Strawberry Frosting Fudge with Almonds-12 Days of Easy Sweets

12 Days of Easy Sweets

A number of years ago, I ran across a recipe for fudge that was made with canned frosting and candy chips.  The original recipe called for chocolate frosting and semisweet chocolate chips, but I later ran across recipes that called for other flavors of frosting and chips.  It is nice to be able to make candy from ingredients that you can keep on hand in the pantry.
 
This is a very simple and easy recipe, and it allows you to make fudge from unusual flavors like strawberry and pink lemonade.  The pretty pink color makes a nice addition to a Christmas candy plate.
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I prefer to keep the candy well wrapped and uncut in the refrigerator until a couple of hours before I plan to serve it.  I then cut the candy and let the pieces set out to firm up a bit.

Strawberry Frosting Fudge with Almonds
bag (12 oz) white vanilla baking chips
1 can (16 oz.) Strawberry Flavor Frosting
1 t. vanilla
dash salt
1/2 c. toasted slivered almonds

Line a 8 or 9-inch square pan with a piece of foil that is big enough to bring the excess ends back to overlap the center of the pan.  In a microwave-safe bowl, melt baking chips for 1 minute at 50 per cent power.  Remove from microwave and stir.  Continue microwaving and stirring in 15 to 20 second intervals until you can stir the chips smooth.  This takes a little bit of effort when stirring.  Add the frosting mix, vanilla and salt.  Mix until well blended.  Stir in the almonds.  Turn into prepared pan. Fold the excess foil ends back over candy.  Place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to let candy set up.  Store, well wrapped, in the refrigerator, cutting into squares as you are ready to serve.  These are very rich so I cut them small, into about 1-inch squares.

Oriental Cherry Chicken Salad

Happy Monday to everyone.  Welcome to my new followers.  It is so nice to have you aboard.  I want to extend my weekly thanks to all who take time from their busy lives to read this blog.  It is greatly appreciated, and I hope that what you find here is useful to you.
 
It is almost the end of cherry season here, but hubby bought some free ones home a week or so ago.  I was when it was so hot here so I enjoyed some of the cherries in this Oriental Cherry Chicken Salad.

As with all salads, change the ingredients to suit your personal preference.  I like to put the mandarin orange can in the refrigerator to chill.  Although the components  and the dressing can be made ahead, this salad is best assembled shortly before serving.  The cherries will turn everything purple if the salad sits too long.  The salad is still very good, just not so pretty.

I have a wonderful cherry pitter made by Progressive that pits four cherries at a time so the cherry pitting goes really quickly.

The original recipe came from a recipe card that a local grocery store gave out many years ago.

Oriental Cherry Chicken Salad
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 t. soy sauce
1 T. lemon juice
1/8 t. ground ginger
1/8 t. pepper, coarse ground if possible
2 c. fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved
1 (11 oz.) can mandarin orange segments, well drained
1 to 1 1/2 c. diced cooked chicken
3/4  c. diced celery
1/2 c. sliced sugar snap peas
3 green onions, chopped
1/3 c. toasted, slivered almonds

Combine mayonnaise, soy sauce, lemon juice, ginger and pepper until well blended.  Chill several hours or overnight to blend flavors.  Combine cherries, orange segments, chicken, celery, pea, green onions and almonds in a medium bowl.  Spoon dressing over salad ingredients and mix well.  Serve immediately.  Makes 4 servings.

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Easy Glazed Walnut Halves

Glazed nuts are nice to have on hand to serve to unexpected company.  Easy Glazed Walnut Halves are made of walnuts and three common pantry ingredients.  Those ingredients and 15 minutes of my time gets me a nice treat that is really very easy to make.

Other nuts such as almonds, pecan halves and cashews can also be used.  Spiced, glazed nuts can be made by adding various spices to the recipe.  I personally like Chinese 5-spice or curry.  They both add an interesting flavor.  Of, course the more common spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg can be added, too.  I usually add 1/2 t. of a spice to start.

I also like to make these and keep them on hand to add to salads.  When I do that, I omit the vanilla.  I like these best if the nuts have been lightly toasted before making these.

Easy Glazed Walnut Halves
2 T. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. walnut halves or other nuts, lightly toasted if possible
1 t. vanilla

Melt butter and sugar together in a large skillet over medium heat watching carefully and stirring frequently.  When mixture is just about melted, (this take about 10 minutes.)  Add nuts, cooking and stirring until nuts are completely coated with sugar mixture.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and spices, if using.   Turn into a non-stick sprayed baking sheet.  Using two forks and working quickly separate nuts into individual pieces and let cool.  Store in tightly covered zip-top bag.  Makes 2 cups.
Use as a snack, in snack mixes and to add crunch and sweetness to salads.

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Almond White Brownies with Buttermilk Glaze-Saturday Sweet

Since I posted about making your own buttermilk, I thought I should share some ways to use it.  Almond White Brownies with Buttermilk Glaze are bar cookie made eggs as the leavening giving them a brownie texture.  A hot buttermilk glaze is poured over the brownies and allowed to seep in making them almost a candy.

These are heavy with almond flavor.  If you are not an almond lover, replace the almond flavoring with vanilla and use pecans or walnuts for the nuts or leave them out.

Almond White Brownies with Buttermilk Glaze
1 c. melted butter
2 c. sugar
4 eggs,  at room temperature
2 t. almond extract
2 c.flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. butter
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. almond extract

Combine the melted and slightly cooled butter with the sugar until well mixed.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined each time.  Add the flour and mix well.  Stir in the almonds.  Pour batter into a well-greased 9x13-inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly.  While bars are baking, make the glaze.  Combine sugar, buttermilk, butter and baking soda in a medium saucepan.  Place over medium heat and, stirring, bring to a boil.  Turn heat down and boil 5 to 6 minutes until thick and syrupy.  Stir often.  Remove from heat and add almond extract.  With a fork or wooden pick poke holes all over the top of the brownies.  Pour the glaze over the top of the brownies and spread to cover evenly.  Let glaze sink in and brownies cool completely.  Cut into bars.  Makes about 36.  Keep stored in a zip-top bag so brownies do not dry out.

Cinnamon Almond Squares-Improv Challenge

The ingredients for the May Improv Challenge, hosted by Kristen over at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, is cinnamon and sugar.

This is a pretty common combination so it wasn’t difficult for me to chose a recipe to share today.  Of course, it is a cookie.  Of course, it is a bar cookie.  Of course, it comes from one of my favorite cookie books, my old reliable “Homemade Cookies” from Farm Journal.

This is a shortbread type cookie that takes only six ingredients and is very quick and easy to put together.  The dough is most easily made with an electric mixer as there is only an egg yolk binding all the ingredients together.  To facilitate it blending in, it is best to remove the egg from the refrigerator, separate the yolk and the white and let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes.

The cookies can be easily varied by using different spice and nut combinations.  My favorite spice is actually 5-Spice, but nutmeg, cardamom or ginger are all good.   Use any nut that you like or have on hand.

Walnut Cinnamon Squares
adapted from “Homemade Cookies” by Farm Journal

2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1 c. butter, softened
1 egg, separated
1 c. toasted slivered almonds

Place flour, sugar and cinnamon in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until mixture is well blended and crumbly.  Add egg yolk and mix until mixture is well blended and sticks together.  Turn mixture into the center of a lightly greased 10x15-inch jelly roll pan.  Pat dough out evenly to cover the bottom of the pan.  Beat egg white until it is foamy.  Using a pastry brush, spread egg white over the top of the dough.  Sprinkle the slivered almonds over the top.  Press them in lightly with the palm of your hand.  Bake at 275 degrees 1 hour.  While still hot, cut in 1 1/2-inch squares.  Cool in pan on rack.  Makes about 4 doz.

Check out the links below to see what other bloggers have made with cinnamon and sugar.

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Lime Coconut Nut Bars

The ingredients that Sheryl at Lady Behind the Curtain picked for the May Dessert Challenge were coconut and lime.  Since I am not a fan of lime, I almost skipped this one.

However, I had managed to get my dates mixed up and missed last month’s challenge of pretzels and caramel, so I decided that I wanted to give it a go.  It is no secret that, given the chance, I will always elect to make a cookie, and the cookie is usually a bar cookie.  This time is no exception to that.  I looked through my favorite Farm Journal Homemade Cookies book for ideas, found a recipe that called for lemon juice and decided I could use lime juice instead.

I don’t usually have limes on hand, but I do keep a product called TrueLime in my pantry for those rare times that I use lime.  I opted to use that in my recipe, using 2 packets and 2 T. water.  Lime lovers could use the juice of a real lime, zest the lime and add it for more lime flavor.

I thought that almonds went well with the coconut, but any nut can be used.  Macadamia nuts would be good for a splurge, I think.

Since there is such a small amount of butter called for in the glaze, I place it in a medium, metal mixing bowl and put the bowl in the oven until the butter is melted.  Also please note that the recipe calls for sifted confectioners.  Measure a cup of confectioners sugar, sift it and measure again.  There will be more sugar than will fit into the cup.

A little confession here:  In a burst of ill-conceived creativity, I tinted the glaze green.  In retrospect, that was not such a good idea.  It did not look so good in the photos.  As usual, I was up against the fence and did not have time or ingredients to make another batch.  It certainly did not affect the taste, however.

Lime Coconut Nut Bars
adapted from Farm Journal Homemade Cookies

1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1/2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 c. butter or margarine
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. flaked coconut
1 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 c. chopped nuts
2 T. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 c. sifted confectioners sugar
1 T. butter or margarine, melted
juice of 1 lime, about 2 T.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour and brown sugar.  Mix to combine.  Cut a cube of butter into several slices and add to flour/brown sugar mixture.  Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour/brown sugar mixture until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Turn into a foil-lined 9x13-inch baking pan, patting down firmly and evenly.  Bate at 275 degrees 10 minutes.  Wipe out the mixing bowl, add eggs and beat.  Stir in brown sugar, coconut, nuts, flour, baking powder and salt.  Gently spread on top of baked crust.  Increase oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 20 minutes.  Measure a cup of confectioners sugar.  Sift and measure again.  In a small bowl, combine confectioners sugar, melted butter and lime juice.  Spread over the top of the warm cookies.  Cool slightly, cut into bars.  Cool completely in pan on a rack.  Makes about 36 bars.

Cherry Almond Dump Cake

Although I try to keep a batch of homemade cake mix on hand, I do buy commercial versions of flavors that are not easily replicated at home.  One of those flavors is Betty Crocker’s Cherry Chip Cake Mix.

Recently I combined a Cherry Chip cake mix with canned pie filling and almonds to make a version of the ever popular dump cake recipe.  This quick and easy dessert would make a nice addition to Easter dinner.  This recipe is also good made with half cherry pie filling and half apple pie filling.

I have found that a  half cup of melted butter does not completely cover the cake mix so I have started using from 3/4 to 1 cup.  I give the range in the recipe as I want to use just the amount necessary to completely cover the cake mix.  I start with 3/4 cup butter and melt an additional 1/4 cup, if necessary.

Cherry Almond Dump Cake
2 cans (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
1 t. almond extract
1 box (18 oz.) Cherry Chip Cake Mix
1/2 c. finely chopped slivered almonds
3/4 to 1 cup butter, melted

Place the cherry pie filling in a well-greased 9x13-inch baking dish.  Stir in the almond extract and stir well.  In a medium bowl combine the cake mix and chopped almonds.  Sprinkle mixture over the pie filling, smoothing the top evenly.  Pour melted butter evenly over the top, completely covering the cake mix.  Tip the baking dish back and forth, if necessary, to help the butter cover the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.  Good at room temperature with whipped topping or slightly warmed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Makes 12 to 15 servings.

Shortbread Rocas-The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012

 

Today is recipe reveal day for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap hosted by Love and Olive Oil and The Little Kitchen.  For the swap you send a dozen cookies to three different bloggers and receive a dozen cookie from three different bloggers.

I sent my cookie to Lori at Vakiener Accro,Ashley at Cookie Monster Cooking, and Maria at Best of the Best. Before I get to my Shortbread Rocas recipe, I want to share the wonderful cookies that I received.

These came from Morgan at Being the Secret Ingredient.  She sent them in a Glad Ware container so I got a little useful bonus gift.

These wonderful little gems came from Chris and Amy at A Couple in the Kitchen.  They came in this cute little metal box which is also a useful bonus gift.

These great oatmeal cookies came from Lou and Esi at Lou & Esi

Now on to my recipe.  I may have pushed the envelope just a tad with my cookies as I used purchased cookies as the base.  For many years I have made the so-called Cracker Toffee/Cracker Almond Roca using either saltine or graham crackers.

For a while now I had been wondering what I would get if I used shortbread cookies as the base instead of crackers.  I decided to use this idea for the cookie swap.  I guess they were a success, at least at our house.  My hubby, who likes shortbread cookies, wouldn’t stay out of them.  I will be using these in my cookie gift platters this year.

Any square shortbread cookie can be used.  The packages I purchase from the Dollar Tree contain 34 cookies.  I am not sure how many cookies are in Lorna Doones which can be purchased at the grocery store.

It takes 40 cookies to fill a jelly roll pan so what I usually do is line the pan with foil and then fold the foil back close to the cookies to make a false side.  This keeps the sugar/butter mixture corralled next to the cookies.

Personally I prefer the Rocas without the chocolate, but I did use the chocolate topping on the cookies I sent.  I like milk chocolate if I do use it, but many people prefer the semisweet.

To make the cookies prettier, I removed the excess candy from the cookies.  This can be done with a sharp knife.  I wouldn’t bother to do this for any we are having at home.

Shortbread Rocas
1 pkg. square shortbread cookies
1 c. butter (must be butter)
1 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1 t. almond extract (opt.)
1 pkg. (12 oz.) semisweet or milk chocolate chips
3/4 c. chopped, toasted almonds

Line a jelly roll pan with foil and place shortbread cookies in the pan in rows.  If cookies do not fill the pan, fold the excess foil back next to the cookies.  Put butter and brown sugar in a small sauce pan.  Watching carefully and stirring often, bring the butter/sugar mixture to a full rolling boil.  Stirring, boil the mixture for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract.  Pour the mixture over the shortbread cookies.  Quickly spread evenly with a heat-proof spatula.  Place pan in a 400 degree oven and bake for 5 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and quickly sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top.  Return the pan to the oven for 1 to 2 minutes until chocolate chips begin to melt.  Remove pan from oven and gently and evenly spread the chocolate over the top.  Sprinkle the almonds over the chocolate and gently press them in with a spatula or your hand.  Let cool to room temperature.  Cut apart between the cookies.  If desired, remove excess candy from the sides of the cookies with a sharp knife.  Makes 34 cookies.

To get links to the recipes for all the cookies in the swap, visit Love and Olive Oil or The Little Kitchen on Friday, December 14.  They will be linked up there.

If you missed the swap this year, but would like to get in on the the fun, you can sign up here to be notified when the swap comes around again.

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake

This week's Saturday sweet is coffeecake, which I really like, and don't know why I don't make it more often.  Recently I had some buttermilk that I needed to use up so turned to one of my favorite coffeecake recipes that came from a Sunset cookbook many years ago.

This an easy and simple coffeecake made with vegetable oil and buttermilk.  I like this one in that part of the dry ingredients are used to make the topping.

I wanted to change things up a little this time and decided to add a layer of raspberry jam in the middle of the cake.  This turned out to be a "good thing/bad thing."  The jam sunk to the bottom of the cake creating more of an upside down situation.  Everyone I shared this with, however, didn't care about that and loved the addition of the jam.  So, if you make this, use the jam, or not as you wish.  Putting the jam in a glass measuring cup and heating it in the microwave for a minute made it easier to spread.

To make the original coffeecake use coarsely chopped, toasted walnuts instead of the almonds and leave out the jam and almond extract.

 Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake
adapted from Sunset Ideas & Recipes for Breakfast and Brunch
2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. slivered almonds, toasted
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 c. buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 t. almond extract
1 c. raspberry jam

In a medium-size bowl, mix together flour, salt, the 1/2 t. cinnamon, brown sugar, sugar, and vegetable oil.  Beat with an electric mixer or a wire whisk until well blended.  Remove 3/4 c. of this mixture for the topping and blend into it the nuts and the 1 t. cinnamon; set aside.  To the remaining flour mixture, add soda and baking powder and mix until well combined.  Combine buttermilk, egg and almond extract and mix well.  Add to flour mixture and mix until smooth.  Pour half of batter into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan.  Place jam in a glass measuring cup and microwave for 1 minute.  Spoon over batter and gently spread out evenly.  Top with remaining batter.   Sprinkle the reserved topping evenly over batter and pat it lightly into the batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Cool slightly and cut into squares.  Makes about 12 to 15 servings.  May be served warm or at room temperature.

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