Jennuine

- The idea for these sweet little owls came to me a few weeks ago. Remember a few weeks ago?  Candy canes, Chocolate Santas, and gingerbread in every size, shape and form, but not a single heart-shaped valentine "Peep" to be found. Fortunately, my friend Holly saved the day when she scored a few boxes at a local drugstore. My posts have been awfully long lately, so I'm keeping this intro short and sweet. Here are the instructions for making Chocolate Dipped Valentine Owls on a Stick made from heart-shaped marshmallow "Peeps": Marshmallow Valentine Owls --MATERIALS-- --Heart-shaped Peeps (Our local store only had the pink, sugar-free type.  The regular version is red and should be available in most stores with a large Valentine candy section). -- Valentine's Day M&Ms (or just the white M&Ms if you're able to find them) -- A Food Writer Pen in black (available in the cake decorating section of most major craft stores...

Because of my parents' different religious upbringings, my brothers and I had the experience of celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas each December of our childhoods. My mom still makes the world's best motzoh ball soup and latkes, and has us over on one night of Hanukkah every year to play driedel, light the menorah, and to enjoy her wonderful cooking!   For the past two years, my girls and I have enjoyed a new Hanukkah tradition of making our own Hanukkah "gelt", or gold coins made from dried apricots dipped in dark chocolate. They're so simple to make and are infinitely more delicious than the mass produced coins you buy in the store. Even if your household doesn't celebrate Hanukkah, these chocolate dipped apricots make a wonderful gift for friends and family at this time of year! CHOCOLATE DIPPED APRICOT COINS MAKES APPROX. 30-40 COINS 1 bag Dried Apricots (16 oz.)* 8 oz. good quality chocolate* Step 1:  Using a kitch...

It was on an impromptu jaunt to Mexico a few years ago where I had my first taste of Tamarind.  My husband, his cousins and I were in the car, air conditioning blasting, as we sat for hours in traffic that had come to a standstill just a few miles from the border.  We were thankful to the vendors, wandering the sea of stranded motorists, who, over the course of several hours kept our spirits high with a steady stream of treats including churros, flavored ices, and pan dulce.  The confection that stands out most in memory, however, is the tangy, sweet and salty tamarind lollipop that kept me occupied and rather intrigued for the duration of our captivity. If you're not familiar with tamarind , it is a legume that grows on trees in Asia, Africa and in the tropics.  The fruit inside the pod is a fleshy, tangy pulp that becomes sweeter as the pod matures.  It is used in cuisines throughout Africa, Asia, South & Central America, India and Mexico. In Mexi...

Do you love chocolate?  Do you enjoy creamy, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate truffles, but get sticker shock when you see them in the illuminated "jewelry" cases in boutique candy shops?  The ingredients for a perfect chocolate truffle couldn't be simpler, and they're easy to make at home -- no special equipment or culinary training required. Once you learn the basics, you can experiment with shapes, techniques, and flavors. FENNEL POLLEN Truffles have gotten wildly gourmet in recent years with everything from spicy chiles to lavender, exotic salts, and even bacon!  I recently had the opportunity to work with a new ingredient, Fennel Pollen , which was provided to me by Marx Foods .   Fennel pollen ?  It's exactly what you probably guessed:  pollen harvested from the flowers of fennel plants.  Unlike fennel seeds, the texture of fennel pollen is delicate.  It has an exquisite anise-like aroma and smooth flavor that is the perfect comp...

This past week was chock full o' Halloween festivities, and with so little time, and so many places relying on volunteers for TREATS, I needed to come up with a quick and easy crowd pleaser to help get me through it all. I found my muse in a Halloween recipe on the Martha Stewart website.  In the Martha recipe, she took a few calculated snips to a marshmallow to transform it into the shape of a skull.  She used chocolate sprinkles for the eyes and nose, and used the whole thing to adorn a chocolate dipped Madeleine.  I didn't have time to bake up a few dozen batches of buttery Madeleines, so my twist on Martha's clever marshmallow treat was to use the skulls to decorate chocolate dipped Oreo cookies on a stick.  The "Skeleos" as I dubbed them, were a huge hit and were gone quicker than you could say "Boo"! Here's how to make some SKELEOS of your own: Ingredients Marshmallows Candy Melts or Chocolate Callets  (My current fav are...

Whether you're looking for something unique to bring to the school bake sale, feel like its time for a cupcake hiatus, or simply will use any excuse to eat chocolate, these sweet little stars are a fun and easy project you can share with your family. It's also a great introduction to using Chocolate Transfer Sheets.  If you're not familiar with Chocolate Transfer Sheets, they are acetate sheets that are printed with patterns and designs using a special printer and edible ink (made from cocoa butter).  They can be purchased in some specialty cake supply stores and all over the internet.  My favorite retail source is Fancy Flours .  They carry everything from animal & floral prints to political and holiday inspired patterns. Let's get started!  TIP:  If you like the convenience of Candy Melts, but prefer the taste of real chocolate, try the new Semi-Sweet Chocolate Callets (65% Cacao) from Trader Joes.  They work like a dream!...