Candy Cane Fudge

I love fudge!  I tried a new method this year - NO marshmallows and NO sugar - what I got was a really smooth and creamy fudge - didn't need a candy thermometer and things didn't go all "crystally" with it either!  Deeeeelish!  It comes together super quick so I don't even have any pictures showing the "making of" sorry.

Here's the dets:

Candy Cane Fudge
Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp peppermint extract or flavouring
1/4 cup crushed candy canes

Method:
Line a 9x12 baking pan with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap is long enough to hang over the edges (this is going to come in handy when you lift the fudge out of the pan later!)

Get a double boiler going on the stove (home-made version: get a big pot with a couple inches of water on the bottom and then a place a glass bowl on top so that the ingredients melt from the indirect heat.)

Add all of the ingredients except for the crushed candy canes.  Stir ingredients until they are melted and smooth.  Once smooth, transfer the fudge to your prepared pan.  Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top and now it's just a waiting game for that fudge to set up.  I actually had enough restraint to let it set up OVER NIGHT.  I know - almost impossible, but achievable if you make the fudge at 11pm on a Sunday night.

Once set, grabbing the plastic wrap, transfer the fudge to a cutting board.  Cut into little 1 inch squares and store in an airtight container.  Lasts a couple weeks.  Enjoy!

Classic Banana Chocolate Chip Loaf

I was cleaning out my freezer and realized I had an abundance of frozen black bananas....  Time for some Banana Bread!!  This recipe is a classic, I don't even know how it ended up in my little recipe box, but what I love about it is that there is not a lot of sugar.  This loaf is nice and mellow... super moist and not too sweet!

Classic Banana Chocolate Chip Loaf
Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

Method:
In large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt ;  in a separate bowl, whisk together bananas, butter, milk and eggs; pour over flour mixture and stir just until blended, and then add chocolate chips. 

Spread in a 9x5 greased loaf pan.... (I use 2 little ones instead; one loaf for work, one for home).

Bake in centre of 350degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan on rack for 15 minutes. Turn out onto rack; let cool completely.

Tonight I made the most amazing soup EVER thanks to this recipe posted at Pate a Chew.  Oh. My. God.  This soup is killer!  The pistou is amazing.  LOVE IT.  Please visit this blog and take this recipe for a test-drive - awesome awesome awesome.

DROOL!!

Pumpkin "Chip" Cookies

So we went a little bit overboard with the pumpkin recipes.  Okay, a LOT overboard.  But what's not to love about pumpkins?  Whenever I see a pumpkin, my heart swells and I think about poor old Linus sitting in the punkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin! 

Back to the pumpkin-o-rama extreme bake-off.... Erin and I decided we needed a cookie option, so selected and recreated a recipe from Sweet Happy Life.  One thing to note about this recipe (and we figured this out a bit late in the game) the dough needs to be chilled for 2 hours before baking!  I just thought I`d pre-warn you before you get elbow deep in dough and have a bunch of hungry kids drooling all over your kitchen!!  The cookies bake up not too sweet and have a nice cakey - almost muffin-like - texture. 

Pumpkin "Chip" Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar, packed
1 whole egg +1 egg yolk
2 tbsp 1% milk
1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice or ground cloves (optional)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Method:

Melt butter and set aside.  Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Pour the melted butter into a large bowl and add the flour mixture ½ a cup at a time, mixing between additions. Add both sugars and using a hand mixer, cream on medium speed until fluffy - about a minute.  Add the rest of the wet ingredients and beat for another minute or so.  Stir in the chips. Chill dough for approximately two hours in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Remove dough from fridge and . Spoon balls of dough onto baking sheet, spacing them two inches apart. Gently press balls of dough down so that they look like thick, rounded circles.
Bake for 14 minutes at 375 degrees, rotating the pan halfway through baking to ensure even browning.  Let cool completely on a wire rack.