August Daring Bakers: Candylicious!

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

While I know my entry isn't nearly awesome enough to go for the prize, I had soooo much fun with this project! 

My first candy was a sweet coconut-stuffed candy.  Inspired by recipes from around the web (Joy the Baker and Have Fork Will Eat) I ended up with this combination for the moist, chewy interior:

1 cup sweetened condensed milk (about 7 or 8 oz)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 good dash of salt
2 1/12 cups of unsweetened coconut flakes (I always get this from the bulk section at our market, it's fresher and less plastic-tasting)

Stir the first four ingredients together, then add the coconut.  Cover tightly and throw into the refrigerator for several hours before using.  With your sticky little fingers, form into your desired shapes.  If your kitchen is warm, you'll want to re-chill the shapes before dipping into the chocolate. Also, the harder you pack the mixture into your mold ( I used an oblong Tablespoon measure-er thing), the easier it will be to to dip.  My looser-ly packed shapes tended to fall apart in the bowl of chocolate.  The only way to save the situation was to dig it out with a spoon and eat it.  Chirp-chirp was of great help here!

My second combination was peanut butter and chocolate.  This one was the request (maybe a little more like a demand? How about insistent request? ) from Mr. Boom.  For peanut butter and chocolate, one need look no further than the Brown Eyed Baker for inspiration.  I tweaked her peanut butter cup recipe until we all agreed we'd gone to heaven. 

1 cup cheap creamy peanut butter (the good stuff will separate)

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine all the ingredients and chill, just like the coconut recipe above.



Confession here on the marshmallow.  I used store-bought marshmallows. It's just too dang hot to play with melted sugar.  I'm so sorrrrrrrry.  What I should have done was this, from a previous Daring Baker challenge.

This may or may not have been by second breakfast, elevensies, and perhaps first and second lunch today...

You could have it too, just follow this link to the printable directions on tempering chocolate and making all kinds of delicious candies in your OWN (and hopefully cooler) kitchen.



FFwD: Paris Mushroom Soup

Okay, so that challenge I issued?  The one about grabbing one item off your resolutions list and doing. it. right. now? 

I failed.  Instead of doing one of two big things I've been wanting to do for the blog, I ran off to the big city far away to take my grandma to visit her son who was visiting his son.  After dropping Grandma off, we went to Mr. Boom's brother's home to spend a few days. New Year's was a blast, but I felt guilty the whole time about not doing what I said I would.  So guilty, in fact, that I haven't been able to show my face around here. 

Enough is enough, though.  I'll just throw those two items on the list of my regular resolutions.  I hope they'll happen!  So much of that list never gets done, which is why I really like the challenge of crossing one off before the new year even starts.

My birthday was on Monday, and my most favoritest present of all was a mandolin.  I've been practicing and practicing and I think my fingers might fall off any minute now.  I'm grimacing as I type this, having just finished up a "jam session" with Mr. Boom who is a very accomplished (at least in my mind) guitar player.

I'm getting a little bit better every day, and I can now play five chords!  Five whole chords, people!  Furthermore, the cats aren't running out of the room every time I pick up my pretty little mandolin to play.  That's progress right there, baby!

This week's French Friday's with Dorie challenge was Paris Mushroom Soup. 

You don't need a recipe for this soup, per se, although I wouldn't dissuade anyone from buying this book, ever!

But really, soften up an onion and garlic in butter,

add a pound of mushrooms, and a bit of white wine

(I had no white wine on hand, so I left this out).

Cook until dry, then add chicken broth.

Whiz it all up (I used an immersion blender) and serve.

It's not pretty, but it's really fast, really good, and very creamy despite the fact that it doesn't have any cream in it at all.

Best served with a side of "Rocky Top" chorus chords jotted on the back of an envelope.

Chirp-chirp made this recipe for tiramisu up all by herself.  I love the fact that she's so comfortable going into the kitchen and experimenting with ingredients.  She made a ganache and a cream-coffee-nutmeg-cinnamon dip for Nilla Wafers.  There's also some (instant) coconut pudding and I'm not sure what else in there. 

Yummm.  In fact, I'm going back for more!

I challenge you!

Remember this post from the end of last year?

Well, I'm doing it again!

I challenge you, NAY, I DARE YOU, to do the one thing you've meant to do all year and haven't.  I DARE you to look at your list of resolutions (if you're the type to make one), and do one of them now!

Last year I jumped into soap making.  I had wanted to do it forever, but never found the time.  I was scared, I might fail, who was I trying to kid...besides, I just don't have the time....

So, the last day of the year, I told the little voices to shut the heck up and I made the time and I made some soap.  I'm so glad I did, and so are all the people who received beautiful handmade soaps from me for Christmas this year.

I've narrowed it down to two things I'm going to do this year, and I still need to decide which it will be...but either one will be a significant change (for the better) for the blog.

So.  What are YOU going to do? 

Pick up the gauntlet and RUN!!!!!!!