Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Divinity

When I was a kid, my family used to have candy making days around the holidays. We'd go over to my Grandma's house, or an aunt's house, divvy up the roles and duties, and make big batches of fudge, divinity, sugar cookies, rice crispy treats...all the yummy sugary things. And then everyone would split them and take them home.  Well, after all the fun I had with my friend Amy and our gumbo-making adventure, we decided that WE would have a candy-making day!

We decided on divinity, and pralines.  Today's post will talk about the divinity, and the praline post will go up later this week! (edited: It's up now, here's a link!)

Now, I have my Grandmother's recipe for divinity, but Amy was wanting to try a recipe from Sucre in New Orleans that looked super-yummy.  (For those who want it, I've shared my grandmother's recipe at the bottom of this post.)  The main difference between the recipe we tested is...Jello. My grandma always made "Jello divinity".  Called such because... you guessed it... it has Jello in the recipe.  Since divinity base is just vanilla flavored, using Jello is an easy way to add flavor--my Grandma always used cherry Jello.  Divinity is one of those finicky candies that really needs to be made on a day with very low humidity (preferably <50%).  Adding gelatin helps ensure that the candy sets up properly, and helps it to dry faster.  

To be honest, I'd never had NON-cherry flavored divinity. So I was interested in testing out Amy's recipe.  And we were completely delighted with the results.

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
3 egg whites, room temp (tip:  I made scrambled eggs for breakfast that morning, so I used the 3 egg yolks in that--no waste!)
1 packet Knox unflavored gelatin (we added this to the original recipe, to expedite drying)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup candy cane bits (I used crushed Starbrite mints)
16 oz bag dark chocolate (63% or higher) for melting 
Optional toppings: pecan halves, crushed peppermints
also need - parchment paper

DIRECTIONS:
First, I cannot reiterate this enough--you need a LOW HUMIDITY DAY. Below 50% is ideal.  My weather app said we had 60% on the day we did this and that worked out okay.  But part of the divinity process is letting it dry out--and if the air is too humid, that won't happen, and you'll have a sticky mess on your hands.

In a large non-reactive pot (stainless steel, glass, enamel, ceramic), combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Then heat to 250*F.  Don't stir until 2/3 of the mixture has melted and become transparent.  Once you hit this point, you can put your egg whites in a stand mixture and beat them until stiff peaks form.  (Timing can be tricky, so it helps to have a second person to manage this.)  Use a candy thermometer to keep constant watch on your sugar/mix temp (or a probe-type thermometer affixed so it's not touching the bottom or sides of the pan).

Once you're at 250*F, add the gelatin to the egg whites, and then slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the egg whites while beating at a low speed (another reason a stand mixer is a must for this).  The syrup will "cook" the egg whites in the process.  Keep the syrup in the center of the bowl--if you get syrup on the bowl it will form crystals instead of combining with the divinity.  Increase the mixer speed to high once all the syrup has been added.and continue to whip until the mixture cools and looks slightly glossy.  

Then fold in the vanilla and the candy cane bits, and then you can either put it into a piping bag (FYI, this stuff is SUPER STICKY, like making marshmallows), or just drop it by spoonfuls onto the parchment paper.  If you're feeling fancy, drop some extra bits of candy cane onto the top, or top with some pecan halves.

Now...chill out.  Or go make pralines.  Because it's gonna be about 3 hours before these guys are dry enough to do anything with.

BUT...once they're dry, you can get ready to dip them!  Put the chocolate bits into a microwave safe bowl, nuke for 1 minute, stir, and then nuke for another 30 seconds or so, and stir again.  Use a small spatula (or your fingers) to dip the bottoms of the divinity one at a time into the chocolate, and then use the spatula to lift them out and place back on the parchment paper.  

Let set until chocolate is fully hardened. (They'll cool faster if it's cool in your kitchen. We generally keep our house around 68*F in the winter, but on this particular day, we did a self-cleaning cycle on our oven, so the kitchen was at about 74 degrees...I had to open a window to get the temperature to drop so that the chocolate would finally harden.)

We had some extra chocolate left over at the end, so we also tried dipping a few of the pralines, and made some pecan clusters.

Once fully dry, store in an airtight container.  This recipe made a BUNCH, so I divvied most of them up as gifts for my coworkers.

~~~

Grandma's Divinity

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup karo syrup

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

2 egg whites, room temp

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 small package of Cherry Jello

1. In 2-quart saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, water and salt. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat. Without stirring, cook over low heat (small to medium bubbles breaking across surface of liquid) until temperature on candy thermometer reaches 260°F or small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a hard ball which doesn’t flatten until pressed, about 40 minutes.
2. In large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Beating at high speed, gradually add hot syrup in a thin, steady stream. DO NOT SCRAPE SIDE OF SAUCEPAN. Continue beating at high speed until mixture begins to lose its gloss, about 3 minutes.
3. Reduce speed to low. Beat in vanilla. Continue beating at low speed until mixture holds a peak and does not spread when dropped from a spoon, about 8 minutes. (If mixture becomes too stiff for mixer, beat with wooden spoon.) Immediately stir in nuts.
4. Working quickly, drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper* Let stand until set. Store in tightly-covered container.

Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole

I made this dish for Christmas last year, and now I think it's my "signature" dish that I'm required to bring to all holiday functions.  Even the kiddos loved it (who previously wouldn't eat sweet potatoes)-- "it tastes like pie!" they told me.  Honestly, I didn't eat sweet potatoes at the holidays until I was in college--even that weird coating of marshmallows couldn't entice this kid to try them.  However, if the sweet potato casserole at my family functions would have looked like this, I probably would have tried them a lot sooner!

Looks more like my mom's apple crisp, and less like somebody baked a box of Lucky Charms.

This is also great if you have to travel for the holidays--you can make the two parts separately ahead of time, refrigerate, and then put the topping on the casserole when you get where you're going and just bake for 30 minutes.

What I also love?  This is SUPER easy to make.  Even with a fussy 2 month old in the next room.  AND you can take super-cute Christmas photos of him after you put the casserole in the oven.

INGREDIENTS:

filling:

3 cups cooked & mashed sweet potatoes

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs

1/2 cup half & half

topping:

1 stick butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Start with the topping, as you'll want to chill it after all the ingredients have been combined--this results in a beautifully crisp crumble topping.

Combine the topping ingredients in a medium sized bowl, using a pastry cutter or a fork until crumbly.  Stick in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F, and lightly spray a 9"x 13" pan with oil or cooking spray.

For the filling, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer and blend until thoroughly mixed.  Then place in the baking dish, and add the crumble topping.  Bake for 30 minutes, and then allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Holiday Food & Crafts!

I know--a non-baby post!  Shocking, amirite?  Maybe I'm starting to get the hang of this "mom" thing.  (*snorts* Yeah...don't worry, there are plenty more "adventures in parenting" posts to come. I know enough to know that I don't know ANYTHING.)  

Christmas is my favorite time of year, and since our little man is still immobile, this is probably the last year we'll be able to have a nice, fully decorated tree for a few years, so I'm enjoying it.

Since Baby J takes his best nap in the mornings, that's when I'm able to get the most stuff done, including Christmas crafts (and gift wrapping, of course)!  Granted, I don't have a TON of free time, so I tried to keep things fairly simple, but all in all, pretty happy with the results!

1) Keepsake Baby's 1st Christmas Ornament:  You've probably seen variations of this one floating around Pinterest and Facebook.  I took a clear plastic ball ornament, then managed to cram one of Baby J's now-too-small hats into it, along with one of his hospital bracelets, and a little sheet with his birth date stats on it.

2) Mistle-toes Ornament:  This one has also been pretty popular on the interwebz this Christmas.  I made a small batch of salt dough (1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup water) and tinted it with food coloring till I got a nice deep green.  Then we rolled it out, floured the top lightly (so his foot wouldn't stick) and stuck his lil' feet down on it...after which he promptly curled his toes and got a bunch of dough stuck between his toes, which he was NOT at all happy about. (SUCH a prima donna.)

SOoo...then after we cleaned his feet and calmed him down, we trimmed around the footprints, poked a hole in the heel, and baked them in a 300F oven for about 30 minutes.  Once cooled, I coated them with clear coat.  Then I took some bells that I got half price after Christmas last year, painted them red (and clear coated them as well).  I used hot glue to affix the two foot prints together, with their holes overlapping, then strung two bells through the hole.  Ta-Da!

3) Button Ornament:  This is a reprise of the one I did last year, only I used purple & various neutral colored buttons.  Went to a friend as a gift.

4) Spiced Pecans:  I usually make my spiced pecans in the microwave, but with a baby napping in the next room I didn't need the beeping every few minutes.  So I made them in the oven instead, using this recipe (though I added a bit of cumin, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and a pinch of cayenne in addition to the cinnamon).

5) Simmering Potpourri:  My in-laws family Christmas this year involves a $10 homemade gift exchange, so I made a quad of gifts--a jar of the spiced pecans, steak rub (next section), some gingerbread sugar scrub (see below), and a jar with all the ingredients for this simmering potpourri. (Hint:  use mandarin oranges or satsumas so they fit into the jar easier)...the link includes a free printable!)

6) Mocha Steak Rub:  I saw this on an episode of Brunch with Bobby Flay (because there's a lot of Food Network on while I've been on maternity leave) and it sounded really tasty and pretty easy to make!  We tested it out on some t-bones before gifting it (because when you have a food blog, it would really suck to give someone a foodie gift and then find out it tastes horrible).  To add a "cajun" flair, I used Community Coffee's New Orleans blend with chicory instead of the ground espresso.  The chocolate flavor is pretty subtle, but I LOVE the coffee flavor--I want to make some of the chocolate BBQ sauce that's also in that link and see if that helps to enhance the flavor.

7) Gingerbread Sugar Scrub:  I don't know about you, but my skin gets super dry & cracked this time of year, especially my feet.  So I really love sugar scrubs.  Now, I learned my lesson from that coffee scrub I tried last year, which was more hassle to clean out of my shower than it was worth.  So this year I decided to go with a scrub that was less likely to make a huge mess in the bathtub, but that would still be full of Christmas spirit. I saw the recipe for this gingerbread sugar scrub on Pinterest and since we had everything already on hand, I gave it a go.  YUM. (smell wise--I haven't actually tried eating it...though you probably could!)

Ornaments!!!

I had a pretty productive today today…of course, not like “cleaning the house” or “mowing the yard” productive.  Instead, I made two new ornaments for our fabulous new Christmas tree.  Yup—I finally got to upgrade from our little scraggy 5-foot tree, to a beautiful, full, PRE-LIT-WITH-1000+-LIGHTS tree that I got at a thrift store for $100.  SO happy.

Well, when you add 2.5 feet to your tree…you need more ornaments, amirite?  Not that I don’t already add to my ornament collection annually.  Or have a bunch of Eeyore and Marvin the Martian ornaments that I don’t even put up anymore since I switched tree themes.  But..I mean… come on… PINTEREST.

So I started the morning with a cup of coffee, and the fixings for a button ornament:

- styrofoam ornament (48c at WalMart)

- pearl-ended straight pins ($1.97 at WalMart)

- and LOTs of buttons (free, from my mom’s button collection)

Instructions not really necessary on this one—you start with one button, add another… stagger colors & sizes and layer when appropriate to fill in the white spaces.

And then, I wanted to do my own take on the “book pages” ornaments.  I didn’t have any old sheet music, but I do have this random old Catholic Missal from 1966. I’m not 100% sure where it came from—either I picked it up at a thrift store or it came from a box of books at my Nana’s house…either way, it’s been sitting on a shelf in my house, unused, for several years.  So I fugured I might as well put it to good use.

Here’s hoping you can’t go to hell for cutting up a 50 year old liturgy.

 

I pulled a few pages from the Advent, Christmas Vigil & Midnight Mass liturgies, and cut out poignant bits that referenced Christmas.

 

Then I took a blank paper ornament (60c at Hobby Lobby) & used Modge Podge to adhere the paper to the ornament, turning the pieces at different angles and trying to get good coverage (while making sure lines that I really liked didn’t get too covered up).

When it was fully covered, I did one final thin layer of Modge Podge, and sprinkled it with glitter.  Let that dry, and then I took it outside & sprayed it with a clear coat (to help the glitter not fall off).

 

I’ve got a few other blank paper ornaments, so I might make a few more of these. I love the way it turned out!

And then, to wrap it up, I re-vamped this wreath.  Last year, I hung it on our front door, and the neighborhood birds thought the beautiful berries were real—so they pecked it to death.  I’m hoping no birds were harmed permanently.  So this year, I snipped off the sprigs with damaged berries, and then added all the pine cones & some extra greenery & cinnamon sticks. (Oh, and hung it indoors this year, so no birds would be at risk.)

 

Homemade Lotion Bars & Peppermint Body Scrub

This year, my family decided to have a white elephant gift exchange for the adults.  I wanted to put together a “pampering” gift set to bring, but my sis- & mom-in-law have both gone uber-organic & all natural with their food, beauty products & household cleaning.  So rather than spend hours on the EWG Database trying to find products that get a grade they would approve of (and pay who knows how much, which would limit the number of things I could include in the gift), I decided to just go homemade.

There’s some comfy PJ pants on the bottom, and some of my homemade cocoa mix in the mug… homemade peanut clusters & peppermint bark in the star tin (not really “organic”, but what’s pampering with out a “little” indulgence?)  And the other items:

Peppermint body scrub in the small jar, and solid lotion bars in the tall jar.

Peppermint Sugar Scrub:

2 cups granulated white sugar

1/4 cup olive oil, almond oil, or melted coconut oil (your choice)

Peppermint extract or essential oil (3-4 drops)

Directions:

Mix the three ingredients until well combined & place into a clean, sterile jar.

 

Lotion Bars: (makes four 2’'”x2” bars)

2  Tbsp organic beeswax (I got this from our local natural market in the bulk section)

2 Tbsp Coconut oil (I used Lou-Ana because I already had it in my pantry, but you can get organic for a couple bucks more)

2 Tbsp sweet almond oil (also found this at our natural food store)

10 drops Vitamin E (Wal-Mart)

12 drops essential oil (I used vanilla, but pick whatever scent you like.  Here’s a good guide for blending scents if you’d like to use multiple oils) – found this at Hobby Lobby in the soap/candle making section, and used a coupon to get it half-price

Decorative ingredients (I used dried lavender sprinkled on top, but I’ve seen some with whole coffee beans that look really pretty) – Optional

Glass jar (something you can dedicate to this project—it will be really tough to clean it out afterward. I used a well-cleaned pickle jar).

Mold (I used a metal mini tart pan; you could also pour them into mini-muffin wrappers)

Directions:

Add 2-3 inches of water to a small pot that the jar will fit into, and heat water over medium heat.  Add all of the ingredients except the essential oil, and stir periodically.  The beeswax will take the longest to melt.  Don’t let the water boil, you don’t want to scald the mixture.

When the beeswax is fully melted, add the essential oils.  You can add more than 12 drops if you want a stronger scent.  Test it by dropping a drop of the mixture onto a plate, let it set, and then run your fingers across it & rub into your skin.  When you like the scent & feel of it, you can transfer into the molds.  Silicone molds can be found at craft stores; I used a metal tart pan that has removable bottom plates, so I could easily pop them out.

(This was the first batch I made—I originally tried making five bars but they didn’t fill the pan well, so I scraped the mix out of two, re-melted, and then poured it into another shell.)

Once the bar starts to harden, you can add the decorative ingredients:

Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes to fully set up.  Then you can pop them out of the pan!

I shredded some brown packing paper in our paper shredder to help decorate the jar, and then placed the bars inside (with small squares of wax paper between to keep them from sticking together.)

Of course…I had to hold back a couple bars for myself!  I love the smell and the feel of the lotion. It dissolves well & just melts into your skin.  I definitely want to try a few other scents in the future—maybe even infusing my own essential oils!

And the best part?  It was SUPER cheap to make!  Organic hard lotion bars can go for $4-5 per bar, for less than 1 oz of product!  This cost me a whopping 35 CENTS per bar.

Microwave Spiced/Candied Pecans

Hey kids!  Back today with more quick sweet treats for the holidays!  Spiced nuts are a must in our house this time of year.  Having a bowl of these in the kitchen is perfect when that inevitable sweet tooth comes calling—just grab a couple and you’re good!  Better for you than a cookie or that marshmallow fudge the neighbor’s brought by!

In year’s previous I’ve always made my spiced pecans in the oven, but this year my husband tipped me off to a microwave version, and I gotta say, it’s pretty fantastic!

Note: we like our pecans with a little kick, but if you’re more of a sweets-only fan, you can omit the cumin & cayenne.

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup light butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp clove

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp cayenne

2 Tbsp water

3 cups pecan halves

1/4 cup granulated sugar (for coating the pecans afterward)

 

Directions:

Melt the butter in a 4 qt glass casserole dish, then add the sugar, water & spices, mix & microwave for 1 minute.  Stir in the nuts & mix to coat well.

Microwave the nuts for 4-5 more minutes, stopping to stir them once every minute, until most of the syrup is coated onto the nuts.  Then pour out onto a sheet of wax paper & let cool.

Once cooled, place the nuts into a large plastic bag with the sugar, and shake the bag to coat them well.  The sugar helps to keep the pecans from sticking to each other.

Christmas Candy: Peanut Clusters & Peppermint Bark!

Happy holidays, friends!  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Feliz Navidad, and all that jazz.  This is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year.  Hot cocoa, candy canes, some fluffy white stuff outside, evergreens covered with twinkle lights inside, Christmas movies on every channel, and neighbors who say “electric bill be d@mned” and cover their houses with LED bulbs synchronized to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  It’s MAGICAL, I tell ya!

It’s also crazy hectic.  How many Christmas parties did you attend this year?  No less than four here, with even more invites that we just couldn’t make it to.  And you’re usually expected to bring some sort of tasty treat for the hosts/other guests, right?  Which of course, you have TONS of extra time to make, right?

Well, before you break down & bring sugar cookies* from the supermarket, I’d like to suggest a couple quick & easy alternatives.

(PS—we do not condone store-bought sugar cookies.  Try this family recipe here, instead.)

These treats arose because, with The Scoop closed for the season, we happen to have about 6 packages of almond bark & melting chocolate, which we use during the season to make our specialty cones:

 

(Yes, that’s bacon.  Don’t judge.)

We also had a large can of peanuts leftover… Peanuts…chocolate?  You see where I’m going.  Right?  …no?  Okay, I’ll show you.

Yes, PEANUT CLUSTERS!  Seriously, these could not be easier.

Ingredients: (Makes about 15 clusters)

3 squares melting chocolate

1 dash vanilla extract

Peanuts (about 1 1/2 cups)

 

Directions:

First, place a metal cookie sheet in the freezer or fridge.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 60-90 seconds in the microwave.  Stir with a spatula & add in the vanilla, then add the peanuts, and toss until well coated.  Add peanuts about 1/2 cup at a time, till you have a good chocolate : peanut ratio (if you add too many peanuts, the clusters won’t stick well to each other & the peanuts might not get completely covered.

Pull the cookie sheet out of the fridge & cover it with wax paper; then drop the peanut mixture onto the wax paper in spoonfuls.  When you’ve used up all of your mix, place the cookie sheet back in the fridge until set. (It shouldn’t take more than about 15 minutes.)

As a fun variation of this (if you have some extra time), you can mix some peanut butter & peanuts together, drop spoonfuls of that mix onto a waxed cookie sheet & freeze for about 30 minutes, then coat those in the melting chocolate.  It’s like a Reese’s PB cup!

 

Not much for peanuts?  How about peppermint?

Ingredients: (makes approximately 8x12 sheet of bark)

3 squares white almond bark

3 squares melting chocolate

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

2 candy canes, crushed (a plastic baggie + meat mallet work well)

 

Directions:

Cookie sheet => fridge or freezer, then cover with wax paper

Melt white chocolate first (60-90 secs in the microwave) and add 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract.  When that’s well combined, pour the white chocolate onto your wax papered cookie sheet and spread out as evenly as possible.  Place in fridge to harden.

Now melt your milk chocolate in the microwave, and add the peppermint extract to it.  Mix well, and then pour on top of the white chocolate.

Spread evenly over the top, and then immediately sprinkle your peppermint crumbles over the top.  Press into the chocolate if necessary so they stick well.

Place back in the fridge for about 15 minutes, and then break apart into pieces.  It doesn’t have to be pretty—think Peanut Brittle.  You can cover the top of the bark with another sheet of wax paper if you don’t want to put your hands all over food that may eventually go in someone else’s mouth.