Cooking with Alicia & Annie--White Fudge Candy

No holiday menu should be without a dessert you can pick up with your fingers.

I have officially thrown out the idea of "sugar control" out of the window this season. As many would voice my opinion that its the time period beginning from Thanksgiving which continues upto the New year celebrations, when no matter how much we cajole ourselves we still end up with a wee bit larger waistline and teeny weeny weight gain..lol.

Add to that, baking goodies in the kitchen for christmas and new years' we self-taste/test almost all the stuff we make (ofcourse we don't want to serve sub standard stuff...or so we would like to think. I personally have no self control (there I have let it out!)...I end up eating (not testing) quite a few of my goodies while they are still warm, in the kitchen. However I do eat small pieces at a time, it kind of makes me feel a little less guilty. (sigh!)

Vanity..thy name is Woman.

Well there are quite a few stuff that vie for the top spot in the Dessert Hall of Fame... one of the good contenders is fudge. This no-bake, no fuss treat tastes like Christmas, if you know what I mean.
I often make dark chocolate fudge, this time however I decided to venture into unchartered territories (for me) with white chocolate.

White Fudge Candy

Ingredients-
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup light cream or evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flaked/dessicated coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup white almond bark (I used ground, toasted-almond powder)
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows ( I used brown sugar instead)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method-
You can get the original version of the recipie here at Alicia's recipes.Below is my way of making this fudge.

Boil caster sugar, cream/milk and butter to a soft ball stage.
Reduce the heat to low. Add almond bark and brown sugar. Beat until melted.
Stir in nuts, coconut and vanilla. Remove from heat now.
Put in 9x9 inch buttered pan and allow to set.
Cut in squares when cool.

Note: The heat caused to evaporate the milk further and the brown sugar gave a sweet caramelized look to this fudge.



This goes to Cooking with Alicia and Annie's Dec. blog event.

Double Chocolate Chip (Oatmeal) Cookies

Chorus 1:

I sure do like those Christmas cookies sugar

I sure do like those Christmas cookies babe

The ones that look like Santa Claus,Christmas trees and bells and stars

I sure do like those Christmas cookies babe

Verse 1 :

Now Christmas cookies are a special treat

The more she bakes the more I eat

And sometimes I can't get myself to stop

Sometimes she'll wait til I'm asleep

And she'll take the ones that I didn't eat

And put those little sprinkley things on top

(Repeat Chorus 1)

Verse 2:

Now those sprinkley things just make things worse

Cause it makes em taste better than they did at first

And they're absolutely impossible to resist

Some disappear to who knows where

But I make sure I get my share

And those kids just stand there waiting for the ones I miss

Chorus 2:

I sure do like those Christmas cookies sugar

I sure do like those Christmas cookies babe

She gets mad if they're all gone

Before she gets the icing put on

I sure do like those Christmas cookies babe

Verse 3:

Now there's a benefit to all of this

That you might have overlooked or missed

So now let me tell you the best part of it all

Every time she sticks another batch in the oven

There's fifteen minutes for some kissin' and huggin'

That's why I eat Christmas cookies all year long.

This was a song (by George Straits) my hubby shared with me while I was baking his favourite Chocolate chip (oatmeal) cookies one time.Must be wondering why the 'oatmeal' is in brackets...thats' because I had sneaked them in just to make the cookies a little healthier.(wink wink) The song now comes to my head each time I bake them..lol. Its kind of a funny song.

Its my favourite season...the warm winter sun plays peek-a-boo at my window. The earthy scent that floats across makes me heady and simply alleviates my spirit. It works its magic every single day....and I want to sing and dance. ( I actually do that in my room, all by myself..lol).

My world revolves around my man...quite literally..I simply love being married to him ! (blush blush) He has been away from home for quite a few years (while studying and working initially)...so now that we are together I make sure that he gets all the comforts of a home-cooked meal and goodies. I decided to make his favourite choco-chip cookies. He simply adores them and so do I...more so because it brings him joy.

Double Chocolate Chip (Oatmeal) Cookies

Ingredients-

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup cocoa powder ( I used light cocoa powder)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup soft brown sugar

1 large egg, slightly whisked with a fork

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup rolled oats/quick oats

Method-

Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C. Line cookie pan with baking paper.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

Cream the butter, sugar and egg together.

Add the vanilla essence. Add the quick oats.

Add the chocolate chips. Mix well.
Drop the batter on the cookie pan, about half a tablespoon size each.

(leaving space in between the cookies, for expansion)

Bake the cookies for about 10-15 minutes.

Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with chilled milk.

Note: Instead of egg, any egg substitute can be used. Infact I've made them using applesauce, but the cookies would be almost cake like in texture.

This goes out to Harini (sunshinemom) of Tounge Ticklers Juke-box event. Sing-a-long! :-)

Also this goes out to Susan of Food Blogga, for her annual Eat Christmas Cookies event. This event was a smash hit the first time and is back on popular demand as Season II. You can view the yummiest cookies ever from across the globe here.

Last but not the least this cookie also goes to Sharmi (of Neivedyam).