A Valentine For You...

I love Valentines Day. I love giving gifts and treats to loved ones letting them know I am happy to have them in my life. I don't bake or make treats that often anymore, but I decided if I am going to make it a treat, it should be for Valentines Day. I decided to make little boxes of oreo truffles for some of my friends, and if my hubby is lucky enough there may be an extra one for him ;) If you haven't made a Valentines treat yet, try these out, they are scrumptious! Not only did I make the regular oreo truffles, I made up a new one. A coconut oreo truffle. These are AMAZING. Yes, it deserves all caps to emphasize how delicious they are. If you are a coconut lover, and you know I am!- you will love these, and hopefully someone you love with love them as well :)


Coconut Oreo Truffles

1 package golden oreos (not the chocolate ones, make sure they are the golden)
8 oz cream cheese
scant 1/2 tsp both coconut and almond extract
scant 1/2 cup sweetened toasted coconut
toasted un-sweetened coconut for sprinkling
vanilla candy melts

Pulse oreos in food processor or crush them until they are a fine crumb, Mix scant 1/2 tsp coconut extract and scant 1/2 tsp almond extract with cream cheese. Add sweetened toasted coconut. Roll into about 1/2 ounce balls (I made mine 3/4 oz but wish I would have made them a bit smaller). Let them set in fridge for about an hour-or freezer for 15 minutes. Coat in vanilla candy melts or white chocolate, then sprinkle with unsweetened toasted coconut. Enjoy!

Here is a link to the regular oreo truffles. But note, I don't divide my oreos because I don't sprinkle the tops of mine with crushed oreos. You can do that if you want though :)

Pioneer Baking

My little brother and sister are going on a pioneer trek this week. My sister had to make some pioneer candy and cookies so of course I was in. So let's start with the Honey Candy.


1 cup Honey
1 cup sugar
...thats it!

Bring to a boil over high heat stirring constantly.
Pour onto a buttered pan and cool just enough to handle.
Stretch until it is a light cream color and too stiff to handle.

Notice the difference after stretching it.

The taffy is now done, so you can let it cool and then break it into pieces, or do as we did and stretch it and then cut with buttered scissors.

Enjoy!

Now for the yummy ginger cookies. These cookies are really delicious! We had a few kinks at the begining that we worked out, but once we did they were fabulous!

Ginger Cookies
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 c. shortening (I did 1 cup butter half cup shortening)
2 eggs
1/2 c. molasses
1 tsp salt
4 2/3 c. whole wheat flour (my mom made these a second time and used 2/3 c. white flour and said they turned out great)
4 tsp. soda
2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp cloves

Cream sugar, shortening, eggs and molasses. Add salt, soda and spices and flour and mix well. Form dough into balls and roll in granulated sugar. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Ok so this cookie dough was delicious. I was so surprised by how amazing it
was because it was made with wheat flour, but it was
definitely hard to stay out of.

We used a cookie scoop so they would all be even....

and then flattened the top

Ok so here is the kink we worked out. The balls of cookie dough
were way too big! I use my cookie scoop for all the cookies
I make and have never had a problem, but I think because there is
so much baking soda in these cookies it made them expand a lot.

So we made much smaller balls of cookie dough and they turned out great.
We probably used a tablespoon of dough.

Both of these were a lot of fun to make. I will definitely be making these cookies
again soon they were so yummy!

Absolutely Amazing Homemade Snickers!

Ok, so amazing doesn't even come close to describing how good these homemade snickers are. My family used to make them often years ago but unfortunately the recipe was lost! I came across Lynns Kitchen the other day and lo and behold she had a recipe for homemade snickers! I think it's the same recipe that I used to use and even if it's different, it doesn't matter because these candies are soooo good! So good that the day I made them I ate about 13, no joke. Yes I know it's a little embarrassing but once you make these you will know why I just couldn't stop at one, two, or three. They are a little time consuming but very easy. And to top it all off, you will be left with many spoons to lick! Hope you have a chance to make these and let me know what you think!

The first layer of chocolate...

Hubby caught me sneaking a lick...or two

Now for the yummy nougat layer

Taking 5 while the nougat layer hardens in the fridge...see what
I mean about having alot of spoons to lick?

Now for the caramel layer...

Tada! The final product with the last layer of chocolate.
Looking at these is making me want to make them again!

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons butter
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
FILLING:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1-1/2 cups marshmallow creme
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups chopped salted peanuts (I just put a cup in but next time will put in more)
CARAMEL LAYER:
1 package (14 ounces) caramels
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
ICING:
1 cup (6 ounces) milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Line a 13-in. x 9-in. pan with foil; butter the foil with 2 teaspoons butter and set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the milk chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter; stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Spread into prepared pan. Refrigerate until set.

For filling, in a small heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add sugar and milk; bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; boil and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in the marshmallow creme, peanut butter and vanilla. Add peanuts. Spread over first layer. Refrigerate until set.

For caramel layer, in a small heavy saucepan, combine the caramels and cream; stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Cook and stir 4 minutes longer. Spread over the filling. Refrigerate until set.

For icing, in another saucepan, combine chips and peanut butter; stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Pour over the caramel layer. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 20 minutes before cutting. Remove from pan and cut into 1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 8 dozen.

This recipe is adapted from Taste of Home