Holiday baking

I haven't done much in the way of holiday the last couple of years but now that I'm home that changed this year. Kim and her bf Jeff came over to do candy coated pretzels. So easy and so tasty. You buy almond bark, melt it in the microwave and drop pretzels in and use a chopstick to fish them out and shake off the excess candy and set it on a cookie sheet to dry. This year I bought sprinkles to put on top so they're much prettier. A wonderful combination of salty and sweet.

Nancy and I went to her mom's house a couple of times to make holiday fudge and peanut butter junk. Sorry I don't have those recipes. The peanut butter tastes like a better peanut butter cup!

A few years ago I went to Barb's in December and she turned me on to soda cracker candy aka fake almond rocca. It is so good! The bottom tastes like toffee and basically the cracker holds together the chocolate and the toffee and gives it a nice texture.

1/2 lb unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
saltines (aka soda cracker)
chocolate chips
chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Different recipes call for different amounts of crackers or chocolate but it all depends on the ... Read Moresize of the pan. Line a cookie sheet (the kind with an edge) with aluminum foil and either butter or use cooking spray. Line cookie sheet with crackers edge to edge (break some crackers to make crackers go to the edge). Melt butter and brown sugar in a pot until it boils. Boil for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Pour over crackers and use spatula to spread out evenly.

Put in the oven and boil for 6 to 7 minutes until you see the mixture bubble. Take out of the oven and pour a layer of chocolate chips over the top. Does not need to be entirely covered because you will put it in the oven for one more minute to soften the chocolate and pull out and use spatula to spread evenly. You can spread chopped nuts over the top if you wish. I prefer without the nuts. You can cool countertop or in the fridge. Once cooled break it into pieces and eat! Delish!

I saw this recipe on allrecipes.com. It's for a peppermint meringue. I love that website because there are a bunch of revews on the different recipes.

2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 peppermint candy canes, crushed
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with foil.

In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until whites form stiff peaks. It takes awhile to get to the proper consistency, you want it white and creamy. At the very end I added the peppermint extract as recommended by others. Fold it in gently. Drop by spoonfuls 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle crushed peppermint candy over the cookies. I actually put the meringue mixture in a ziploc bag and cut out a tiny bit of the corner and squeezed out the meringue.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours in preheated oven. Meringues should be completely dry on the inside. Do not allow them to brown. Turn off oven. Keep oven door ajar, and let meringues sit in the oven until completely cool. Loosen from foil with metal spatula. Store loosely covered in cool dry place for up to 2 months.
Nancy didn't really want me to make this, she doesn't like the consistency of meringues saying they have the consistency of cardboard but she said they were the best she's ever had and today they taste even better and are more chewy so the consistency doesn't bother her. Someone posted the following pic on the allrecipes site. She used a styrofoam cone and toothpicks to make an edible centerpiece. What a wonderful idea!

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About Leiha

I love to eat and sleep. One thing is more fun to blog about than the other. In between eating and sleeping I love to travel, spend time with my family and talk about myself. :)