Happy Holidays Everyone!

Whew, I've been busy and haven't done much with my handy blog! Sorry, everyone. I have been a little busy with work. The interest rates have been great and that means a lot of people are scooping them up with refinances and home purchases. I will be gone for a bit, but promise to fill you in on some good stuff when I return.

Merry Christmas!

Here's a couple of recipes; one for the truffles and one for the cute little chocolate cups to hold them.

Ingredients you'll need:

Truffles:
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons alcohol (Cognac, brandy, Grand Marnier, kirsch, rum, bourbon, or Kahlua to name a few) (optional)

Different Coatings for Truffles:
Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
Confectioners Sugar (Icing or Powdered)
Toasted and Chopped Nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts)
Toasted Coconut
Shaved Chocolate

For Chocolate Cups:
1 - 3 ounce (85 grams) bar of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon shortening (like Crisco)
2 - Empty Styrofoam Egg Cartons


For Truffles: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. If desired, add the liqueur. Cover and place in the refrigerator until the truffle mixture is firm (this will take several hours or overnight).

Place your coatings for the truffles on a plate. Remove the truffle mixture from the refrigerator. With your hands, or else a melon baller or small spoon form the chocolate into round or mis-shaped bite-sized balls. Immediately roll the truffle in the coating and place on a parchment lined baking sheet or tray. Cover and place in the refrigerator until firm. Truffles can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or else frozen for a couple of months. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Makes 30 small truffles.

To Toast Nuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and bake nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds) about 8 - 10 minutes or until brown and fragrant. For hazelnuts toast about 15 minutes or until the skins start to blister. Remove from oven and roll in a clean dish towel. Let the nuts 'steam' for about 5 minutes and then remove the skins. Once the nuts have cooled, chop coarsely.

For Chocolate Cups: It is easier to make the chocolate cups if you first cut each egg carton into the 12 individual egg cups (as in picture). Altogether you will need 24 individual cups. Melt the chocolate and shortening in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Dip the bottoms of the egg carton cups into the melted chocolate. Turn the cups upside down so the chocolate coating is facing up (like in the picture). Place the remainder of the melted chocolate into a parchment paper cone with a small opening. Pipe loops around each cup, piping down from the chocolate base and back up. Refrigerate the egg carton cups until the chocolate has completely set. Once the chocolate has set, gently remove the chocolate cups from the egg carton cups. Be careful as the chocolate cups can easily break. Place a truffle into each chocolate cup and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes about 2 dozen chocolate cups.

One day to go...

Lemon Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups ground gingersnap cookies
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
5 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 large eggs
3 cups (24 ounces) sour cream
2 tablespoons (packed) finely grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Lemon leaves or twists (optional)

Preparation:
For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir cookie crumbs and butter in medium bowl until evenly moistened. Press mixture onto bottom of 9-inch-diameter removable-bottom cheesecake pan with 3-inch-high sides. Bake crust until deep golden, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Stack 3 large sheets of foil on work surface. Place same cake pan in center. Gather foil snugly around pan bottom and up sides to waterproof.

For filling:
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar, then salt. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in sour cream, grated lemon peel, and lemon juice. Pour filling into pan.

Place wrapped cake pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake cake until filling is slightly puffed and moves only slightly when pan is shaken gently, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove cake pan from water bath; remove foil. Cool cake in pan on rack 2 hours. Chill uncovered until cold; cover and keep chilled at least 1 day and up to 2 days.

Cut around pan sides; carefully loosen pan bottom from sides and push up pan bottom to release cake. Place cake (still on pan bottom) on platter. Garnish with lemon leaves or twists.

The pan: It must be three inches high to hold all the filling. If your nine-inch springform pan is that high, it can be used instead.
The cream cheese: For best results, use Philadelphia brand.
The crust: Grind the gingersnaps in the processor or place them in a heavy-duty plastic bag and finely crush them with a rolling pin.

Two Days to go...

With two days to go before the holidays, try this little pick-me-up.

Tipsy Turtle Bark

Ingredients:
2 cups pecan halves
1 cup (about 24) caramel candies, such as Kraft, unwrapped
1 tablespoon rum, bourbon, or whisky (see tip, below)
1 1/2 teaspoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound high-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread pecans on large shallow baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to plate and let cool. Line baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

In small bowl, combine caramels, liquor, cream, and salt. Microwave uncovered at medium power for 2 minutes. Stir with fork. Microwave at medium power for 1 additional minute. Stir until smooth and set aside.

In medium bowl set over saucepan of simmering water, melt half chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add remaining chocolate, and stir until smooth. Pour half melted chocolate into small bowl and reserve.

Stir 1 cup nuts into remaining chocolate. Transfer mixture to baking sheet, spreading to 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness. Spoon caramel over and pat on remaining pecans. Drizzle with reserved chocolate. Let cool at room temperature until set, about 2 hours. Do not chill.

Chop finished bark into irregular 1 1/2-inch chunks.

Store airtight at room temperature up to one month.

Secret Santa- Week #3

For my final week of the office secret santa, I decided to treat my special someone with a decorative box that she could use for her recipes.