Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls with Almond Cinnamon Sugar

These little pillows of deliciousness are adapted from a Paula Deen recipe. I just wanted to get that out of the way first. What does that mean? It means that they are not healthy and they have no nutritional value whatsoever. I'm certain that there is not a gram of fiber either, but what they lack in fiber, they make up for in fat. What's more is that my 'adaptation' actually served to add calories to a Paula Deen recipe. Is that even possible? The original recipe did not have a sugary almond topping to sprinkle on top. Clearly an oversight. But holy cow, are they good. Good and easy. The perfect Sunday morning treat to make post cereal consumption, when the rest of the house is busy doing Sunday things and you know you want to bake but don't feel like totally committing to the process. Meaning, you want the reward - but aren't willing to put in the work. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Recipe for Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls with Almond Cinnamon Sugar

(adapted from Paula Deen)

*yields 16 small rolls

1 tube of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

FILLING:

3 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

TOPPING:

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

egg wash (1 egg white + 1 tsp. water)

GLAZE:

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

2 tsp. milk 

Mix together the confectioner's sugar, cream cheese and vanilla until smooth and no lumps remain. Set aside. Open the can of crescent rolls. Press two of the triangles together to create a rectangle, roll the seams together and stretch to approximately 7x4 inches. Smear with about 2 Tablespoons of cream cheese filling.

Roll up from the short end, place on plate, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes until firm. 

While chilling, pulse the sliced almonds in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add cinnamon and sugar and mix well. Set aside. In separate bowl, make your egg wash by whisking together one egg white with 1 tsp. water. Set aside.

Remove chilled crescent rolls from fridge, brush with egg wash and sprinkle liberally with almond sugar mixture. Gently press mixture onto the rolls to adhere.  Cut each roll into four pieces.

Place on parchment lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart (they puff up when baked). 

Bake at 350 for 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes. While cooling, make your glaze by adding 2 tsp. of milk to 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar. Mix until smooth. You may have to add a bit more milk to get desired consistency but do so sparingly. 

 Once rolls have cooled to room temperatures, drizzle with the glaze.

A word to the wise:  you really do want to let these cool a bit before eating. When they're still hot, the insides are bit doughy - you'll wonder whether they're under-baked. They're not...they just need to cool slightly. Patience...

Soft White Buns

I've been looking a long time for a good bun recipe. Not a kaiser roll with its crispy exterior. And not a dinner roll, or a butter pan roll, or a parker house roll. A plain, white, round bun. The kind of bun that could be used for a sandwich or, perhaps even a hamburger. 

With so many recipes to choose from, it took me while to finally settle on one. Most of the recipes out there are for the kind of buns I was not looking for. Then I finally found a recipe that looked like what I wanted, it was the picture that was the deciding factor for me. The buns looked exactly like what I wanted but the only way to know for sure was to try it.

As with most new recipes, I tend to stay true to the original recipe for the first round. Even though the recipe calls for half butter and half shortening (which I rarely use unless making a pie crust), I wanted to taste the buns as they were intended before I decide whether or not they need adjustments. These ones were perfect. They are soft white buns - which makes them ideal for sandwiches as a soft bun is more akin to bread.

The instructions, unfortunately, did not say how many the recipe yielded. So I cut my dough off into 3.5 ounce pieces before rolling into balls, and got 19. My buns came out large enough to be used for a hamburger, which is good to know for next time I need homemade burger buns. I think I'll try them with 3 ounces of dough next time, which would give me closer to 2 dozen buns, and they'd be the perfect size for a smaller sandwich or alongside a bowl of soup. Not that anyone was complaining about the size of these buns, however, they were so good. They were still really good the next day - having just sat out on the counter over night. They were still fresh and soft which means they are perfect if you want to make them a day ahead.

Recipe for Soft White Buns
(adapted from Mennonite Girls Can Cook)

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F.)
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. yeast

2 cups milk (I used 1%)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar

6 cups bread flour (or you can use all purpose)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the warm water, 1 tsp. sugar and the yeast. Allow to rest for 10 minutes until "poofed".  (If your mixture doesn't poof, either your yeast is old, or the water was too hot and it killed the yeast.)

In a medium sauce pan over low heat, melt the butter and shortening. Add the milk and just warm through. If your mixture exceeds 110 degrees, allow to sit for a few minutes to cool off.

Add the beaten eggs to the stand mixer bowl where the yeast mixture is. Add the warmed milk mixture. Add the salt and 1/3 cup sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the flour, one cup at a time, allowing each cup of flour to become incorporated before adding the next. Allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before proceeding. Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes, either by hand or with your dough hook (I used the latter) until smooth and elastic adding a tablespoon of flour at a time (if needed) to keep from sticking. (I didn't need any additional flour, my dough was tacky but not sticky).

Let rest for 1 1/2 hours covered. (I actually put the dough in the fridge at this point to run errands. 2 hours later, the dough had doubled in the fridge. I allowed it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding.)

Punch the dough down and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare your sheets by either lining with parchment or spraying with nonstick spray. (Parchment is best.)

Make the dough into buns by cutting off small portions and squeezing between your thumb and your forefinger approximately the size of a small mandarine orange. (If you have a kitchen scale, then weigh each ball to ensure consistent buns. 3 ounces for medium sized buns, 3.5 ounces for hamburger buns.)

Place on prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 to 3 inches between each bun. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake until golden brown, about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of your buns. (Mine were large buns 3.5 ounces and were done at 22 minutes.)

Pork Souvlaki with Homemade Pitas

Every once in a while, inspiration visits on the same day as opportunity. It's rare, but it happens. I think that's why Pinterest is so popular. We see pictures of food that inspires us, but what are the chances we have the time to make it the same day? Almost never. So it gets pinned on the on-line bulletin board so we can find it when we actually have the time required to tackle whatever project it is.

Last week I had a really slow day. No appointments to attend to, no play dates, no dance classes etc... so I tackled this meal that I'd originally seen on Pinterest. I altered it, subbing pork tenderloin for the chicken (have I mentioned my husband is anti-chicken breast?), and I opted to use a ready-made tzatiki sauce because I happened to have some in my fridge and wanted to use it up.

Homemade pita bread is super easy to make, and the end result is so much better than the bought variety. Being a novice bread maker, to put it mildly, I generally avoid yeast. But in this particular case, the bread came together very easily and it was so worth the effort. The other great thing about this pita bread recipe, is that you can make some minor adjustments and make pizza crusts out them. I knew my kids would be less than thrilled with the pork souvlaki, so I deflated two of the pitas while baking in the oven, (they balloon up when baked) and voila - they each had their own individual pizza crust to "decorate" as they put it. Two separate dinners using the same recipe, and everyone was happy. This, unfortunately, is also a rarity.

For the souvlaki marinade:

(adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 Tablespoons)

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 heaping Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper

1 pork tenderloin cut into cubes (or 1 lb of chicken breast)

Combine all the marinade ingredients. Add the meat and allow to sit in your fridge anywhere from 1 to 4 hours. Soak some skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before using, and thread your meat onto the skewers. Grill until cooked through. (In the alternative, you could broil them in your oven, but I've never tried it and have no suggestions in that regard. Sorry.)

For the pita bread:

(adapted from Annie's Eats)

Yield: 8 pitas

3 cups bread flour, plus 1/2-3/4 cup more as needed (you can also use AP flour)

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. sugar 

2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast

1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups water, roughly at room temperature

2 tbsp. olive oil

Mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the olive oil and 1 ¼ cup water and mix with a dough hook until all of the ingredients form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.

Once all of the ingredients form a ball continue mixing it at low speed for 10 minutes. As the dough is mixing, continue to add flour, a tablespoon or two at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky. 

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the dough around so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 equal pieces. I used a scale to get even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it will be easier to shape.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450°. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while it is preheating. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between ¼ – 1/8” thick – 6 inches in diameter. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently, you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5-10 minutes before trying again.

Place discs on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment paper and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30 minutes.

Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. I baked two at a time. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn’t necessary.  (After the 3 minutes, I flipped them over and baked for an additional minute). Remove from oven and allow to cool. they will deflate as they cool.

Like I said, these also doubled as some great pizza crusts. If you want to go that route, prick the rolled dough a few times before baking it in the oven. Top the baked pita/pizza crust after baking it, and then put back in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly. My kids were thrilled with their own personal pizzas, and had fun adding their own toppings. (They're not exactly adventurous eaters.)

In case you're wondering, my little guy's pizza above has a pepperoni spider on it. This was his idea, not mine. Some nights I'll do just about anything to make that kid eat.

Black Bottom Pie from Bon Appetit

 

Today was an extraordinarily lazy day. The laundry that is normally washed, folded and put away on Sunday remains in heaps on my laundry room floor. The Sunday night dinner that I had planned and even shopped for earlier in the week was never made. The family I had intended on asking over for said Sunday night dinner never got the call. Instead, I read and finished a book in my pajamas.

The one thing I did do, however, was make a pie. Which is kind of ironic, because we are not pie people. But I had seen the recipe in the latest Bon Appetit magazine, and it was the dessert I planned to make for our Sunday night family dinner that never was.

This pie, however, was a simple one. Had it required pastry, I'm certain it too would have fallen to the wayside. But because it required very little time at all - I decided to go ahead and make it. I had (almost) all the ingredients anyway, why let them sit in my fridge for another week? I realized quickly that I had forgotten to buy the gingersnap cookies for the crust but a quick search in my pantry and the discovery of the chocolate cookie crumbs saved this pie from slipping to my 'to try another time' list, which is dangerously close to "looks great but will probably never find the time" list.

Black Bottom Pie. A simple crumb crust topped first with a chocolate custard, then a vanilla custard, and smothered in whipped cream. Not hard at all. And, with a few tweaks, pedestrian enough to please my children's picky palates. If you're a fan of cream pies, you should definitely try this one. The custard is rich and silky and the chocolate and vanilla flavors are perfectly balanced. The chocolate custard has a distinguished coffee flavor from the addition of espresso, but that didn't seem to bother my kids one bit. If you're not a fan of coffee, however, I would omit it entirely. The recipe below is exactly as written in Bon Appetit with my changes noted in parenthesis.

Despite being non-pie-people, I must say that this dessert was the perfect ending to our very lazy Sunday. If only every Sunday was like that.

Black Bottom Pie
(Source: Bon Appetit)

Gingersnap Crust
6 ounces gingersnap cookies, about 24 (I used 1 1/4 cups of chocolate cookie crumbs+ 2 T. sugar)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I used 1/4 cup melted butter)
1 tablespoon heavy cream (I omitted)

Custard
1 envelope unflavored gelatin powder
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum (I only used 1 T.)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup mascarpone
5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup hot espresso or strong coffee

Assembly
1 cup chilled heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon dark rum (I omitted - for the kids)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Natural unsweetened cocoa powder
Grated semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
Toasted sliced almonds (I omitted but wished I hadn't)

special equipment
A 9"-diameter glass or ceramic pie dish

Preheat oven to 350°. Pulse cookies in a food processor until finely ground. Drizzle in butter and cream; pulse until well blended. (If you're using crumbs instead of cookies, simply pour the melted butter over the crumbs and sugar and mix until it resembles wet sand.) Pour into prepared dish. Use the bottom and sides of a measuring cup to pack crumbs onto bottom and up sides of dish. Bake until crust is set, 12–15 minutes (I only baked for 10 minutes). Let cool completely on a wire rack; set aside.

Pour 2 Tbsp. water into a small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes. Heat milk and cream in a large saucepan over medium heat until mixture just comes to a simmer.

Whisk egg yolks and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk egg mixture into milk mixture; whisk in gelatin. Whisk constantly over medium-low heat until thick, about 5 minutes.

Remove vanilla custard from heat and stir in mascarpone. Place 1 cup custard in a medium bowl; add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in espresso. Pour chocolate custard into crust; smooth top. Chill pie until set, about 30 minutes. Let vanilla custard stand at room temperature.

Gently pour remaining vanilla custard over chilled chocolate layer (pour slowly so as not to disturb chocolate layer). Smooth top; chill until set, about 1 hour, or keep covered up to 1 day.

Assembly

Using an electric mixer at medium-low speed, beat cream and sugar in a medium bowl until cream begins to thicken. Add rum and vanilla; increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over custard. Dust with cocoa powder and garnish with grated chocolate and almonds. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Chill uncovered.

Snickerdoodle Bread

I converted the Snickerdoodle Muffins from Tasty Kitchen into Snickerdoodle Bread. The muffins were so amazing (why I never blogged them I cannot say) - and so I decided to try them in loaf form. Why didn't I just make the muffins again? I dunno. I guess partly because I just wanted to experiment and partly because I recently made a Cinnamon Swirl Loaf that I saw on Pinterest and was very disappointed with the results. My failure plagued me - until I read some of the reviews and learned that I was not the only one who thought the recipe basically sucked.

Feeling the need for redemption in the loaf department, I decided to give the muffin recipe a twist. I didn't make any revisions to the ingredients or the amounts of the Snickerdoodle Muffins recipe, but instead of plopping the batter into a muffin tray, I dropped them into a loaf pan. I baked it for 55 minutes, and crossed my fingers. Guess what? Success! The loaf is just as good as the muffins. Although, I will say it has a delicate crumb, so you must handle with care. But the loaf version was just as delicious, so moist and light. If you'd rather try this in muffin form, you can see the original recipe with instructions in the link below. 

Recipe for Snickerdoodle Bread

(Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen)

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2-¼ cups flour

¾ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoons cream of tartar

½ teaspoons salt

1 cup sour cream

¼ cups buttermilk

For the Topping:

⅔ cups sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan generously with non-stick spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy with a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream and buttermilk and mix to combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping.

Use scooper and plop a scoop of batter (approximately 1/4 cup) into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Gently roll the batter in the sugar and cinnamon. 

Place the ball into the loaf pan. Continue until you have completed your first layer, completely covering the base of the loaf pan. Sprinkle about a Tablespoon of the sugar/cinnamon mixture over the first layer of batter. Continue scooping the remaining batter into the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture and layer the batter into the pan. When you have used up all the batter, place a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the loaf and press gently to squeeze out any air pockets between the dough scoops and to even out the loaf.

Sprinkle the loaf with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. 

Bake the loaf for approximately 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (I baked mine for 55 minutes but everyone's ovens are different, so watch closely and don't be fooled by the browned upper crust.) Allow to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes. Loosen the sides of the loaf from the pan and remove from pan over a piece of parchment (there will be some loose sugar that will fall out). Allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack before slicing. *Note the loaf is delicate, so be gentle and it's better to cut into thicker slices so it won't fall apart.

Super Easy and Delicious Chocolate Sheet Cake

I was craving chocolate cake. But not the fancy kind. I just wanted a good old fashioned cake that was chocolate-y, moist, delicious, but super easy to throw together. No layers, no decorating, no frills whatsoever. Having posted several chocolate cakes that I love, you'd think I'd just use one of those recipes, right? Wrong. As all food bloggers can attest to, as successful as a recipe may have been in the past, and despite loving it, it is very, very hard to repeat a recipe. We like to try new stuff. It's a curse.

Despite the plainness of the cake that I was searching for, you'd be surprised how difficult it was to find a recipe that suited my mood. I didn't want it to come from a box with add-ins, and I didn't want to melt chocolate or dirty any more bowls than absolutely necessary. I eventually stumbled on a recipe that looked promising, albeit with a few tweaks. For instance, I added more cocoa powder, because I didn't want a weak tasting chocolate cake. I used coffee instead of water and doubled the vanilla for the same reason. I subbed brown sugar for half the white sugar to ensure moisture. I used sour cream instead of buttermilk because I didn't have any of the latter. I increased the salt for flavor, and I baked it in a 13 x 9 inch pan instead of the sheet pan called for in the recipe. Finally, I decided to go for a plain old butter cream frosting, instead of chocolate. Other than those small adjustments the recipe was exactly what I was looking for. For those who don't know me, that last sentence was dripping with sarcasm.

So how did my cake turn out? In a word...awesome. It was better than I'd hoped for. The mixing instructions are not typical - so I wasn't sure if it would be heavy and dense since I didn't use a mixer. But it came out perfect. Super moist, very chocolate (but not offensively so), with a nice, soft crumb. Plus, you only dirty one bowl and a saucepan. This will now be my go-to recipe for plain chocolate cake. Despite what I said earlier about never wanting to repeat a recipe. 

Recipe for Super Easy and Delicious Chocolate Sheet Cake
(loosely based on recipe from: Willow Bird Baking)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6 tablespoons cocoa, sifted
1 cup brewed coffee (or water)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk flour, baking soda, sugars, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter with vegetable oil, cocoa powder, and coffee and bring to boil. Pour over mixture of dry ingredients. Stir well, then add sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Pour into a 13 x 9 inch metal baking pan sprayed generously with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups of icing sugar, divided
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract.

Cream butter with 2 cups of icing sugar until fully incorporated. Add 2 Tbsp. of milk and the vanilla. Mix well. Add remaining cup of icing sugar and mix well. Add remaining milk, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until you reach desired consistency.

Pizzelles (repost)

This is my final post before Christmas. It's actually a re-post - but if you're new around these parts, then you may have missed it. These are, hands-down, my favorite Christmas cookie. Actually, I'm not sure they're "Christmas cookies" at all, but this seems to be the only time I make them, which is a huge oversight on my part. You obviously need a pizzelle iron to make them, which not everybody has, but everybody should in my humble opinion.

I grew up eating Pizzelles, not because my mom made them, but because my Italian friends' moms made them. I always got so excited when I saw them come out - usually in a simple ice-cream bucket. No frills, nothing fancy about them, just a simple waffle cookie that packed a lot of flavor.

I've tested these cookies out on my friends who grew up eating Pizzelles to see if they measure up, and I've been given the stamp of approval. In fact, I've been told they're even better than the ones they remember. I've made three batches this Christmas - they don't last long - which is always the sure sign of a good recipe.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas with loved ones.

Recipe for Pizzelles

(Source: Brown Eyed Baker)
Yield: Approximately 3 dozen
6 eggs
1 cup butter, melted
1½ cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon anise extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3½ cups all-purpose flour

Beat the eggs on medium speed until pale and thick. Add the melted butter and mix until thoroughly combined. With the mixer still running, add the sugar and mix until combined. Add the extracts and continue to mix. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour, mixing until combined. Preheat the pizzelle iron according to the manufacturer’s directions. When ready, drop batter by heaping tablespoon onto iron, close, and hold closed for as long as the manufacturer states. (For me it's usually less than a minute.) When ready, open iron and remove pizzelle with a rubber spatula. Repeat until all batter is used.

Note: Be sure to drop the batter slightly above the center of the iron otherwise it won't spread properly.

Milk Chocolate Nutella Sea Salt Fudge

This fudge is super easy and really, really delicious. It's silky and creamy, and while it is definitely sweet, as all fudges are, I've definitely had much sweeter fudge than this. And it doesn't have that dry, grainy texture that a lot of fudges have. Think truffles...that's the best way to describe the texture. Plus, there's no need for a candy thermometer. You could totally whip up a batch of this in 10 minutes flat.

Recipe for Milk Chocolate Nutella Sea Salt Fudge
(Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen)

14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces, good quality milk chocolate, chopped
1 cup Nutella
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 teaspoon (approximately) sea salt

Prepare and 8x8 inch pan by spraying generously with non-stick cooking spray and then lining with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang on all sides. In a medium-large glass bowl combine all the ingredients except the salt. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate has melted. Pour mixture into prepared pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Chill until set, at least 2 hours. Remove fudge from pan by pulling on the overhang, and cut into small squares.

White Chocolate Cornflake Crunch & Pretzel Clusters

Have you heard of the Momofuko Milk Bar cookies? They look crazy good. Crazy. Good. These are not them. These are something else entirely. Momofuko cookies are basically a very buttery chocolate chip cookie batter with marshmallows and 'cornflake crunch'. But this 'cornflake crunch' is a recipe unto itself. The cornflake crunch consists of crushed cornflakes, butter, milk powder, salt and a tiny bit of sugar. It's baked at a low temperature until it becomes golden. Then it's added to the cookie recipe. Totally decadent. Totally right up my alley.

I decided to make those cookies. HOWEVER. After I made the cornflake crunch, I went back to the recipe for the actual cookies, and it was then that I decided to read the reviews. Turns out very few people had success with the cookie itself. Too much butter, not holding its shape etc. Some of the commenters/reviewers were downright pissed off about the recipe, claiming that there was clearly an error on the website. So I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. Had I actually read those reviews earlier, I would not have gone out and purchased a box of Cornflakes and made this 'Cornflake Crunch'. But alas, I am not a planner. I was knee deep in the process and had no idea what the hell to do with all my cornflake crunch, which despite the article, is not something I would eat on its own. It's good, but it needs to be part of something bigger.

Perhaps the cookie recipe will be revisited in time, but for now, I'm in no mood to tinker around with something that may or may not turn out. I haven't the time nor the patience. So, instead of just tossing the Cornflake Crunch, I tucked it away until I could figure out what to do with it. Well. I may have stumbled onto something people! I ended up melting some white chocolate, which, as you know, is very sweet, and adding the Cornflake Crunch as well as a handful of broken pretzels and voila! "White Chocolate Cornflake Crunch & Pretzel Clusters" was born. It's delicious! Sweet and salty, and perfectly crunchy. Not to mention super easy too. I've seen chocolate covered cornflakes a few times, but this takes that concept to a whole new level. These cornflakes are buttery and toasted, so much better than just using regular cornflakes. So...if you're looking for an interesting and easy candy to make for your Christmas holiday baking, look no further. Some of the best dishes come from kitchen blunders and improvising. Case and point.

RECIPE FOR WHITE CHOCOLATE CORNFLAKE CRUNCH & PRETZEL CLUSTERS

10 ounces of good quality white chocolate
1/2 cup (approximately) broken pretzels
1 3/4 cups (approximately) Cornflake Crunch  *recipe follows

Melt chocolate in medium bowl. Once completely melted and smooth, add pretzels and Cornflake Crunch. Mix well. Drop by teaspoon onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Chill until chocolate is set.

Recipe for Cornflake Crunch:
Yields about four cups
5 c. cornflakes
½ c. milk powder
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
9 tbsp. butter, melted
Heat oven to 275 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, with your hands, crush cornflakes to ¼ of their original size. Add milk powder, sugar, and salt; toss to mix. Add butter; toss to coat. (As you toss, the butter will act as glue, binding the dry ingredients to the cereal, creating small clusters.) On a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan, spread clusters and bake for 20 minutes, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently when cooled slightly and chewed. Cool completely before storing or using in a recipe. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the crunch will keep fresh for one week; in the fridge or freezer, it will keep with one month.

Almond Roca

This is my second attempt at Almond Roca this week. My first attempt was with a recipe that looked simple. There was no candy thermometer involved. It said to boil the sugar mixture for 12 minutes exactly. Skeptical, I decided to give it a go, I like easy recipes, and felt like taking the easy way out. BIG mistake. My sugar was burnt at 10 minutes and the whole batch was tossed. 

Undeterred, I searched for another recipe, resigned to the fact that a candy thermometer would be key in getting the sugar to the correct doneness. It's true what they say, the temperature of the sugar rises very slowly in the beginning, and then when it's close to being done, it goes up fast. It's critical to watch it diligently once you get to about 280 degrees F. Keep stirring, and don't take your eyes off that thermometer. Candy making tips...from me...now that's rich.

If I can do this, anyone can. Don't attempt this without a thermometer. Unless, of course, you've been doing this for a long time and are psychic and just know that precise magical time when the sugar is ready. But for the rest of regular folks, a candy thermometer is an excellent investment.

Recipe for Almond Roca

(adapted from All Recipes)

1 cup whole natural almonds
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons boiling water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups (or thereabouts) chopped milk chocolate

Toast your almonds on a baking sheet at 350 degrees F. for approximately 15 minutes. Check them at 10 minutes, by cutting an almond in half, it should be slightly golden inside. Remove from oven, let cool, and then coarsely chop. Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle chopped almonds evenly in pan. In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add sugar and stir constantly until gently boiling. Add water and corn syrup. Allow to a boil over medium heat; stirring often, until a candy thermometer reads 300 degrees F (hard-crack stage). (I pulled mine off at 295 degrees). Quickly pour over almonds. Spread the sugar mixture as best you can to cover all the almonds. 

Don't worry if you can't get it into all the corners. It will start to harden immediately. Sprinkle chocolate on top; let stand for 1-2 minutes or until melted. 

Spread chocolate over candy.

 Cool completely; break into pieces.