Jennuine

No thanks to mass market candies, poor nougat has gotten a bad rap. This recipe is for the real deal, not the plasticky goo of nondescript flavor found in popular candy bars. I'm talking about the classic buttery taffy redolent with vanilla and toasted almonds; It needs no chocolate, no caramel. This sweet confection is perfection all on its own. This recipe is my own version of the traditional French Almond Nougat that dates back to the 15th century.  I've adapted my recipe for use in the microwave.  I love using the microwave for candymaking.  It requires a bit of trial and error on the front end to get the timing right, but once proper timing has been established, there are several benefits: It's quicker than the traditional stovetop method. A perfect timing formula makes regular use of a candy thermometer unnecessary No messy pans.  Mix and cook the ingredients in a 1 Qt. glass measuring cup.  It makes it easier to pour the

These eggs fit in perfectly with our decorating style that pays homage to our family tree   As many of you know, I've been on hiatus from blogging for much of this year due to my commitments teaching high school culinary arts.  Well, the school year is nearly over.  Hello SUMMER!  I'm picking up my graduation gown today, and prepping some desserts for a graduation party.  But before I do, I wanted to share a little creative something that my girls and I did a few weeks back for Easter.   Being an uber-busy working mom, decorating Easter eggs wasn't in the forefront of my mind (until the day before Easter).  My girls are getting older, and I fear it won't be long before they'd rather be out with their friends than dyeing eggs with Mom.  So, I came up with a last minute way to decorate eggs that is definitely out-of-the-store-bought-box, very inexpensive, and yet chic and sophisticated.  My girls loved them, and we ended up keeping them on display throug

Here comes Peter Cottontail Hopping down the Bunny Trail Hippity, Hoppity Easter's on its way Two of my favorite and most nostalgic Easter sweets are chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies and Peeps ® .   So, my girls and I decided to combine the two classics, resulting in: COTTONTAILS ON A STICK These sweet bunny silhouettes are so simple to make and taste incredible! Here's all you need: Marshmallow Peeps ®  Bunnies Lollipop Sticks  (found in the cake decorating aisle of most craft stores) Candy melts, bark or tempered Couverture Chocolate Mini marshmallows Step 1:  Line a baking sheet or tray with wax paper (no need to use expensive parchment) Step 2:  Prep your Peeps ®  by inserting a stick as far as it will go without coming up through the ears. Step 3:  Prep mini marshmallows by trimming off 1/3 with scissors.  Keep the larger pieces and discard the trimmings. Step 4:  Melt your chocolate. Step

I love the charm and old fashioned elegance of the silhouette. For this year's Easter eggs I decided to stray from the usual palette of pastel & polka-dotted whimsy; opting instead to play off the natural alabaster of the eggshell with a sharp contrast of elegant black. The wonderful thing about this technique is that it doesn't require special transfer paper or expensive equipment.    If you have some white tissue paper, Mod Podge, a glue stick and a printer, you can make Silhouette Easter Eggs without spending a penny! Silhouette Easter Eggs Materials Eggs (hard boiled if you plan to eat them, or blown if you want to keep them) White tissue paper (ironed flat if it's wrinkly) Silhouette images (I used the beautiful free images from The Graphics Fairy ) A sheet of copy paper A glue stick (I like the Elmer's Craft Bond Repositionable) Scissors Mod Podge Paint brush An old gift card or club card to use as a refi

After the fun I had last year adhering elegant Silhouettes to Easter eggs, I felt inspired to try embellishing my eggs with a different paper-thin medium this year.  What could be more naturally lovely and simple than pressed flowers?  These beautiful eggs require only three materials:  eggs, pressed flowers and Mod Podge.   Lacking the patience to press my own flowers, I sent away for a sample pack of pressed blossoms from Greetings of Grace .  After a bit of trial and error, I determined that the thinner the flower, the easier they are to adhere.  Try to avoid flowers, like daisies, that have thick centers.  Here are some of the types of flowers that work best:  pansies, verbenas , violas, hydrangeas and forget me nots. Each egg can hold 6-8 blossoms, although I liked the way that the single chrysanthemum on the stem turned out.  The pressed flowers can be purchased in packages and end up costing only a few pennies each.   Ready to make some?  Let

I've been working for years to perfect my signature chocolate cake recipe -- a cake that is moist, deeply chocolatey , and can be stacked umpteen layers high.  The batter is versatile -- baking up perfectly peaked cupcakes or easy to level layers.  The best part is, it hardly takes more time to throw together than a mix!  When you have the perfect recipe, it's easy to get creative with all the possibilities for complimentary fillings, frostings and decorati ons.  This week my youngest daughter turned eight.  She's a huge fan of Ki t Kat bars, so when she asked th at I bake her a choco late cake , I knew ex actly what I'd make for the birthda y girl.   This towering chocolate confection feeds 10, generously.  It consists of 6 layers of decadent sour cream chocolate cake , homemade ch ocolate frosting, and lots of Kit Kat bars. Print With Image Without Image The Ultimate Kit Kat Birthday Cake Yield: 1 tall 6" cake Autho