Sparkly White Chocolate Lemon Truffles ~ How Sweet It Is

From my gal over at howsweetitis, here is one of her delicious creations.  These look divine!

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/12/sparkly-white-chocolate-lemon-truffles/

Ingredients:

10 ounces high-quality white chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon corn syrup
1 drop lemon extract or pure lemon oil
the zest of half a lemon
white sanding sugar for coating

Directions:

Add white chocolate and butter to a bowl, then microwave on medium power for 30 seconds. Stir a few times, then microwave for 20 more seconds.

Add heavy cream and corn syrup to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat just until bubbles appear on the edges. This will happen quickly! Immediately pour the cream over the melted chocolate and butter, stirring well for a few minutes until combined. Stir in the drop of lemon oil and lemon zest, mixing to combine. Place in the fridge (or even the freezer) for 1-2 hours.

Remove from fridge and scoop out teaspoon-size balls of chocolate with a melon scooper or small spoon. Roll them into balls and dip in the sanding sugar, coating completely. These hold up great at room temperature but I tend to store them in the fridge.

Needham Candy ~ A Maine Tradition

Growing up in Maine with a grammy who always baked, one of my old favorites she would make were a delicious, creamy, coconut candy called Needhams.  Unlike a Mounds Bar, the difference is that Maine Needhams have potato in the recipe, which adds a lovely creaminess to the texture.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup mashed potatoes ( not seasoned)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 (1 lb) packages confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 (7 ounce) bags flaked coconut
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 (12 ounce) packages chocolate chips
• 4 unsweetened chocolate squares
• 1/2 paraffin wax block, the same paraffin you melt to use on top jam ( 2 1/2 by 2 1/2)

Directions

1. Pare, cook, and mash potato to make three-quarters of a cup.
2. Add salt.
3. Using double boiler place butter in it and melt over boiling water.
4. Add mashed potato, confectioners sugar, flaked coconut, and vanilla.
5. Mix well and turn into a buttered jelly roll pan and spread evenly.
6. Place in a cool place to harden.
7. When hard, cut into small squares.
8. For the dipping chocolate, again use a double boiler.
9. Place paraffin in the top over boiling water to melt.
10. Then add the two kinds of chocolate and allow to melt.
11. Stir well to mix ingredients.
12. Dip in the chocolate mixture (with a fork, toothpick, or cake tester–I use a fork and put the square on top of the tines and dip it, letting the excess chocolate drip off before I lay it on the waxed paper).
13. Hold each square over the chocolate mixture after dipping so the square drains well (I usually will have to reheat the chocolate inbetween dippings so it is nice and thin and drips of easily).
14. Place on waxed paper to harden.
15. Should make about 66 good sized needhams.
16. This halves easily.

English Toffee – God Save the Queen!

Sweet, creamy, buttery goodness.  Shut up!

Imagine not a single bar, but an entire pan of this stuff laid out in front of you.  Yeah, it’s really that bananas to see a pound or more of English toffee awaiting to be inhaled.  The best part of this is that it’s really easy to make if you have a candy thermometer and a roll of parchment paper.

It might be worth mentioning that adding 1 pint of Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice cream can really send you over the edge of goodness.  I’m just sayin’.

English Toffee

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen (revised)

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

Cook Time:

10 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

about 40 pieces

Ingredients

• 14 tablespoons (1 stick, plus 6 tablespoons) butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Dash salt
• 1 (6-ounce) bag Ghiridelli milk chocolate chips

Directions

Generously butter a cookie sheet.

Put butter, sugar, and water in a heavy pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Bring to a bubbling boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove spoon from pan, and cook to a very brittle stage (300 degrees to 310 degrees F on a candy thermometer). Or, make a cold water test: candy will separate into hard, brittle threads when dropped in cold water. Remove from heat and add nuts to mixture. Add vanilla and salt. Pour onto prepared cookie sheet and spread to 1/4-inch thickness. Cool slightly, top with chocolate chips, and spread as it melts. Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.