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Christmas Baking

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Simplified and Scrumptious with Bob’s Red Mill Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

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Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies


Like most people, I am in a full-fledged baking frenzy right now. When you have to bake and cook with gluten-free ingredients, it can make things trickier, especially with baking.

Gluten-free baking is a whole other ballgame and you’re pretty much thrown into the big leagues when you should be hitting off of a tee! Companies like Bob’s Red Mill make things much, much easier.

While in Rural King recently (of all places!), I saw a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix. I never even knew there was such a thing – I’ve never seen it in any other store. Naturally it went in the cart along with a few other of my Bob’s Red Mill favorites – right between my husband’s work gloves and birdseed.

I made a batch of cookies yesterday and was blown away by how delicious they are. They taste as good (if not better) than I remember “regular” chocolate chip cookies tasting. I’m a nut fanatic, so I added a healthy amount of chopped pecans.

SO DELICIOUS!

(Continued Below…)

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

As you can tell from the photos, I have a heavy hand when it comes to adding nuts to my cookies. Whether it’s pecans or walnuts, I want to taste the chocolate and the nuts in each bite. Something wonderful about this mix is that the cookie, itself, is also fantastic.

I used the recipe that’s on the back of the bag – exactly as given.

(Wrapped up below!)

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

If you can find this mix in a store near you (don’t forget to check Rural King!), you’ll definitely want to do that. If not, check Amazon.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Gluten-Free Corn Pudding (or Use All Purpose Flour for the Traditional Version)

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Gluten-Free Corn Pudding

Gluten-Free Corn Pudding

I’ve been tweaking, experimenting, tweaking, planning, and re-tweaking favorite and new recipes for the upcoming holidays.  In our family, real joy is found around the dining room table (holidays, special days, any days….), so I put the utmost thought and planning into the food we’ll be gathered around.

Like most families, we have our traditional favorites that make their appearance on their perspective holidays, but I also love to try new dishes and desserts to keep my adored ones on their adorable toes. I’ve been experimenting with corn pudding the past few months because everyone loves corn and, let’s face it, it’s a must-have for Thanksgiving.

Before I had to give up wheat and gluten, my go to corn pudding called for a box of Jiffy Cornbread Mix (recipe). I’ve been trying since to come up with a recipe to rival that delicious recipe. The one below is as delicious, it’s just different, you know?

I’ll post future corn pudding recipes as well as other side-dish, bread (gluten-free, of course) and desserts here on the food blog in the coming weeks.

After all, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before we know it!

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Gluten-Free Corn Pudding

Gluten-Free Corn Pudding

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups Corn (canned, drained or frozen, thawed)
  • 4 TBS Gluten-Free Flour (or All Purpose, if not going the gluten-free route)
  • 1 TBS Butter, melted
  • 3 tsp Sugar
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Pepper
  • 2 Eggs, Well Beaten
  • 2 Cups Whole Milk
  • Paprika (optional)

Instructions

  1. Mix the corn, flour, salt, pepper, and sugar together in a medium bowl. Be sure the clumps of flour dissolve into the mixture.
  2. Combine the well-beaten eggs, melted butter, and milk in a separate bowl. Stir well.
  3. Combine both of these mixtures together and pour into a butter-greased baking dish.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. During the first 30 minutes, stir the mixture a few times - being sure to stir upward from the bottom. You want to be sure to incorporate all of the pudding together so it doesn't over-brown on the bottom. Using a wooden spoon is best.
  5. The pudding is usually ready after cooking for 1 hour, even. To check, use the knife inserted in the middle trick - when it comes out clean, it's ready to come out of the oven.
  6. Optional: Dust the top with a little paprika.


Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies: One of the Easiest Recipes of All Time

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Easy Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Before I had to give up gluten/wheat (health reasons), I baked cookies almost weekly. That’s what we Cookie Monsters do. Once I had to swear off all of the traditional cookie ingredients, I pretty much had to swear off making cookies weekly (gluten-free flour and other ingredients are much higher).

I did not, however, at any time swear off being a Cookie Monster – so I have certain favorite recipes I use again and again. The Peanut Butter Cookies recipe below is a favorite – of mine as well as everyone else that gets within reach of these delicious cookies.

While their flavor is the best thing about them, their few (cheap) ingredients and level of insane easiness to make run a close second and third.

You’re going to love these cookies for all of these reasons. You’ll want to keep this cookie recipe handy for Christmas, birthdays, game days, and any day that calls for a yummy peanut butter cookie.

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Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Easy Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Creamy (Smooth) Peanut Butter
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 2-3 TBS Chopped Peanuts (optional)

Instructions

  1. Combine the peanut butter, sugar, and egg - stirring well.
  2. Stir in the chopped peanuts, if using.
  3. Spoon cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheet.
  4. Dip a fork into extra sugar, then press a "crisscross" design on top of each cookie. This not only looks cook, it keeps the cookies flat.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Don't over-bake these cookies - it's actually better to take them out a little early than a little late.


Possum Trots: Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies Named in Honor of a Small Town in Kentucky

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Possum Trots: Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies
See those little bits of oats, white chocolate chips and coconut? HEAVEN!
Black Bottom, Monkey’s Eyebrow, Big Beaver Lick, Marrowbone, Rabbit Hash, Booger Branch… yep, they’re all small towns here in Kentucky with pretty unforgettable names. I have a whole list of them and am going to spend some time researching the story behind the names this year for my Kentucky blog.  I can’t wait to learn the story behind Booger Branch.

I think.

Small towns in Kentucky have always fascinated me. While our larger cities are absolutely wonderful – in fact I call one home – Kentucky’s small towns are where you’ll really find its personality. The friendly Kentuckians who wave at perfect strangers and will gladly talk your ear off if you let them, the churches with their can’t-miss sassy signs, the American flag waving proudly in front of every school and many businesses, the sleepy downtowns, and the University of Kentucky colors everywhere you look… yep, that’s us!

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oatmeal and Oat Bran
One of the most trustworthy names in the gluten-free business.
A few days ago, I got a wild hair to come up with a gluten-free oatmeal cookie. Oatmeal cookies have always been a personal favorite – seriously, I just can never get enough. So, I decided that I’d start with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Old Fashioned Rolled Oats and Gluten-Free Oat Bran. I figured that combo would give me the oatmeal taste I was craving, if anything would.

I decided to add a few other favorite obsessions to the mix (literally): Coconut, white chocolate chips, and vanilla (as is my style – twice as much as the normal person).

My Goals:

  • Gluten-Free Cookies that were somewhere between crunchy cookies and chewy protein balls.
  • Cookies with no added sugar (in addition to what was already present in the shredded sweetened coconut and white chocolate chips) but that tasted so good even kids would love them.
  • Fewer than 5 ingredients – I have nothing against ingredients, mind you. In fact, sometimes that’s the way you can achieve layers of flavor. However, that’s also the way your favorite ingredients can get hidden and lost in the mix. That wasn’t going to happen to the oats, coconut, vanilla, and white chocolate on my watch. The ingredient list, counting water, was right at 5 – so I cut myself a little slack.
  • Simple process. As in.. as simple as possible. When we cookie fiends want cookies, we want them fast – without a lot of hoopla. I wanted “mix and bake” and that’s what I came up with.
  • Cookies small in size. Here’s the thing – I am a Cookie Monster from way back. I’m seldom any happier than I am when prancing around with a cookie in one hand and an Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot mystery in the other.  When my metabolism turned on me “this” side of 30, I found that if I make my cookies smaller, I actually consume fewer calories. I outsmart my inner cookie fanatic this way and she hasn’t caught on yet.
  • I wanted the cookies to pretty much explode with my favorite cookie flavors: Oats, Coconut, White Chocolate, and Vanilla.
  • I wanted a gluten-free cookie that was as delicious three days later as the first day they were made. That’s rare with gluten-free cookies. These actually are, though!

Possum Trots: Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies
Simple but Delicious – Now, That’s Southern Food
When I started gathering my ingredients, I couldn’t help thinking that I’d made myself a pretty tall order. Heckity heck, they’d have been lofty enough goals for coming up with a NON gluten-free cookie, but it was almost nuts for coming up with one that was also gluten-free. You see, gluten-free baking is a beast all in itself.

Gluten-free cookies, pies, bread, and cakes are as unpredictable as 3 year old humans, 6 month old puppies, and cats  of ANY age. Like each of these live wires, gluten-free baking not only has its own set of rules – it seems to make them up as it goes along. Like cats.

Fortunately, I’m a crazy cat lady and have raised three daughters. Nothing shocks me.

{Possum Trots Recipe Below}

Possum Trots: Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies
Don’t Skimp on the Ingredients  – Trust Me

“Possum Trots” Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup water
1 cup white chocolate chips
2 TBS Madagascar Vanilla
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 slight little pinch of salt
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Oat Bran
2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

  1. Pre-Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. While it isn’t a necessity, I do line my cookie sheets with parchment paper when baking cookies.
  3. VERY important – when baking cookies in batches (such as this), allow your cookie sheet to cool completely between each batch. That, or use several different sheets. When you place cookie dough on a warm cookie sheet and put it into the oven, the cookies will spread like a… nevermind. They spread.
  4. You can either form these into balls OR form them into balls, THEN flatten them slightly for “patties.”  There is not wrong way. I tried both ways and found that both were delicious.
  5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. I hate when I’m unable to give a precise time, but ovens vary. For what it’s worth, mine were consistently ready after 8 minutes.
  6. Remove to a platter or cooling rack (be careful, these guys are crumbly) and allow to cool completely.
  7. These babies are simply delicious and filled with the flavors I love.

Given their simple charm, these cookies catch you by surprise with their layers of deliciousness. I guess that best explains why I named them after a small town in Kentucky. That… and the fact that they’re pretty unforgettable.

Where Can You Find Bob’s Red Mill Products?

Bob’s Red Mill products are available in just about all grocery stores and department stores. They’re also available online, of course. In fact, Bob’s Red Mill’s Website offers free shipping on most orders over $50, so that’s a great place to stockpile.

In keeping with the whole honoring small towns in Kentucky with dessert recipes theme, next up is Black Bottom… I have a distinct feeling chocolate will be involved with this one.

Gluten Free Pecan Sandies Recipe

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Gluten Free Pecan Sandies

Gluten Free Pecan Sandies

When it comes to Christmas cookies… or any cookies, for that matter… one of my absolute favorites is Pecan Sandies (sometimes called Mexican Wedding Cookies). My favorite cookies are usually “nutty” and always extra-sweet and these cookies more than fit the bill.

When I had to give up gluten/wheat (my body’s decision, not my mind’s), I was pretty sure the days of being a cookie monster were behind me. Fortunately a lot of food companies have been busting their rears perfecting All Purpose Gluten Free flours and have, as a result, opened up a whole new world to the gluten free crowd that we once thought was closed for good.

Granted, some of these “1 to 1” all purpose gluten free flours can be pretty expensive, but the one I recently discovered is, shockingly, just a bit more than regular flour. The fact that I’ve used it in A LOT of old favorite recipes as a substitute for traditional flour with spectacular results just blows me away.

Krusteaz Gluten Free All Purpose Flour is a a dream come true for this gluten free cookie monster and the fact that it’s also affordable is even sweeter.

I used my favorite Pecan Sandies recipe, from my favorite cookies cookbook, Better Homes and Gardens Cookies for Christmas, 1985. You should see this cookbook! I’ve used it so much over the years (throughout the year, like any self-respecting cookie monster would) that the pages are discolored, stained with who-knows-what and filled with notes like…

  • Brittany’s favorite cookie!
  • Emily loves these so much, they’re worth the extra effort..
  • Michael’s fave..
  • Stephany can’t get enough of these…

It’s pretty easy to tell my favorite cookbooks from the rest.

Below is the recipe, as it appears in the cookbook EXCEPT that I replaced “all purpose flour” with Krusteaz Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. If you have another gluten free all purpose flour you’d like to use, by all means, give it a try! I personally haven’t tried other gluten free flours so I can’t promise they’ll be as great as these were.

Needless to say, if you don’t have to eat gluten free, simply switch out the gluten free all purpose flour for the traditional one.  Either way, you’ll have a cookie that’s as delicious as it is pretty.

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Gluten Free Pecan Sandies Recipe

Servings: 45 Cookies

Gluten Free Pecan Sandies Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter or margarine
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2-1/4 cups Krusteaz Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. In a large mixer bowl, beat butter or margarine till softened.
  2. Add sugar and beat till fluffy.
  3. Add water and vanilla and beat well.
  4. Stir in flour and nuts.
  5. Shape into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  6. Bake in a 325 degree oven about 20 minutes or till done.
  7. Remove and cool.
  8. In a plastic bag, gently shake a few at a time in powdered sugar.

 

Dishing About Dishes…

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Dishes

As someone with a food blog, it should come as no surprise to anyone that I have a fixation with cooking and everything related to it. Kitchen gadgets, pans, dishes, cookbooks, kitchen tools, dishes, spices, spice racks, dishes… did I mention dishes?

Dishes are a bit of an obsession with me – they always have been. No matter what department store I’m in, I make a beeline for the kitchen section and I always start my ogling with the dishes.

In my opinion, a meal is made even better with bright, beautiful dishes. I go so far as to coordinate the dishes I use with the meal I’m serving.  Mexican meals call for bright, vivid dishes – as do Italian meals. If I’m making a Southern comfort food type meal, I pull out the vintage dishes – I call them my “comfort dishes.”

I often even go so far as to think, “Okay, the red in the meatloaf’s sauce and the yellow in the corn will look beautiful against a white dish…”

Okay, maybe I’ve got a bit of a problem… but I have a big time, does that count for anything?!

I have a huge collection of dishes but haven’t spent a huge amount of money on them. I’ll let you in on a secret – Target has beautiful dishes and they’re often on sale. But I can go even cheaper than that: Consignment shops, Goodwill, and yard sales are also personal favorite spots.  You can find vintage dishes – including many that’ll take you back to sitting at a kitchen table with your grandparents.

Just tell me that isn’t priceless.

I love buying dishes from stores such as Goodwill because I know my money is going back to the community – where it needs it most.  The dishes in this post are some of my favorite Goodwill finds. W

Around the holidays, if I find that I need extra casserole dishes or platters, I usually check one of these places first.  I also grab extra dishes during Thanksgiving and Christmas to send goodies home with my kids. They’re better than disposable dishes because they’re friendlier to the environment.

The next time you want to add to your dish collection and make your meals even more colorful or simply need extra dishes for the holidays, head to your nearest thrift store, consignment shop, or Goodwill.

It’s just a beautiful idea no matter how you look at it.

Dishes

Sally’s Candy Addiction (Review)

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Sally's Candy Addiction Cookbook

Sally’s Candy Addiction and Peanut Butter Buckeyes (Page 53)

I’ve made myself a Chai Tea Latte and am sitting down to do my best to give Sally’s Candy Addiction the review it deserves. The more I like a cookbook, the harder it is to do a review. I get so excited that my adjectives tend to run around and bump into each other. I’m hoping the Chai Tea Latte will give them some direction.

When I was sent a copy of Sally’s Candy Addiction to review, I didn’t just walk back in the house with book in hand, I flew.  My outside cats never knew I could move so fast. The inside cat knows – after all, she witnesses it each time a chocolate craving hits me.

I have always been a huge candy lover – eating it AND making it. I’m one of those who makes candy year-round. I just don’t understand those people who only make candy at Christmas.

What’s up with that anyway?

I almost always have some sort of fudge or other candy made up for my family to enjoy – a fact that has always set well with my husband, daughters, and sons-in-law and their many sweet teeth. Candy make their days sweeter which, in turn, makes my life sweeter.

Whether you’re a candy addict like me and the lovely author, Sally McKenney, or tend to make candy only a couple of times of year – Sally’s Candy Addiction simply has to be the next cookbook you buy. Actually, it should be the next anything you buy.

I think a lot of people would make candy more often if they realized that it isn’t as tough as they think. When most people think of candy making, they picture temperamental candy thermometers, hard to make fudge, and diva-like divinity.

Okay, okay, I’ll admit it. Divinity can be a real diva, but fudge isn’t remotely hard to get along with and today’s thermometers couldn’t be more agreeable. Many candy cookbooks in the past would lead you to believe that candy making takes endless time, ingredients, and patience.  In her gorgeous, colorful, and endlessly FUN cookbook, Sally McKenney proves that candy making isn’t difficult and it doesn’t require endless time, ingredients, or patience.

One of my favorite recipes from the book (Chocolate Crunch Candy Bars, page 59) only has two ingredients. Two!

In addition to tons of delicious, easy to follow recipes, Sally’s Candy Addiction has an opening section that serves as sort of a Candy Making 101 – whether you’re new to candy making or a sticky-handed pro, you’ll absolutely love this section. You’ll refer to it often as you enjoy the delectable world of candy making.

Some of the topics covered in this section include:

  • kitchen essentials for making candy
  • why you needn’t fear the candy thermometer
  • the difference between chocolate tempering and melting
  • candy cooking stages
  • candy-making basics
  • key ingredients, with Sally’s expert advice on each

Chapters in Sally’s Candy Addiction:

  1. Can’t Beat a Classic
  2. The Chocolate-Covered Chapter
  3. Endless Truffles
  4. Caramel, Toffee, and Brittle
  5. Nuts and Sweet Treats
  6. Oh-So Fabulous Fudge
  7. Just Add Candy

Recipes in Sally’s Candy Addiction Include:

  • Marshmallows
  • Southern-Style Pecan Pralines
  • Easy Vanilla Buttercreams
  • Candy Apples
  • Vanilla Cake Pops
  • Strawberry Buttercreams
  • Chocolate Coconut Candy Bars
  • Strawberry Pretzel Bark
  • Simply Chocolate Truffles
  • Caramel for Dipping
  • Chewy Cream Caramels
  • Easy Pretzel Toffee
  • Salted Honey Cashew Brittle
  • Peanut Brittle
  • Sweet Heat Caramel Corn
  • Pretzel M&M’s Puppy Chow
  • Popcorn Balls
  • Rocky Road Fudge
  • Peanut Butter Fudge
  • Fluffernutter Swirl Fudge
  • Shortcut Chocolate Fudge
  • Birthday Cake Fudge
  • Cookies ‘N’ Cream Fudge
  • The Great Milky Way Cake
  • Snickers Cheesecake
  • Crazy Candy Deep-Dish Cookie Cake
  • And many, many more…

In a candy-coated nutshell, Sally’s Candy Addiction Cookbook is the only candy cookbook you’ll ever need.  Throw out any candy cookbooks you have that make candy making sound as complicated as calculus or as fun as a tooth extraction and replace them all with Sally’s Candy Addiction.

Order your own copy today and (like me!) you can begin testing out candy recipes for Christmas baking and gift-giving. My family loves when that sort of thing goes on.

Not only are there countless candies that’ll be ideal for delicious gift-giving, you might also consider grabbing one or two copies of the book for gift giving as well – paired along with a great candy thermometer, it’d be the sweetest gift imaginable.

The way I figure it, anyone I give a copy of this book to will make some candy that they’d feel compelled to share with me.

Always thinking. Always.

About the Author

Sally McKenney is a food blogger with an enormous sweet tooth. Or should we say… a mouth of sweet teeth! She worked in finance for four years before dedicating herself full time to the millions of fans that follow her increasingly popular website and now books,Sally’s Baking Addiction and Sally’s Candy Addiction. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her husband, Kevin, and their rescue German Shepard/Rottweiler mix, Jude. Sally is a food blogger for People.com. When Sally isn’t on the computer, practicing yoga, or spending time with family and friends, you can find her baking in the kitchen or behind the camera.

Sally’s favorite dessert is apple pie, and her perfect weekend would always involve baking something yummy and hiking with Kevin and Jude.

See Sally’s Candy Addiction for more information.

 

Truvia Baking Blends (Review and Recipe Contest)

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Brown Sugar and Nut Butter Dip or Parfait made with Truvia Brown Sugar Blend

I’ve been a HUGE fan of Truvia since it first hit my grocery shelves. As a true Southerner, I don’t just drink Sweet Tea, I drink it by the gallons. Unfortunately, the calories in sweet tea are otherworldly, so I looked for a better option – one that wouldn’t lead to “scale shock.”

I tried those artificial sweeteners but, guess what? They taste artificial.

Go figure.

Then I tried Truvia and BAM! I fell in love with the first sip and have never looked back.  Truvia in tea and coffee tastes JUST like sugar but without the calories. Win, win, win.

Since I’m such a Truvia groupie in every conceivable way when I was contacted about reviewing Truvia’s new baking blends I was over the moon excited.  I even read the e-mail twice.. “Baking blends? I had no idea they were now making baking blends?  God it just too good to me..”

And He is, but that’s beside the point.

Truvia Baking Blends

Truvia Brown Sugar Blend and Baking Blend

Truvia just launched its new Truvia Brown Sugar Blend, a mixture of Truvia and Brown Sugar that offers a brown-sugar-like taste, texture, and volume, with 75 percent fewer calories than regular brown sugar.  I’ve used this Brown Sugar Blend in gluten free chocolate chip cookies, fried apples, baby carrots, sweet potatoes, and in a delicious Brown Sugar Nut Butter Fruit Dip or Parfait – (Recipe Below).

I’ve also sprinkled it on oatmeal, which is an experience all in itself.  If you’re as familiar with Truvia as I am, you won’t be surprised when I tell you that this brown sugar blend produces the exact same taste you get with traditional brown sugar.

The. Exact. Same.

It tastes just as sweet and leaves absolutely no aftertaste or unpleasantness.

Truvia also has another wonderful calorie saver, their Baking Blend.  What have I used this particular blend in? Only everything. Like the Brown Sugar Blend, it performs exactly like its calorie-rich counterpart.
To celebrate their delicious new baking blends,  Truvia® is giving all cooking and baking enthusiasts the chance to share their talents in the Truvia Baking Star contest. Bakers can submit videos that feature their own original Truvia Brown Sugar Blend recipe, to win a trip to New York and an all-expense paid professionally-filmed baking video that will be promoted by the brand.  3 Finalists will be sent to NYC for a bake-off, where they’ll meet Truvia brand reps, reporters and editors of top media publications, and four YouTube bloggers (named below).

For recipes with Truvia Brown Sugar Blend and more info on the contest, check out videos from four of YouTube’s top food vloggers: Gaby Dalkin, Byron Talbott, April Moore and Joanne Ozug, all who created recipe videos to kick-off the contest.

Contest Deadlines:

Baking Star Video Entry Period ends—10/14
Public Voting – 10/21-10/30
Semi Finalist Notified – 10/30 – 11/17
Baking Star Bake-Off NYC event – 11/19

Brown Sugar and Nut Butter Dip or Parfait 6

Brown Sugar and Nut Butter Fruit Dip (or Parfaits)

Three Ice Cream Scoops of Yogurt (I usually use The Greek God’s Honey Yogurt)
1 TBS Black Chia Seeds (or Sunflower seeds)
1-1/2 TBS Truvia Brown Sugar Baking Blend
1 tsp Justin’s All Natural Almond Butter or Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend

Simply combine the first four ingredients  in a bowl or parfait-type glass. As you can see from the picture above, it looks so pretty you won’t want to stir the ingredients into one another – but stir you must (or at least should – after all, you want the flavors to mingle and get to know one another).

Optional for Dip: Fruit or Animal Crackers to serve as “dippers’

Optional for Parfaits: Add fruit, granola. or nuts on the bottom or on the top.

Yield: The recipe above makes one serving

Brown Sugar and Nut Butter Dip or Parfait
This is one of those recipes you can totally make your own. Choose your favorite yogurt and add any fruit and/or nuts you like.  Because of the fact that I’m obsessed with “super foods” and healthy ingredients, I DO recommend adding Chia Seeds or, at the very least, sunflower seeds. Chia Seeds are uncommonly good for you and the flavor they bring to the party is wonderful.

I also highly, highly recommend using either Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend or Justin’s Maple Almond Butter – both are AMAZING in this dip/parfait.  These deliciously addictive blends are usually found in the health food section of supermarkets.

Finally, using Truvia Brown Sugar Blend is a must here. What’s the point of making a healthy fruit dip or parfait if it’s going to be packed with extra calories, right?!

Grab these wonderful Truvia Baking Blends as soon as you can. I’m already using them to test out different Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes.  Thanks to Truvia, maybe we won’t all gain 5 pounds this holiday season!

Brown Sugar and Nut Butter Dip
You’re going to LOVE using Truvia Baking Blends in your favorite recipes!
Brown Sugar and Nut Butter Dip

The Best Butter My Kitchen Has Ever Enjoyed: President Butter

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President Butters Collage
Admirably, the French consume the most butter per person globally. How they top us here in the states is mind-boggling, but I tip my hat to them. Knowing they share my passion for butter like few others, I jumped at the opportunity to review Made in France President Butter.

I never knew President even made butter. Of course, I’m well aware of (and a huge fan of) their cheeses – AMAZING in their own right. In fact I just recently bought a President Brie Cheese  that I’m fascinated with.

But back to their butter. Their delicious butter, that is.  (Warning, this review includes tons of pictures, so be sure to continue reading after each picture.)

I was sent the following President butters to review:

  • President Sea Salt Butter
  • President Spreadable Salted Butter
  • President Salted Butter Bar

President Sea Salt Butter

I’m almost as obsessed with sea salt as I am butter, so naturally the first one I tore into was the President Sea Salt Butter.

President Sea Salt Butter in Wrapper
When you open the little dome-shaped container, you find that the butter is wrapped beautifully in gold paper. Very classy. Very French.

President Sea Salt Butter

The first thing I noticed about the Sea Salt Butter was its great looks. Truth be told, she’s a beauty. The streaks of darker yellow running throughout the paler yellow was striking.  I thought then, “This butter would be GORGEOUS on a Thanksgiving or Christmas table!”

I’m not ashamed to admit that the first thing I tried the President Sea Salt Butter on was my finger. I sliced off a chunk and into the mouth it went.

My first thoughts:

  • Creamy
  • Delicious
  • This is how butter should taste

Beautiful and delicious – how does it get any better?

As for the taste of salt, it was subtle – just as it should be. Detectable? Yes. Over-powering? Not in the least.

The first non-body-part thing I ate with the Sea Salt was Steamed Rice and it was spectacular.  Since I knew I’d be using Sea Salt Butter, I simply didn’t salt the rice after taking it out of the steamer.

President Sea Salt Butter with Steamed Rice
 

The President Sea Salt Butter is out of this world – not only on rice but pasta too. I’m certain it’d be delicious on anything.

Including fingers.

President Salted Butter in a Tub
If you know me at all, you know my obsession with sweet potatoes. I make baked sweet potatoes pretty often – so I was anxious to try out my new favorite butter on one of my greatest culinary loves in the world. So the next night, I baked sweet potatoes and allowed some Salted President Butter to melt down into them before adding the brown sugar.

Off the charts delicious!

When my husband and I were eating supper, he said, “These are the best sweet potatoes I’ve ever had. What did you put in them?”

Funny thing is, I made them just like I always do – the ONLY difference was this time I used President Butter instead of one of the ones I normally use.

I thought it was a great testament to the butter that he noticed without me saying anything.  I knew I had noticed how much better they were this time, but I was afraid I was just being partial to my new found butter obsession. He had no idea the butter was new… so he’s an even better judge than me.

Sweet Potato with Butter and Brown Sugar
I’ve read butter reviews online before where people have either given or taken away proverbial points awarded to a butter based on color.  Apparently I’m in the great minority here because…

  1. I honestly don’t give a very big flip about color.
  2. The little flip I do give is actually TOWARD a more pale color for butter.

The majority of people seem to want their butter to be quite yellow.  Again, I know I’m in the minority here, but I prefer my butter to be paler. If it’s terribly yellow, it just screams “MARGARINE!” to me. But when it pale, it purrs, “Creamy butter…” – with an emphasis on cream.

President butters are incredibly creamy and more delicious than is seemly. It just isn’t right for anything to be this good.

Okay, so where can you find President butter?  I’ve found a few on Amazon (if I didn’t already love Amazon, I would now):

You can also visit President Cheese‘s website and search for stores near you. You can also read more information about President butter and cheeses on their beautiful website.

I’m watching my local grocery stores in the hopes that President Butter will soon be available.  This is exceptional butter and… take it from me… once you’ve tasted it, everything else seems like a distant second.

I HIGHLY recommend getting your hands on some President Butter right away – as in the sooner, the better but whatever you do,make sure you have plenty for the holidays. My mind is buzzing at the thought of President Butter on corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and rolls – to say nothing of the extra creamy goodness it’ll bring to homemade fudge, butter cookies (I think I’m beginning to drool…), casseroles, dressing…

President Butters Collage

300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes (Review)

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300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes

The Definitive Collection of Candy Recipes!

I was recently sent a great candy cookbook to review, FILLED with some of the best recipes of all time. I was actually planning to save my review of 300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes: Brittles, Caramels, Chocolate, Fudge, Truffles and So Much More  for September because I wanted to tell you all about it right before Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas baking.

Then, this morning, it hit me – what if you’d like to try out some of these recipes over the summer before making candy for your family and gifts.

Besides, is it ever the wrong time to make candy?

I’ve read a lot of candy cookbooks in my time (I even own a couple of great ones), but I’ve never seen a collection of candy recipes quite like this one.  Not only does this cookbook contain every type of candy you can imagine, it has a lot you could never even begin to mentally conjure up!

One of my favorite things about 300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes is the fact that each recipe has ingredients you can easily find – no matter where you live, you won’t find yourself asking, “Will my store even have that… and, if not, what am I going to use for a substitute???”

The recipes are also highly do-able, for any level of cook – newbies and veterans, alike.  The step-by-step instructions are crystal clear and the author includes countless tips and advice that can only come with experience.

Even though I’m a chocoholic and am more fudge and divinity obsessed than anyone has a right to be, the first recipe I actually looked for when the cookbook came in the mail was for a childhood candy I remember my mom making – “Potato Candy.”   It’s hard to find the recipe and on the few occasions I have come across Potato Candy recipes, they’re never “quite” like I remember.

I’m THRILLED to say that I found exactly what I was looking for on page 104 –  the Potato Candy recipe I remember and I’m beside myself with happiness!.  It’s called “Potato Pinwheels” and has the exact ingredients I remember using when I made this candy with my mom – a cooked potato, vanilla, confectioner’s sugar, peanut butter, and pecans (or walnuts or peanuts).

300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes

 

Tuxedo Fudge (left) and Chocolate-Cherry Creams and Elegant Sparkling Strawberries (right)

 

Some of the 300 Candy Recipes Include:

  • Elegant Sparkling Strawberries (Gorgeous for Christmas!)
  • Buckeyes
  • Golf Balls
  • Potato Fudge
  • Classic Pecan Roll
  • Caramel Pecan Roll
  • White Taffy (and other taffy recipes)
  • Glass Candy
  • New Orleans Roasted Pecan Pralines
  • Mom’s Divinity
  • Cherry-Nut Nougat
  • Peppermint Taffy (also a must for Christmas)
  • Brown Sugar Taffy
  • Chocolate Fudge Recipes
  • Five-Minute Fudge
  • Christmas Fudge
  • Candied Citrus Peel
  • Peanut Butter Fudge Recipes
  • Creamy White Fudge
  • Pumpkin Fudge (A Halloween tradition)
  • Creamy Orange Fudge
  • Coconut Fudge
  • A lot of other fudge recipes!
  • Martha Washingtons
  • Coconut Bonbons
  • Kentucky Bourbon Balls
  • Spiced Pecans
  • County Fair Nuts
  • Toffee
  • Lollipops (again, great fun for Halloween)
  • Old Fashioned Popcorn Balls
  • Microwave Caramel Popcorn
  • Carnival Candied Apples
  • Old-Fashioned Caramel Apples
  • Simple Barks (White Chocolate, Chocolate-Nut, Cherry Almond…)
  • Chocolate Coconut Drops
  • Chocolate Marshmallow Turtles
  • Triple Delight Pecan Patties
  • Chocolate Peanut Clusters
  • Rocky Road
  • Heavenly Hash
  • Caramel-Nut Marshmallows

And the list goes on and on and on and on.

300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes

Marry Me Toffee (left) and Lollipops (Right)

Book Description:

The step-by-step candy bible for home candy-makers.

With hundreds of recipes for mouthwatering candies, chocolates, pralines, crèmes, fudges, toffee, holiday treats and no-bake cookies, this candy cookbook covers the traditional to the exotic.

Complete with easy-to-follow instructions and 75 step-by-step photos, this is a treasure trove of information and inspiring recipes. Although many are intimidated at the thought of making candies at home, Jane Sharrock shows how to master a few basic principles that every candy maker should know. She makes it easy to produce delicious goodies in the home kitchen.

See  300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes for more information. This is definitely a cookbook you’ll want to have in your candy-making hands long before Halloween and Christmas. This is going to be our most delicious holiday season ever.