Candy Eggs

Happy Easter!

Since Easter is so early this year, I thought it would be great to make a fake egg. I thought it would be a fitting April Fools Joke in connection with Easter. My oldest daughter helped me make the white part of the egg. My younger children saw us making these eggs. After I assembled them, I placed them on the plate. My husband walked in the kitchen and saw them. He didn't realize they were fake. My younger children were fooled too. I made two different "yolks" since I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I think both ways were great. The original recipe calls for lemon curd but I wanted something else. I liked the results. 

Candy Eggs
2 cups of white candy melts
12 yellow gummy bears
12 yellow Starburst candy
4 orange Starburst candy

Directions:

1. Melt the white candy melt in the microwave. Stir often.
2. Pour the melted candy melts into plastic Easter eggs. Be generous.
3. Refrigerate the Easter eggs until the candy melts harden.
4. Carefully, remove the candy melts from the Easter eggs by gently squeezing the sides of the eggs. Some will break but it will just add to the appearance of the eggs.

1. To make the lighter yolk, melt the yellow gummy bears in the microwave for about 10 seconds at a time. (I only used 2 bears at a time.) Once pliable, carefully place the hot bears on top of the candy melts making a ball to look like yolk. Allow to harden.

1. To make the darker yolk, melt 3 yellow Starburst with 1 orange Starburst at a time. 
2. Mix the Starburst together until the colors have been incorporated. 
3. Carefully add the Starburst candy on top of the candy melt forming a ball. 

Serve to unexpecting people.Recipe adapted from What's New Cupcake? by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. 

One year ago.........................I made Spaghetti and Meatball cupcakes.

Did you already know...........
-Eggs and birds have been around longer than humans.
-In 1400 B.C., records view birds have been domesticated by the Egyptian and Chinese. 
-In 1493, Christopher Columbus brought chickens to America.

I wish you luck tomorrow on spotting hoaxes. Have fun!

Mars Alien Cupcakes not Pluto

Have you seen any aliens lately? I figure I'll see a few next week on Halloween. Well, my sister made these aliens and brought them over. My daughters thought they looked adorable. I'll remind them of their comment when if we are invaded. Cute? Not scary?

One thing about these aliens are they are tasty. I know some people are into trying strange cuisine but I don't think I'll ever try real alien in my lifetime. Would you if they were edible? Or would you be finicky and only prefer aliens from Mars but not Pluto?

Alien Cupcakes
24 cupcakes
2 cups of frosting
1 package of candy melts
4 strings of black licorice, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 black food pen or candy or sunflower seed (for the eyes) 

1. Crumble 12 cupcakes in a bowl.
2. Stir in 1 cup of frosting into the crumbled cupcakes. Mix well.
3. Roll the cupcake mixture into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls.
4. Place the balls on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
5. Take the cake balls out of the freezer and add a little frosting to the bottom of the ball. 
6. Place the frosting side down onto a cupcake. Press well.
7. Place the cupcakes with the cupcake ball into the freezer for at least 1 hour or overnight. 
8. Add water to pot with a heat proof bowl on top of the pot to make a double boiler.
9. Place the candy melts in the heat proof bowl and stir until melted. Remove from burner.
10. Take a few of the cupcakes from the freezer.
11. Dip the chilled cupcake upside down into the bowl quickly into the melted candy to coat. 
12. Carefully place the cupcake onto a plate to cool. Be careful not to remove to many of the cupcakes from the freezer at a time of the cake ball will fall off the cupcake. 
13. Stir the melted candy melts between cupcake dips. If the candy starts to harden, reheat or make goblins or crazy looking aliens. 

Recipe adapted from Hello, Cupcake! cookbook by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson.

One year ago...........I made Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes.

Did you already know...
-Currently, Mars can be seen low in the southwest at dusk.
-The surface of Mars can be seen in detail from Earth.
-This month, NASA's rover Curiosity is taking samples of soil on Mars and analyzing it.

Chocolate Cookies

We always decorate cookies at Christmas time but when I saw this posting I figured it was time to create some monsters. 

I wanted to use a dark cookie since I thought it was more appropriate for Halloween. Since the cookies are pretty plain tasting by themselves, I wanted a sweet filling. My daughter just happen to place the jar of Nutella on the counter. I think she thought she needed to take a spoonful to make sure the newly opened jar still tasted good. After I assembled the cookies with the Nutella filling, we created our monsters using candy corns, Reese's pieces, marshmallows, and other candies. The kids loved it. Don't be afraid to make some crazy cookies!

Chocolate Cookies (1 1/2 dozen cookies)
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 egg yolk
4 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium  bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.
2. In another bowl, cream the butter with the sugars until fluffy.
3. Into the creamed butter, add the egg, egg yolk, chocolate, and vanilla until incorporated.
4. Slowly, add the flour and beat until just combined.
5. Shape into a disk and refrigerate for 1 hour. (The dough will feel really soft.)
6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
8. On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough to 1/8 thickness.
9. Cut out 2 inch circles. 
10. Space the circles onto the parchment paper 1 inch apart.
11. Bake the cookies for about 7 to 9 minutes or until set.
12. Allow the cookies to cool before filling.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies

Nutella Filling
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup Nutella spread
1-2 Tbsp milk

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, cream the butter.
2. Add the sugar and incorporate well.
3. Add the Nutella to the butter mixture. Mix well.
4. Add 1 Tbsp milk and mix. Add more milk until the desired filling consistency. 

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris. 

One year ago I made................Sloppy Joes (even with a funny face).

Did you already know...
-The fear of Halloween is called Samhainophobia.
-The fear of the color black is Melanophobia.
-The fear of teenagers is called Ephebiphobia.

What to do on a rainy day! The Artist!

Texas Pralines

When I tasted these candies, I knew I've had them before. They were creamy and delicious. This recipe was picked by Shawnda from Confections of a foodie bride for The Project Pastry Queen. I will say I love The Pastry Queen Cookbook but the cookbook doesn't always have pictures. My oldest daughter helped me drop the candy onto the waxed paper. I said to her, "Do you think this is how they are suppose to look?" She wasn't sure so I went and goggled images of Pralines. I had done it correctly and then I saw some chocolate covered Pralines. I took a few of the candies when they had cooled slightly and formed them into squares. Then I just dipped them into melted chocolate. These candies are great without the chocolate but the chocolate make them oh so much better.

 I have been giving these candies away to anyone who has been over to visit. My Dad just stopped by and I offered him one. After some, coaxing he said he would try one but only one. I saw him take two more. I offered him one of the chocolate covered ones and he preferred them without the chocolate. My husband who is not a fan of nuts liked them a lot. The majority liked them with the chocolate. Besides adding chocolate to a few of the candies, I substituted the corn syrup with agave syrup. (My grocery store sells agave syrup in the baking aisle. I purchased my pecans from the whole food bins in the grocery store since it is cheaper then purchasing them in the prepackaged bags.)

Texas Pralines
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups sugar
2 Tbsp agave syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
 2 1/2 cups whole pecans, toasted
(chocolate, melted if desired)

Directions:

1. In a 4 quart pot, combine the buttermilk, baking soda, sugar, agave syrup, and butter.
2. Cook slowly over medium heat. Stir occasionally.
3. Cook until the mixture reaches between 234 and 240 degrees F.
4. Remove the pot from the heat.
5. Add the vanilla and pecans.
6. Using a mixer, beat the candy for about 3 minutes or until the candy starts to lose its shine and starts to become creamy.
7. Drop the candy by the tablespoon onto wax paper.
8. Allow the candies to cool thoroughly before wrapping them individually in plastic wrap or dipping in chocolate.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen.

 Did you already know...
- French Pralines have almonds in them.
-The French settles in Louisiana substituted the almonds with pecans.
-The American Pralines are softer than the European versions.