Anise Espresso Fudge

 

Now that it is a little bit cooler out, chocolate-dipped candies are back on the menu!  I made this fudge for Rick's retirement party last spring along with the Aztec Hot Chocolate Patties.  The fudge was inspired by a candy bar that Rick enjoys.  If you're a fan of anise, you'll definitely be a fan of this fudge!
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Aztec Hot Chocolate Patties

Writer's block.  Two tiny words, one ginormous barrier to sharing this amazing recipe with you!  It's not that I don't have recipes to write up, or loads of enthusiasm to share them with you, it's just that I don't have much to say right now.  We're kind of in our own little week-day routine here.  Get up, bike to work, work, bike home, make dinner, eat dinner, water garden, read or watch TV, sleep, repeat.  It's pleasant and, to be honest, I kind of like it.  It has allowed me to enjoy the little things lately--the daily swelling of the watermelons in the garden, the dahlia in the front that is just starting to bloom, the fact that we finally bought finials for the curtains rods... Unfortunately though, our little routine doesn't translate into reading excitement on your end.  Luckily, the recipe I'm about to share with you is exciting.  In fact, I would consider it to be tremendously exciting. 

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Homemade Samoas

Home. Made. Samoas.  Yes, you read that correctly!  I'm so excited to share this recipe with you!  If you have been waiting for a reason to add a candy thermometer to your kitchen collection, grab one of those prolific Bed Bath & Beyond coupons and head to the store and get one today!  These cookies are quite possibly the best cookies I have ever made. 

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Vanilla Nut Caramels

I love caramel!  I was pretty excited when these caramels turned out so wonderfully because they are made with honey instead of corn syrup.  Oh sorry, I mean corn sugar.  They kind of remind me of the caramels that they sold at the candy store I worked in during high school.  The store had large trays of perfect caramel squares that we would place in tiny cups.
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Lime Curd

I first tried to make lime curd several weeks ago.  I had 3 egg yolks (from another cookie experiment) and was determined to make a small batch of curd with them.  It was a miserable experiment!  I learned that lime curd is just one of those things that you need to make a little more of to get it just right. 
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Sesame and Almond Squares

I recently bought Creative Candy Making at a used book store.  I have to admit, I bought the book specifically for this recipe.  Whenever I see sesame candies like these at the store, I immediately succumb to buying some, and start eating them the second the automatic doors whoosh shut behind me.  There is something about how they stick to my teeth like sap and then transition into crunchy, toasty seeds that just draws me in.

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Angel Food Cake with Fruit and Whipped Cream

This cake always reminds of one of the jokes that my brother used to tell as a kid.  It goes something like this:

Question:  Why are cooks so mean?
Answer:  Because they beat the eggs and whip the cream.

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Carrot Halwa

I've been wanting to make carrot halwa for about two years.  The first time I tried it was at a diversity event at work, and I loved its flavor and texture.  When I got home, I found a recipe, saw that it was time consuming, and added it to my "things to make in the future" list.  A week or so later, Scott and I were eating at the Indian restaurant behind our apartment, and they had it on their menu.  I was incredibly excited to introduce the dessert to Scott and have a source of carrot halwa so close to home.  If I could pop into the restaurant and buy some whenever the urge hit, I wouldn't have to reduce lots of milk and grate carrots!  It was perfect!
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Chocolate-Dipped Pistachio Sandwich Cookies

 

I'd like to share my favorite sandwich cookie memory with you.  It is of my mom and I sitting at the oak table in our kitchen eating Oreos and drinking milk.  I was less than 12½ years old, and it was back when my parents used pastel-colored cloth placemats because the kitchen table was still new, and we lived in a town that had a dairy where you could buy milk in glass bottles.  My mom didn't like the Oreo crème filling, and I did, so she used a butter knife to gently remove the filling in one piece from her cookies and helped me transfer it to my cookies so all of mine were Double Stuf.  That put my mom at the top of my list of people to eat Oreos with; she still tops that list.
   
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