Tantalizing Thursday-Christmas Candies & Fudge

Welcome to Tantalizing Thursday on Chief 187™Chatter. Christmas is ten days away! For many who want to have a homemade sweet treat to offer guests and loved ones but are not confident in their abilities in the kitchen, I have assembled some popular and easy recipes for tried and true favorites. Cookies are a mainstay at Christmas, but candies and fudge cannot be overlooked. Today’s spotlight is on these tasty confections that add dimension to a cookie tray and are a fantastic dessert or gift in and of themselves. I hope you enjoy whipping up these tidbits and sharing them with those you love.

Saltine Toffee
Recipe taken from http://allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces saltine crackers
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.
3. In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread t cover crackers completely.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts. Cool completely and break into pieces.

Fudge is as much a part of Christmas as cookies, carols, and gifts. For those unfamiliar, fudge seems extraordinarily difficult to make. In truth it is wickedly simple and yields wonderful reactions of love, appreciation, and gratitude. Whip up a batch and watch it disappear. I recommend getting enough ingredients to make 2-3 batches at least!

Easy Chocolate Fudge

Recipe retrieved from http://verybestbaking.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 can (14 oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

LINE 8- or 9-inch square baking pan with foil.

COMBINE morsels and sweetened condensed milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Warm over lowest possible heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in nuts and vanilla extract.

SPREAD evenly into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces.


Easy peasy and yet you look like a ROCK STAR! Don’t tell them your secret that it is so easy, simply smile and take the compliments when they come rolling in from those you made it to devour!

For those of you who adore peanut butter fudge, here is a scrumptious recipe.

Peanut Butter Fudge
Recipe from http://foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pound powdered sugar

Directions:

Combine the butter and peanut butter in a 4-quart microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. (Use caution when removing this mixture from the microwave, it will be very hot.) Add the vanilla and powdered sugar to the peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. The mixture will become hard to stir and lose its sheen. Spread into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with parchment paper. Fold the excess parchment paper so it covers the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

If you are like my husband, then you like your chocolate fudge mixed with peanut butter fudge. Here is that tasty variation!

Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Fudge

Recipe retrieved from http://seriouseats.com

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Line an 8" x 8" baking dish with wax or parchment paper. Lightly grease with butter.
Combine the butter and peanut butter in a large glass, ceramic, or otherwise microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Remove from microwave and stir until smooth. Return to microwave and cook on high for 2 additional minutes. Remove from microwave.

Add the vanilla and powdered sugar to the peanut butter mixture and quickly stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Don't over beat the fudge. Just as the mixture starts to lose its sheen and becomes hard to stir, add half of the chocolate chips and as soon as they begin to marble the fudge, begin spreading the candy into the prepared pan, disturbing it as little as possible.
Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top of the fudge and cover the top with a sheet of wax or parchment paper, lightly pressing down on the top of the fudge.
Refrigerate until completely cool, about 2 hours. Cut into bite size pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.


Hopefully these recipes will take little effort, simple ingredients that are easy to find, short amount of time, and yield humongous results! Let me know what candies and fudge you tried and how they went over with your crowd!

This Tantalizing Thursday is dedicated to Stacy Hyatt who specifically asked for these recipes. I hope it was worth the wait, Stacy! If you have any requests, feel free to contact me here or via Twitter where you can tweet me @Chief187s.

Please join me tomorrow for the Friday Music Blog on Chief 187™Chatter.