Rumchata Balls

This a great, quick holiday treat to make as a gift, or just to have around the house.  I've modified the original recipe from Emeril Lagasse (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/rum-balls-recipe3/index.html).

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup Rumchata
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions

Into a large bowl, sift together 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar, the cocoa powder and spices. Stir in the rum and corn syrup. Stir in the graham crackers and walnuts, and mix well. Place in the refrigerator to firm up slightly, about 30 minutes. (The mixture may appear crumbly and dry; this is O.K.)

Place the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a shallow bowl or dish.

Using a tablespoon, scoop out portions of the chocolate mixture and press into 1-inch balls. Using your hands, roll the balls in the confectioners' sugar, coating evenly.

Place on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, placing waxed paper between the layers to prevent sticking.

Banoffee Parfait

In an effort to come up with something new and fun (and awesome, because I'm competitive like that) for a fundraising bake sale, I've created a Banoffee Parfait.  It requires very little of you other than the ability to assemble ingredients. 

What you need...
2 cups of crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
6-8 Tbsp melted butter or margarine (start off with 6, add until desired consistency is achieved)
(In a bowl, combine graham crackers, sugar, salt and melted butter.)

2 pkgs. instant vanilla pudding, prepared as directed in a separate bowl

About 6 ripened bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2 slices
1 bag of milk chocolate covered toffee bits (found near the chocolate chips in the baking aisle)
1 jar of caramel topping

Now assemble!
Drop a spoon or two full of graham cracker crust into a parfait cup.  Top with vanilla pudding.  Add bananas, toffee bits and caramel topping to your liking.

Enjoy!

Fudgy Cheesecake

I love making cheesecake, but it seems to take forever, so I've created a simpler recipe that delivers a nice, rich chocolate cheesecake taste, but doesn't require all that waiting.

Fudgy Cheesecake

Ingredients:
2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
8 oz dark choclate squares, melted
1 chocolate graham cracker crust

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a mixer, cream the sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy. 
• Add egg and vanilla and blend.
• Spoon about 1/3 of the mixture into the chocolate graham cracker crust and spread evenly on the bottom.
• Melt the milk choclate chips in the microwave (15-30 second intervals).  Mix in 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture and stir until blended.  Spoon evenly onto your plain cheesecake layer.  If it mixes, no worries!  A little marbling can make it look fun!
• Finally, melt the dark choclate in the microwave and mix the remaining cream cheese mixture, stirring until blended.  Spoon onto your cheesecake as the top layer.
• Place the cheesecake onto a flat cookie sheet and cook for 25 minutes, or until the top layer is set.
• Let cool for about 30 minutes and then place in the refrigerator to chill. 

This is much simpler than a traditional cheesecake and your oven time is cut in half.  It's still very yummy, however, so enjoy!

The Great Cookie Experiment

Chocolate chip cookies are a staple in a baker's kitchen.  Recipes for them vary as much as people themselves - chewy vs. crunchy, puffy vs. flat, walnuts vs. no walnuts, etc.  The different varieties of chocolate chip cookies can be achieved by making small changes to any one of the ingredients.  In my most recent experiment, I decided to try different vanilla extracts.  Behold....

I purchased this three-pack from William Sonoma.  Your typical grocery store only sells one type of vanilla extract, which is most commonly Madagascar Bourbon vanilla.  Madagascar Bourbon is the most sought after bourbon vanilla bean and is considered the best. Madagascar has aromas of wood, oil, and leather with wide flat pods.

There are others, however, as William Sonoma has made available.  Mexican vanilla is another popular variety.  Its beans are chocolate brown to black in color, and their aroma is clean and delicate.  Tahitian vanilla, aptly named for its country of origin, is another alternative and has an earthy and fruity taste, which is best in cold dishes.

I decided I wanted to taste the difference in these vanillas using the medium of chocolate chip cookies.  Sometimes you just have to sacrifice for science.

I created a basic recipe with smaller proportions so I wouldn't have a ton of cookies, and made it three times, only altering the vanilla.  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 bag chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Cream together butter, shortening and sugars
Add egg and beat until combined
Add vanilla and beat until combined
In a separate bowl with a whisk, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.
Pour into creamed mixture and blend well
Add chocolate chip cookies
Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet
Bake in oven for 12 minutes or until slightly golden
Remove from oven and let cool

Once you've made a batch with the each of the vanillas and the cookies have cooled...wait, who are we kidding?  You know you tasted the cookie dough!  Each vanilla lends its own unique flavor and it will change and evolve after being in the oven.  

My husband and I had different opinions of which was best.  I preferred the traditional Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, and he liked the Mexican vanilla.  Neither of us cared for the Tahitian vanilla, as the alcohol-taste seemed to overpower the rest of the cookie.  That's not to say the cookies were inedible; we will, of course, eat them.

Experiment and taste-test for yourself.  It's definitely one of the better experiments I've tried...

What do I do now?

I bake.  In fact, I love to bake.  Sweets mostly.  It's my stress relief.  I lose myself in food photos and fabulous-sounding recipes, and then I relish in trying them and feeding my friends and family the results.

What happens, though, when your dessert doesn't come out exactly how you had planned?  I have a habit of wanting to add one more splash of this or that to see if it'll make my dish the coveted one at the office or family gatherings.  I usually end up with something that tastes good, but has a serious flaw.

Take, for example, the recent pound cake I tried making.  I added a bit too much heavy cream and BAM...after it was done baking, it disintegrated when I turned it over to release it from the pan.  It was too moist to hold it's form, but far too delicious to just throw away.  So, what can you do when your cake falls apart?  Here are some easy but tasty ideas.

XYZ Trifle

A trifle is simply a dessert made with layers of cake, custard, and whatever else you'd like.  The possibilities are endless.  I've provided a simple recipe below, but you can make substitutions or additions to your liking.

Cake Layer
1 box of yellow* cake mix + ingredients to make the cake (i.e., eggs and oil)
 
Custard Layer
8 oz. (1 pkg) cream cheese
3 cups cold milk
2 small pkg instant vanilla* pudding
1 16-oz tub of whipped topping

Soak
1/2 cup of hot cocoa*

Extras
12 oz milk chocolate chips*

*These are ingredients that can be easily substituted with whatever your little heart desires.  Alternatives are listed below the directions.


1) Make cake according to the directions.  Let cool completely.  Place into a bowl and break into very small, crumbled pieces (I like to use a large wooden spoon).

2) To make the custard layer, beat the cream cheese until creamy.  Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mixes. Stir in 2 cups of whipped topping.

3)  In a trifle dish or a 2.5 qt+ glass bowl, start your layers:
          Drop in 1/3 of your crumbled cake
          Drizzle on your 1/3 of your soak
          Spoon on 1/3 of the custard
          Pour 1/3 of the chocolate chips
          Repeat 2 more layers or until your ingredients reach the top of your dish.
          Cover with the remaining whipped topping and chocolate chips

Voila!  You've just turned your failed cake into a delicious trifle.  If you need some inspiration for alternatives, try these suggestions:

Bananas Foster:  Yellow cake mix, banana cream pudding, cherry cola, and dark chocolate chips
Tiramisu:  Angel food cake, vanilla pudding, coffee and cocoa powder
Fruity:  White or angel food cake, vanilla pudding, rum and strawberries

The combinations are limitless.  Still have cake crumbs left over?  Melt 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of shortening and pour onto the crumbs.  Combine them together and roll it into balls for a nice brownie-like treat.