The Thousand Word Project - Hello, My Sweet

Cookie Dough Fudge

 

I got the original recipe for this online, but it had way too much sweetening in it.  It was very sweet as I made it, so for our family it would have been pretty much inedible with extra sugar!  I so often change recipes anyway, so I made some other changes as well, and then renamed it since it seemed more like candy to us, than “cookie bars”.
Enjoy!  :-)

Layer One

Mix together well in medium mixing bowl:

1/2 C. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp. molasses
1/2 C. shredded coconut
1 C. all-purpose flour
1 C. oat flour (you may use another preferred flour here)

Mix in:

1 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. chopped peanuts (optional)

Spread in a 11x7x2 cake pan fully lined with waxed paper.  (It may not completely fill the pan.)

Layer Two

Melt together in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring well:

1 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/4 C. coconut oil

Spread evenly over dough.  Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.  Cut into smallish squares.  Do not remove from the fridge till ready to serve or the fudge may become soft.

Freezes well.

I did not put in the chopped peanuts on my first go of this, but I think it will be a good addition, so I’m adding it. :-)

For this, I really do recommend fully lining the pan.  I think it would have been nearly impossible to remove it intact without the waxed paper.

Peppermint Road Fudge

I made some alterations to a recipe for Rocky Road Fudge and came up with this.  It is a nice way to use up candy canes.  Since we don’t celebrate Christmas, I bought mine at a dollar store marked waaaay down after the holidays.  I don’t remember the price, but it was something like 70-80% off as I recall – a really good deal.  Striped peppermint sticks of any kind are so pretty crushed and used for decoration on top of deserts – especially chocolate. :-)
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Peppermint Road Fudge
2 1/2 C. chocolate chips (I use bittersweet)
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp. mint or peppermint extract
1 C. crushed peppermint sticks (candy canes or other)
1 10.5 oz. pkg. miniature marshmallows
(Extra crushed candy canes for garnish.)
In a heavy sauce pan over low heat melt chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and butter, stirring often.  Meanwhile measure candy bits and marshmallows into a large bowl.  Add mint extract to choc. mixture when melted and mix in well.  Pour choc. mixture over candy and marshmallow mixture.  Stir until marshmallows are coated, but not until they are falling apart.  Spread in a waxed paper lined 9x13 cake pan.  (Sprinkle with extra candy bits or sprinkles if desired.)   Chill till firm.  Remove from pan and cut into pieces.
Note:  Stir in extra butter if the chocolate mixture seems too thick to mix into the marshmallows.
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Yes, I know.  This is not the healthiest recipe.  But, it must be better than fudge made with powdered sugar, right?  I hope? :-)

Stained Glass Windows

This recipe came from my Gramma.  She really liked these and was famous for them.  If you are looking for a sugary, yummy, “non-sensical” treat that includes chocolate, marshmallows and coconut this might just be the perfect fit. :-)  (Be sure to check my added instructions at the bottom.)
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Stained Glass Windows
Melt in large pan: 1 12 oz. pkg. dark chocolate chips
1 stick butter
Cool till medium warm.
Add: 1/2 C. chopped nuts (optional)
1 sm. pkg. colored miniature marshmallows
Form into log and roll in powdered sugar and shredded coconut. Wrap in waxed paper.
Refrigerate and slice when hardened.
Best kept in fridge or very cool place.
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These instruction are a bit minimalistic, so I’ll add some comments here. 
First, you want to cool the chocolate till it’s not so hot that it will melt the marshmallows while you’re mixing them in, but not so long that it starts to thicken up.
Secondly, it’s a challenge to “roll” this mess in powdered sugar and coconut.  What I do is sprinkle the powdered sugar and coconut generously onto a sheet of waxed paper and then spoon the mixture along one (short) end and form it into a log.  Then I try to carefully roll the log across the waxed paper, lifting the paper to make it “go”.  You don’t want to roll it into the waxed paper until you have it rolled across the sugar-coconut otherwise you’ll end up with the sugar-coconut rolled into the waxed paper, which is a waste.  It won’t get much on the roll that way. :-)  If you’re having trouble getting it well covered just pick the sugar-coconut mixture up in your fingers or with a spoon and sprinkle it on the bare spots.  Once you have the log fairly well covered, wrap the waxed paper around it and pop it in the fridge.  One word of advice: lay it on a relatively even spot or you’ll end up with a curve in you log. ;-)  Also, I find a bit of tape helpful in keeping the side and ends shut.
I make smallish logs and usually can get two from a recipe.  You can store the extras in the fridge for quite some time.  I can’t remember now if I’ve ever frozen them.  I think I have.

No Bake Chocolate Caramel Butterscotch Cookies

These are some of my favorite cookies, really they are more candy than cookie. To quote the modern expression, they are “seriously good”. I have liked them for years, but I never was able to make them well – until now! For the first time recently they turned out for me. This is a milestone in my life. :-)
Thus, I would like to dedicate this post to:
- Mom, because she had the recipe first, and could only make them somewhat better than I could.
- my sister who could make them quite well every time.
- my brother, who after tasting my new version of these cookies, declared they were 1/8th of an inch from being as good as cheese cake (high praise from him). He nearly went delirious when I suggested using them as topping on cheese cake.
- my sister in-law who wanted the recipe so she can make these for my brother.
- Sarah P., who never made good biscuits till her 10th wedding anniversary when she finally stopped following the recipe. That memory helped me break out of this recipe and finally get them to turn out, after years of futile efforts that ended in either dry crumbs or gooey “spoon cookies”.
:-)
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This is the original recipe, which may turn out just fine for you if you have my sister’s touch. :-)
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No Bake Caramel Cookies
Combine in sauce pan:
2 C. sugar
3/4 C butter
2/3 C. evaporated milk
Bring to a rolling boil, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat and add:
1 4 oz. pkg. instant butterscotch pudding mix (may be 3.5 oz.)
3 1/2 C. quick-cooking rolled oats
Mix thoroughly. Cool 15 minutes. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined tray.
Makes 5 doz. cookies
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This is the way I made them when they finally turned out for me, and the ones which my brother about swooned over. ;-)



No Bake Chocolate Caramel Butterscotch Cookies
3/4 C. of butter
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 3.5 oz. pkg. cook and serve butterscotch pudding mix
3 1/2 cups mixed quick-cooking rolled oats, old fashioned rolled oats and unsweetened coconut
2-3 handfuls of bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)
Place butter in heavy sauce pan and heat over lowish heat till almost completely melted, stirring often. Add sweetened condensed milk and bring to a rolling boil over medium heat stirring constantly. (This is important as it will start burning quite easily.)
Remove from heat. Add butterscotch pudding mix and stir well. Add oats and coconut and mix well. Allow to cool about 5-8 minutes. Add chocolate chips and stir briefly. Do Not stir them in well or they will completely melt and your cookies will be something a little different – the butterscotch will not be as distinct of a flavor.
Drop on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls. Allow to cool completely before serving. I recommend putting them in the refrigerator or freezer for a while, especially in warm weather.
Store in frig in a sealed container with waxed paper between layers. I put some in the freezer, but I don’t know how they will turn out when thawed. Probably they will be fine.
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If you try my version of this recipe please let me know how it turns out for you. I’m hoping this may be a more foolproof method that will turn out well with more consistency, at least for those of us who don’t have the “magic touch”. :-)

National Taffy Day

Today is National Taffy Day. In honor of this auspicious occasion, I wanted to post a link to a recipe for making pulled taffy. The first page gives detailed instructions, and after reading and/or doing this you will probably be able to make other recipes more effectively. I have never tried making pulled taffy myself, but I grew up reading books that talked about it because I read a lot of old books. Pulling taffy was much more common in past times. (Television, computer games, etc. have deprived us of a lot of good, honest fun.)

How to Pull Taffy Candy (Please disregard the ads at this site.)

Old Fashioned Pull Taffy – This recipe looks more appetizing. Maybe it would be good to use this recipe and follow the instructions from the page above.

Also, remember that in the old books it was common to describe pulling taffy as a job for a least two people. You may want to get a friend to help you on this one. :-)