Homemade Peppermint Patties

YUM!

I found this recipe for Homemade Peppermint Patties and I have to say-- they are amazing! They melt in your mouth, which is delightful. I made them with milk chocolate, not the traditional dark chocolate... mainly because I didn't have any dark in the house and was too lazy to go out and get the right stuff.

I brought them into work for our St. Patty's day celebration and got rave reviews. Since I didn't have the recipe with me for my co-workers, I wrote up a variation to the steps. I have posted them here below... and who knows, if you make them, my explanations may be helpful. For the complete recipe, please see In Between Laundry. I did not want to re-print her work without permission!

Directions: Makes @ 100 patties, dependent on size

In a bowl, combine the potatoes, butter, peppermint, and powdered sugar and mix well (I used an electric beater). Add more sugar if your mixture is loose--it should feel like a tacky cookie dough. (I ended up using almost exactly 3 pounds.)

Lay wax paper down over a few cookie sheets (for easy cleanup later). Scoop teaspoonfuls of the dough and shape into patties. (The easiest way to do this is to scoop with an ice cream scoop or two spoons since it will be a little sticky. Once you have the whole cookie sheet covered, go back and pat them flat with your hands. The balls will lose their tackiness as you are scooping out the rest of the tray, making them easier to shape.) Refrigerate for a few hours so you can handle them to add the chocolate.

Melt the chocolates with the oil and dip the chilled patties, covering completely. This step takes some practice since the dough balls can melt with the hot chocolate. The best method I found was chocolate-ing the bottoms of each patty with a knife and going back once the sheet is done to cover the tops with chocolate. There are probably better methods out there, but I am a novice at baking. Chill until set.

Yum! Give it a try-- they are tooooo tasty!

Recipe Swap!

They are having a Recipe Swap at Craftaholics Anonymous, so I wanted to join in the fun. Here is one of my favorites!

Cheeseburger Soup - Adapted from Sparkpeople.com
(Yields 6 servings)


1-1/2 cup water
2 cups peeled cubed potatoes
2 carrots, grated
1 small onion chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
2 cubes beef bouillon, crumbled
1 lb lean ground beef
2 1/2 cups fat free milk
3 tbsp flour
1/2 lb 2% milkfat cheese, cubed


In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine water, potatoes, carrots, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and bouillon.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef; drain. Rinse with water and drain again.
Stir cooked beef and 1 1/4 cups milk into potato mixture and heat through.
Combine 1 1/4 cups milk with flour.
Stir until smooth. Stir into soup.
Bring to a low boil and cook stirring until thickened. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cheese until melted.

Springtime and Rainbows

For Easter dinner, I made this delightful dessert for my family.

Rainbow Cupcakes!
I wanted to share the recipe with everyone because though it was really easy to do-- I had never heard of it before!. I basically used the recipe at Family Fun, but with a few minor edits.

First, you need a box of cake mix. I went with white cake mix because it is easiest to get the colors you want. You will also need Red Blue and Yellow liquid food coloring and cupcake papers. I added icing to mine, but you don't have to really.

Mix up the cake mix as directed and divide your batter into 6 different bowls with 6 different spoons. Add in food coloring until you get the tint desired. I had to use different combinations of the colors to get my rainbow than the recipe calls for-- I like mine vibrant!

Next, add the colors mix to the cupcake papers. I did this in ROYGBV order for authenticity, but you don't have to. One think to note, it was really hard to figure out "how much" I needed of each color in each cup. The lesson learned-- it could be a thin layer in the middle as long as the color reached out to the sides. It will all work out, trust me. Also, I made 18 cupcakes-- the recipe says to make 16. I think you could even make 20-24, depending on how much you fill the cups. I had some minor overflows on half my cakes so it is totally possible to make more.= without scrimping.



Next, bake as directed. That's it! Again, I made icing to top them off but you do not have to. If you do and you are planing to travel, I suggest icing them when you get there. The directions say to remove the cupcake papers for presentation-- I didn't. Personal choice.

These were a big hit and very fun to make. Just be sure to give yourself an extra 15-20 minutes prep-time for batter distribution.

Enjoy!

Attack of the Candy Corn!

Dear World,

HAPPY CANDY CORN SEASON!

I am not sure when it started but I have love-love-loved delicious candy corn all my life. This season, now that I am established in my own home and can do whatever I care to to celebrate the holidays, I plan to celebrate by paying homage to this tasty, autumn treat.

I came across a recipe yesterday in my Internet wanderings. I am not sure why it has never occurred to me to make my own candy corn at home versus purchasing some packaged at the store but now that the idea is in my hear-- I can't resist. I want to try Cakespy's Homemade Candy Corn recipe this weekend (hopefully). I haven't ever really made something this "homemade" at the house so I suspect that there are quite a few things I need to purchase to make this happen.

For more information on the history of candy corn, visit the National Confectioners Association website. Yum. History can be delicious too. ^_--

For more candy corn recipes, take a look at: Candy Corn Cordial, Candy Corn Martini, and Candy Corn Parfait

Yay Autumn!