January 4, 2010 in Cooking, Deals, Desert, Holiday Cooking, Recipes, Sweets
image curtasy of beau-coup.com
Chatelaine and Today’s Parent came provided everyone with a recipe PDF download of the Best of Holiday Favourites Cookie Exchange 2009.
This may seem belated, but if you are going to a pot luck, or if you just want to produce some homemade snacks, why not refer to this free PDF download containing 12 tempting cookie recipes!!!
Enjoy everyone!
December 9, 2009 in Holiday Cooking, Recipes, Sweets
Melt in your mouth goodness. And you can tuck a surprise in the center if you like!
This was in my Chatelaine Dec 2008 issue.
Preparation time 15 minutes
Baking time 8 minutes
Makes 42 cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour or 21/2 cups (625 mL) cake and pastry flour
3/4 cup (175 mL) ground almonds, about 100-g pkg
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (250 mL) sifted icing sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
1 cup (250 mL) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). In a medium bowl, stir flour with almonds and salt until evenly mixed. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, beat butter with 1/2 cup (125 mL) icing sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla. On low speed or using a wooden spoon, beat flour mixture into butter mixture.
2. Scoop about 1 tbsp (15 mL) dough and flatten into a disc. To add a chocolate centre, press 2 chocolate chips or 1 chocolate chunk into centre of the disc. Roll dough around chocolate, forming a 1-in. (2.5-cm) ball. Repeat with remaining dough and chocolate. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, at least 1 in. (2.5 cm) apart.
3. Bake in centre of oven until puffed and golden on bottom when lifted, from 8 to 10 min. Remove cookies to a rack to cool for 5 min. Place remaining 1/2 cup (125 mL) icing sugar in a shallow bowl. Then roll warm cookies in sugar until evenly coated and return to rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep well stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to a week or in the freezer up to 1 month.
October 27, 2009 in Cooking, Desert, Food, Holiday Cooking, Recipes, Sauce, Sweets
Nasty yet yummy Halloween Recipes for kids and…adults! We’re looking at Roaches Puree, Stuffed Roaches, and the lovely Truck Stop Toilet! These are fun and funny! If you love walnuts, dips and chocolate brownies…these three are for you! Try them out this Halloween!
On our Candian Thanksgiving weekend, my boyfriend’s little brother (12?) was doing an english assingment. He was to write a Halloween menu. This Halloween menu’s suppose to be gross and nasty but realistic at the same time…so onto the net I go and what did I find? Some AMAZING yet hilarious idea….If i throw a halloween party next year, these are ALL going to be on my “to do” list.
So here we go.
The Roaches Pure
Does it look nasty or what?! It’s really only “Walnut Dip with Garlic”. The texture of pureed walnuts is the magic ingredient that give you the crunchy bits!
Ingredients:
3 slices of whole wheat bread, well toasted
1/4 C. walnut pieces
4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 C. water
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
1. In food processor (or by hand), crumble the toast into fine crumbs.
2. In food processor or blender, combine walnuts, garlic, and crumbs until all is finely ground.
3. Add lemon, oil, and parsley. Process until smooth. Add water as needed until desired consistency.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. This is one of those gross recipes for Halloween that’s easy to make ahead of time. As it sits in the fridge, it gets a little darker– a good thing for cockroach puree. The parsley may darken a bit and begin to look like bits of “cockroach skin”.
6. Serve up in a bowl labeled “Cockroach Puree,” “Roasted Roach Dip,” etc.
Stuffed Roaches
This one is probably the best one I’ve ever seen out there! It’s super smart, fun and gross all in one! They looked gross but they taste good. Again the trick is the walnuts!
Ingredients:
1/3 C. cream cheese, softened
1/4 C. walnuts, chopped semi-fine
20-30 dates, pitted
Instructions:
1. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and nuts til well mixed.
2. Gently fill each date with cream cheese/nut mixture (you may have to split the dates slightly).
3. Serve in a festive halloween decorated with several rubber roaches. Label as “Stuffed Roaches,” or “Fresh-caught Cockroaches,” etc.
Truck Stop Toilet
When I saw this one, I coudln’t stop laughing, but at the same time be extreamly grossed out!
They suggested using brownies and strawberry syrup (bottled is fine) as blood (as in the picture) but also suggest a peanut butter blood recipe to make it looks much nastier. Oh and walnut! in the brownies, slicing them into long rectangular slices instead of the squares….for a more realistic look!
Ingredients/Supplies:
One brand new, UNUSED training potty/toilet
1 prepared brownies
1 tub prepared chocolate frosting
Peanut Butter Blood:
1/2 C. creamy peanut butter (chunky won’t work!)
Light corn syrup, as needed
Red food coloring, as needed
Chocolate syrup, as needed (optional)
Instructions:
1. Thoroughly clean the new training potty with soap and water.
2. Prepare peanut butter “dried blood” by slowly adding corn syrup to peanut butter until you get your desired texture. Add red food coloring until you get a dark blood red. If mixture isn’t dark enough, stir in a little chocolate syrup. Set aside.
3. Place brownies or Tasty Turds in bowl of toilet.
4. With lid opened, “decorate” your toilet with prepared “dried blood” and gobs of chocolate frosting. Dangle a length of toilet paper from one of the gobs of chocolate frosting, if desired.
5. Watch your guests get really disgusted by this gross Halloween recipe.
Much thanks to Devine Dinner Party for these deadly recipes! If you love these, they’ve got more on their site. These three are just my favs!
July 21, 2009 in Desert, Food, Sweets
Are you seeing a trend here? I think my tea attraction came from the fact that I worked for a tea company (my first real job). I had a nasty craving this evening for something icy..something cold…ice-cream??
I wanted to visit La Casa Gelato, but it was too long a drive to get there…go through a long line up…decide on a flavor from over 200+ and come home.
So I went to Wal-Mart instead….and what did I find?
Per Bar we’re looking at only 40 cal!
Ingredients: WATER, SUGAR, GLUCOSE, BLACK TEA, CITRIC ACID, GUAR GUM, KARAYA GUM, NATURAL FLAVOUR, COLOUR.
Cost: Approx 6.50 CAD/box
Flavor wise, I’d have to say the flavour is light. I just had the raspberry one and will have a peach one right after I finish typing this. It’s super refreshing!!
So for the last few weeks I’ve been craving these Jelly Filled Turtles from Sweet Factory…and for the past 2-3 weeks I’ve been making pit stops (when I’m at the mall) at the 2 different Sweet Factories, looking for…Jelly Filled Turtles.
NO LUCK at all!!
So… As most of us who procrastinate at work
(or as HH @ work would say – she’s Homer in the episode where he’s in the Land of Chocolate)
So What did I find??
You can buy candy from the Sweet Factory online!!! YES! Sweetfactory.com! OMG!
Just think for a sec here….we can now all satisfy our cravings..even when OUR favourite candy is not in the Sweet Factory rotation at the moment!
I am a happy camper!
–update–
They don’t ship to Canada! Boo!!!
–update–
I found a place that ships to Canada! K&K Kandies! Much love to them for catering to the Canadians!
–update–
K&K’s back ordered 
Once again, no Jelly Filled Turtles for me
