Deluxe Caramel Apples

Sorry it's been so long! This post probably would have been handy around Halloween, but I made the apples on Halloween and have just gotten around to getting the pics uploaded. Anyway - apples are still in season, right?

Caramel apples are pretty simple. Just follow the directions on the package of caramels and you're set. (For 5 apples, melt the bag of caramels with 2 Tbls of water, dip apples, place on waxed paper and place in fridge to cool and harden.)

Okay - totally random thought, but it's always bugged me that fridge has a "d" in it while refrigerator does not.

Anyway, back to the apples. Well, I got the caramel on the apples and let them cool. Was that enough for me? Of course not. I melted down about a pound of chocolate and dipped the cooled apples in the chocolate, again setting them on waxed paper and letting the chocolate harden.

And, since I've got some weird wiring in my skull, I decided to melt some white chocolate to drizzle on top.

Then I thought that, since it was Halloween and all, I would make some spooky designs on a few. Thus the spider webs.

If you like nuts and that type of stuff, you can roll the still-wet chocolate apple in nuts, coconut, etc. Try dipping the whole apple in white chocolate and rolling it in a cinnamon and sugar mix or graham cracker crumbs (its tastes like an apple pie).

Oreo Truffles. Need I say more?

I got this recipe somewhere on line (can't remember where exactly...) and was suprised at how quick and easy it is. Oh, and delicious. Matt likes to call these "a little peice of Heaven". :)

So - Ingredients:

1 bag of Oreos (I used Double Stuff, cause that's what I like.)

1 brick of cream cheese, softened (Philadelphia is the only way to go...)

1 pound white baking chocolate (as always, I used the vanilla Almond Bark)

Ready for the easy directions?

1. Finely crush the oreos. I put the oreos into a large ziplock bag and used a malet, my hands, anything I could find, really. Dump them into a bowl.

2. Mix in the softened cream cheese. I used a pastry mixer thingy (no idea what they're really called) and it worked very well.

3. Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls.

4. Dip the balls in the melted chocolate. Set on wax paper and refrigerate for 1 hr.

This makes about 50 truffles...enough to last 3, maybe 4 days.

Now, here's my input:

The mixture was quite soft after being worked, so I put it in the fridge for a while before rolling it out into the balls. After that, they were still quite soft and there was no way I was going to be able to dip those without leaving half of it in the chocolate, so I put a dollop of chocolate down on the waxed paper, placed the balls on the dollops, then spooned the melted chocolate on top.

The dollops of chocolate and Matt helping me put the rolled mixture on top.

These are so not up to my "pretty" standards, but it was late and I was tired, so you get what you get. :)

Now, if I'd had time I would have rolled the balls out, then refigerated them for an hour or so til they were firm enough to dip. Next time, maybe.

Here's a variation you might want to try - use mint oreos and dip them in milk chocolate. Mmmmmmm.......

Good luck and enjoy!

No Small Trifle

This was my second attempt at a trifle. The first was good, but I forgot to take pics, so of course I had to make another. :)

I believe trifles can be made of anything that you like. Their very easy and fairly quick. You do have to make a cake first, but with a box, that's pretty simple. Especially if your hubby makes the cake for you. :)

This was a Chocolate Strawberry Trifle.

Make a Milk Chocolate cake (you can use any type of cake, really) and cut it into chunks. Put one layer of cake on the bottom of the dish. Pour on some chocolate syrup. This helps to moisten the cake. And who doesn't like chocolate syrup?

Spoon about half of a prepared box of instant vanilla pudding on top of the cake. If you like white chocolate, try a white chocolate pudding.

Place a layer of fruit on top of the pudding. Mmmm....

Repeat the layers one more time and top with whipped cream. you can also save some of the fruit for garnish on top. And if you're crazy like me, you can dip that fruit in chocolate.

The first attempt was made with mandarin oranges. Also tasty, but the strawberries were just perfect with the chocolate. Try this with your favorite fruits and let me know how it goes!

Old Fashioned Caramels

Years ago, all the women in my family each got a book for Christmas entitled "Sleigh Bells and Sugarplums" by Frances A Gillette & Daughters. It's a book that is full of old stories, poems and recipes. Although I've cracked it open many times, this is the first time I've ever tried one of the recipes and, after some adjustments, have decided it was a good choice.

I've loved homemade caramels for years now. The first I remember eating was made by Sandy Kestner and now I'm hooked. This batch will most likely be gone in the next day or two...

I made two batches of caramels - the first had a few issues. It turned out too hard for my liking and I thought I'd be smart by layering waxed paper in the bottom of the pan and buttering that. Didn't work so well. the paper was fused to the caramels. I'm just glad I did a second batch - it would have bugged me that I couldn't pull off a decent caramel. (More of my issues shining through!)

My disaster with the waxed paper

Here's the recipe with my adjustments in parentheses:

Sprinkle on bottom of buttered 9x13" pan:

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I don't like nuts so I left them out. I also used an 8x11" pan - the 9x13" was too big...)

Put in saucepan (be sure to use a large enough pan - the mixture bubbles up to 4 or 5 times it's original size):

2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup margarine - don't use butter - it can burn

1 cup half & half or evaporated milk (I used half & half)

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. (Be patient and don't turn up the heat. This whole process takes about an hour, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time)

Then gradually stir in 1 cup more half & half or canned milk. Continue to stir as mixture thickens and cook to 250 degrees on candy thermometer. (This is where the chewiness and hardness comes in. 250 was too hot and made the caramels more like a soft toffee than a caramel, so with the second batch, I only brought it to 235, which is perfect - for me...nice and chewy)

This was at about 200 degrees...close to foaming out of the pan!

This was closer to 225 degrees - getting there!

Remove from heat and pour over nuts in pan (once again, no nuts for me - yuck!).

Once the caramel has cooled, cut into squares and wrap in waxed paper.

My batch, the one I could actually eat, yielded about 90 caramels. Plenty for a few days, right? I shared with co-workers and everyone gave them high marks, although you can't be too sure they weren't just being nice :)

This one is definitely going to be added to my Christmas goodies!

Sludge Cups

This idea came from a Halloween book that I have and it looked fun and tastey so I thought I'd give it a try.

The sludge cups are really easy to make. You prepare one kind of Jello, following the directions on the box, and pour the Jello, dividing it evenly, into 6 - 6 oz cups. I had 10 oz cups available, so whatever you have works, but you want them to be clear. While the Jello is still liquid, the book tells you to put gummy worms, bugs or whatever other candies you might want in. Then you wait for that kind of Jello to set before repeating the process with a different kind of Jello.

The different colors are fun, and I kind-of mulched the top layer of Jello in the cup on the left to make it look more "scary", but what's not fun is eating the sludge cups.

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure kids would get a kick out of these and not have any problems - kids'll eat anything. This is the problem I had with eating the cups:

Jello - Good.

Gummy Worms - Good.

Gummy Worms in Jello - Nasty Crap.

The gummy worms were magically transformed during this whole process. Sorry Beth - I hadn't tried one before I made you eat one. The gummies take on a strange taste and an even stranger texture. Gross.

So. My advice is if you want to make these (cause they really are fun...) do it without the gummies. Or, just plan on kids eating them and save yourself from having to eat the rest of the contents in your fridge in order to remove the nasty taste in your mouth.

The first insight into my issues...

You'll see throughout the future blogs that I love to dip things in chocolate. All types of things. It's an easy way to dress up desserts with little effort. And besides, everything needs at least a little chocolate, right?

I've found that dipping in melted chocolate chips is good, but it's easy to burn the chocolate chips and you're never sure how much oil are in them, so you're never sure how well they'll adhere to the item you're dipping. So, after strolling around the store one day in boredom, wondering what else was hidden there that would make my trip worth while, I found Almond Bark. Sounds gross, right? It's not. It's a candy coating that comes in chocolate and vanilla flavored bricks. They're about $2.00 for 24oz, but they go a long way. The almond bark does a pretty good job and is very tasty.

The first dipping I did was with pretzles ties. Mmmmmmm. Sweet and salty. Always a big hit. Of course, I dipped them in white chocolate (vanilla Almond Bark) and just couldn't stop at that. Before the chocolate dried on some of them I showered them in red and green sprinkles (it was Christmastime). With others, I waited until the white chocolate was dry, melted down some milk chocolate and drizzled the milk chocolate on top of them with a spoon.

Yes, I'm neurotic.

That was the start of my chocolate dipping. That led to strawberries (don't dip them in white chocolate - it's not as good- but you can definitely drizzle the white chocolate on top!), manderin oranges, mint leaves (see below) and gummy bears. Just a note on the gummy bears. Don't just throw a handful into the chocolate, thinking that it would be much easier to cover them that way, then fish them out. Learned that the hard way and I wish I had a pic :) They melt in the chocolate so you're left with a gooey, chocolatey mass that only your starving husband and brother will dare to eat by ripping chunks off, leaving a mess on the counter, their hands and mouths.

Chocolate mint leaves are more for decoration than eating, but they are so easy and leave a big impression.

Step 1. Wash and dry mint leaves. They need to be dry before you do the chocolate or the chocolate won't work.

2. Melt the chocolate.

3. With a paint-brush, clean and preferably never used for actual painting, "paint" the chocolate on each leaf. You have to work a little fast if you have a lot of leaves so the chocolate won't cool and harden on you, but don't go too fast. The leaves are somewhat delicate. Place the painted leaves on a cookie sheet, chocolate side up.

4. Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator until hard.

5. Peel the leaf off the chocolate. It's suprisingly easy to do - they come right off!

Hope ya'll enjoy this.... In the future, I'll be trying different deserts for holidays and such a bit early so I can then post about them in case anyone is interested and wants some ideas. You're also free to leave any tips you know or any questions. I'll answer them if I can :)