Tag Archives: dessert

DIY Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Gifts

05 Wednesday Dec 2012

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PBCups

I always need to wrap these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups as soon as they cool to avoid eating all of them by myself. They are simple to make and really good. We used wrappers from Ikea, boxes from Paper Source and letterpress gift tags from the charming Echo letterpress. Wax paper cut with scalloped scissors keeps oils from the peanut butter from getting on the box. To make your own Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups you will need:

*11.5 oz. Bag of Milk Chocolate Chips (We love Ghirardelli’s)

*1 Cup Chunky Natural Peanut Butter (Smooth works well too)

*1/4 -1/2 Cup Confectioners Sugar (to taste)

*Candy Cups (We made 24 of various sizes with this recipe. You will need two wrappers per cup)

*Wax Paper, Boxes, Twine for Wrapping

*Scallop or Pinking Shears (optional)

1. Mix together peanut butter and confectioners sugar. Set aside.

2. Spread out candy wrappers in a single layer on a tray. (The second wrapper will be placed over the first when the peanut butter cups are finished).

3. Using a heat-safe bowl and heavy bottom pan, make a double boiler by adding a few inches of water to the pan and floating the bowl inside. Pour chocolate chips into bowl. Stirring frequently, slowly melt chips over medium/low heat until they become liquid. (The warm water will keep chocolate soft as you work).

4. Using a small spoon carefully place a little melted chocolate into a wrapper and swirl until the sides of wrapper are coated. Repeat until all wrappers are coated.

5. Place tray of coated wrappers in freezer for 15 minutes to cool and then remove.

6. If chocolate in bowl has cooled, heat again until completely melted.

7. Using another small spoon, place a bit of peanut butter inside each chocolate-coated wrapper. Be sure not to let the peanut butter mound up above the top of the wrapper. (This makes for a neater peanut butter cup).

8. Carefully spoon a bit of melted chocolate over the peanut butter to seal it inside.

9. Return the completed cups to the freezer for 15 minutes to cool.

10. Place each peanut butter cup inside a second wrapper to hide any grease marks.

11. Wrap them up!

Happy Giving!

Cherry Rhubarb Buttermilk Ice Cream

19 Tuesday Jun 2012

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We had an amazing abundance of ripe cherries from our CSA on Saturday.  Once the girls were sufficiently stained I decided to make the rest into ice cream.  We added the rhubarb from last week’s share and the result is a tart and sweet pink mix.  Chris inherited our ice cream maker from his grandmother and it is one of my favorite summer tools.  Here is the recipe:

*3 Cups Whole Cherries

* 10 Stalks Rhubarb

* 1 Cup Buttermilk

* 3/4 Cups Natural Sugar

* 1 Vanilla Bean

* 2 Cups Good Quality Heavy Cream (Ronnybrook Farm’s is our favorite)

* 5 Egg Yolks

* 2-3 Tablespoons of Natural Sugar

* Splash of St. Germaine Liqueur 

1. Pour buttermilk and sugar into a pot.  Scrape seeds from vanilla bean and drop seed pod and seeds into the milk.  Heat on low until the sugar dissolves.  Turn off heat and set buttermilk mixture aside for about an hour.

2. Chop and pit cherries and place in medium sauce pan with the St. Germaine.  Finely chop rhubarb and put in another saucepan with the sugar.  Cook both over medium heat until bubbly and soft- about 15 minutes.  Turn off rhubarb and continue to cook the cherries until lost liquid is mostly evaporated- about another 10 minutes.  Cherries will be fragrant and densely syrupy.

3. Beat egg yolks with an electric mixer until they become a light yellow color.

4. Remove pod from milk mixture and slowly reheat.  Take out 1/4 cup of the milk and slowly pour into the egg yolks, while whisking constantly.

5. Pour egg mixture back into remaining buttermilk, slowly whisking as you pour.

6. Stir this mixture over low heat until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.  (A finger run through the back of the dipped spoon will leave a trail).

7. Allow this custard to cool for about half an hour and then pour in cream.  Place the cream/custard mix into the fridge for two hours.

8. Pour cooled custard mix into ice cream freezer.  Add 1/4 cup of the cherries and make ice cream according to manufacturer’s directions.

9.  When ice cream is done, mix in the remaining cherries and rhubarb.

10. Allow ice cream to harden in freezer for an hour before eating.  (OK, this last step has never actually happens at our house).  Enjoy!

Stripey Ice Pops

14 Thursday Jun 2012

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Can you tell we are ready for summer around here?  Ada has been counting the days until popsicle season and we finally got some in the freezer.  Last summer she got really excited about making ice pops but would never finish the last few bites.  So this year we are trying stripes.  The stripes look pretty and each color is a different flavor.  We mixed in yogurt and soy milk along with fresh fruit so they are colorful and healthy.  To make your own you will need:

*Popsicle Molds (or Paper cups and spoons work too)

*Fruit (We used watermelon and strawberries)

*Juice (We used apple and coconut water)

*Yogurt and Milk of your choice

*Blender

*Freezer

1. Puree fruit in blender until smooth and mix as desired.  Pour each color of juice into its own cup.  Our stripes contain: pureed watermelon, apple juice, pureed stawberries and yogurt, pureed watermelon and soy milk, coconut water.

2. Pour in the first layer and let freeze for about 20 minutes.  Freezer temperatures may vary.

3. Continue adding stripes and freezing for about 20 minutes each time.  The pops should be firm enough for stripes not to run into each other, but soft enough in the center to allow stick to be pushed through.

4. When last layer is poured, add stick and allow pops to freeze for a couple of hours.

Enjoy!