Snowswirl Fudge

I made this fudge to go along with all of the other goodies I made to give away at Christmas.  This fudge turned out really well and was REALLY good! And the best part....you can do it all in the MICROWAVE!

Ingredients

2 cups miniature marshmallows

2 TBSP butter or margarine

2 cups Hershey's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Dash of salt

1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

Line a 8 or 9 inch square pan with foil

Place marshmallows and butter in medium microwave-safe bowl; set aside

Place chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and salt in large microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on HIGH (100%) 1 minute; stir. 

 If necessary, microwave on HIGH an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. 

Stir in nuts and spread evenly in prepared pan.

Microwave marshmallows and butter on HIGH 30 seconds; stir.

If necessary, microwave on HIGH an additional 30 seconds or until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred.

Immediately spoon onto fudge.  With table knife or metal spatula, swirl through fudge.

Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. 

Remove fudge from pan; peel off foil.

Cut into squares using wet knife. 

Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Tip: Fudge will cut even easier if you refrigerate overnight.

ENJOY!!

Cake Balls

Oh my goodness! These were to DIE for! I will definitely have these on my list for my last meal! :) They turned out perfect and were DELICIOUS!! Just use your favorite cake mix and icing to create these yummy cake balls! I made two because I gave these away at Christmastime as well.  I used Chocolate Cake mix with Chocolate fudge icing and Cherry Chip cake with Cherry icing.  The CHERRY was by far my FAVORITE!!  I then covered the Chocolate cake balls in White Chocolate bark and the Cherry Chip cake in Milk Chocolate Bark! DELICIOUS!

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package of your favorite cake mix

1 (16 ounce) container prepared cake frosting

Chocolate flavored confectioners coating disks or bar (available in white chocolate, dark or milk)

Directions

Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box.

When cake is finished baking allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Crumble the cake into a large bowl using a stand mixer or a hand mixer.

Add the frosting and mix until well combined. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.


Line a baking tray with wax paper.

Use a melon baller as a scooper to form balls with the cake mixture. Place on wax paper.

Once you have used all of the cake mixture, place the baking tray in the freezer for 1 hour.

Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl of the microwave, stirring every 5-10 seconds until smooth. 


Remove the balls from the freezer. Using one toothpick, pick up the balls one at a time and dip in the chocolate. Use a second toothpick to slide the ball off the first toothpick onto the wax paper lined baking tray.


NOTE: I found that Wilton sells a candy dipper that reminds me of an old Easter egg dipper and that works great as well. If the balls fall off the toothpick into the chocolate, they are not firm enough to work with and you'll need to place them back in the freezer for additional time

Once you have covered all the balls in chocolate coating place the tray in the refrigerator until the chocolate coating is set. At this point you can drizzle other chocolate on the balls for decoration.

ENJOY!!

Hard Candy

I made this hard candy last night to kick off my week of Christmas candy making and baking and it turned out really good!! I have never made hard candy before and I was so afraid that it would not turn out but this recipe was simple and easy, but I must say that you HAVE to have patience and do not cook the sugar mixture too fast.  Keep the stove set closer to medium heat the entire time and it will come out perfect. 

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon oil

a couple of drops of red food coloring

Directions

In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, water and corn syrup.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.

Uncover and cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 310 degrees.

Remove from the heat; stir in oil and food coloring, keeping face away from the mixture as the odor with be very strong.

Immediately pour onto a greased baking sheet.

Quickly spread into a 13-in. x 9-in. rectangle.  Let cool at room temperature. 

Place wax paper over candy and break into bite size pieces.  (I used a hammer to break candy)

Sprinkle with powder sugar to lightly coat the candy to keep from sticking together. 

(I also made a batch of Cotton Candy.  These were both delicious.  You just follow the same recipe with any flavor of oil and food coloring you like.)
ENJOY!!