White Christmas Frosting Fudge-Improv Challenge

Our leader. Lesa, who blogs over at Edesia’s Notebook picked red and green for this month’s Improv Challenge.  I thought of lots of ideas to combine red and green foods for the challenge, even considering doing something with broccoli and red pepper, which would have been nice and healthy.

In the end, something sweet won out.  There is the matter of my constant sweet tooth, and it is Christmas time, after all.  Since it is Christmas time, I knew the sweet had to be quick and easy, so I decided to make a red and green version of a frosting fudge recipe that first came from Pillsbury, adding chopped candied red cherries and pistachios to the white fudge.  With only 5 ingredients and around 20 minutes of actual work time, this is the perfect candy to make during the busy holiday season.

I colored the pistachios with a little green food coloring to make the candy a bit more festive.

White Christmas Frosting Fudge
1 (11-oz.) pkg. white baking chips
1 (15-oz.) can white frosting
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. candied cherries which have been cut into eighths
1/2 c. chopped pistachio nuts
few drops of green food coloring, if desired

If using food coloring on nuts, add, mix and spread nuts out on a piece of waxed paper to dry while you prepare the rest of the candy.  Line a 8 or 9-inch square pan with a piece of foil big enough so that the extended ends will fold back over the top of the pan to cover.  Place white baking chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat at 50% power for one minute.  Stir.  Continue to microwave at 50% power for 20-30 seconds, stirring each time.  Stir chips until they are completely smooth.  Add white frosting and vanilla and mix until well blended.  Stir in cherries and nuts.  Scoop into prepared pan.  Refrigerate about 1 hour to set.  I like to store this candy in the fridge, tightly wrapped and uncut, cutting it as I need it and let the candy set 30 minutes or so to firm up.  Makes 64 1-inch pieces.

If you would like to join the Improv Challenge for 2015, you can find all the info on Lesa's Improv Page

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Butter Rum Fudge-12 Days of Easy Sweets

12 Days of Easy Sweets

This recipe is another flavor variation using the candy chips/canned frosting ingredients.  It is one of my favorites, caters a little more to adult tastes and is a nice flavor addition to those Christmas candy plates.

The hardest part of making this candy is the amount of “elbow grease” it take to stir the chips while they are melting.

I have slightly adapted this recipe from Pillsbury.

Butter Rum Fudge
1(11-oz.) pkg. butterscotch flavor chips
1 (16 oz.) can vanilla frosting
1 t. butter flavoring (optional)
3/4 t. rum extract
1/4 t. nutmeg
3/4 c. chopped, toasted pecans or walnuts

Line a 8 or 9-inch square pan with a piece of foil big enough so that the extended ends will fold back beyond the middle of the pan.  Spray with non-stick spray.  Place butterscotch chips in a microwave-save bowl and microwave at 50% power for 1 minute.  Stir.  Continue microwaving at 50% power in 15 to 20 second intervals, stirring each time until the chips are melted and smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Spread candy in prepared pan and fold foil ends back over the candy.   Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.  I like to store this candy, well wrapped in the foil, in the fridge without cutting, and cut into squares as I need it, allowing 30 minutes or so for the fudge squares to firm up.  Makes 64 1-inch squares.

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.

Coconut Pecan Drops-Saturday Sweet

Instead of calling these Coconut Pecan Drops, I almost called them Accident Cookies, but that is not very SEO friendly.  I wanted to do that because, the cookies came about because I misread the directions for a cookie recipe I was trying.

I mixed the coconut pecan frosting in with the rest of the ingredients, but that was not what I was supposed to do.  The frosting was to just be used as an icing.  After I realized what I had done, I had two choices:  throw everything out or go ahead and bake the dough and see what happened.

I chose to bake the dough.  What I ended up with was a  nice, soft cakey cookie.  The cake mix flavor can be varied to make several different flavors.  I used yellow cake mix, but I think butter pecan flavor would be great if you can find it in your area.  Of course, German chocolate or any chocolate cake flavor would be good also.

Have you ever made a mistake with a recipe that turned out to be OK in the end?

Coconut Pecan Drops
1 box (18 oz.) cake mix with pudding in the mix, your choice of flavor
1 can coconut pecan frosting
1 c. plain or vanilla yogurt (I used Greek)
1 egg
1/2 c. toasted coconut
1/2 c. chopped, toasted pecans

Place the cake mix in a large mixing bowl.  Add frosting and mix until very well combined.  Measure yogurt in a glass measuring cup.  Add egg and mix with a whisk until well blended.  Stir yogurt into cake mixture and stir until well blended.  Stir in coconut and pecans.  Drop by teaspoonsful onto greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown on the bottom.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.  Cookies will remain moist so store in a container with waxed paper between the layers.  Makes about 5 to 6 dozen cookies.

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