Chocolate Panna Cotta & Florentine Cookies-February Daring Bakers Challenge

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

So, here's what you need to know about Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies:

1) You will love it.
2) You will not respect yourself in the morning.
3)The hour you spend hoofing it on the treadmill will not even come close to accounting for the calories you will consume in one bite of this amazing dessert.
4)When you combine heavy cream and any form of sugar, there is a chemical process that takes place that creates a substance in desserts that is very, very similar to super glue. That glue makes all things stick to your ____________________(you can fill in the blank with your problem area..butt, hips, thighs, cankles, etc..).
5)This dessert is so absolutely worth it that you will for get about #1-4.

So, as you can tell, what I'm getting at here is this is seriously sinful stuff. No, you don't want to have it every night. But, make it for a dinner party, a girls night or make it for your sweetheart when you're having a date night at home. Its quite impressive when served in fine crystal glassware or even in individual ramekins. Its the perfect dessert for special occasions or holidays.

I will say upfront, the cookies were suppose to be spread with chocolate and sandwiched together. Honestly, after looking at the 2 cups of heavy cream in the panna cotta.... I just couldn't do it. But, if you're fearless and have no problem with the fact that your pants may not fit tomorrow. Well, then you go for it! But, even without the extra chocolate they were excellent. If you want the cookies to stand up for plate decor and be extra crisp, place them in the fridge after they've had time to cool.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Panna Cotta: 

Bon Appetit

Ingredients: 

1 cup whole milk

2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

2  cups whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Pour milk into a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top, set aside for 2-5 minutes. 

2. Place a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir in cream, sugar and vanilla. Bring to a low boil.

3. Add chocolate and whisk until melted. Whisk the milk/gelatin mixture into chocolate cream mixture. Whisk until gelatin has dissolved. 

4. Transfer to ramekins, or nice glasses for serving.

5. Cover and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Nestle Florentine Cookies:

Ingredients: 

2/3 cup unsalted butter

2 cups quick oats

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup flour

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups dark or milk chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C) 

Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.

2. To the melted butter add oats, sugar,  flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.

3. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flaten slighty with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula. 

4. Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets. 

5. While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).

6. Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire wrack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean). Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end)cookie atop the chocolate. This recipe will make about 2 1/2 - 3 dozen sandwiched florentine cookies. You can also choose not to sandwich yours, in which case, drizzle the tops with chocolate (over your wax paper).

Cutie Cupid Cupcakes

So, originally the school where Princess Runwild attends said they would not be having a Valentine's Day party this year. Well, I don't know about you, but for me Valentine parties at school were just always such fun. You know getting to decorate your own little valentine box/bag and then everyone getting to go around and hand out their cute little valentine cards. Which speaking of said cute little valentines, once upon a time they came with their own cute little envelopes. No more. I suppose its not environmentally correct. Whatever....Personally, I liked the little envelopes. And you could recycle them if you felt morally obligated to do so.

Last year when I was buying them for the first time for Runwild's preschool party, I went to 4 different stores trying to find Valentine's with envelopes. I did not succeed. Apparently, you can only get the ones that fold and seal with a sticker. Blahh.

On a happier note, I thought they no longer made the Scratch N Sniff Valentines, but I did actually find them this year. Unfortunately, Runwild wanted Rapunzel Valentines. But, its ok......I've secretly got the scratch n sniff ones hidden in my night stand. After they go to bed, I'm going to scratch them and sniff them until they are only paper scented ;) Or until Princess Runwilder discovers them and takes them away from me....She's such a bully.

Oh, yes, back to my point, the school was not going to have a Valentine Party, so I promised the girls I would throw them their own little Valentine party at home. Of course, now the school has decided they WILL have a party, but you know that doesn't relinquish me from my prior commitment of a party. No way! And that's fine, I'm always up for having parties with my Runwilders for any occassion. At  MY parties their is always one rule: There must be cake in some form at all parties in the Sinful Southern Sweets household.

So these little Cupid Cupcakes are what I have made for our Valentine Party tomorrow night to meet the 'Cake Criteria Rule.' They will be served along side Cupid's Crunch, heart shaped pizza, heart shaped jello and heart shaped cookies. And any thing else I can get my heart shaped cookie cutter to slice through. You know, if you're gonna do it, you might as well do it right!

These cupcakes were not at all difficult. I used a food grade marker for the eyes and mouth (I think you can even buy these at Hobby Lobby).

You could also use a toothpick dipped in food coloring. The peach icing can be achieved using a tiny bit of pink and a touch of orange food coloring mixed into white frosting. I did make one cupid with wings, but I'm just not sure about him. The wings just seem too much to me. Maybe a smaller marshmallow would work.

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!!

Enjoy!

Cutie Cupid Cupcakes
adapted from here

Ingredients

12 Cupcakes, baked from a mix or your favorite recipe
1 can white frosting tinted Pink- or peach (white mixed with a bit of pink and orange)
12 Large marshmallow
Thin pretzel sticks/toothpick
1/2 c.Crisped rice cereal
Food Grade Marker/Decorators' gel
Candy heart

Frost a cupcake with pink- or peach-tinted frosting. Try to make a smooth surface with back of spatula.

For wings, use kitchen shears to cut a large marshmallow in half vertically, then snip each half widthwise a few times for a feathery look. Press a thin pretzel stick against the sticky side of each marshmallow half, then stick the pretzels into the cupcake.

Press a handful of crisped rice cereal along the top of the cupcake for Cupid's curly locks, then add a decorators' gel or food grade marker for mouth and eyes. Finally, set a candy heart in place and pipe on frosting fingers, if you like.

Cupid's Crunch and a free Valentine's Printable

Ok, so Valentine's Day is just a few days away now. Hopefully, you have secured that perfect gift for your significant other. If not, you better get busy! And don't let yourself fall into that old trap of when your loved one says "Oh, you don't have to get me anything...." Yes, you do. It never ends favorably when you take that advice. Well, it doesn't! I'm just sayin'...I'm not saying it has to be expensive or big. But, you'd better show up on Valentine's with something. Even a heart made of construction paper is better than nothing. I've never had to worry about that with my Mr. Sweets. He has always said that every lady deserves to get flowers on Valentines. He's a sweet one, he is......

So, when you get your Sweetie's gift procured, you might then think about doing something sweet for your friends, co-workers or kiddos. Thats's where today's recipe comes in. Today's recipe is a great sweet snack mix that I came up with and named 'Cupid's Crunch'. With a mix of cereal, candy and toffee covered popcorn, its sure to be a hit.

 And since I was feeling extra lovey dovey , I decided to make a little printable tag, for all my sweet readers,  that can be cut/punched out and attached to a bag of Cupid's Crunch. Using a paper punch is the quickest and easiest option. My punch is a round- 2 5/16" punch. You can download the tags here.

Enjoy!

Cupid's Crunch
Ingredients:
2 cups Kashi Heart to Heart Honey Oat Cereal (or Cheerios:)
2 Cups Crunch n Munch toffee coated popcorn
1 Cup Teddy Grahams or Annie's Bunny Grahams
1 Bag Jelly Beans (*I found the heart Jelly Beans at Walmart)
1/2 cup red M&Ms
2 cups mini marshmallows

Directions:
Combine all ingredients. Mix. Serve

Strawberry Brownie Ripple Cupcakes

Well, the count down to V-Day is on! Good thing I blew that diet so I could make these cupcakes for y’all. Oh, the things I do for my blog.  LOL!

I think being such a healthy eater over the last month made me lose all self respect when I began concocting the recipe I’m sharing today. Mr. Sweets has been insisting that pinecones are probably the equivalent of my recent healthy fare. Ahh, he's just not up for change. And technically, I think horse feed would be the more appropriate comparison:)

So, when I finally took a day to ditch all that 'horsefeed' this week, I created a strawberry cupcake with a brownie ripple in the middle. Unbelievably good and terribly sinful. Kinda reminds you of a chocolate covered strawberry. I’m sure your Sweetie would love to have a couple dozen of these if you decided to forgo the traditional box of candy.

You could make these with any flavor cake mix, but the strawberry looked so sweet and Valentiney. If you still wanted the color, but not strawberry flavor. You could just tint a white cake mix pink. Or if you think about it next month, you could tint the cake mix green for St. Patrick’s Day. Whichever you choose, to achieve the 'ripple', just run a toothpick or skewer around in the unbaked cupcake and you'll get something like this:

For the frosting, I just settled on a simple buttercream, but it would probably be killer with a cream cheese frosting too!

Enjoy!
  
Strawberry Brownie Ripple Cupcakes

 Strawberry Layer
 Ingredients:
1(18 oz) Box Strawberry Cake Mix 
1/3 cup greek yogurt (or plain yogurt)
1 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs, beaten
*Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

Brownie Layer
Ingredients:
1 Box Family Size Brownie Mix (for 9x13pan)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
*Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

Directions:
Line Muffin Pans with cupcake liners (recipe make apprx. 30 cupcakes). With a medium cookie scoop (or a tablespoon), scoop 2 level scoops of strawberry mixture into each cupcake liner. With a small cookie scoop (or a teaspoon), scoop 2 level scoops of brownie mixture on top of strawberry mixture. Top brownie mixture with another scoop of strawberry mixture. Using a toothpick or skewer, make a few zip zags through unbaked cupcakes to create swirls. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Cool completely. Frost with Buttercream frosting (Recipe follows)

Vanilla Buttercream Icing:

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup shortening
1 pound powdered sugar
2 tablespoons meringue powder or 2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
milk as needed for consistency

Directions

1. With the paddle attachment and your stand-type mixer, beat the butter, shortening, powdered sugar, and meringue powder/egg whites together.
2. Add the lemon juice and vanilla. Beat the frosting, adding enough milk to reach the desired consistency.

 

Slimmed Down Sweets-Diet Coke Cake

So, we’re heading toward the middle of February. I have been seriously off my game in the blogging segment of my life. See, I (like about a million other Americans) decided for my New Year’s Resolution that I was going to be healthier. Well, you know what? That seriously puts a quietus on the making/baking of my Sinful Southern Sweets. And you know what else, I don’t like that!! So, I decided to post a recipe that some of you still holding tight to your weight loss efforts might appreciate.

I was talking to one of my sister in laws the other day and telling her about this cake. Its beyond easy. If you have ever been around anyone on Weight Watchers you have probably heard of this cake. I have joined Weight Watchers so many times, Mr. Sweets usually just asks once a year if we’ve made our yearly donation to Weight Watchers. Humph,….Funny, funny. Oh, and its not that the program doesn’t work. It does, I just have problems with structure. Hmmm, imagine that!

So, back to the recipe, this is the infamous Diet Coke Cake. You can make it with any flavor cake mix and any diet drink. I used a strawberry cake mix and a Cherry Diet 7-up.  Some recipes do not call for egg whites, but I think  you’ll have better results using them. If you are doing weight watchers, this was once 4 points (sans cool whip). I understand the program has changed so that point value might not be accurate anymore. Hmmm, I guess its time to make my yearly donation and find out:)
PS
Don’t worry, my stint with healthy eating usually only lasts as long as the next holiday. I will soon have some serious Sinful Southern Sweets coming up for Valentine’s Day!!

Enjoy!

Diet Coke Cake

1 (18 oz) cake mix, dry, any flavor

12 oz diet soda, any flavor

1/4 cup liquid egg whites (or 2 egg whites from whole eggs)

1)Mix together the dry cake mix, soda and egg whites. 

2) Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan.

3)Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

4)Slice into 12 pieces. 4 Weight Watchers Points per slice.

5)Top with Cool Whip, if desired (make sure to count points for Cool Whip).

Snow Ice Cream

Snow. It's such a rarity here in the south that many of us don’t even know what to do with it. We certainly don’t know how to drive in it.  Everything in the south closes down if there is even a mention of a dusting. And the grocery stores become void of all bread and milk.  I have to say I’ve never understood this logic. Why don’t people clear out the Little Debbie snacks? Or the chips? Milk and bread?? Really? That’s just not what I crave when I’m snowed in the house for a week. Bring on the cake!!

So, as rare as the whole southern snow situation usually is, can you believe we woke up Monday to this:

Our second snow in a month! We’re really starting to wonder what in the world is going  on down here!!  There was talk that Hell froze over. ….Many really thought that was almost a definite when Auburn won the BCS Championship ;)  LOL!  Oh, settle down. I’m just kidding…I’m very proud for Auburn….kind of….

Anyways,  the Sinful Southern Sweets family took the opportunity to have a bit of fun time in the snow. (I’ll share pics of that after the recipe.) We also used our snow for something a bit useful. Did you know that you can make ice cream with snow. And boy is it yummy!! My little Runwild Princesses loved it!! And its super easy!! I did think ahead and put a big bowl out when it started snowing, so that I didn’t have to try to pick grass and pinecones (among other things) out of my snow.

You want it to be nice fluffy snow. No ice.

Perfect recipe for the kids to make on their own. After you make it, you can curl up under a  pile of nice fluffy modern duvet covers and indulge in a bit of simplicity!!! Hopefully, this will be the last of the “simplicity” for us Southerners for this winter.

Enjoy!! 

Snow Ice Cream
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen

• 8 cups snow, or shaved ice
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Directions

Place snow or shaved ice into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls.

Now for our fun snow pics.

Princess Runwild. Dressed in her finest princess sweater:)

My little Princess Runwilder loves the snow!

The Sinful Southern Sweets Family feeding the birds. You know they don't like just bread and milk either!

My demonic little snowman. The birds apparently ate all the green berries...

Three angels making snow angels. Runwilder decided she would stay drier if she just made snow angels on top of my snow angels. Can't fault her logic!!

Christmas Stollen- Dec. '10 Daring Bakers Challenge

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book, Bread Baker’s Apprentice.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

I had indeed heard mention of the fruit and nut based yeast bread known as stollen before being introduced to it as our Daring Bakers Challenge for December. Yet, really I didn't know much about it. And, certainly I had never attempted to make it. So, I waited and made the stollen on Christmas Eve morning and shared it with family that evening. But, I realized I didn't have much information to include with my stollen. So, later, my curiosity got the better of me and I did a bit of research. Here is what I found:

The History of Stollen
"First made in Dresden, Germany around the 1400s, stollen bread was made and shaped to represent the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes. Stollen bread was made without butter or milk and was a rather tasteless pastry. Still, it was a popular Christmas pastry for its religious significance, and from 1560 onwards, stollen bakers would deliver one or two 36 pound Christmas stollen to the Saxon king yearly.

Because Advent was a time of fasting, there was a ban on the use of butter in baked goods. Oil was used as a replacement, but made the stollen bread bland and flavorless. In 1647, Elector Lord Ernst of Saxony and his brother Albrecht appealed to the Pope to lift the butter ban explaining that oil was expensive and hard to come by (never mind tasteless!). The Pope lifted the ban to make the Christmas stollen bread for the Prince and his family, but did not lift the ban for the general public until 1691.

With the use of butter, stollen bread became more popular and the recipe started to sway from the original, tasteless pastry to a sweeter one containing candied and liqueur-soaked fruits and nuts. Now, only 150 bakers are allowed to make the official Dresden Stollen, complete with the seal of the city’s famous king August the Strong. However, bakers all over the world have their own spin on both the original and the more modern recipes for German stollen bread, and bake the dessert not only at Christmas, but also year round."
Information courtesy of this website.

Very interesting history and symbolism of stollen. The recipe provided made about 4 small loves of stollen and a medium sized "wreath." Since it makes such a large amount it is really nice for gifts. Of course you could make this any time of the year. Its very good. I feared I would not love it since I have the same aversion to fruit cake that most do, but this is not fruit cake. It contains fruit, but its not the same texture or taste at all.

Thank you to Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking for a great Daring Baker's Challenge this month.
Enjoy!

Stollen Wreath

Makes one large wreath or two traditional shaped Stollen loaves. Serves 10-12 people

Ingredients

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (can use salted butter)
½ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt (if using salted butter there is no need to alter this salt measurement)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 teaspoons  vanilla extract
1 teaspoon  lemon extract or orange extract
5½ cups all-purpose (plain) flour (Measure flour first - then sift- plus extra for dusting) *
2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons)  active dry yeast
1- 1/4 cup  buttermilk
¾ cup chopped dates
1 cup  firmly packed dried cranberries
1/3 c. dried apples, chopped
6 tablespoons  rum
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Melted unsalted butter for coating the wreath
Confectioners’ (icing) (powdered) sugar for dusting wreath
Note: If you don’t want to use alcohol, double the lemon or orange extract or you could use the juice from the zested orange.
*You can substitute half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour.

Layer all the ingredients (in order) into a bread machine. Select the dough cycle. After the dough is finished, place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator overnight or up to one week.

When ready to bake:
1. Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly.
2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
4. Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches (40 x 61 cms) and ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder. Transfer the cylinder roll to the sheet pan. Join the ends together, trying to overlap the layers to make the seam stronger and pinch with your fingers to make it stick, forming a large circle. You can form it around a bowl to keep the shape.Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch (5 cm) intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough.
Proof for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.
Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, should register 190°F/88°C in the center of the loaf, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.
Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with melted butter while still hot.
Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sieve or sifter.
Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over the first.
The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.
Let cool at least an hour before serving. Coat the stollen in butter and powdered sugar three times, since this helps keeps the stollen fresh.

If you would prefer, you could also shape the dough into oval shaped loaves. Bake for the same amount of time until mahogany colored.
 May be frozen for up to 4 months.

Blackberry Wine Cake

As children, we spent our Christmas Eve night at my Granny’s house, out in the country.  There are some wonderful memories that come to mind of my brother, my cousin and myself sneaking to have a look at the Christmas gifts under Granny’s seemingly huge tree while no one was watching. Or, so we thought.

 Of course, there is also the memory of the three of us singing Christmas songs. Lots of repitition of Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. (Hey, don’t judge. It was the 80’s. And that was THE Christmas song of all Christmas songs back then. LOL!).  I think someone even recorded our little performance and later in life we realized we sounded like Alvin & the Chipmunks on speed.  Oh the memories….

As we grew older and Granny did as well, she eventually moved back to the home that she had raised her family in many years before. I’m sure for my mom and aunt, this brought back lots of special childhood Christmas memories. It was also nice for the grandchildren to have a small glimpse at what their Christmases might have been like.
It was during these years, on Christmas Eve, I began recognizing that certain foods were seen only at Christmas. So, of course these foods created food memories for me. Isn’t it funny that whatever you grew up eating at holidays, almost always follows you into adulthood. It becomes something you crave every holiday.

 I can remember vividly 2 very specific things that my Granny made on Christmas Eve. One was Wassail, which I do not ever recall one person drinking, but it was there every year. I wonder now if maybe it was a food memory from Granny’s childhood?
 The other, my favorite, was Blackberry Wine Cake. Oh, Blackberry Wine Cake how I love thee…. it’s the same concept as a Rum Cake, just boozed up with a different alcohol. This can certainly be made a few days in advance, since it only gets better as the wine has time to strengthen and infuse. We always swore Granny used far more Blackberry Wine than was called for. Her only response was a smile. So, feel free to add a bit of extra wine in the glaze in lieu of the holiday season. Or, if you’re trying to behave yourself  and/or you’re going to be feeding this to small children that you do not want to intoxicate, you  can forgo the glaze and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

 

Blackberry Wine Cake 

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 small pkg blackberry gelatin*
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup blackberry wine
• confectioners' sugar for dusting

*Jello no longer manufactures plain blackberry gelatin. A company called Royal does make it but it is sometimes difficult to find. Jello has started making a flavor called Blackberry Fusion  that I used this year and it worked perfectly.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan or tube pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, pudding mix and gelatin. Make a well in the center and pour in buttermilk, oil, eggs and wine. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate and cool completely. Sprinkle top with confectioners' sugar.

Glaze(if desired)

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup blackberry wine

Mix together sugar and wine. Pour over warm cake.

Nutter Butter Santas & Free Printable Gift Tags!!

I’m nearly certain that the Grinch is after my Christmas spirit. Yeah, its true. I finally figured it out yesterday when my mixer died in the midst of my holiday baking. I didn’t burn it up or over use it. It just died.  Gave a whole new meaning to mix by hand.  

So, I’m mourning the loss of my mixer. And I’m pretty sure according to Mr. Sweets that there is a high probability that I have NOT been a good enough girl to get one from Santa this year. Huff, Pout, sniff….Oh all because of that one post I did about our anniversary. Mr. Sweets just won’t let it go. He thinks I was being a bit too spicy. Hmpff, sometimes I wonder after all this time if he knows me at all. Teehee!

 Oh, well. I’m just gonna go buy myself a mixer. Though I still have my Christmas spirit now, it is quite possible that it will have diminished after dragging a 2 yr old to the mall with just a little over a week until Christmas.  Those mall Christmas shopper people scare me!

So, today’s post is going to be very, very easy. You won’t even need a mixer, because there’s no baking involved. You start with a few simple Nutter Butters and end up with cute little Santas.  

And, if I do say so myself, these would also be very cute for your treat bags. 

So, here’s another free printable to make your bags extra cute. You can download the tag here.
Enjoy!

 
Nutter Butter Santas

Ingredients

• 2 (6 ounce) packages white chocolate baking squares, chopped(or almond bark)
• 1  package Nutter Butter sandwich cookies
• red colored crystal sugar
• 32 Marshmallows or white chocolate chips
• 64 miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 32 red M&M's

Directions

1. In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt white chocolate, stirring occasionally.
2. Dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate.
3. Place on wax paper.
4. For santa's hat, sprinkle red sugar on top part of chocolate.
5. Press one marshmallow/white choc. chip off-center on hat for pom-pom, let stand until set.
6. Dip other end of each cookie into melted chocolate for beard, leaving center of cookie uncovered.
7. Place on wire racks.
8. With a dab of melted chocolate, attach semisweet chips for eyes and a red M&M's, for nose.
9. Place on waxed paper until chocolate sets.

Almond Snowballs and Free Printable Bag Toppers!!

I've said before that quite possibly one of my favorite flavors in baked goods is almond. Almond extract does not taste anything like an actual almond. At least not in my opinion. No, almond extract has a flavor all its own that creates bake goods with an incredible and unusual flavor. Most people can't quite figure out what the flavor is, but they know it tastes like something from a bakery. Of course, that's because lots of bakeries do use almond flavoring.  Its a perfect flavor for breads, icings, cakes and cookies.

These sweet little white snowballs are filled with almond flavor. I used both ground almonds and almond extract. Paired with a delicate shortbread, it is a combination that will grant rave reviews! Besides, who doesn't love anything coated in a bit of powdered sugar?

And, since I'm trying to be Merry and Bright and all in the giving Christmas mood. I'm including a little bag topper for you to download.

Just download, print, and cut it out. It will be perfect for riling up the Treat Bag Society :) You can download the bag topper here.
Enjoy!

 

Almond Snowballs

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  slivered almonds
• 1  cup  butter, softened
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1  cup  powdered sugar
• 2 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• Parchment paper
• 1/2  cup  powdered sugar

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake almonds in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 minutes or until toasted and
fragrant, stirring halfway through. Cool completely (about 20 minutes). Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
2. Process almonds in a food processor 30 seconds or until finely ground.
3. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add vanilla and 1 cup powdered sugar, beating well. (Dough will be crumbly.)
4. Combine flour, salt, and almonds; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended.
5. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
6. Bake at 325° for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and cool 10 minutes. Roll cookies in 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Southern Living, DECEMBER 2010

Tate's Bakeshop Giveaway Winner!!

I love giving things away!! I really do. People like gifts. And, people like you when you give them things. Its true...I know, it sounds a bit wrong, but its still true:) Human nature...


So, the Tate's Bake Shop Giveaway has come to an end. And, I'm ready to give the prize away. One of my Sinful Southern Sweets readers has won the following:

Tate's Cookie Gift Pack

Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook

Oh....and are you going to LOVE it!!
Alright, lets make this short,

Mammamoiselle, you won!!

Yea!!!! Congratulations, Mammamoiselle!! You're gonna love these cookies and cookbook!!

Off now to work on some more of my Christmas baking. I'll be posting a new recipe later. Also, I'll be posting a little printable bag topper freebie for all of you that want to rile up the Treat Bag Society this holiday season :)
Have a great day!

Sprinkled Bakery-style Sugar Cookies

With just over 2 weeks until Christmas, I know everyone is scurrying around like crazy. Whether you’re scouting out the perfect Christmas gift or scouring the luggage stores looking for new luggage to get you home for Christmas, you should take a quick break to indulge in a little Christmas baking. As Christy over at The Southern Plate said it the other day on her blog, there is simply something 'Southern' about baking at Christmas time. I have made Christmas goodies of some sort during the holidays for as long as I can remember. Even people that don’t like to bake, seem to get in the kitchen during Christmas time.

The recipe posted today would be perfect to bake up and give as gifts because it makes lots and lots of cookies. It would also be perfect for a cookie swap.  If you don’t need lots of cookies at one time (who doesn't need lots of cookies at any given time?!?!?), the dough freezes very well. You can just slice it frozen and bake. Just add a few extra minutes to the bake time.

If you like sugar cookies, I think you will fall in love with these. They taste like the ones you would buy at one of the Mall cookie shops. The recipe is said to be a Paradise Bakery Copycat Recipe. I’m not familiar with the Paradise Bakery, but these cookies would certainly fit in at any bakery with the word “Paradise” in the name.

SPRINKLED BAKERY-STYLE SUGAR COOKIES

adapted from here

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups shortening
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
4 1/3 cups cake flour**
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sugar or sprinkles for decorating

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, mix together the sugars and shortening using an electric mixer. Mix on slow speed for 30 seconds, then scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Increase speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes. Slowly add vanilla extract and egg while mixing.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, mixing on slow speed until just blended. Do not overmix.

Roll into small balls or scooped with an ice cream scoop. Roll in sprinkles/sugar. Place on baking sheet

Bake at 375 degrees F for 9 to 10 minutes. Cookies are done when small cracks appear. Ideally, the edges do not brown.

*I opted to use 1 c cake flour, 1 c. wheat pastry flour, and 2 c. all purpose flour-all flours sifted)


Enjoy!