mound bars

Aaron made these on Sunday night. He noticed we had a can of sweetened condensed milk that was past to the expiration date. So we had to use it right??? They turned out very well. Yummy!

mound bars

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• 1 (12 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter or margarine. Mix and pat into the bottom of one 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes.
3. Combine the condensed milk and flaked coconut. Spread over the crust and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes.
4. Spread the melted chocolate chips over the top. Let cool and cut into squares.

Gingerbread houses

We made gingerbread houses last night with family. Email me if you want the template for the cut outs!

Gingerbread

2 ¾ c. sifted flour

½ tsp salt

1 tsp. ginger

2/3 c. molasses

1 egg

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. cloves

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

½ c. oil

Mix thoroughly and chill over night (at least four hours). Roll out on an oiled sheet aluminum foil and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 300° F for 20-30 minutes Place pattern on hot bread and cut before it cools

Royal Icing

3 eggs whites (room temp!)

1 lb powdered sugar

½ tsp cream of tartar

Beat all at once until it stands with very stiff peaks. Takes several minutes. Cover with damp cloth to keep from drying.

Nutty Toffee

I got this recipe from our HP ward cookbook. Channing D* submitted it. We got to sample some four years ago. This is the first time I've made this recipe. I altered it a little. Of all the goodies I've made this is the one I keep snacking on. Maybe that's because it's not as securely covered ;)

1 c. butter
1/4 c. water
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. corn syrup
1 c. chopped nuts (almonds, pecans etc - I used walnuts)
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips (a chopped milk chocolate bar would work great, but I didn't have one)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Melt and bring to a boil, stirring constantly for about 7-10 minutes or until mixture turns a golden brown, becomes fluffy and starts to smoke. (I waited longer it never got to 275 F but it was golden brown, it seemed to turn out good) Removed from heat and mix in the nuts. Spread the mixture evenly on a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle chocolate over toffee and spread as it melts. Score the toffee with a knife (into 1 inch squares) and let set for 5- 10 minutes (outside if it's cold!). Take toffee pieces off tray, break into pieces and enjoy!

Easy fudge

I got this recipe at an Enrichment back in 1998 from Jenn W*
3/4 c. butter
3 c. sugar
1 can (5 oz) evaporated milk -2/3 cup
1 pkg (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips.
1 jar (7 oz) Marshmallow Creme
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla

Lightly grease 13x9 or 9x9 pan. Microwave butter in a 4 qt microwave safe bowl on High for 1 minute or until melted. Add sugar and milk; mix well. Microwave for 3 minutes. Stir. Microwave for 2 minutes or until mixture begins to boil. Mix well, scrape sides. Microwave on High for 3 minutes, then stir. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes more. Gradually stir in chocolate chips until melted. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Cool at room temperature. Cut into squares. Yield 3 lbs!!!

This recipe can be halved - the marshmallow creme is a little tricky. But you must also halve the microwave time!

Easy Decadent Truffles

I brought these to Mindy's farewell BBQ. They were a hit. Mindy said they were Satan's chocolate, she couldn't stop eating them! Don't worry there were leftovers, but they are gone now! The picture is from the website (Allrecipes.com of course). My only suggestion is that you try lots of different flavors and coatings, the cocoa wasn't that great, but we had mint, almond and peanut butter. Yum! You have to get the consistency right otherwise they are really sticky. But they still taste good.

Easy Decadent Truffles
submitted by: Jenny MacKinnell
INGREDIENTS
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla until no streaks remain. Refrigerate for about 1 hour. Shape into 1 inch balls.
Notes
Roll truffles in ground walnuts (or any ground nuts), cocoa, coconut, confectioners' sugar, candy sprinkles, etc.
To flavor truffles with flavorings, omit vanilla. Divide truffle mixture into thirds. Add 1 tablespoon liqueur (almond, mint, orange) to each mixture; mix well.

Emma's notes: I only added 1 tsp. per third and it was enough for the mint, but more almond could have been used. For the peanut butter truffles I used 1/2 c. chocolate chips and 1/2 c. peanut butter chips (both melted)to 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture. I rolled them in cocoa, but next time I think I'll try powdered sugar or chocolate coating.