spicy chocolate fudge w/ pecans

Something about chocolate and a bit of heat that when combined together just right sounds so good. There is a homemade candy shop in Chatham, MA that I went to a couple summers back that had spicy milk chocolate bark with pecans in it and some peanut butter. Good Charlotte it was so good! It wasn't that spicy, just enough heat & salt to really meld perfectly with the deep milk chocolate taste. Ever since that last bite of the spicy bark I've wanted to re-create it at home. As of lately I've been wanting to try my hand at fudge, and I am NOT a huge fudge eater. So why not add some heat to a good nutty batch of fudge? Seriously there are some really bad fudges out there that taste like a sugar block, ick. I'll definitely eat fudge if it has a nice butter to cream to salt to chocolate ratio, you know like a really good danish that has the perfect balance/ratio of cheese to fruit to crust. Another important point is a good fudge should have nuts in it, without a doubt. I mean what's the point of eating fudge without nuts in it to balance off the milk chocolate flavor? And I do like a good peanut butter fudge, but I have to really taste the peanut butter through the thick dense fudge in order to love it. My latest creation is nothing more than a kicked up creamy version of fudge; a smoother more creamier version of chocolate fudge with some added spicy pecans. Remember a few posts ago I told you of my love for those Sweet & Spicy Pecans from Trader Joe's and how I vowed to make something really cool with them? I did, I put them in the fudge, along with a pinch extra of heat.

This my friends, was so friggin good. I gave most of it away as I didn't want it sitting at home in my fridge staring at me to nibble on. You know how that goes. It all starts out with you going to the fridge, see the candy, the cake, the moist brownies or the buttery cookies sitting in their little tupperware container; you take a small piece out, walk away, eat it. Then you realize it tastes so good that you're just going to have one more piece: a small piece, and that's it. You take the piece back over to your desk or upstairs to your room, or back to whatever it was you were doing and eat it, realizing 'hey this is good'. And now, of course, you're craving more, and tell yourself 'one more piece and I won't have dessert tonight'. This seems rational to you at the time, so you go get another piece from the fridge, making sure to close the tupperware top all the way around as if this is going to help stop you from coming back again because the top is on tighter now. You walk back to whatever it was your were doing and by this time you've devoured the piece of goodness already. You instantly walk over to the fridge because you've already told yourself that you're not eating dessert so it's ok to go for one more little piece. you get to the fridge and take a bigger piece than last time and realize you shouldn't do it, put it back in the container and then it hits you 'I just won't have that much dinner and I will walk more tomorrow at the gym'. You go back to the fridge and get an even bigger piece....

Sound familiar? Yeah, that's why I send a lot of the goodies I make off to hubbys' work in Boston; they go on a field trip without me. (they had a blast on their field trip though!!)


spicy chocolate fudge w/ pecans

1 c. salted butter (2 sticks)
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
2 lbs. of confectioners sugar
¾ cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
3 ts good quality vanilla extract
A pinch or two of cayenne pepper (add as much or as little as you like)
A good sized pinch of sea salt
1 ½ cup of sweet & spicy pecans* (I used 2 cups, I love a lot of nuts. Make sure to leave them whole, not chopped up)

In a separate bowl sift together powdered sugar and cocoa; set aside. Butter a 9 x 12 non-stick pan. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and cream cheese, stirring often. Do not boil! Remove from heat add in the pinch of salt, vanilla extract and pepper, mix again. Add the sifted sugar & cocoa to the cheese mixture, mixing well.
Stir in the nuts. Pour into buttered 9"x12" pan. Chill at least 3 hours or until really firm.
My fudge came out easily from the pan. Recipe by Dawn Finicane of vanillakitchen.blogspot.com If you don’t have a non-stick pan use parchment paper. Don’t spray it with Pam….that will taste horrible.
Makes 3 pounds.

*the sweet & spicy pecans can be found at Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find them try your local grocery store or nut shop. If you're going to add in your own nuts, make sure to toast them first. You want that crispy, flavorful nut in this fudge, and toasting helps bring out the flavor of all nuts.

vanilla poundcake w/ creamsicle frosting

Creamsicle.
Remember that flavor as a kid? I can't tell you how many creamsicles I ate as a kid. That creamy flavor combo of orange and milk. I remember biting into the first creamsicle of the summer season with the hard orange crust that would break with just enough force to open up the creamy middle milky center.
Lately I've been craving a creamsicle type frosting. Since I could just make the frosting and eat it on it's own...but no, I'll make a cake to go with.
I realize poundcake doesn't always come to mind when you think of frosting something new, but I have wanted to dress up a poundcake, so here is the perfect opportunity.

 I started my search for frostings or glazes of the creamsicle variety, but most of them were just butter, milk and some orange zest. Not very creamsicle-like. So, I set out to try and find my own recipe that would hit the creamsicle flavor mark right on the head. After a few experiments I finally found one I liked and it closely resembled that of a creamsicle. I would also love to try this frosting on a carrot cake; for some reason I just think it would be awesome melding all those flavors together.
Of course you don't have to put this frosting on poundcake, any vanilla cake or cupcake will do.




vanilla pound cake w/ creamsicle frosting
pound cake recipe from America's Test Kitchen
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pound cake:
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold, plus extra for greasing pan
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract + some vanilla beans about 1 ts (optional)
1¾ cups cake flour (7 ounces), plus extra for dusting pan
½ teaspoon table salt
1¼ cups sugar (8 3/4 ounces)

Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces and place in bowl of standing mixer; let stand at room temperature 20 to 30 minutes to soften slightly (butter should reach no more than 60 degrees). Using dinner fork, beat eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla in liquid measuring cup until combined. Let egg mixture stand at room temperature until ready to use.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter 9 by 5-inch loaf pan; dust pan liberally with flour and knock out excess.
In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, beat butter and salt at medium-high speed until shiny, smooth, and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once with rubber spatula.
Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, gradually pour in sugar (this should take about 60 seconds). Once all sugar is added, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white in color, 5 to 8 minutes, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once.
With mixer running at medium speed, gradually add egg mixture in slow, steady stream; this should take 60 to 90 seconds. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl; beat mixture at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes (mixture may look slightly broken). Remove bowl from mixer; scrape bottom and sides.
In 3 additions, sift flour over butter/egg mixture; after each addition, fold gently with rubber spatula until combined. Scrape along bottom of bowl to ensure that batter is consistent.
Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until golden brown and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 70 to 80 minutes. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes; invert cake onto wire rack, then turn cake right side up. Cool cake on rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.

creamsicle frosting
(this frosting was created off the top of my head, so I might be off a bit on measurements, but taste it as you go along to find your own desired taste)

1 stick+ unsalted butter, room temp (might need 1-2 TB more)
2+ cups confectioners sugar (might need 1-2 TB more)
4 TB cream cheese, softened
Pinch or two of sea salt
1-3 dashes of half & half (or milk)
2 ts of orange zest, plus more for garnish (if desired)
1 or 2 TB of the juice from same orange

Mix all ingredients into large bowl and using an electric mixer beat until a nice creamy frosting is achieved. If you like a thicker frosting use less of the half & half, for thinner frosting add more half & half. Frost cooled pound cake, decorate with orange zest as a garnish, slice and serve.

white chocolate-pumpkin fudge truffles

These little gems are a flavor explosion. I was searching for something festive yet different for the pumpkin season but couldn't find anything that tickled my fancy. By chance, at Whole Foods, they had samples of these to-die-for pumpkin truffles. They also had little cards out of the recipe, so I took recipe home, changed it around a bit, well, a lot actually. Wanted the truffle to look different than your average white chocolate truffle, so I put the melted white chocolate "in" the mix rather then coat the outside. See where I'm going here?
The orginial recipe is here: Whole Foods Pumpkin Truffles, and my changed around recipe is below.

I wonder how these would be with a milk chocolate? Anyone up for trying that? Let me know how it tastes if you do decide to try it out. These truffles are definitely different tasting and definitely melt in your mouth. Plus they we really easy to make. And can be used for any upcoming holiday parties, house party or as a gift for your friends, family and/or business clients.

white chocolate-pumpkin fudge truffles
Adapted from Whole Foods Market
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Makes about 30 – 50 truffles (depending on size)

3 - 11.5 ounce bags of good quality white chocolate chunks
1/2 cup+ gingersnap cookie crumbs, *plus more for garnish
1/2 cup canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix, just pureed pumpkin)
1/2 cup+ cinnamon graham cracker crumbs, *plus more for garnish
3 TB confectioners’ sugar
2 ts orange zest
1/2 ts ground cinnamon
2 big pinches of sea salt
8 ounces cream cheese, softened

Pumpkin pie spice mix, optional
Melted white chocolate for drizzling, optional

A few things to note: I recommend using those really hard, all natural ginger snaps. Whole Foods has a good selection of them; gluten-free is even better; the harder the ginger snap the better for a good hearty, thick-like texture for inside the truffle and one that stands up to grinding them done to a fine crumb. White chocolate does NOT melt good in the microwave, please use a double-boiler. And if you can, use a good quality white chocolate. Again, Whole Foods has the best selection for this. Ghiradelli brand is good too. Go easy with the pumpkin pie dry spice as it's strong.

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat; make sure to stir it often to keep the chocolate from burning. Note: white chocolate burns faster than milk or dark chocolate. (I melted the chocolate right before using it so it didn’t have to sit)
In a large bowl mix gingersnap crumbs, pumpkin, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, zest, cinnamon, salt, and softened cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add in the melted chocolate and mix well. You can do this over the double boiler if it makes it easier. I then put the bowl in the fridge for about 45 minutes to an hour. I didn’t want this to completely set as I want to roll it into balls first then a complete chill.
Get a large shallow bowl and fill it with the remaining *crumb mixture and a couple dashes of Pumpkin Pie Spice mixture if desired; this is for rolling the truffles in. (you may need a bit more crumb mixture, I did).
Once the mixture is chilled, line a large sheet tray with parchment paper. Roll a large heaping teaspoon of the pumpkin truffle mixture into a ball in your hands, then drop it into the crumb mixture and coat, then transfer to parchment paper.
Repeat truffle-ball making process with remaining pumpkin mixture. Truffle balls should be chilled for at least 4 hours until very firm.
You can decorate the truffle balls with melted white chocolate if desired. Or white confectioners sugar.
(I got the Halloween ribbon from Target in those little .50 cent and dollar bins...they are crazy tiny ribbons, but adorable for small foods. I hope they have some for Christmas time)

monster cookies

Surely you've all heard of monster cookies?
Everytime I see them in the food blogging world they are always meant for kids or kids themed events.
Cookie junkie" add in" peeps like myself LOVE these .
You can literally add anything to them; chunk them up with lots of goodies. There are just so many takes on the monster cookies that technically everyone could have their own version. Add in's include: cc chips, semi-sweet chips, white chocolate chips, pb chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, toffee, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, Reese's, M&M's (whichever flavor), candy chips, potato chips, pretzels, etc... You get the idea.

So, with all that said, it begs the question: what would you add?

I'll post the recipe, but you add in whatever you want to add in; I didn't include all the add in's as space is limited, but the list is endless.


monster cookies
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2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temp.
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
3/4 cup of packed brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 ts of vanilla extract
1 ts of baking soda
½ ts baking powder
1 ts of salt
2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

For the mix-in’s you can choose: (I chose mini M&M’s, pecans, milk choco, Reese’s)
1/2 cup of butterscotch chips
1 cup of mini M&Ms
1 cup of Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup of milk chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)
1 cup of chopped Heath bar bits
1 cup Reese’s PB Chips
Endless options for add in's

Cook notes:
As tempting as it may be to add in all the mix-in’s I wouldn’t as it would cause the cookie to break because of the weight, but you could all add the ingredients and make bars out of them, baking them in a pan.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; mix and set aside.
Beat the butter and the sugars at medium speed until well incorporated and fluffy.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for about 2 minutes on medium speed.
Add half the flour mixture mix 30 seconds. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom to ensure all the butter is well incorporated. Then add the other half, mix, but don’t over mix.
Fold in the mix-ins, then mix. Put in fridge to chill at least 30 minutes. When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I made golf ball size dough balls and put on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake about 10 – 15 minutes, turning sheets halfway during cooking time. Depending on your oven this may take longer or shorter to bake.
Be sure to let them cool on the baking sheet before you move them. If you do make them larger like I did then let them cool completely before picking them up as the middles are always softer and might break on you.
Made about 19 giant cookies.
If you don’t make them giant then you’ll probably get 35+ regular size cookies.

white chocolate rice krispie treats

Remember those rice crispy treats you used to devour as a kid? I have found an adult version of sorts, that makes them tastes even better. I saw this over at David Lebowitz food blog, but wanted to kick that recipe up a few more notches. A recipe that even Emeril would be proud of and my friends would devour at first sight.


David added candied peanuts and melted white chocolate.
I changed it by adding salted peanuts, peanut butter chips, sea salt and extra butter.
These are the best combo of sweet & salty I've had by far (well except for my chocolate covered potato chips). You really must try these, and the best part? They are so easy to make.

white chocolate rice krispie treats
recipe adapted from David Lebowitz
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6 TB salted butter
5 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
A pinch of sea salt
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
½ Reese’s peanut butter chips (the kind used for baking)
10 ounce bag marshmallows, snipped in half
5 ½ cups Rice Krispies
Melted frosting for decorating (optional)

Spray a 13 x 9-inch (approx 30 x 22cm) rectangular pan with Pam.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
Add the white chocolate and stir until melted; add a medium sized pinch of sea salt, stir.
Add the marshmallows and stir constantly over the heat until completely melted. (If they start to scorch on the bottom, remove from heat and continue to stir, placing the pan back on the heat occasionally, stirring until smooth).
Remove from heat and add the peanuts, Reese’s peanut butter chips and Rice Krispies until well combined. A rubber spatula or flexible pastry scraper works best.
Transfer mix to the prepared pan and smooth over. (I used my hand to push them down evenly into the pan).
Let cool before cutting. I went ahead and frosted them with some basic frosting that was piped on using a Ziploc bag.