Saturnalia Candy

Well, it's been an extremely LONG time since I've posted anything.  Today I'll probably be posting twice because there are some things I'm fairly proud of.  Some general updates on my life...

1.  I moved into a house in September.  I LOVE my house an the kitchen was the REAL selling point.  It's just a fantastic kitchen.  It has TONS of counter space.  Jess and I can both work in the kitchen on different things and have plenty of room without even bumping into each other unless we're both trying to use the stove top at the same time.

2.  I got a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer!  I have to have the most amazing boss in the world.  The Monday before Christmas we were at work and Rex (my boss) came by my office and asked if I wanted to walk across campus with him.  I said sure, he said to grab my keys.  As we got out the door he asked, "How would a used Kitchen Aid stand mixer work?"  I stopped, stunned and asked if he was serious.  Apparently, one of his sisters had one and had only used it once and didn't want or need it so he took it for me!! :)  It's basically brand new!!  Unbelievable!!  I didn't know how to respond I was so shocked.  BEST DAY EVER!!  I wrote his sister a thank you note and today I'm baking bread to take to him tomorrow as a thank you, but that's a later post.

So anyway, this year I decided I wanted to make Saturnalia candy (Most people would say "Christmas Candy" but I don't discriminate so I prefer to celebrate the "Feast of Saturnalia") to thank the ladies who work in our office.  That candy is below.  CRAZY easy to make and DELICIOUS!! I got the recipes out of a Frito-Lay Dessert Cookbook (Funny story, I have three copies of this cookbook because my folks gave me one at Thanksgiving and forgot.  They then gave me a copy of it for Christmas and my sister gave me a copy.  Hahahah.  Guess they REALLY REALLY wanted me to have it.)

So first, I made Puppy Chow.  My friend, Craig, use to make this when I was in Grad School and My mom made it a few times when I was a kid to take to various carry-in dinners but she used to serve it in a clean dog bowl because she thought that was funny.

Puppy Chow

Ingredients:  1/2 jar of peanut butter, rice chex (1 box), 1/2 lb of powdered sugar, 1 stick of butter, 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Put the bag of chocolate chips in a bowl.

Add the stick of butter, cut into smaller pieces, and 1/2 the jar of peanut butter.  Microwave until melted.

This is after about 1 minute.  Stir it and put it on for 30 seconds more until you can stir it together.

This is what it looks like all stirred together.  YUMMY, I wanted to just take the spoon and eat this delicious peanut butter cup soup (that's what it tastes like), but I had to control myself.

Put your Chex in a huge bowl (this is a red one I got when I worked at EMU for some party or something... every time I use it I think of EMU and my friends and former staff there.  Makes me Michigan home sick).   Pour the chocolate/peanut butter mixture over the rice and then stir.

This is all stirred together.  This stuff is addicting.  I don't recommend making it for yourself.  ONLY  make it if you plan to take it somewhere and leave it. I even encourage taking it in a throw-away dish, but whatever you do, do NOT bring home left overs. 

Pour the powdered sugar over it and stir it until it's all coated in the sugar.  That way you can eat it without getting your fingers all goopey.  That's it.  It's DELICIOUS, but remember do NOT make it for yourself -- give it away SOON.

Oreo Truffles

I made Oreo Truffles, but I didn't take as many pictures. 

Ingredients:  1 bag of Oreos, 1 8 ounce block of cream cheese softened, 2 bags of white chocolate chips.

Put the Oreos in your food processor and process into crumbs.  Add the softened cream cheese until it makes a paste-like dough.  

Roll into small 1 inch balls and put on waxed paper.  You'll have several.  Refrigerate them over night.  I tried dipping them after 2 hours, but they were too crumbly.  So, wait over night or at least 3 hours.  These I actually did about four days later.

Melt the white chocolate chips over a double boiler.  I didn't have one so I made one.  Don't ask about the skewers.  I removed them before dipping. 

This is how it looks all liquidy.   Do NOT try to lick that spoon after stirring.. it's HOT.  You WILL burn your tongue.  Don't ask how I know, just TRUST me. 

I don't have any finished shots of these, some how I got distracted and didn't do them, but they are DELICIOUS.  I strongly encourage you to make them. 

English Toffee:

Ingredients:  2 sticks of butter, 1 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of water, one teaspoon of Vanilla, and three Hershey plain chocolate bars (I substituted for chocolate chips because that's what I had, but trust me use the Hershey bars) and one cup of your favorite nut -- I used Cashews, but not here. 

Cut up your butter and put it, the sugar, and water in a sauce pan (a heavy one) over medium to medium-high heat.  Slow cooking is the best way otherwise it will get a head of you.  Stirring constantly.

Keep stirring.  When every thing is melted together turn the heat to medium-high and keep stirring.  It will get really bubbly.  Just keep stirring.  What you're doing is slowly browning the butter which is what gives the toffee the delicious nutty-sweet flavor. 

Doesn't that look DELICIOUS?? It's fantastic.  Don't taste it now, though.  You'll burn your tongue.  Don't ask how I know, but TRUST me.  (Notice a theme??).  While it's boiling, you'll want to make sure to line a 9/13 baking dish with aluminum foil and butter the foil. 

 

 When it gets this light tan color and loses the yellow tinge, remove it from the heat and add 1 tsp of Vanilla.  Stir ti together, then add nuts if you want.  The candy will begin pulling away from the sides of the pan once it's off the heat and will try to form a ball.  Don't let it. 

This is the color it should be after the vanilla is mixed in.

Immediately pour it into your prepared foil lined pan.  Spread it around to the edges.

 

As soon as you spread it in the pan put the chocolate on top of it (remember Hershey bars not chocolate chip -- mainly because milk chocolate makes a better topping than the semi-sweet, but all I had on hand was semi-sweet).  It will immediately begin to melt and you'll be able to spread it like icing.  Once it's all spread, sprinkle it with nuts (If you used them) and put it in the refrigerator to cool.  When it's all cooled, you can lift the foil out of the pan and peel it right off.  Then break it into pieces and enjoy!!

That's my Saturnalia Candy offerings!!  They were delicious!  I gave them all away!!  I would have posted this sooner, but I was enjoying my break and trying to stay off the computer.  

Enjoy!!