"The Fudge"

How about a classic Holiday candy?

Who doesn't love fudge?

Mom has made fudge every year at Christmas time ever since I can remember.  I and try to make it every year as well.  Sometimes I'm so bogged down with shopping and getting everything ready for the holiday that I don't have time.  It's those years that I miss having fudge around.

So this year I made sure to have it on my list of holiday goodies to make.  I've been bringing you several of the goodies so far, and today is all about "The Fudge".   This is what MGG calls it...not just fudge, but "THE Fudge"!

Well this fudge has been around forever.  My mom made it and now I use the same recipe, which by the way, comes out perfect time and again.  It's the Fantasy Fudge recipe on the back of the marshmallow creme jar!  I'm sure you've heard of it....if not, then you MUST try this now!

Simple to do, just follow the directions, and don't skip of the boiling part. It is required to boil until reaching 234 degrees in order for the fudge to set up correctly. (Trust me it won't set up if you don't do this step!)  The rest is easy peasy!  I make mine plain chocolate.  No nuts, no nothing.  But you can add them if you want.

Enjoy my favorite fudge!

"The Fudge"

by Kraft (from the back of the marshmallow creme jar)

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup) (Do not use sweetened condensed milk.)
3 pkg. (4 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
1 jar (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme
1 tsp. vanilla

Line a 9x11" pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. 

Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to full rolling boil in 3-qt. saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 4 min. or until candy thermometer reaches 234°F, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Add chocolate and marshmallow creme; stir until melted. Add vanilla; mix well.

Pour into prepared pan; spread to cover bottom of pan. Cool completely. Use foil handles to lift fudge from pan before cutting into squares.

Holiday Baking: Apple Cider Quick Bread

 

Hi there!  Yesterday I talked about my holiday baking marathon this past weekend making a gazillion goodies...

Seriously!

So today I took some to share with my co-worker.  Giving them a little bit of each variety. 

By far the Apple Cider Quick Bread was the hit of the day.  Woohoo!

I love this quick bread.  It is moist and tender, but full of fall flavors.  If you know me, then you know that I have a passion for apples.  Anything apples.  Each year I look for new apples in the grocery store and farmers markets to try.  This year I found an apple called Opal.  Oh My!  Bright yellow, and full of wonderful sweet flavor.  My new fav.

Quick breads are everywhere this time of years.  So coming up with this flavor combination was a no brainer for me.  I just put together some of my favorite spices, added a great apple, (I used a Fuji apple) and some healthy (wheat flour, yogurt etc!) stuff too and a great quick bread was born.

Oh YUM!  You have to try this.  Nothing better with tea or coffee than a nice piece of Apple Cider Quick Bread, steaming hot.  Or, try this...toast it in the morning and smear on some whipped cream cheese.  

I love it, they loved it, you'll love it too!




Apple Cider Quick Bread

Makes 1 loaf

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg white
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded peeled tart apple
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine ingredients flour through nutmeg. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, egg white, cider, yogurt, oil and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the apple.

Pour in to a 9” x 5” loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Holiday baking: Spritz Cookies

This weekend is what I deem my Holiday Baking weekend.

Each year I take out a big chunk of time to devote to a baking marathon.  One of my favorite things to due during the holiday season is to bake goodies for friends, neighbors, and co-workers.  This all started with a neighbor we had growing up that would deliver a plate of goodies to us each year.  I looked forward to that plate e v e r y  y e a r...it was a tradition and left great memories.

The numbers we have to share with are growing each year as now MGG has about 50 employees or so in addition to mine at work as well.  Plus friends and neighbors.  You get the picture.

This calls for lots and lots of goodies!  So I hunkered down and made 7 different types of goodies and could have kept going but ran out of time!  So this variety will have to do.  Seems like the trick to providing so many different varieties of goodies are to make items that make large quantities, like bars, and that are easy to put together.

Items like fudge, cookies, quick bread loaves, and bark come to mind.  So that's what I did!

First up is are a classic.  Spritz Cookies.  They were on my neighbors annual plate and they are now on mine too.  Without a doubt a tradition.

They are easy to put together, using very few ingredients.  The batter is basically a butter cookie dough that you use with a cookie press.  I actually got a new cookie press this year and I really found it easy to handle. Here is my press!  One trick to the press is to butter the sheets with melted butter so the cookie sticks to it.  This helps, trust me!  Also you need to press down firmly and pull the trigger, then lift straight up.  Practice makes perfect.

Kitchen Tip:  If your dough becomes too warm it will soften and spread, making the cookies come out irregularly shaped, flat, and the dough may ooze out of the press in unwanted spots!  Just refrigerate the dough for about 10 minutes to firm it up and it will work perfectly in your press.

This make a LOT of cookies.  The best part is that I was done from start finish in about 1 hour.  Prepped, baked and cooled!  How is that for quick baking?  Love it...and Love, Love, Love these cookies too! 

Stay tuned for more holiday baking ideas!
 

Spritz Cookies

Yield:  30 cookies

 

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla

2 cups flour,

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter two baking sheets with melted butter.   

In a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat until mixed in.   Add the flour and salt and mix until you have a well mixed dough that comes together.

Add chunks of dough into the tube of your cookie press, that is fitted with a the plate of choice.  Press cookies onto the baking sheet, spacing about 1 – 1 ½” apart.  (If the dough is too soft, because the shape of the cookies is not clearly defined, chill the dough.) If desired, decorate the cookies with sprinkles or jimmies. 

Bake cookies for about 8 minutes or just until the edges of the cookies are barely tinged with brown. Remove from oven and allow to sit on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies keep at room temperature for about 10 days.  Cookie may be frozen for several months.