BUCKEYE CANDY BALLS
Today is ‘National Candy Day’. Howa about trying this tasty treat called ‘Buckeye Candy’. This recipe was developed to resemble the fruit of the Buckeye tree which is indigenous to the State of Ohio. I was just there recently but forgot to look for the Buckeye tree. The recipe below is a tasty treat and is related to ‘Rice Krispy Squares’ – there are just more tasty ingredients in them.
Buckeye Balls are great to eat and make nice gifts too. Try them for an extra treat for Thanksgiving!
INGREDIENTS: EQUIPMENT:
1/4 cup unsalted Butter Large Saucepan
5 cups Marshmallows Wooden Spoon
1cup Peanut Butter Chips Waxed Paper
1 cup Mini-Chocolate Chips Candy Bags or Plate
4 cups Rice Krispies®
Liquid Margarine or Soft Butter
DIRECTIONS:
- Melt the Butter in the Saucepan over low heat.
- Add the Marshmallows and stir constantly with the wooden spoon until the Marshmallows are completely melted; stir in the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips.
- Remove from the heat and add the Rice Krispies®; mix until the Krispies are completely coated with the melted Marshmallow mixture.
- Spread the Liquid Margarine or Soft Butter on your hands and then shape the Candy into Balls about the size of Ping Pong Balls.
- Place the shaped Candy onto a sheet of waxed paper or a glass plate. When cooled, place in a plastic bag or covered plate for storage or just serve and eat right away!!
Yield: About 20 Pieces
Categories: Dessert Ideas, Food as Gifts, Holiday Ideas, National Food Days Tags: Candy, Chocolate, Dessert Ideas, Food Gifts, kids cooking, Marshmallows, National Food Days, Peanut Butter, Rice Krispies, Treats
‘National Truffle Day’
NATIONAL FOOD DAYS
May 2nd – ‘National Truffle Day’
Since Wednesday, May 2nd is ‘National Truffle Day’ I decided to make the centers for some Truffles which I will serve to my Mah Jong Group on Wednesday. For the Truffles, I had a small piece of Milk Chocolate and a pound piece of White Chocolate. For the Centers of the truffles, I used a couple of Ganache Recipes that I had that were intended for cakes.
White Chocolate Ganache – this recipe was originally intended for a cake, so the resulting mixture was just a little too soft in that it was supposed to be spread on the cake. I used half the original recipe as follows:
150 grams White Chocolate, chopped – (I actually shredded it with my shredding blade; chopping would have been simpler)
Shredded White Chocolate
90 grams of Heavy Cream
2 tsps. Vanilla Extract
45 grams unsalted Butter, softened
The above ingredients were combined in my food processor and run until everything was well-combined. The mixture was then chilled. Of course, it became too cold and I had to microwave it for about 30 seconds and then whipped it up with a hand whisk.
Melted White Chocolate - Whisked until smooth
The ideal way would have been to:
1. Heat the Cream with the chopped Chocolate and Butter.
2. Pour into a shallow dish and chill thoroughly and then whip it up in the food processor along with the Vanilla Extract.
Because the resulting mixture was too soft to scoop and roll into balls I ended up adding about 3/8 cup of unsweetened Cocoa and mixing it in. The result was a mixture that I could scoop, roll and dip into melted chocolate.
I placed the scooped portions of the Ganache onto a baking sheet that was covered in powdered sugar. When I finished scooping, I placed the balls of chocolate Ganache in the freezer until the next day when I dipped them in melted chocolate. The lighter colored truffles are the Milk Chocolate ones while the darker ones are the White Chocolate fortified with Cocoa.
Shaped Truffles on Baking Sheet coated with Powdered Sugar
I melted Wilton Melt ‘n Molds to coat the Truffles with. Using this kind of chocolate saves a lot of time and trouble, because if you use the same chocolate that was used for the centers, you have to take the time to temper it. Unless you are experienced with tempering, it can be a bit of a problem. While I was dipping the Truffles, the melting chocolate seemed to be getting a little too thick so I added just a bit of heavy cream to the melted chocolate. I figured there was enough butterfat in the cream to keep the chocolate from siezing up. Wrong! Don’t do it! If you want to thin out your chocolate use a little bit of vegetable or shortening chips designed especially for this purpose. (These can be purchased at a cake decorating store)
Seized Up Chocolate
There is actually plastic wrap in the bowl so that I would be able to get the chocolate out. I had to remove the siezed up chocolate from my warmer. Once it completely solidified, I just put the whole thing in a plastic bag and put it aside for a later use.
For variety and also for those people who want a little less candy or chocolate, I dipped some into shredded unsweetened Coconut that was finely cut. I also rolled some of the chocolate dipped truffles in the Coconut as well.
Dipped Truffles on Rack
Dipped Truffles on Waxed Paper
The first batch that I dipped I placed on a rack; they were difficult to get off once the chocolate hardnened, so I switched to waxed paper. The coated truffles released easily from the waxed paper.
Truffles in Box
Since I wasn’t going to use the Truffles for a couple of days, I placed them in a plastic box with a doily on the bottom and refrigerated them. To serve I will place on a pretty plate with gold doilies.
Having sampled a couple of these Truffles, I know that they are truly delicioius and if you are a chocolate lover, they are a dream.
Of course you can get your truffles without nearly as much fuss by going down to your local Godiva or Sees Candy Store and purchasing some. But think of the fun you are missing!
Categories: Dessert Ideas, Food as Gifts, Holiday Ideas, Main, National Food Days Tags: Candy, Chocolate, Chocolate Coating, Coconut, Gold Sanding Sugar, Milk Chocolate, Truffles, White Chocolate
National Caramel Day
Caramel Lovers, Beware! April 5th is National Caramel Day and who doesn’t like Caramels? Not everyone loves them, but I can’t imagine not liking them. Caramel can come in many forms. Candy, Sauce, Toppings for Ice Cream, Covering for Apples and glue for Popcorn. Incidentally, tomorrow April 3rd is National Caramel Popcorn Day. In addition to sweets caramelization also occurs in cooked food such as onions, apples, even meats. Caramelization adds wonderful flavor to most foods and all it takes is a little bit of sugar and some heat. With some foods, like onions, the sugar occurs naturally and does not have to be added to get the caramelization.
Many popular candy bars are made with Caramel; just go look in the supermarket candy section and you will discover which ones.
A favorite South American Cookie, called Alfajores is also made with Caramel of Dulce de Leche as it is known in Latin Countries. Alfajores are a vanilla cookies sandwiched with Caramel in the middle.
You can buy Caramel Candy in the Supermarket, at the Drugstore or the Candy Store. It just depends in what form you would like to have it. One of my favorites are caramel covered marshmallows. Just heavenly and even better when you keep them in the freezer.
Caramel Covered Marshmallow
To make Caramel, the general way to do it is to melt some sugar in a saute pan (copper is best, but stainless with a copper or aluminum bottom will also work.) over medium-high heat. Once it melts and starts to color, remove from the heat until you are ready to finish it. When you are ready, add some very heavy cream and cook and stir until all the ingredients are combined. This will results in a very delicious Caramel Sauce.
Since today was National Caramel Day, I also made some Cashew Caramel. To make the Caramel, I heated some granulated sugar in a medium fring pan until it liquified and then I added a small amount of heavy cream. Once the Cream was blended in, I then added the Cashews (roasted, salted ones). Once all the Cashews were covered with the Caramel, I poured the mixture onto a non-stick baking sheet that was placed on a cookie sheet. The mixture was then allowed to set up. If you love Caramel and Cashews as I do, then this is a very good confection to have.
Melting the Sugar
Caramel Cashew
For Caramel Apples and Popcorn Balls, try the Easy Caramel Recipe under our Recipe Section, candy/caramel/
For more Caramel, don’t forget that April 6th is National Caramel Popcorn Day. Another American favorite!
Categories: Dessert Ideas, Food as Gifts, Holiday Ideas, Holiday Meals, Main Tags: butter, Candy, Caramel, Children's Cooking, Cookie Recipes, Cookies, Cream, Dessert Ideas, National Caramel Day, National Caramel Popcorn Day, Sugar
