Tag Archives: Chocolate

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Posted in 2018 Food, Adventures in the Kitchen by

Yummy Christmas treats.

I grew up on these at Christmas time as I am sure you did as well.  Who can resist peanut butter and chocolate, right?  I love this combo and I love that these are so easy to make as well.  ENJOY!

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PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOMS

Sift together in small bowl:
1 3/4 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream together until smooth in mixer or large bowl: (I use my stand up mixer)
1/2 cup of butter (room temp)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
Add 1 egg (room temp)
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla

Then blend in the dry ingredients and mix well

Shape into 1″ balls
Roll in sugar (or colored sugar or sprinkles)
Place on greased cookie sheet or on parchment paper
Bake at 375 for 8 minutes each
Remove and top each cookie with candy kiss, press until cookie cracks

Cook for 2-4 more minutes, depending on oven

 

 

Life is Sweet

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

Each of my daughters have something that is their signature sweet, something they can make at the drop of a hat and it always turns out delicious. My middle daughter’s signature sweet happens to be these lovely Cake Balls.

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IMG_4105[1]These are a bit time consuming and require many steps…but when you bite into one, they are well worth it!  Check out my daughter’s recipe here.  Cake Pops by Olivia Rhine

I think you will see they are well worth your time and energy. ENJOY!

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Peanut Butter and Chocolate!

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

I am not a big chocolate fan…but I do love chocolate and peanut butter!  In fact, these peanut butter balls are one of my favorite things to make.  I usually only make these treats at Christmas, but I had an opportunity to work with a friend who is a wonderful baker.  She needed 600 peanut butter balls for a 40th birthday surprise.  Wow!

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Thankfully she only needed me to make 200!  I was happy to help her and glad that it was something I have made many times…it’s so much easier when I know what I’m doing!

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Find the recipe here for Peanut Butter Balls. Enjoy!

Chocolate Birthday Pie!

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

It is my hubby’s birthday today.  Happy Birthday!

I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday this year.  Instead of cake, he wanted a pie.  His favorite is cherry pie, but we could not find any fresh cherries.  So chocolate pie was second on the list.

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I decided to use a recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

I love my mom’s homemade crust, but after working 9 hours…Pillsbury’s Pie Crust was the obvious choice!

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  I did cook my pie crust a little longer than I needed, but it still was delicious! IMG_3444[1]

I had all my ingredients ready to go and found this recipe was really quite easy.

It calls for bittersweet chocolate.  I used Ghirardelli and chopped fine and added after the pie filling was beginning to thicken. I think this tasted better than using cocoa powder. IMG_3427[1]

 The pie was a huge success, mainly because my hubby loved it!

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 Click here Chocolate Pie for her recipe.  The full link to her recipe can be found there. If you make this, let me know what you think! I have listed some of her cookbooks here for you if you don’t have one already.

      

Bluebonnets in Texas

Posted in 2016 Travel Adventures, Adventures in the Kitchen by

IMG_3050[1]We love our bluebonnets in Texas!  They line the highways.  People line the highways to stop and take a family photo.  In fact, if you are from Texas, you have a family photo in the middle of bluebonnets.  It’s just what we do.

My girls are grown, but we still stop and look at the bluebonnets when we are traveling. This year, I took a picture of my daughter, holding one of my pretzels, in the middle of this field of blue.  I thought it was the right thing to do!  I’m not sure that she felt this way, but she was a good sport.

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I could not resist this photo with the Texas and Aggie flag waiving in the background!  This was one of my Easter pretzels..I wish I had made a bluebonnet pretzel for the photo…maybe next year!

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Chocolate and Sprinkles

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

These pretzels are the perfect treat to bring to any party or celebration!  They have that wonderful blend of salty and sweet…and they are so darn cute!

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I needed something to take to a wedding shower for a sweet young girl at work.  Her colors are gold and blush.  When I saw these glittery gold sprinkles I knew just what to bring!

These chocolate covered pretzels are so easy and so quick and better yet…inexpensive!  Like I said, they are really the perfect little treat!

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Give these a try the next time you host a party, need to bring a snack, or just want to drop off to a friend to make them smile!   While this is so basic, I added the recipe, just to share my tips with you on making these adorable treats!

Any occasion is the right occasions for these pretzels!

Valentines
Christmas
Thanksgiving
Halloween
July 4

Chocolate Covered Peanut Clusters

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

I LOVE Chocolate Covered Peanuts.  I make these tasty snacks at Christmas every year.  I was thrilled when I saw these made with Spring colored M&Ms.  I found this recipe at The Slow Roasted Italian website.   She actually makes these in the crockpot. So easy.     Here is a link to the recipe.   http://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2016/03/White-Chocolate-crockpot-candy.html

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I find this candy has the perfect touch of saltiness and sweetness and it looks fun to eat!

One of the best things about this recipe it that is has three simple ingredients; white chocolate, dry roasted peanuts and M&Ms.  The white chocolate starts to have swirls of darker chocolate as the M&Ms start to melt.  How good does this look? IMG_2924[1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just drop by spoonfuls on wax or parchment paper.  Reserve a few M&Ms and add to the top.  Add sprinkles if you want for an extra splash of color .  IMG_2923[1]

It only takes a few minutes for these to cool.  Then you are ready to dig in for a delicious treat!  IMG_2926[1]

 

 

There’s no place like Home for the Holidays

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

...cause no matter how far away you roam
when you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze
for the holidays you can’t beat Home Sweet Home!

We are celebrating Christmas with both sides of our family this weekend…so the countdown has begun!  I have 2 days to get all gifts purchased, Christmas desserts made and my contribution for dinner ready!

Chocolate covered peanuts are always on my list of baked goods.  First..because they are really tasty, and so hard to stop eating!  Second…because they are so easy to make!  I am all about that when I am trying to bake all day!!

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I also always make Peanut Butter Balls.  My father-in-law loves these, so I
make sure and bring to any family function during the holidays.

If you want your Chocolate to have a pretty shine, you can always temper the chocolate.  I have not tried that yet, so I am not sure how easy it is.  Or you can add paraffin wax, just a small amount.  And it is safe to eat! 🙂  I just put a tiny amount in and it gives the chocolate a nice shine!IMG_1208[1]IMG_1388[1]

I had some errands to run and asked my daughter, Claire to shape the peanut butter mixture into balls for me.  She said she could not make them into perfect round shapes.  I told her to practice, practice, practice as I walked out the door. 🙂