Haystacks

-12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips. melted
-1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread coconut in a single layer on parchment. Place in oven until golden and toasted, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to color evenly. Remove from oven; let cool completely.     


In a medium bowl, combine toasted coconut and melted chocolate. (I melt chocolate in the microwave....stirring after 30 second increments...you can also slowly melt using a double boiler). Stir gently until combined. Press about 1 tablespoon coconut mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or candy papers. Repeat with remaining mixture. Place in the refrigerator until candy is set, about 20 minutes. Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

-1/2 cup  Milk Chocolate Chips
-1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

-1 tablespoon shortening (do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil)

-1/2 cup unsalted, roasted peanuts

-1/2 cup salted, roasted peanuts

                                       

Place chocolate chips and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Stir in peanuts.  Drop by teaspoons into 1-inch diameter candy or petit four papers. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.  Makes about 2 dozen candies.

III Forks Off the Cob Cream Corn

-10 ears of fresh corn, shucked, cooked and off cob (or large bag -2.5 pound bag - of frozen corn)
-1 cup heavy cream
-1 cup milk
-2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon white pepper
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
-1/2 teaspoon Accent seasoning
-1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
-1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
-4 ounces unsalted butter
-2 tablespoons flour

In a large saucepan, combine the first 10 ingredients.  Slowly bring it to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer.  Allow to simmer for three minutes.

In a separate pan, melt the butter until  it begins to pop, then stir the flour into the butter.  Add  the butter and flour mixture to the simmering corn.  Stirring occassionally, allow to simmer for three more minutes.  Keep warm until served.

From the kitchen of Deatra Smith...courtesty of Chef Vogeli, Executive Chef at III Forks in Dallas, Texas.

Chocolate Spoons

This year, I made some chocolate spoons to add to the goodies I gave to friends and neighbors for Christmas.  They can be used in coffee or warm milk to make hot chocolate.  My kids had fun watching the chocolate on their spoons melt and then drinking it up.  These are very easy to make and you can decorate however you like.

Melt chocolate or white chocolate chips (I microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so).  Dip plastic spoon and coat with the chocolate.  While chocolate is still wet, coat with your choice or topping/decoration.  We have used shredded coconut, Christmas sprinkles, crushed candy canes, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, etc.  Then, lay on a sheet of wax paper and let the chocolate completely harden. 

Grandma Drake's Baked Apples

These baked apples have been a holiday staple in our family since my Mom was a little girl.  From what I understand, the recipe was passed along to my Grandma so I'm sure it goes back even farther than I know.  My mom and I tried to make these for Christmas while she was visiting this year.  However, we didn't trust the original recipe (thought there was too much flour) and ended up botching the entire batch.  I tried making them again this week and they turned out PERFECT!  It's amazing how food can bring back so many memories from childhood.  We eat these right along with the turkey dinner, but you could also serve them as a dessert.   

 -3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut in half
-1 cup white sugar
-1/2 cup margarine (cold)
-3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cup flour (enough to make thick dough like consistency)
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-cinammon

To make the filling, use a pastry cutter.  I couldn't find mine so I just used a fork.  In a large mixing bowled, cut margarine into the sugar with a fork (or your pastry cutter) until thoroughly combined.  Then, slowly cut in flour until you get a VERY THICK, dough like consisentcy.  I ended up using a little over a cup or so of flour.  (When my mom and I made these we did not use enough flour and the filling just melted off the apples...make sure the filling is super thick).  Add vanilla and combine thoroughly with fork/pastry cutter. 

Lay apple halves, core side up in a 9X13 inch pan.  Spoon a generous amount of filling into the core/top of each apple.  Sprinkle lightly with cinammon (use your fingers to sprinkle just a tad on each apple.

Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for about 1/2 -1 hour.  Baking time depends on your oven and the apples. Start checking apples for doneness at 30 minutes but they will most likely cook for close to an hour.  Use a fork to poke the apple to see if it's tender.  It should be tender, but not completely soft.

Christmas Bark

Whoops...this one has been sitting in my drafts box for the last month. 

Christmas Bark is one of my favorite things to consume during the Christmas season.  Ghirardelli's version is A-mazing but gets a little pricey (at least with the amount that I consume during the Christmas season).  I'm just as happy with my version...

-24 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
-24 ounces white chocolate chips
-40 or so peppermint candy canes, crushed
-Green, red, white sprinkles

Lightly grease 2, 9X13 inch baking sheets and line with waxed paper, smoothing out the wrinkles.  Set aside.

Melt semi-sweet chips in microwave.  Heat for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.  Pour into the baking sheets and spread evenly over the bottom of the sheet.  To smooth the ridges/bubbles, I gently slam (can't think of a better word than slam) the cookie sheet on the counter a couple times.   Sprinkle half of the crushed candy on top of the chocolate and press gently with your hands.  Refrigerate until completely hardened, about 1 hour.

Melt the white chips in microwave the same as before.  Pour the white chocolate over the hardened semi-sweet chocolate layer.  Spread evenly. Cover with the rest of the crushed candies and some Christmas colored sprinkles and gently push it down into chocolate with hands.    Slam the cookie sheet on counter again to remove ridges/bubbles.   Refrigerate until completely hardened.  Remove from pan and break into small pieces to serve.  I start this by slicing a chunk with a knife and then break with my hands.

Chris Kringles

These are my favorite Christmas cookies. I'm not much of a baker the rest of the year, but I do bake some cookies for friends during the holidays.  These cookies taste like brownies with powdered sugar on them. Santa likes them too!

-1/2 cup vegetable oil
-4 squares unsweetened chocolate

Melt these two ingredients together. Heat slowly, mixing every 30-60 seconds in microwave or heat in a double boiler, stirring constantly.

-2 cups sugar
-4 eggs
-2 teaspoons vanilla
-2 cups flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup powdered sugar

Mix chocolate and oil mixture with sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Stir in dry ingredients until mixed thoroughly. Refrigerate dough, covered, for a MINIMUM of 2 hours or overnight. Drop teaspoons of dough into powdered sugar and roll to coat. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.*

Cool slightly (about 2 minutes) and then remove from cookie sheet before completely set. Makes about 3 dozen.

*While I have the cookies in the oven baking, I stick the bowl of dough back in the fridge or freezer to keep the dough cold. The dough is much easier to work with when it is super cold.