Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

The post Sugar Plums appeared first on Leah Claire.

Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

The post Dark Chocolate Blueberry Clusters appeared first on Leah Claire.

Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

The post How to Candy Orange Peel appeared first on Leah Claire.

Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

The post Chocolate Crack appeared first on Leah Claire.

So, how’s it taste?

Buttery and sweet with small bursts of chocolate that help to balance all the sugar. These were supposed to be chocolate swirl caramels, but those mini chips just would not melt, so chocolate chip caramels were born. The little chocolate chips aren’t too sweet, so they counteract all that sugary sweetness from the caramel. I loved each bite of chewy caramel with hints of chocolate. I feel like these caramels are a bit too light, but my previous caramels have been a bit too dark, so go figure. This recipe is much, much easier for anyone new to making their own caramel. Instead of heating the sugar and corn syrup and waiting on the perfect color before you add the cream, everything is added at once. All you have to do is watch the thermometer. Super easy, but you’ll miss out on the fun of watching the sugar boil violently when adding the cream…that’s my favorite part in the other method! Either way, the end result is a gooey, buttery treat that’s irresistible.

Chocolate Chip Caramels

Cooking Pleasures, December/January 2000
makes about 64 caramels
per caramel: 70 calories, 3.5g fat, 0g protein, 10.5g carbs, 0g fiber

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with wax paper; spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Melt butter in dutch oven or a heavy, large saucepan over low heat. Add sugar, cream, and corn syrup; stir to mix. Increase heat to medium; bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

2. Insert candy thermometer into mixture and attach to side of Dutch oven. Cook, stirring frequently, until thermometer registers 230F. At this point, it is important to watch the mixture carefully. Begin stirring constantly until thermometer registers 248F.

3. Immediately pour half of the caramel mixture into pan. Sprinkle with half of the chocolate chips. Pour remaining mixture over chocolate chips; do not scrape Dutch oven. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Let stand 6 to 8 hours or until cool and set.

4. Remove caramel from pan by lifting wax paper. With large knife or pizza cutter, cut caramel into 64 pieces.

Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

The post Chocolate Chip Caramels appeared first on Leah Claire.

I wanted a few items sweet and a few items savory. I also wanted to have everything in grab and go sizes, so no one was holding up the line trying to scoop cheeseball onto a cracker.

On the menu:

Sweet
Blackberry Chocolate Cupcakes
Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
Dipped Pretzels
Dipped Strawberries

Savory
Ham & Swiss Sliders
Contessa Chicken Salad in Mini Fillo Shells
Spinach Dip with Veggies in Baguettes

The Blackberry Chocolate Cupcakes were my favorite. A little different cupcake combination, but I figured if raspberries and chocolate went well together, then blackberries and chocolate just had to, too! It’s a basic chocolate cupcake filled with blackberry preserves and topped with a blackberry buttercream. The blackberries helped color the buttercream a bit, but I also used violet food coloring to get that light shade of purple.

I’ve been wanting to make these Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies for a while and now I finally had a reason. I used the same violet food coloring to tint my icing and I thought they turned out a lovely shade of lavender. I made them sparkle just a bit with coarse white sugar sprinkled on top. The cookies turned out to be quite huge, but they were delicious. I have a weakness for soft, buttery cookies and these didn’t disappoint.

I’ve seen these Dipped Pretzels everywhere. Salty and sweet together, it’s the perfect snack. I dipped the pretzel rods in white almond bark and once they were set, I melted lavender candy melts and drizzled it over the top.

I’m a huge fan of Dipped Strawberries. Sweet and juicy strawberries underneath and a coating of candy on top. Take a bite and the candy crackles and gives in to the succulent strawberry. It’s mostly fruit, so it’s got to be healthy right? I dipped these in the same almond bark and lavender candy as the pretzels.

I forgot to take a picture of the Ham & Swiss Sliders. My friend Meghan made these from an earlier post on my blog. Let me tell you they were a hit. Meghan doesn’t even like onions or Swiss cheese and she loves these little sandwiches. How’s that for how good they are?!

I consider myself to be a chicken salad connoisseur. My absolute favorite is from O’Carr’s in Birmingham, Alabama. I’ve come close to finding a recipe that is pretty similar with the Barefoot Contessa’s Chicken Salad. It has both pecans and walnuts and halves of purple grapes. See how I tied in the purple? I made them easy to handle and bite-sized by stuffing it into mini fillo shells.

Here’s another recipe I’ve been dying to make. Serving Spinach Dip with Veggies in a Baguette is so cute. It’s the best of both worlds. Why decide between dipping veggies or bread? Have both!

Allison’s mom made this incredible Raspberry Sherbet Punch. It’s simple to make with raspberry lemonade, ginger ale, scoops of raspberry sherbet, and frozen raspberries. It’s perfect party punch and I wouldn’t mind drinking this poolside with a splash of vodka! (It’s fizzy in this picture because it’s freshly stirred.)

I wanted to make sure everyone knew what they were eating, so I made these cute food label cards. They’re actually business cards from Avery. I found a purple striped template from their website and altered it to use as a label. The cards are two of the business cards, still attached, so they would stand up on the table.

I kept my crafty hat on and made these tissue pom poms. I followed this tutorial from Martha Stewart, using purple tissue and lavender tissue. I think these would also be pretty using both colors in one pom pom. I chose the pointy cut ends instead of rounded.

Hosting a bridal shower isn’t all about the food. It’s about the games! I found the Staches & Tiaras game on Craftaholics Anonymous. I made the tiaras out of sparkly purple scrapbook paper and the moustaches out of black textured scrapbook paper. I used a template to outline the shapes and glued craft sticks to the back.

Guests had to guess who answered the questions I read out loud. Hold up the stache if you think it’s Chris, hold up the tiara if you think it’s Allison.

This game is hysterical!

As you can see we had a lot of fun with this one!

Another game was Advice to the Letter. Meghan made these cute cards that spelled A-L-L-I-S-O-N. Each guest had to write advice to the bride using each letter in the bride’s name.

The cards are great keepsakes for the bride.

Let’s not forget about the gifts! Here’s the bride posing with her new robe that reads “Bride” on the back.

This was the last gift Allison opened. It’s a knife and server set, a picture frame, and engraved flutes from her mom and dad. This got a lot of oohs and aahs and maybe a few teary eyes. Congratulations to Allison and Chris!

Upcoming posts will feature the recipes for Blackberry Chocolate Cupcakes, Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies, Contessa Chicken Salad, and Spinach Dip with Veggies in Baguettes. This blog post is featured in Foodbuzz’s March 24×24. 24 unique meals all happening in a 24-hour period, hosted by 24 Foodbuzz featured publishers. A big thank you to Foodbuzz for selecting this Lavender & Purple Bridal Shower as one of the featured posts!

Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

The post Lavender & Purple Bridal Shower appeared first on Leah Claire.

Tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day and here’s my contribution…Salted Whiskey Caramels! I didn’t use Irish whiskey, but it’s whiskey nonetheless and that counts, right? The original recipe calls for honey-flavored whiskey, which I don’t like, so I opted for good ol’ straight Jack Daniel’s and I already had it on hand. I couldn’t wait to whip up a batch of homemade caramels, since I had such success with my first try, and find out what the added whiskey did for taste.

So, how’s it taste?

Om nom nom! I was pretty happy with these, although I wish I had taken them off the heat about 1 second earlier. They’re a teeny tiny tad bit darker than what I’d like, although they look as dark as the ones on Betty Crocker, and the ones I’ve done before. You really have to watch the sugar once it starts to change color, it goes fast! There’s a slight difference in taste between these and the ones without whiskey. I’m not sure if it’s a slight taste of burnt sugar from taking it off a bit late or if it’s the whiskey. I can see how the honey-flavored whiskey might blend in better, but I happen to like the taste of whiskey, so I didn’t mind. I really don’t think you’d be able to tell there’s whiskey in the caramels unless someone told you. They’re still decadently rich and creamy, with a hint of saltiness to balance. I’d make these again in a heartbeat!

Salted Whiskey Caramels

barely adapted from Baked Bree via Betty Crocker
makes 64 thin caramels in a 9-inch square pan
per caramel: 44 calories, 2g fat, 6g carbs, 0g fiber, 0g protein

Ingredients:

5 tbsp. butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 oz. (1/4 cup) whiskey (I used Jack Daniel's)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. kosher (coarse) salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
up to 1 tbsp. kosher (coarse) salt, for sprinkling (you may not need the entire tablespoon)

Directions:

1. Line 9-inch square pan with parchment or wax paper, allowing the paper to drape over two sides; spray lightly with cooking spray.

2. In 1-quart saucepan, heat butter, heavy whipping cream, whiskey, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to boiling, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; set aside.

3. In 3-quart saucepan, mix sugar, corn syrup, and water. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. DO NOT STIR. Boil until sugar turns a warm golden brown.

4. When the sugar mixture is done, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful -- it will bubble up violently. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer. Pour caramel into pan; cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle with up to 1 tablespoon salt; cool completely.

5. Cut into squares; wrap individually in parchment paper.

Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

The post Salted Whiskey Caramels appeared first on Leah Claire.

So, how’s it taste?

It’s super creamy, chocolatey, and has a nice crunch from the nuts. Adding nuts is optional, which I prefer my fudge with pecans. Two obsessions in one bite! Walnuts would work great, too. I add the full cup of nuts, but you may want to do less if you’re not as crazy about pecans as I am. It’s a lot of nuts. Now this recipe isn’t going to taste exactly like homemade fudge. You can slightly taste that chocolate chip flavor, but the texture is amazing. No danger of bits of grainy sugar here. The hardest part about this fudge is waiting for it to set so you can dig in!

Yield: 2 lbs.

Easy Fudge

Ingredients:

3 cups (18 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
Dash salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 cups chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Line an 8- or 9-inch square pan with wax paper, extending it over edges of pan.

2. Melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt in heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat.

3. Stir in vanilla and nuts. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

4. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Remove from pan by lifting edges of wax paper. Cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator.

Source: Eagle Brand Recipes

Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

The post Easy Fudge appeared first on Leah Claire.

So, how’s it taste?

They are so light and fluffy and perfectly spiced. They aren’t too overwhelming as to take over your drink, but they give an extra punch that is incredible. They put the warm and fuzzies in a cup of coffee or cocoa. Speaking of cocoa…while I fully admit I buy those packets of cocoa mix and they taste great, I also have a recipe for fantastic homemade cocoa. It’s Christmas Cocoa and you probably have the ingredients for it in your pantry. It’s chocolate, cinnamon, and nutmeg and these marshmallows are perfect to top it off.

Now if you really want a special marshmallow treat, try making s’mores using Gingerbread Marshmallows! Julia suggested this in her blog post and I tried it using cinnamon graham crackers and chocolate chips (what was already in my pantry). Wow! I’ll never want regular s’mores again. The spices in the marshmallows are heavenly with chocolate (which is why the homemade cocoa is so darn good). These would make great gifts for family and friends, too.

Gingerbread Marshmallows & Christmas Cocoa

marshmallows by Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body
makes 60 to 70 marshmallows
cocoa by Betty Crocker
makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

Marshmallows
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups loosely packed brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 cups milk

Directions:

1. For the marshmallows, prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish with parchment paper, using a bit extra so that the paper hangs over two sides of the dish. Dust generously with confectioners' sugar. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water. Let sit.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.

3. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin and add the spices. Increase to high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick and gets lighter in color, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Dip the spatula occasionally in a bit of water to make it easier to smooth out the top. Dust the top with more confectioners' sugar. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered overnight (or for at least 8 hours).

5. Dust a cutting board with confectioners' sugar. Using the two flaps of parchment hanging on the sides, lift out the marshmallows onto the cutting board and peel off the parchment paper. Cut into strips and then cut the strips into squares. Dust marshmallows with more confectioners' sugar as you're cutting to help it not stick.

6. For the cocoa, in 2-quart saucepan, heat sugar, cocoa, water, cinnamon, and nutmeg over low heat. Stir constantly, until mixture is smooth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer 4 minutes, stirring constantly.

7. Stir in milk. Heat over low heat. Pour cocoa into 6 mugs. Top with gingerbread marshmallows.

Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

The post Gingerbread Marshmallows & Christmas Cocoa appeared first on Leah Claire.

Happy Halloween!

Remember the Candy Corn Fudge I made, but didn’t love the taste? Well, ta da! These cute little Gremlins are the result of me not wanting to waste food. I’ve made these butterscotch and chocolate clusters numerous times before, but never thought about adding candy and turning them into critters. Aren’t they cute?!

So, how’s it taste?

They taste good! I melted down my Candy Corn Fudge and stirred in the chow mein noodles. The noodles helped offset the sweet. For one batch, I swirled in melted semi-sweet chocolate chips. While I enjoyed these, I recommend sticking to the original recipe and not making the fudge. This was just a way for me to not waste candy. I cannot stand to throw food away. I’ve made a few variations of this recipe in the past and all have turned out great. You can use the combination of butterscotch and chocolate chips, or you can use all butterscotch or all chocolate chips. You can also reduce the chow mein noodles by 1 cup and add 1 cup of peanuts. It’s up to you!

I was feeling really festive this Halloween, so for your crafty enjoyment, here’s a Smashed Witch Pencil I made. I giggle every time I see this. It’s hysterical and pretty easy to make. Here’s how I did it:

For 4 witches you’ll need:

4  pieces orange pipe cleaner (6 inch)
4  pieces white pipe cleaner (6 inch)
4  pencils
Heavy kitchen scissors or wire cutter
4  brown pipe cleaners (12 inch)
White paper or tissue paper
1  square black craft felt (about 10×8 inch)
4  green pom-poms (1/2 inch)
Tacky white craft glue or low-temperature hot glue

1. To make each smashed witch pencil, twist 1 orange and 1 white pipe cleaner piece together. Fold and wrap pipe cleaners in half around pencil about 2 1/2 inches from eraser end; twist 2 or 3 times to secure and create legs of witch. Bend ends of twisted pipe cleaners, creating toes/feet of witch.

2. With scissors or wire cutter, cut brown pipe cleaner into 4 (3-inch) pieces. Gather 3 pieces into bundle; wrap remaining piece around middle of bundle and twist once and attach to pencil below the orange and white pipe cleaners. Bend, twist and shape the remaining pieces to resemble witch’s broom.

3. Using paper, trace pattern pieces; cut out. Cut cape from black felt. Cut and discard top point of cape. Glue cape to pencil about 3/4 inch above legs, leaving end loose to flop over broom. Glue pom-pom to top point of cape for head.

4. Cut circle from black felt to create brim of hat. Glue brim centered over “head.” Cut cone of hat. Spread glue along one short side of triangle; overlap other short side and press with fingers to secure the glued area.* Trim excess felt. Glue cone to hat brim. Repeat for remaining witch pencils.

*I found the tacky craft glue doesn’t love to stick to felt, so I ended up sticking a straight pen in the felt to form the hat cone. This method obviously isn’t for kids, so you may want to try the hot glue gun route instead of the craft glue.

This past weekend, my friend Carol and I ran in the Zombie 5K here in Nashville. We decided to bring back the 80s and run from the zombies in style. I don’t know what was scarier, us or the zombies!

Later that night, I went as the Black Swan. I was pretty proud of my makeup skills! What costume did you wear this year?

Gremlins

Pillsbury
makes 24 gremlins
per gremlin: 100 calories, 4.5g fat, 14g carbs, 3g fiber, 0g protein

Ingredients:

1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chow mein noodles (or 1 cup noodles + 1 cup nuts)
48 miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits

Directions:

1. In 2-quart saucepan, heat butterscotch chips and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.

2. Gently stir in chow mein noodles until well coated. Drop mixture onto wax paper by teaspoonfuls to form 24 "gremlins." Press 2 baking bits onto each to resemble eyes. Refrigerate until set.

Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

The post Gremlins & a Smashed Witch appeared first on Leah Claire.