Sweets – Heidi's Hotplate

Espresso Chocolate Fudge

Espresso-Chocolate Fudge

Smooth and dark and rich, fudge should not be reserved only for Christmas. Valentine’s Day — or any occasion really — is the perfect time to stir up a batch of sophisticated coffee-flavored fudge. Nothing says “I love you” more than homemade candy straight from the heart of your kitchen.

This recipe is modified from a Bon Appetit recipe that I have been making for years and is not difficult.

Welcome to my table!

Line an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish with foil. Then combine in a mixing bowl:

6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup marshmallow creme

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan (I use a 4 1/2 quart dutch oven), mix:

1/2 cup water

2 Tablespoons instant espresso powder

(I have also used in place of the above 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of brewed coffee.)

Stir until dissolved. Add:

1 1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup whipping cream (heavy or regular)

1/4 cup butter

Attach a candy thermometer to pan, and stir constantly over medium heat until thermometer reaches 234 degrees. Note that this is 2 degrees below soft ball stage.

Immediately pour mixture over chocolate and other ingredients in the first bowl. Stir vigorously for 3 minutes until mixture is thick and glossy. Don’t skimp on the stir time.

Pour mixture into square dish, smooth top, and refrigerate for two hours. Lift from pan using foil sides and remove foil before cutting into squares. This will keep for weeks refrigerated.

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

These Christmasy cookies are my family’s absolute favorite. Adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe from 1994, it delivers that peppermint taste, via crushed peppermint candies, synonymous with the holidays, but comes together quickly — no rolling or cutting or food-coloring. My daughter tried one from a fresh batch last night, and said, “Hmmm, Christmas!”

Welcome to my table!

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Beat butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.

1 whole egg

1 egg white

Add eggs and mix until batter looks grainy and is well-mixed.

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour

Add dry ingredients and mix until dough forms a ball and pulls away from sides of bowl.

3 ounces peppermint candies or candy canes — I use the small, individually wrapped candy canes because they are easy to crush. Put them in a freezer bag and then another bag, and go outside with a hammer and crush away. (I put a towel between the bag and concrete.) Fun for the kids!

Add the candy canes to the mixing bowl, and mix until they are incorporated.

Now, take a break while the dough chills in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Place some plastic wrap over the dough. You can also make these ahead and bake the next day.

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Butter baking sheets. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in additional powdered sugar, and place on baking sheet. Press down vertically and horizontally with a fork (like peanut butter cookies). Bake for 14 minutes. Watch carefully; as soon as they are slightly golden around the edge, remove immediately.

Makes about 40.

Nanny’s Sugar Cookies

Nanny's sugar cookies

My Grandma Harris (my younger cousins nicknamed her “Nanny”) was my Dad’s mother. Not quite 5 feet tall (“no bigger than a minute” was one of her “Nanny-isms”), she was a powerhouse of energy. I never saw her sit down. She worked a full-time job at Sears in the girls and boys clothing department and came home in the evening to cook a meal for her family.

This classic sugar cookie recipe is hers. I treasure it, and I hope you will, too.

I like to make the dough a day before I bake these. Once it is all mixed together, I leave it in the mixing bowl and put a piece of plastic wrap or foil directly on top. Nanny wasn’t a fancy person, so I doubt she actually used pricey butter in this recipe. But I do, which doesn’t mean you have to. She most likely used “Oleo.”

You can color or decorate these any way you want. Add any food coloring after the eggs and before the flour.

Nanny’s Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks — let this sit out a bit to soften)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup white granulated sugar (Nanny always preferred Imperial.)

1 cup confectioner’s (or powdered) sugar

In a large mixing bowl blend these four together, scraping down the bowl periodically. A heavy-duty stand mixer works best, but you can make these cookies with a decent handheld mixer, too.

Add:

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Food coloring, if desired.

Continue mixing until light and fluffy.

Add:

4 1/2 cups flour (do this in two batches)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Continue mixing until well-combined and dough begins to form a ball and pull away from sides of bowl.

This is where I cover and place in the refrigerator.

Grease your baking pans with butter (not cooking spray). Using a melon-baller or just a spoon, scoop out and roll dough into walnut-sized balls, roll in granulated sugar and place on baking sheet. I used the bottom of a shot class dipped in sugar to make these “wreaths.” Any glass will do. Sprinkle with decorator’s sugar or more granulated sugar. Bake in a 350 oven for 10 minutes. Watch carefully, because you don’t want the tops of the cookies to brown, only the bottoms. Remove immediately to parchment paper or wax paper and let cool. Before loading up your next sheets, butter the pans again. Makes 60.