Truffles...oh so EASY!

Truffles, like a lot of candy making can be intimidating. VERY intimidating.

Even for someone like me...a kind of self-proclaimed "foodie"...I have always been a little scared...or I guess more apprehensive of trying to make them. In order to find a winning recipe to start my truffle adventure with, I went to the most reliable baking/cooking/candy source I know--Betty Crocker :)

I have now found out what I have been missing all this time! There is absolutely nothing to be scared of. As long as you can be patient and attentive, there is no way you can mess it up! I made them for the first time to take to a girl's day with some friends...I figured chocolate would go over well! I loved them so much, I made a different variation to give to a friend for her birthday last Tuesday. They're just so super easy and fancy....love it!

So, for the recipe :)

Chocolate Truffles

(adapted from Betty Crocker's Marvelous Chocolate Truffles)

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or 12 oz. semisweet baking chocolate

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

4 Tbsp. butter

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

sprinkles, nuts, other toppings

Melt chocolate, heavy whipping cream, and butter in a heavy saucepan on low heat or over a double boiler.

Once completely melted, cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes or until firm, stirring occasionally. Take out and scoop and roll into balls. Place on foil or wax paper lined baking sheet. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. Take out and dip in melted chocolate or peanut butter chips. Sprinkle toppings over melted chocolate shell before it cools.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles

(adapted from the BHG New Cookbook)

1 cup dark chocolate chips

2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

6 Tablespoons seedless raspberry preserves or jam

cocoa powder, chopped nuts, sprinkles, edible glitter, other toppings

In a double boiler or in a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt the dark chocolate chips and heavy cream together. Remove from heat and stir in seedless raspberry preserves. Allow to cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes or until firm, stirring occasionally. Using a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon, portion the truffle mixture and roll into balls. Place on foil or wax paper lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and roll in toppings.

My personal fav is the red one in the back...rolled in EDIBLE GLITTER...yes there is such a thing...A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Enjoy, and take a bite!

Chocolate and Family Recipes

One of my favorite cookbooks I own (and I have quite the collection!) is one put together by my mom that includes pages and pages of family recipes from my dad's family. When she and my aunts first had the idea to put it together, they "borrowed" my grandma's recipes for a couple of months (she was not pleased--even though she never used them!) , stood over my grandma while she was cooking and write down recipes as she made them, and collected multiple stories, pictures and recipes from family and close friends. It truly is a treasure to have all these recipes that evoke so many good memories of holidays, fishing trips, butchering, and most importantly family time! I know that all of the recipes in this book will be delicious, because I personally know who contributed it! If you haven't done it, I encourage you to collect family recipes...because you may not always have grandma around to make her famous apple strudel anymore!

One of my favorite go-to recipes comes from my Aunt Kelly via this cookbook. It is titled 30 minute brownies but also is known as Texas Sheet Cake. It is SUPER simple and I always have the ingredients on hand. It is a more cakey brownie, but rich and super moist. It is great to take to potlucks or have around when people come to visit. I made them a few weeks ago for my bible study group and they loved them!

30-Minute Brownies

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1 cup softened butter (in my aunt's recipe, it calls for 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup oil...I personally like it better with all butter)

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. soda

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease and flour a jelly roll pan (15"x10"). Sift flour and sugar together in a large bowl. Bring water and cocoa to a boil in a small saucepan.

Pour cocoa mixture over sugar and flour. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well, either by hand or with a mixer. Pour in prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool and make the frosting.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

4 Tbsp. cocoa

5 Tbsp. buttermilk

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

In saucepan, bring butter, cocoa and buttermilk to a boil. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix well. Pour over brownies and spread to cover completely.

Also, my project for tonight is chocolate truffles that I'm making for a get-together with some good friends on Saturday. After the weekend, I will post the details for those :)

Enjoy, and take a bite!

Cupcakes!

cupcakes.

They may be one of the most wonderful things in the world! Little cupcake shops with literally gazillions of flavors are a huge trend right now...and I know many people are hoping this isn't just a trend.

Personally, I love making cupcakes because they are so easy to experiment with. I can try new ideas and flavor combinations without having to go through the whole process of making a layer cake. They are also great to have at a party or get-together as they're pretty easy to eat and not that messy. So naturally, a cupcake recipe is the first recipe I will share. It is my "latest and greatest". I have made these cupcakes for a friends birthday, as Valentine's Day party at work, as "valentine's" for my friends when I visited in Ames, and I will be making them for a wedding in April. Sometimes I make the batter from scratch; other times I use a cake mix, especially if I'm short on time.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Batter using Cake Mix:

1 white cake mix

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with liners. Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, and buttermilk until completely mixed. Gently stir in white chocolate chips. Fill liners about 2/3 full (using an ice cream scoop works well for me!) Bake for 17-19 minutes, until golden brown

Homemade Batter:

White Chocolate Chip Vanilla Buttermilk Cake, adapted from Sky High

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup buttermilk

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line cupcake pans with liners. Combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Blend on low for 30 seconds. Add butter and buttermilk. Whisk eggs and vanilla together and then add in 2-3 additions to batter. Gently stir in white chocolate chips. Fill each cup approximately 2/3 full. Bake for 17-19 minutes, until golden brown.

Allow to cool completely, you can also make these in advance and freeze them until ready to fill and frost.

Raspberry Filling:

This makes about 4 cups. You won't need that much to fill all the cupcakes (will probably need about half). BUT, this is yummy over ice cream, mixed with fruit, and some other desserts (hopefully one of which I will post about soon), so it's okay to make the full batch :)

16 oz frozen raspberries

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup water

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. Raspberry liquor (optional)

Place frozen raspberries in a bowl and allow to thaw. Mash until no big pieces are left. In a saucepan, whisk together sugar, water, and cornstarch. Add raspberries. Heat to boiling over medium high heat, stirring as necessary. Boil and stir for an additional 1-2 minutes. Turn heat to low and add lemon juice and raspberry liquor. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer if you don't want seeds in your sauce. Allow to cool until ready to use.

This process kind of gets messy...but is fun! Once filling is cooled, place in pastry bag with a tip (I use a wilton number 10 or 12 tip...just a round one with a medium sized opening). Stick the tip into a cupcake and squeeze filling in as you lift it out. Continue until all the cupcakes are filled. If some filling gets on top of cupcake, take off with a spoon.

Frost with buttercream (recipe follows).

Buttercream:

this is my buttercream recipe, feel free to use your favorite...

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

**sometimes I will add raspberry liquor instead of the vanilla

4 Tbsp. milk

Cream butter and slowly add powdered sugar. Add flavoring. Add milk a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

enjoy, and take a bite!

New to Blogging!

Soooo, this being my first blog entry, I guess I'll share a little about why I created it. I wanted a place to share my recipes, kitchen adventures...successes...and mistakes, and my love for baking and cooking. I hope that by having this blog, I am able to record the things I create; and that possibly others will be able to use them as a starting block...or at least I'll have a place to come back to when I want to make something again!

Always remember...Life is sweet, so go ahead and take a bite!