Delicious Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate truffles are so delicious and such a treat, but they're always so expensive to buy. You can easily make them at home for the holidays or any day.

Chocolate Truffles

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 (12 oz.) semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted (melt on low heat in saucepan)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
colored sprinkles, flaked coconut, powdered sugar, crushed candy canes, etc.

1) Beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating until well blended.

2) Add melted chocolate and vanilla; mix well. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.

3) Shape into 1 inch balls. (Easiest to do with your hands, but really messy!) Roll into various toppings, or leave plain. Store in refrigerator.

Makes about 5 dozen candies.

Holiday Peppermint Bark

I don't have an official recipe for this because I find it doesn't have to be exact for it to work out. It's a pretty flexible recipe and you can easily make variations for other holidays by adding other toppings or sprinkles. I made up this recipe one day last year while looking through newspaper ads and saw a store selling Peppermint Bark in a small Christmas tin for $10. I knew I could make it much cheaper and so I did. It's a family favorite now!

Peppermint Bark

1 to 1 1/2 bags of white chocolate chips (depending on how thick you want your bark)
1 to 1 1/2 bags of dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 - 4 tsp. shortening (depending on how much chocolate you use)
10 candy canes (can use more or less if desired)

1) Crush unwrapped candy canes in a sealed ziploc bag with a wooden mallet. Be careful not to crush it too much, otherwise it will turn into powder.



2) In a small saucepan, heat dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1 or 2 tsp. shortening on low heat until completely melted. Stir continously so you don't scorch it.

3) Spread melted chocolate onto well-greased baking sheet. Put in freezer until frozen solid. (Can also put in fridge, but it will take much longer.)

4) While chocolate is setting, heat white chocolate chips with 1 or 2 tsp. of shortening on low heat until completely melted. Stir continuously.

5) Spread white chocolate carefully onto frozen chocolate in baking sheet quickly and carefully, so you don't melt the bottom layer and have them mix together. Sprinkle crushed candy canes on top and set back in freezer or fridge until firm.



6) When firm, take out and break into various size pieces. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough - Homemade Pizzas

This is a large pepperoni pizza with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Yumm!

This dough is so yummy and easy to make. It yields 3 large pizza crusts and is way cheaper than going to your local pizza place and in my opinion, better. Although, I still don't think it beats Pizza Hut which is my all-time favorite. If I used all white flour instead of the white/wheat mix, I think it just might be close! I cooked up 3 pizzas just last night and put all the leftovers in the freezer for a quick dinner later on. This makes a crust that is crunchy on the outside and has a soft texture on the inside. This dough was really easy to work with too, unlike all the other store-bought pizza doughs I've gotten that are very hard to roll out. This was pretty easy.

Pizza Dough

"Bread Machine"

Makes 3 large pizza crusts

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups warm water (110 deg. F)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
5 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
4 tsp. wheat gluten
2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS

1 ) Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press start.

2) Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and form into rounds. Cover the rounds and let them rest for about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).



3) Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into the desired shape.


Rolling the pizza dough to fit a large pizza pan will yield a 1/2 in. thick crust.


Transfer the dough to the pizza pan and press with your fingers to push it out to the edges of the pan.

Cover it with your favorite toppings and bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for about 20 minutes or until the crust and cheese are golden brown. (It took about 16 minutes for a large round pizza and 18 minutes for a pan pizza made in a lasagna pan.)

Tips: I lightly sprinkled my pizza pans with cornmeal so they didn't stick. I thought for sure that this dough would rise and run down the sides of my bread machine pan, but it didn't and I have a 2 lb. pan. This makes a lot of dough. You could also make a bunch of personal pizzas and have a pizza party!


This is a pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, and onion pan pizza. I cooked my veggies in a skillet with italian dressing and spices until soft and browned.


This is a pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, and onion large round pizza.

Basic Pie Dough - Butter Pie Crust

This was my first ever attempt at making a homemade butter pie crust. It was so easy because it used the food processor and it took no effort at all and it turned out great. Now, I'm not going to get those expensive store-bought crusts anymore. This tastes way better and it really holds up well to a wet fruit filling.

Basic Pie Dough

Makes enough dough for 1 double-crust pie or 2 single-crust pies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) COLD unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions

1) In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.

2) Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time). To help ensure a flaky crust, do not overprocess.

3) Transfer half of dough (still crumbly) onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days). Repeat with remaining dough. (Disks can be frozen, tightly wrapped, up to 3 months. Thaw before using.) Makes 2 disks.



Tip:
Adding the correct amount of water to pie dough can be tricky, but here's a fail-safe method: Squeeze a small handful of dough - if it holds together, it's just right. (I added too much water the first time I made it and it still turned out great, but I'm sure it would've been even better if I had added the water more slowly.)



When ready to use pie dough:

On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll one disk of dough to a 14-inch round. Wrap dough around rolling pin; unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and sides of plate (do not stretch dough). Using kitchen shears, trim dough to a 1-inch overhang all around. To make a decorative edge, crimp rim with fingertips and knuckle. Refrigerate until ready to use. Reserve and refrigerate remaining disk of dough for top crust or another single crust pie.



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Strawberry Pretzel Salad

This recipe is one of my absolute favorites. It's by Paula Deen, so you know it has to be good! This has a strawberry and pineapple jello salad on top of a cream cheese and cool whip layer with a pretzel crust. It tastes spectacular. This makes a lot and would be great for Christmastime. I think I'll have to make it again this Christmas!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Ingredients
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar, plus 3/4 cup sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping
2 (3-ounce) packages strawberry gelatin dessert mix
2 cups boiling water
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen strawberries
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple
Whipped topping or whipped cream, to garnish

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2) For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Press this mixture into a 9 by 13-inch pan and bake for 7 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.

3) In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar. Fold in the whipped topping, and spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until well chilled.

4) In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, and allow to cool slightly. Add the strawberries and pineapple, and pour over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until serving time.

To serve, cut slices and serve with a dollop of whipped topping.

Serves 8 to 10



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