4 Days Til Christmas: (Super Easy) Marshmallow Fudge

We're in the home stretch now!

Christmas is literally only sleeps away now. 

I work tonight, tomorrow and Sunday then wake up ready to celebrate on Monday!

To add to my cookie assortment I made some super easy (and almost foolproof) fudge.

I made 2 batche: one wit regular chocolate and one itch orange chocolate. 

I used Martha's recipe for Peppermint fudge, just omitted the peppermint.

You'll need:

Nonstick spray, for baking pan

2 1/4 cups (16 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup round peppermint candies, plus 18 for garnish

3/4 cup heavy cream

3 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1. Lightly coat a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. Line pan with two pieces parchment paper in both directions, leaving 2 inches of overhang on all sides; spray parchment. Place chocolate in a bowl. In a food processor, pulse candies until finely chopped. In a medium saucepan, combine candies, cream, marshmallows, butter, sugar, and salt over medium-high. Whisk until smooth, 5 minutes.
2. Pour mixture through a strainer into bowl with chocolate; let stand 1 minute, then stir until smooth.

3. Pour into baking pan and refrigerate until set, 3 hours. Cut fudge into 1 1/2-inch squares. With a sharp knife, cut 18 candies in half; press a candy half into each square before serving or packing.

Christmas Cookie Countdown: Honeycomb Brittle

Wrote my first and last exam of the holiday season!

Wasn't great but wasn't terrible.

I'll know when they post the final marks - ready for this? - on Christmas.

That's cruel.

I won't be checking on Christmas morning. I'll be too busy loading up my new ipod (coughJOHNcough) or driving around in my new car (coughMOMDADcough).

The car might be wishful thinking.

Especially considering my dad needs a new car for himself. I'm not poking fun (I swear) but there are too many things about that old Volvo that crack me up. The Gandalf-style stick that props the trunk up and keeps people from being decapitated, the clothes hanger antenna, the fact that the drivers side seat belt no longer adjusts so my dad slides under it to get in, and the other day my dad crushed his thumb in the sun roof. He has 2 pins in it and a cast.

Poor guy.

Anyway, today's recipe is fast and easy (don't make the same mistake I did - I'll explain) and makes a great gift!

Recipe from www.marthastewart.com

• Coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. ***Don't use wax paper, it will not come off the bottom of the brittle.
• Bring 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup honey, and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees. ***Then remove from heat, do not let sugar burn as I did on my first batch.
• Remove from heat, and whisk in 1 tbsp baking soda until combined and mixture bubbles. ***Whisk like crazy. Don't do what I did and stop whisking to check the next step in the recipe. I promise you the mixture will bubble over and go everywhere. Your cupboards, counters, and floors. And this brittle is a witch to scrub off. We're talking an hour of scrubbing it off every surface. Gently pour mixture onto baking sheet without spreading. Let cool. Break into pieces.

The best way to clean the hardened sugar out of the pot (and every other dish/utensil you accidently slop it all over) is to take it into the bathroom, turn on the tub's hot faucet and power wash them. I kid you not. It's super fast.

It's real...and it's spectacular.

Yes, this exists.

And it weighs in at an impressive 5 lbs.

And it is delicious but hard to eat more than 3 bites of, as each bite is likely the equivalent of 5-10 gummy bears depending on how big of a bite you take.

Currently it sits near me, sans feet.

The friend that I made that stop-motion video with brought this amazing monstrosity to my attention and pretty much from the moment I saw it, I knew we had to have it.
There are a few stores from which you can order these (and giant gummy worms but they look suspiciously like play things of an adult nature...) and there are stores in Toronto that you can go and purchase them directly. I got this beaut of a bear from this store called Rolo.
If you want one of your own, head over to 24 Bellair Street in Yorkville.

I'm determined to finish the body of this bear asap.
The head is going to get soaked in vodka, perhaps for St. Patrick's Day.

P.S. I now have a twitter account. I'm still figuring it all out.
You can follow me here.

I also set up a tumblr account for food pictures.
You can follow me here.

Valentine's Day Gelee Candies!

My friend Danielle came over today for a lunch date and we decided to make some more gelee candies. Getting ready for valentine's day, we used heart-shaped molds and then made some gummy worms, and some other hand-created designs (including a 'gummy bear' that I masacred).

Some of Danielle's ju-jub shaped candies:

Heart shaped:

They're so tasty and they set so well!

While we let them set, we went to Chipotle for lunch and gorged ourselves on tacos and fajitas.

Then after a quick stop into Sugar Mountain, we came back here to make ebelskivers and rave to some house music.

Apple cinnamon, blueberry riccota, chocolate chip, banana chocolate chip, and more.

We let our stuffed tummies digest while we got cozy and enjoyed It's All Gone Pete Tong.

All in all, a fantastic Sunday.

I was going to make a whole pile of ebelskivers for the breakfast contribution I said I would bring for the Black History Month breakfast on Tuesday buuuuut they're definitely better eaten straight out of the pan. With time they deflate and don't taste quite as good cold.

So I'm thinking I'll go devour the remaining 'skivers and start brainstorming some new ideas for a breakfast contribution.

I'm thinking either french toast strips or a breakfast lasagna....

Special thanks to Danielle for helping me get add to my winter weight and more seriously for taking such beautiful pictures and letting me steal them!

*Update: Gelee Candies

I promised an update on the candies I made with my friend yesterday.

They turned out sooooooo well!

They're not featured on her website just yet but they will be!

She was kind of enough to send me the pictures she took of the candies (as well as my cheesecake truffles - recipe coming later this week!).

(Photo courtesy of sweetandsplendid.com)

Blue is bubble gum flavoured, purple is grape, and the yellow-clear ones are cherry pineapple. We also made watermelon (a fun pinky red colour) but it was taking a long time to set. I took home with slab of it and I let it sit in the fridge overnight. If it has hardened I'll cut it into candy peices later on.

NOW-

I'm going to clean the apartment, make more truffles, and possibly find a recipe for a type of loaf.

Gummy Candies!

Today my friend (my incredibly talented cake-decorating friend) Danielle and I are getting together to bake slash create amazing things.

One of those things will be gummy candies!

I'm very excited.

This is a whole new challenge and I hope it works out as planned.

She's pretty on the ball though so I have no doubt that this venture will turn out successful.

To see some of her ridiculously incredible stuff, visit her site here.

While I don't know what recipe we will be using for the gummy candies, I do know that we rquire both gelatin and pectin (I bought both liquid pectin and pectin crystals just in case) so I searched for a recipe that included both.

If you want to join in the challenge, follow this recipe!

I can post the recipe we follow later on.

Gummy Candies

• Lightly oil candy moulds (or use ice cube trays to make gummy cubes, OR use a cookie sheet and make shapes later on using cookie cutters).
• Combine 1 box pectin (1 3/4 ounces) with 1/2 tsp baking powder in a medium saucepan. Add 3/4 cup water and place the pan over medium heat, stirring well until the pectin dissolves. As it heats, the mixture will foam. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick, smooth, and clear - about 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the pectin warm.
• Combine 1 cup light corn syrup and 1 cup sugar in another medium saucepan. Place over high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil.
• Cook, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 260 degrees F (hard ball stage). Immediately add the pectin mixture and return the syrup to a boil. Boil for exactly 1 minute then remove pan from heat.
• Add 2 tsp lemon or orange (or any flavour) extract and 6-8 drops of corresponding food colouring and mix until incorporated. Pour the syrup into the candy moulds and set them aside at room temperature until set, about 5 hours.
• When the candies are set, sprinkle the tops with superfine sugar as this will allow you to handle the sticky candies. Shake off excess sugar and use your fingers to remove the candies from the moulds. Completely cover the candy with superfine sugar if desired.

I hope it works out perfectly!

I have candy moulds for chocolate that I'm going to bring with me but for the most part I think we're using ice cube trays.

Very excited!

I'll post pictures of the results tomorrow plus any variation in the recipe.