espresso butter creams

I love going to those mom & pop candy stores where almost all the candies are homemade.

Antique glass display cases, creaky wooden floors, stuffed animals sitting next to candy gift packs...the smell of sugar permeates through the air.

The butter creams, the cordials, even the peanut butter cups are all homemade and usually hand dipped too.

First thing I love to try is the peanut butter cups; some places nail the flavor spot on and others add too much sugar and the peanut flavor/texture is lost.

I find the same scenario with butter creams; they are always so sweet, too sweet to even detect what the actual flavor is. 

I've always wanted to try making my own butter creams.  And it was my first time using one of those plastic candy molds from Wiltons.  Sorry to say, I was not impressed by the plastic candy molds.

I tried everything to get the candies out of said mold: in the fridge, in the freezer, banging, in dip in hot water, etc....Someone mentioned to try using silicone molds next time. And I will.   

All of the candies I've made in the past I usually roll by hand and dip myself.  But this time I needed a mold to hold the butter cream because the butter cream is well, not rollable!

If you do want to make these and are comfortable using plastic candy molds then perfect.

If you want a suggestion or two: trying using a silicone mold or use those small candy paper cups (like the mini Reeses peanut butter paper cups) those should work perfectly!

If you like the taste of buttery espresso then you'll love these. They are rich and tasty and definitely not overly sweet like an ordinary butter cream might be.

Make sure to gently tap the molds when you put the final layer of chocolate on; you want to make sure the chocolate gets evenly coated all around.

Really hard to remove!  Banging them out finally worked!

With all the work was it worth it?  Yes, they are tasty!  Next time mini paper candy cups!

espresso butter creams

print recipe

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Starbucks Via (I used the blonde roast) OR use 1-2 ts espresso powder

giant pinch of sea salt

3 TB unsalted butter, very soft

for the chocolate coating:

(I used half bitter sweet, half semi sweet chips; use what you like but I do not recommend milk chocolate as its too sweet)

7 ounces of bitter sweet

7 ounces semi sweet

½ TB vegetable oil

In a medium bowl mix the condensed milk, 2 cups of powdered sugar, salt, and espresso.  Mix by hand or with a mixer. When mixed then add in the very soft butter and mix well.  You want a nice sooth consistency.  Give it a taste and see if it needs more salt or espresso. 

Cover the top with plastic wrap and place in fridge to firm up a bit; a few hours or overnight.

When ready to use you can either use candy molds, mini paper cups or silicone molds.  You can try rolling balls on your own, but I found the candy dough to be too loose.

Place chocolate chips with the vegetable oil in a microwavable bowl, give it a good mix and then microwave in 10 second spurts till melted.  Making sure to stir each time after 10 seconds.  Or you can temper the chocolate how you like best.

Since this time I used the candy molds, I coated the bottom and sides of each mold with chocolate, let it harden, then added in little globs of the espresso, place in fridge for 20 minutes, then filled the molds with chocolate, tapping as I go along to make sure the chocolate is evenly disbursed.

Then back into fridge to set up.

I made about 56 candy pieces using these molds; if you use mini paper cups I imagine you might get about 40-50?

lemon crunch bars

Remember when I made the ginger crunch bars?
Me too.
Those were so good.
Actually I had kept them in the back of my mind to re-create with a new flavor.
And finally that new flavor hit me: lemon!
Lemon is the perfect match for these buttery, sweet, crunchy critters.
Seriously, you need to give these a go, and if you can get your hands on Meyer lemons then please do so.
I know you're going to ask me what can I use instead of golden syrup?
I just don't know, as golden syrup is really the perfect base for the glaze here because is thickens up as it cools.
Please invest in a small can of golden syrup, it's not that pricey and a little bit goes a long long way.

As I type this post up, I am thinking in the back of my head how I can sneak in another bar without ruining my gym workout.  I promised my doctor he and his wife would get this tomorrow, but I don't know if there will be any left!

They are that good. Thin, crispy, buttery, and full of lemon flavor.
Isn't that yellow color pretty too?  That would make a fabulous wallpaper color for a second bathroom.


Mix the lemon zest with the sugar and the lemon juice; let it sit a bit to marinate.

Make sure to push the dough down in all the little nooks of the tart pan.

Time for a glaze bath.
Note: I only used half the glaze for this and saved the other half for a cake, muffin or loaf.
The glaze is sweet and very tangy, so you only need a little bit.

lemon crunch bars

adapted from here and here

print recipe

cook notes:

I used an 8-inch tart pan with removable bottom. 

You could use another size/shape tart pan with removable bottom.

cookie base

9 TB unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup flour

1 ts baking powder

a huge pinch of sea salt

zest of 2 lemons

juice of ½ a lemon

icing

5 TB unsalted butter

2 TB golden syrup

3/4 cup powdered sugar

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter and/or spray up an 8 or 9-inch square tart pan.

You can use a stand mixer—I mixed by hand. 

In a small bowl, put in the sugar, add in the lemon zest and lemon juice, mix, set aside.

In a large bowl cream the butter and the seasoned sugar until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Mix the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture until well combined. Turn the dough out onto the pan and spread it out, making sure to get into all the corners.  It’s not a sticky dough, so this part should be relatively easy.  The dough is a bit crumbly/dry—don’t panic. 

Bake the dough for 18-20 minutes, until it’s light golden brown or if you want really crunchy then golden brown (I did somewhere in between).

When the dough is almost done baking, make the icing by heating the butter and golden syrup over low heat in a small pan; add in the powdered sugar and lemon zest.  Keep stirring until it’s all smooth. Take off heat.

Once the cookie dough is done baking pour the icing over the top (I used about ¾ to ½ the glaze and save the rest for a bread).  When smoothing out the icing try not to let it get into the edges.  You want the edges to be seen as it gives a nice decorative appeal when it’s all cooled.

Let this sit for at least 30 minutes to let the icing harden up/set up. 

If your kitchen is hot, then pop in the fridge.

Use a sharp knife to slice into bars or squares.

mini corn & cheese dogs (one bowl easy!)

Ever have a dusty box of ____ in the cupboard and look at the expiration date and think "yikes, how did I let that get so old?"
That happens to me a lot,  I have good intentions of using said dusty box soon, and yet all it does it sits there for a year or more.
Said box in question is the corn bread mix from Trader Joe's.
I remember buying two boxes of the cornbread, knowing one box will be used to make corn bread muffins JUST so I can make another batch of my sweet & spicy bacon jam.
And the second box, just sat on the shelf for the longest time, it got moved from one cupboard to another in hopes I'll remember to use it to make something.
Last weekend I finally came up with a use for it:  will it will deep fry?
Yeah, let's deep fry it! (tell me your brain works this way too?).
And yes, it does deep fry, very well in fact.
One bowl easy too.
Just mix, add some cheese, dip hot dogs or mini hot dogs in batter, and deep fry.
It fries up nice and light. The batter is a little bit of a challenge to work with to coat hot dogs, but once you have the hang of it, it gets easier.
Of course if you are still weary of deep frying then make baked corn dogs!
Just pour the batter in a flat pan or brownie pan, top with a few lines of hot dogs and bake!
I made baked corn dogs ages ago, so please ignore the bad photos--it's a really old post, but a great recipe.

So easy to assemble.
Use the Trader Joe's Cornbread Mix.
Mix, add cheese if desired.
Then dip hot dogs.


You can coat the dogs one of two ways: using a small ice cream scoop.

And this will give round corn dogs or fritters.

Or you can just coat them using your fingers.

And this will give you thinner, longer corn dogs.
Of course if you had skewers then that would also work, but alas I didn't.

I served these with corn relish dipping sauce. Any excuse to eat corn relish!


mini corn & cheese dogs (one bowl easy!)
print recipe

trader joes cornbread mix (you could try another brand, but I don't know if it will deep fry)
1/2 - 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (use as much or as little as you like)
couple dashes of pepper
mini hot dogs (about 10-15) (or use tofu dogs!)

vegetable oil for deep frying

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Using a small ice cream scoop or your hands, coat the hot dogs in batter and fry in the oil.
They fry up pretty fast so keep an eye on them, and make sure to turn them over once during frying.
Let cool and drain on brown paper or wire racks with sheet on bottom.
They really don't need to be salted when they come out of the fryer.
Use whatever dipping sauces you like; I loved using corn relish.
One box made about 12-15 mini corn dogs.
Of course you could try baking these if you're uneasy about deep frying.
Since I have not done this, I would use a brownie pan or bigger.
Place the cornbread mix in greased pan, then place hot dogs (large or small) on top of batter.
Then bake at 350 degrees for?? 15-30 minutes (or whatever the directions on the box said??)