correct. But, the real white chocolate lover doesn't give a flying fig! Enjoy!


Jeweled White Chocolate

1 or 2 bags of Hershey's Premiere White morsels
Dried Fruit (I used Apricots, Blueberries, Cherries and Craisins)
*optional: 1 tablespoon of Crisco
Reynold's Genuine Parchment non-stick (in the foil and plastic wrap aisle)

• Melt white chocolate chips (and Crisco) in a microwave-safe container in increments of 1 minute and stirring after each minute. Really watch those chips! As soon as they start to melt, just stir for the remaining chips to melt. You truly don't want to rush this and ruin the batch.
• I use a mixing bowl with a handle for ease of removal and stirring. And, the Crisco keeps the "chocolate" velvety and shiny.
• Pour onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, smooth out and, then, rap the cookie sheet on the counter top to release any hidden bubbles.
• Sprinkle the dried fruit mixture on top of the melted "chocolate." I chop the apricots into smaller bits.
• Allow to set. You can rush this part by placing the cookie sheet in the freezer until the "chocolate" sets.
• Break the "chocolate" into shards to be shared and store in an airtight container or tin lined with parchment.

Another way to enjoy this treat is to use any topping your family and friends will love, like mini M&Ms or crushed Oreos or nuts or crushed peppermint for Christmas! Be sure to check out Coffee Bean Crack, which basically uses the same techniques used in this recipe!

2-on-Tuesday: White Chocolate - Candy Cane Truffles

Why, YES, I do want to dazzle guests with my culinary skills! Even if you do notknow how to turn the oven on, you'll look amazing presenting these on the dessert table or as gifts!

I picked up the recipe on Pinterest from YourCupofCake.com and assembled the ingredients. Used my stand mixer for the truffle fudge and just left it in the same bowl. Sealed the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and left overnight in the fridge until I was ready.

I used my indispensable Christmas Kitchen Tool #25 (aka my hammer) to crush the candy canes inside a freezer zippered baggie!

When I was ready, I scooped the truffle fudge out, rolled into cute little one to two inch-ish balls and quickly rolled in the crushed candy canes. To top it all off, the dazzling little truffle went into mini holiday paper cupcake liners.

Really, there's nothing to it! Here's the recipe...

White Chocolate - Candy Cane Truffles

4 oz.         Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup        Powdered Sugar

1  1/4 cup White Chocolate Chips, melted (Hershey's Premiere White)

1/2 tsp      Peppermint Extract

1/3 cup     Candy Canes, crushed

• Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.
• Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave, just until the chips begin to melt and give them a good stir to complete the melting. You do not want to scorch the chips!
• Add melted chips and peppermint extract to cream cheese mixture beating until smooth and creamy!
• Cover and refrigerate. (As soon as it is cooled and set, you could start a'rollin, but I waited until I had the time the next day!)
• Use a mini ice cream scoop for ease and consistency for your truffles. Then, roll it in between your hands into a smooth ball. 
• Roll around in a bowl of crushed candy canes!

Tips:

**After I made a batch, I stuck 'em back in the fridge until serving time. 

**The website suggests: Roll in candy canes the day you plan to serve them. Or else the candy layer will get sticky from absorbing the moisture in the chocolate.

OK! Go be dazzling!

2-on-Tuesday: Don't Eat that Weird Cranberry Stuff!

For the love of all that is pure and holy, DO NOT EAT that wiggly, jelled "cranberry" stuff in a can. It looks alien. It doesn't take a lot of time to create a bounty of bliss with the beautiful Bounce Berry! 

Bounce Berry? Oh, yeah. As cranberries are harvested and cleaned, they move through a ladder-type thingamajig which drops the berries. Because of the air pockets inside, only the best berries bounce. The others are processed for juices.

Cranberry Myth: Cranberries grow in water. Nope, they don't. They grow on bushes in fields sometimes referred to as "bogs." However, many cranberries are harvested by water --in the bog-- and this is where the confusion comes.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

2 cups Sugar (or your choice of sweetener, try maple syrup, Agave, etc.)
3/4 to 1 cup of Liquid (your choice of water or orange juice or apple juice)
For that seasonal flavor, try adding a ground Cinnamon, Cloves or Allspice
12 oz package Whole Cranberries

• Bring first 3 ingredients to boil, add cranberries and return to a boil
• Reduce heat and boil gently while stirring occasionally
• You'll hear the berries burp or pop as they cook down, 10-20 minutes
• Pour cauce into a heat-tolerant bowl, cover and cool at room temp
• Serve as a side or condiment to Turkey and Dressing!

Cranberry Fluff

Cool Whip
Cranberry Sauce (homemade or from a can)
*optional: Chopped Pecans or Walnuts

• Empty a tub of Cool Whip into a larger bowl
• Using a spatula or fork, gently fold in 1-2 cups of Cranberry Sauce
• Refrigerate until time to serve

Other Ideas:

As an easy candy... Melt together a bag of Hershey's Premier White Chocolate Chips and a tablespoon of Crisco. Pour into cookie sheet pan that is lined with parchment. Bang out the bubbles. Spread the chocolate and drop DRIED CRANBERRIES (like Craisins) on top. Allow to set before breaking or cutting. Seal in air tight container.

Or...Mix in a handful of fresh whole cranberries to your dressing/stuffing before cooking.

Or...Toss a handful of dried cranberries into your sweet bread dough before rising.

Or...Add a sprinkling of dried cranberries into your batter for pancakes or waffles and cupcakes and cookies!

Because the cranberry is pretty tart, it usually requires a fair amount of sweetener to tame the taste. Honestly, if you don't have a bend toward this berry, already, just try a couple of sweet recipes to beguile your buds. If you don't like it, spit it out! You can always string your Christmas tree with garlands of popcorn and cranberries!

Another Cranberry Myth: Cranberries cure kidneys and urinary tracts. Nope, they don't.

Read some more interesting facts about the CRANBERRY, The Great American Berry!

Happy Thanksgiving!
~"Sam"

2-on-Tuesday: Coffee Bean Crack!

Sifle, a boy in the Calcutta Blind School,
is pictured on the front of the bag
of our Do Good Blend

Several years ago, I looked for easy recipes that were quick and portable to be served to the evangelists, band, AV teams, Crunk Crew, reps and Tennessee missionaries when every restaurant in the locale was full of youth groups after the evening service of the Tennessee Youth Convention.

One of the easiest recipes is Coffee Bean Crack. To be honest I never knew what to call it until recently when someone at a church function returned to the bowl asking to take another hit!



Coffee Bean Crack
(Candy for Adults)

1 bag each of Hershey's Chocolate Chips (mix or match to your taste Premiere White, Semi-Sweet, Special Dark, Milk Chocolate. My fave is the dark & milk mix!)

1 Tablespoon Crisco Shortening (this keeps the choco shiny & smooth)

Do Good Coffee Whole Beans or ground by Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Co.

**optional: 1-2 tablespoons or sleeve of dry, instant coffee

• Empty 2-3 bags of Hershey's Chocolate Chips into a microwave-safe bowl
• Add Crisco
• Heat chips and shortening until just starting to warm-up. Stir.
• Take your time. Back into microwave for small batches of time until the chips melt even as you stir them. Suggestion: Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. 30 seconds. Stir. 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until just melting. (It's at this time I would stir-in the dry instant coffee.)
• Pour melted chocolate into cookie sheet lined with foil or baking parchment and spread.
• Rap the cookie sheet on the cabinet to work out any bubbles hiding in the melted chocolate.
• Take handfuls of Do Good Coffee Whole Beans (and/or ground) and sprinkle across the top of melted chocolate, rap onto the counter a few more times and let set or pop into the fridge for a quicker set.
• When hardened break the Coffee Bean Crack into small shards and keep in a tin or airtight container.

Tips: 

• The Premier White chips take longer to melt than the other chips. 
• My old microwave was almost 30 years old and took 7 minutes for popcorn. I'm guessing yours will melt much faster, so really watch those chips. It can burn quickly and seize up, ruining the batch. 
• If you're really patient, melt the chips over a double boiler. Just remember that any water droplets accidentally falling into the chocolate will cause the mixture to seize ruining the whole batch.

This is so easy to whip up when all of those holiday parties begin to stack up in the calendar!

Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Co. (whole or ground beans) is the official roaster for Calcutta Mercy Ministries and is available in 3 different roasts - Do Good Blend, Kira Ikawa & Ruli Mountain. Coffee may be purchased from me at $15 per bag or online... Click here. The proceeds from each bag will feed 40 people in Calcutta/Kolkata, India!

~"Sam"