Chocolate Bird's Nests

Chocolate Bird's Nests

1 can shoestring potatoes

14 oz. chocolate

(I used Wilton's Candy Melts - 7 oz mint and 7 oz. dark chocolate)

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Melt chocolate in the microwave.

Combine with shoestring potatoes.

Press into muffin cups and refrigerate overnight.

They can be made ahead - just keep them in the fridge until you serve them.

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To serve: Fill with mint ice cream and decorate with Chocolate Snowflakes

DB's Challenge - Gingerbread House

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes....

Sooooo glad this challenge is over!

I had a lot of fun making it, but it was such a mess!

After 2 frosting explosions my kitchen is a disaster.

It smells nice though.

The gingerbread smells great, but I would never eat it, because it is super hard.

Remember how my sushi challenge ended?

Hee hee hee! (evil laughter)

The dough after chilling.

I made this twice.
I hated the first house, so I re-did it.
This is a picture of the first set of cut outs.







One of my apple trees.

This is the house after the first frosting explosion.

Now I know why the directions say to sift the powdered sugar.

There is only so much pressure you can put on a plastic pastry bag.

Ta da!

Finished chicken cottage, garden, trees and little pond.

I used jelly beans for the cucumbers, radishes and carrots in the first garden bed.

I used fondant to make corn, carrots and cauliflower.

Red hots for the apples and 'roses' on the cottage.

Starbursts for the stepping stones.

Pretzels for the fence.

Here are my fondant cauliflower, carrots and corn.

I'd never used fondant before.

It was fun!

Like play dough.

Oreo cookies for the dirt.

Jolly Ranchers melted for the windows.

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Ok, now are you ready?

What did I do with this cute little gingerbread cottage?

Gave it to the Ladies!

Of course!

At first they were curious.
"Hmmm, is that a real carrot?"

"Let me try a little of that."

"Do these apples taste weird to you?"

"What a tiny garden! I'm a giant chicken!"

"Ho hum, not that tasty..."

Smashed.

The End.

Wow! I Won!

Yay!

I won most unique interpretation on The Leftover Queen Forum!

I entered my cannoli recipe.

I've already started working on the next months challenge.

If you're not a member join the Leftover Queen Forum!

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A blizzard is forecast for tomorrow, so I'll have plenty of time to cook.

I really want to make some Russian Lace, snowcream and maple whip, but I need some fresh snow!

Candy Sushi - 2 Ways

ETA: I should add that the cake sushi is not too bad.

I would make it again.

But I HATE rice crispy treats, so that probably influenced my dislike of the crispy sushi.

And it's really weird to bite into a hard crispy thing and have a sticky strip of sugar flopping around on the outside.

Anyway......they look pretty.

And the cake works. It's soft and sweet, so make that type, if you make them.

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I have always wanted to make candy sushi.

It looks so neat.

Um, yeah, but it takes a lot of time and they don't taste that great.

But anyway.....here's how I spent 3 hours of my life.

For the first type of sushi I made rice crispies.

3 Tbs. butter

4 cups marshmallows

6 cups rice crispies

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I rolled them into balls and wrapped a piece of fruit-by-the-foot around each ball.

Then I decorated them using different types of candy.

For the second type of sushi I made a pound cake and cut out little circles of cake.

Then I wrapped a fruit-by-the-foot around each piece and frosted the top.

I dipped the frosted top into shredded coconut.

Then I decorated with candy.

The pink "ginger" is a chopped strawberry starkiss.

The "wasabi" is powdered sugar, water and food coloring.

Mashed Potato Candy Bars

These are soooo good!

And weird.

I blind taste tested them on 30 people.

No one could guess the "secret" ingredient - mashed potatoes.

The bars did disappear really fast though. They were popular!

Some of my testers' comments, "Tastes like an Almond Joy." "Mmmm, that's good." "Do you have anymore?"

Mashed Potato Coconut Chocolate Candy Bars

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4 cups powdered sugar

4 cups coconut

3/4 cup mashed potato (no butter/milk/salt added - just plain)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbs. lime juice

1/4 tsp. ginger

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Boil 2 med. peeled potatoes until tender. Reserve potato cooking liquid for stock*. Return drained potatoes to burner;mash potatoes and add lime juice and ginger. Measure out 3/4 cup mashed potatoes**.

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In a mixer combine 3/4 cup mashed potatoes and other remaining ingredients.

Mix until completely combined.

Line a 10 in square baking pan with tin foil; grease tin foil.

Press coconut/potato mixture into the bottom of the baking pan.

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Freeze for 20 mins. or refrigerate overnight.

Top with chocolate layer - recipe below.

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*Potato water makes a wonderful addition to soups and stocks. I will be posting a soup recipe tomorrow that uses this reserved potato water.

**After taking out the 3/4 cup mashed potato, do you have extra leftover mashed potatoes?

Yum! You now have lime-ginger mashed potatoes. Add a pat of butter and eat!

Chocolate Layer

1 12 oz bag of milk chocolate chips

2 Tbs cream

2 Tbs corn syrup

Using the microwave, melt chocolate chips, cream and corn syrup in a glass bowl. Stir every 15 seconds. Remove from microwave when smooth.

Spread over coconut layer and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove and cut.

Eat!

One of my testers asked what the potato's purpose is in this recipe.

The potatoes are a starch and they bind with the coconut and sugar without making the bars floury, heavy, gummy or overwhelming the coconut flavor.

Instead they are light, not-too-sweet and coconutty.

August Giveaway!

On your mark, get set! - Cock-a-doodle-do!

Enter now for the August giveaway!

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This month is rooster themed.

A rooster kitchen towel.

A sliver of Lush Red Rooster soap - made with refreshing orange and cinnamon.

A painted card from a Bayfield artist - F. Austin Miller.

And........

A small bag of candy!

Rooster eggs and multi-colored minty poos!!!

:)

Leave a comment to be entered!

One entry per person.

Good luck!

I will draw the winner at random on Sept. 1st 2009.