One Twisted Cookie

Do you know what this is?  

How many of you out there have tried this before?

While walking through Trader Joe's here in Northern Virginia one day, my husband and I stumbled upon this wonderful concoction.  One taste, and we were hooked!  It is described as tasting like a crushed biscuit (cookie), and is creamy like peanut butter.  One of our favorite ways to eat it is on toasted waffles.

Nothing. Short. Of. Amazing.

At work this week +joan diongzon made amazing peanut butter balls - also known as Buckeye Balls.  An entire container was scarfed down by our staff in one afternoon!  Later in the week, Joan and I were texting and I asked her what she thought about replacing the peanut butter in Buckeyes with Cookie Butter.

It was a daunting task, really, because while the texture is akin to peanut butter, it's a little thicker.  However, I was determined to see how Heavenly this would turn out.  

I am SOOO glad I did.

These little things are awesome!  The choice of using white chocolate instead of milk chocolate in place of the dipping pushed these from ordinary to spectacular.

So without further adieu, here is the recipe.

Speculoos Cookie Butter "Buckeye" Balls

1 1/2 cups Cookie Butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pound (16 oz.) powdered sugar

1 stick butter or margarine, softened

Dump everything in a big bowl and get ready to get your hands dirty!  Squish the ingredients together or if you have kids, this would be something they could do to help as well.  Roll out into 1 inch balls and place on waxed paper.  Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.  

Melt white chocolate over double boiler and stir until smooth.  Remove the balls from the fridge and dip them halfway in melted chocolate.  Place back on waxed paper, and let chocolate harden.  Store in airtight container.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Amaretto Truffles

I love Christmas!
It is my very favorite time of year!

Ever since I was little, I remember my parents spending a ton of time in the kitchen during the holidays doing their baking.  They used to host an Open House every year for their friends, and in addition to the tons of goodies they made, mom and dad would make a very special item as a showstopper of sorts.  One year it was elaborate gingerbread bears sitting atop a gingerbread sleigh complete with candy cane rails.  A friend of mine took hers home with her, refusing to eat it.  She put shellac on it to preserve it, and it sat on her dresser for years.

So it comes as no surprise that I have carried on the tradition of making their recipes in my own home many years later.  So many of them are tried and true...and so classic that they get made without  hesitation.  Others that are good but perhaps not my favorites, get stared at over many days and re-imagined in my mind's eye to how I can change them to make them something I would like to eat.

Case in point are my dad's rum balls.  I'm not huge on rum, unless it's coconut rum and in a yummy cocktail on occasion.  I understand my sister-in-law's mother makes a delicious rum cake that she generously shares with our family each year, but it just wasn't my thing.

So this year, I stared at my dad's recipe for hours.  I contemplated what kinds of liquor replacements I could tweak.  Something that would go well with the chocolate base I wanted to start with.

Then I laughed at myself because what, really, doesn't go well with chocolate?!
I mean seriously.  What a silly, silly girl.

Soon after, it hit me:  Amaretto!  Like a chocolate covered cherry cordial!

So here we are...Krista's Amaretto Truffles.

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
5 ounces evaporated milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup Disaronno amaretto (because I'm an amaretto snob, and it's the best)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Melt evaporated milk and chocolate chips in double boiler until smooth, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit, about 30 minutes.  Add 2 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs, powdered sugar, Disaronno and vanilla extract to bowl.  Mix well.  After chocolate has cooled, add it to crumb mixture, combining well.  Roll into small balls and place on waxed paper. Place coconut in small bowl, and gently roll each ball in it.  Place in airtight container and enjoy!

Note:  Add extra 1/2 cup of cookie crumbs to mixture if not firm enough to make balls.  If mixture is too dry, add more Disaronno, of course!  ;-)

Proud to be Daddy's Girl

My father has always been a remarkable man.
He is what - to me, anyway - embodies strength, courage, humility, and leadership.

Daddy has also taught me to help others.  His very essence is all in what he can do to lend a hand to those in need.  He instilled in me the importance, not of self, but of selflessness where our brothers and sisters are concerned.  Through his life, I have been witness to his love of service in various ways in our church family.

So it comes as little to no surprise that when our church started a chapter in Disaster Relief, he was one of the first to jump on board.  However, I jumped with him this time as well as my mother and my brother.  We underwent hours of classroom time in all areas of Disaster Relief services...from First Aid to Food Preparation to Damage Assessment to Emergency Services Preparedness.  It also comes as little surprise that the area we both liked and grew fondest of was Food Preparation.

I got my first taste of what it was like to work in this line of service after a terrible flood invaded a little area called Tazewell, Virginia back in 2001.  We loaded up the van and took refuge in a beautiful tiny church in the Tazewell area.  There was no electricity, so baths consisted of nothing but cold water pumped through a PVC pipe in the church showers.

My teeth chatter just remembering it!

We put in a lot of hard hours those few days that we were there.  We worked ceaselessly cooking, cleaning, washing cambros, and delivering food to people with very little rest.  In the end, we went home exhausted but very happy with what we had done.

That Fall, we kept up with our classes and tried to keep everything we learned fresh in our minds.
And then the unthinkable happened.

When we got the call that they wanted our unit to go to NYC the very week the towers were hit, I was terrified...and excited.  I remember my dad asking me if I really wanted to go with them (there was never a doubt HE was going, of course!), and I remember answering that I desperately wanted to go help immediately.

The next week was more food preparation and work than I have probably ever done in my life.  Our job was to make sure that all of the workers going through the rubble at Ground Zero were fed two times a day.  No small task there.

I did all of it side by side with my greatest hero.  I watched and learned from him the way to persevere in the face of exhaustion, to tirelessly extend a kind word, a hug, a prayer and even a hot meal to people with a smile.  I never expected to be doing this kind of work, but I loved it...and I had him to thank for it.

I will never forget it.
I will never forget that the Red Cross put us up in the Naval Brig in the heart of Brooklyn, NY.  I won't forget what it was like to live behind bars out of choice rather than necessity.  I won't forget how bitterly cold the mornings were, how unbelievably hard the beds were, the monotony of the same foods over and over, the pruny hands from hours of cleaning, and how hard it was to find soda.  I'll also never forget leaving my "cell" one morning to take a shower and opening the door to a hallway full of prisoners in orange jumpsuits!

I also will never forget what it was like to do this honor next to my father.  The pride that I feel today is equal to the amount of pride I felt those mornings in NYC.  He makes me want to be a better person.
He IS a better person.

Thanks, daddy.  I love you.

Lime Marmalade

I love my husband.
Seriously, I love him.
Look at how sexy he is.

No, stop looking.  You're drooling, and that makes me uncomfortable.
*giggles*

ANYWAY...

My very sweet hubby has had a rough go of it at work lately.  Through some pretty wicked curve balls, he has yet to complain.  Another reason that I love him so. ♥

The down side with his job means that I have a lot of time to myself.  Ordinarily, this would be dangerous.  (bwahaha!!)  However, since we have moved into a new place a little over a month ago, setting up house has kept me kind of busy.  I am sure he is happy for that!

So when he told me that he had to get up this past Saturday and go into work for a meeting, my heart sank a little, but I also understood.

I found a great deal on limes last week.  I also found a little bit of gumption I didn't know I had, and after I called and begged my mother for her recipe for marmalade, I knew that I was going to get in there and attempt it.  Ever since the nectarine pickles (which are delicious, by the way) and peach salsa success, I have been itching to get in there and can something else.

My mother has been a canning queen my whole life.  She can do things in the kitchen that amaze me.  One of my very favorite things that she has made is her watermelon pickle.  When I get my hands on that stuff, people have to almost fight me for a piece!

I was surprised at how deceptively easy this was to make!  Since this post, I have made another batch of it...annnnnd...curiosity got the best of me, and I made some pink grapefruit which turned out amazing.  Honestly, you can make it from any type of citrus fruit and use the same directions.  When I get more jars, I want to try a tangerine lime or orange grapefruit mix.  This is seriously addictive stuff and makes great Christmas gifts for neighbors and co-workers!

Lime Marmalade

fresh limes, about 6

1 package pectin (such as Sure-Jel)

5 cups sugar

• Zest enough limes to make 1/2 cup of peel.  Make sure not to include any white membrane.  Set aside.
• Juice zested limes to get 3/4 cup.  Strain to remove pulp, then add enough water to lime juice to equal 4 cups.  If you are not happy with the color, now is the time to enhance it with food coloring !
• Put zest in small saucepan and add 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Drain and retain peel.
• Put contents of pectin in small bowl and stir in 1/4 cup of the sugar.
• Add lime juice and pectin/sugar mixture to large pot.  Stir.  Add zest and bring to full boil.  Add remaining sugar, then return to rolling boil.  Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.  
• Remove from heat, and skim foam from top.  Ladle into hot, sterilized jars and cover with sterilized lids and rings.  Invert overnight to seal.  If one fails to seal, process in water bath for 15 minutes, or just go ahead and eat it...you know you want to!  ;-)

Cookie Butter Cupcakes

My husband's job is pretty demanding.  It keeps him busy...sometimes double shifts and overnights.  That leaves me with a lot of time on my hands.

Anyone that knows me realizes that can be a pretty dangerous thing.
Me + time on my hands = Trouble.

Ever since we found Speculoos Cookie Butter at Trader Joe's, we have been in love.  Hubby's favorite way to eat it is on toasted waffles, making the cookie butter melty and gooey in all the cracks and crevices a waffle has to boast.  I have to admit his way is pretty awesome, having had a few that way myself.  He also likes to have a sandwich of 1/2 cookie butter and 1/2 Nutella.  However, my favorite way to eat it is on a spoon.  It is SOOO good.

So today found me with time on my hands...once again.
I eyeballed the three (!!!) jars of it in the pantry he had purchased earlier this week.  (we ran out, and tend to get a little panicky if there isn't any in the house - which was only intensified when we went to pick some up one day and found they had sold out.  Sob!)  Casually, I began to wonder what it would taste like in a cupcake.  I'm sure it's been done a million times in a million ways.  I'm certainly no recipe pioneer for this idea,  but I had never baked them before.  So I got out my recipe I use for peanut butter cupcakes and my mom's recipe for her peanut butter icing, and went to work.

A little while later, I was rewarded with 20 fluffy cupcakes...and the icing?  Nom, nom, nom!  I alternated from the dipping method to the spatula method for icing them since it really wasn't piping consistency.  I still can't decide which I like best, but I love the gold sugar sprinkles on the top!  

The best thing about making these cupcakes is the fact that I have coworkers to share the calories with!  Piling them up and taking them to the office on my day off makes everything worth it.  I get my baking fix out of the way, and temptation out of the house!  ;-)

Cookie Butter Cupcakes

(makes about 20)

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup Speculoos Cookie Butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350º.  Mix butter, sugar and cookie butter together in bowl with mixer until fluffy.  Leaving the mixer running, add eggs (at room temperature!) one at a time.  Add buttermilk.  Sift flour, then add to bowl.  Mix well.  Turn mixer off, then stir in vanilla by hand.  Fill cupcake liners halfway and bake until done, about 15 to 20 minutes.  (the tops don't really brown that much)  While cooling, prepare icing.

Speculoos Cookie Butter Icing

1/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup Speculoos Cookie Butter

1+ pounds of powdered sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together cookie butter and one cup of powdered sugar with a hand mixer on high.  Alternately add rest of powdered sugar and milk until well combined.  Add butter and vanilla, mixing well.  Adjust milk and powdered sugar until the icing is at the consistency you like.  Cover bowl when not in use for an extended period of time, because the icing will crust over.

I think I can can, I think I can can, I think I can can

    As a little girl growing up, the majority of my memories have revolved around the kitchen. 
    I remember sitting around the kitchen table at my grandmother's house while she served a delicious hot breakfast, the smell and sound of the coffee percolating, wiggling around my seat impatiently to get my hands on one of her homemade biscuits, and the always inevitable trip to the ditch to throw out leftovers that were too old to be reheated anymore.  I remember how conversation at the table would cease as the train that was roaring past literally right outside the house until we could hear one another again.
    Come to think of it, that ditch has had a lifetime of delicious food dumped into it.  Kinda makes me jealous.
    Much of my childhood was spent watching my parents cooking something yummy in their kitchen.  I watched with fascination as my father would replicate my grandmother's biscuits with astounding results.  I watched with growing impatience as my mother churned out one delicious recipe after another.  When I got older, they started to let me help out a bit.  That was a big day for me.

    One thing that I regret not helping out on and learning how to do in detail was canning.  Frankly, it just looked like long, hot, hard work...and to a kid, that's about as unappetizing as a plate full of brussel sprouts. I believe I may have chopped veggies or fruit for them once in a while, but to me that kind of thing was fun.
    So when the hubs and I recently purchased some peaches and nectarines, I found that we couldn't eat them fast enough.  I really didn't want to lose them, so I figured I would give a shot at canning them and see what would happen.  At the most, I would end up with a bunch of stuff that I had to eat right then, right?  That's when giving it away is the best option, and one that I actually like the thought of.  Hence, partially why I want to get this canning thing under my belt.
    So I opened my family cookbook yesterday and found my mom's recipe for pickled peaches, and her recipe for peach salsa.  I had all of the ingredients, I had the jars, I had the time...
    I rolled up my sleeves, put my Hunger Games audiobook on the iPod, and got to work.

Here is the end product:

I learned some lessons with this venture.

• Canning really IS hot, hard work.
• Next time, pack the nectarines a bit tighter so there will be more in the jars instead of 50% liquid.
• The good thing about pickling nectarines is not having to remove the skin.
• I need a spice bag, and whole allspice.  And cinnamon sticks.
• I need a deeper stock pot for water baths.
• Pickled jalapenos are a lot hotter than I thought they would be!  Yowsa!
• This. Salsa. Is. Awesome.  I ♥ my mother!!

Peach Pickles  (or in my case, nectarine pickles!)

1 cup white vinegar

2 cups sugar

14 very small peaches, blanched to remove skin and stuck with 2-4 whole cloves each

cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon whole allspice in boiling bag (optional)

Bring vinegar and sugar to a boil.  Add peaches and cook until tender.  Cinnamon sticks may be boiled with peaches and added to jars.  (I didn't have cinnamon sticks, so I just added 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the boil)  Allspice can be added to the boil, but not to the jars.  Place peaches in jars and cover with syrup.  Process jars according to manufacturer's directions.  Serve cold.

Peach Salsa  (double recipe as needed for volume)

1 medium tomato, chopped into small cubes

1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced

2 whole pickled jalapenos, chopped fine

1 cup chopped peaches, skin removed

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon white vinegar
Fresh chopped cilantro, if desired

Place all ingredients in saucepan and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.  Can reduce the jalapenos to one if you want it milder.  Spoon into jars, seal, and process.  Enjoy with fresh tortilla chips.

    Oh, since I mentioned those, I guess I should give you the down low on making them.  Get a package of small flour tortillas, cut into wedges.  Heat 2 cups oil in small pot, and begin dropping tortillas into the hot oil. They will brown and crisp up fast, so be ready to scoop them out!  Drain them on paper towels, and sprinkle hot chips with coarse salt.

Back in the Saddle Again

HOORAY!  We are up and running!!


A huge thanks to my friend Kevin, who has been my resident geek and Super Web Tech over the last several years.  I don't know what I would do without you, buddy.


Look for entries to start popping up soon!