Monthly Archives: December 2010

Angel Food

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If you ever wanted to attempt making candy, but were too intimidated to give it a try, this is an easy recipe to begin with.  The flavor of this crunchy candy is reminiscent of peanut brittle and Butterfingers.  My mother remembers my grandmother making tasty angel food for her when she was a child.

1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 pound milk chocolate

In a saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves.  Cook without further stirring until the temperature reaches 300 degrees.  Remove from heat and quickly stir in baking soda.  Pour into a 9 x 13 pan lined with foil.  Do not spread candy; mixture may not fill entire pan.  When cool, break into bite-sized pieces.  Dip pieces into melted chocolate and place on waxed paper until chocolate is hard.

After you’ve mastered angel food, check out a book on candy making if you’re feeling brave enough for further experimentation!

Healthy Snack

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food that matters cook book Looking for a healthy snack to counteract all of those delicious holiday treats you’ve been nibbling? Then take a look at Mark Bittman’s latest, The Food that Matters Cook Book, companion to his book, The Food that Matters.

The book has all sorts of recipes including main dishes and desserts but I found his suggestions about snacks to be surprisingly easy and tasty.

Pan Fried Chickpeas

1 Can of chickpeas, drained and dried thoroughly
3 T olive oil
Pinch of salt
1/2 T to 1T of one of the following: cayenne pepper, cumin, Chinese 5 spice, garam masala, smoked paprika, chili powder

Heat the oil in a saute pan large enough to accommodate all of the chickpeas in one layer over medium high heat. If you don’t have a pan large enough, fry the chickpeas in smaller batches. Fry the chickpeas until they’re slightly brown, shaking the pan a few times. It should take about 20 minutes. The chickpeas should have a slight crunch when done.

Once they’re evenly browned, pour the chickpeas into a bowl and toss with the spice of your choice.

Nosh happily.

Texas Sheet Cake

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I have been making this chocolate sheet cake for years.  The recipe is so simple and the finished product is delicious.   If you need to make a quick dessert, this is the one to try.

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

½ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 sticks margarine

4 tablespoons cocoa

1 Cup hot water

Frosting or Topping

1 stick margarine or butter

4 tablespoons cocoa

6 tablespoons buttermilk

1 pound box powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup nuts (chopped walnuts or pecans)

Cake:

Melt margarine, add cocoa and hot water.  Bring to a rapid boil.  Pour over dry ingredients.  Add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.  Bake in large cookie sheet (greased) for 15-20 minutes at 350 F.

Frosting:

Melt margarine or butter, add cocoa and buttermilk.  Bring to a boil; add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 cup nuts.  Mix thoroughly and place on cake while warm.  When cool, cut in bars.

White Cupcakes

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cupcakesI recently made cupcakes for a baby shower.  I wasn’t feeling very creative, so I decided to focus on tasty and pretty. My Mom has a great recipe for white cake that I use frequently. It makes a very soft, but flavorful cake, so you may find it easier to use for cupcakes than layer cakes. When it came time for icing, I used Wilton’s Buttercream Icing recipe, which I’ve found to have a nice consistency and taste. If you’re going to use a decorating bag and top your cupcakes with swirls of icing, make one batch of the Wilton’s recipe for every dozen cupcakes.

If you decide to get more adventurous than I did, check out some of these books from the library’s collection:

Cupcakes

Cake

Cake Decorating

 

White Cupcakes

2 cups flour

1½ cups sugar

3½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup shortening

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 egg whites

Beat sugar and shortening.  Alternate dry (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) and wet (milk, vanilla) ingredients.  Add egg whites.  Pour into cupcake pans 1/3 full.  Bake 20 minutes at 350F.

Oreo Cookie Truffles

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Oreo Cookie Truffles

These little truffles are simply to die for. I still can’t believe that the only ingredients are Oreos, cream cheese and chocolate.

 

Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 pound Oreo Cookies
1 pound milk or dark chocolate
1/2 pound white chocolate

Directions:

Grind Oreos to fine powder in food processor.   Blend cookie powder and cream cheese until thoroughly mixed (there should be no white traces of cream cheese). Roll into small or large balls and place on wax-lined cookie sheet. Chill 45 minutes.
Line two cookie sheets with wax paper. In double-boiler, melt milk or dark chocolate. Dip balls and coat thoroughly. With slotted spoon or fork, lift balls out of chocolate and let excess chocolate drip off. Place on wax-paper-lined cookie sheet.  Using a fork, drizzle melted white chocolate over balls. Let cool.
Store in airtight container, in refrigerator.