Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Pecan Fudge

I am discovering that my favorite treats to experiment with are ice cream and fudge.  When you can establish a good base recipe, it makes an excellent platform for experimentation.  I like to explore new taste options or try variations on things I've tasted elsewhere. As salted chocolates are still pretty trendy, I thought I'd give it a whirl myself.

If you are looking for an easy-to-make hostess gift for New Year's, I think you should try this.

DARK CHOCOLATE SALTED CARAMEL PECAN FUDGE

2 cups dark chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup caramel bits
1 to 1-1/2 tbsp. grinder salt

In a deep saucepan over low heat, melt together the chips and condensed milk until smooth and well blended.

Fold in the pecans and caramel bits and pour into an 8" x 8" (or 9" x 9") baking pan lined with wax paper, and spread out evenly and smoothly.

Sprinkle the salt on top.

Put in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes before removing and cutting into bite-sized pieces.

Ready to package or to nibble at your leisure.

NOTES

I found some caramel bits at Southern Season in Charleston which I used for this recipe, but Kraft makes caramel bits too.  If you can't find those, you can small dice the wrapped caramels to add to the mix.

I also used Celtic Sea Salt (a Christmas gift from my good friend CJ) as my salty sprinkle, but you can use whatever kind you'd like.  You want a nice rough grain salt to stand out on top of your treat. 

Treat boxes are pretty easy to find these days, I get mine from Not Just Paper in Durham, NC (red ones), but you can also find them in Michael's or AC Moore's (usually white ones).  I use 1/2 pound boxes lined with wax paper.

Then I either pre-cut the fudge into bite-sized pieces (will fit 8-10 depending on what you call bite-sized) or cut out a piece that just fits in the box and include a little plastic knife in the box so your recipient can cut their own pieces.  Tie up with a decorative ribbon and you're all set.

Homemade Croutons

 

I like to think of this as a "wing and a prayer" recipe.  I invited some friends over to watch basketball this past weekend.  Since they were bringing the pizza I thought I'd toss together a big salad to go with.  Knowing that my friend Jan is a big fan of the crouton salad accessory and knowing I had the butt end of a couple artisan loaves sitting in the cupboard, I figured I'd get online and find a make-it-yourself recipe.

What's that thing about best laid plans?  Well about 10 minutes before they were to show up at my door I realized I'd not gotten online and not found a recipe, so instead I "wung" it.  Gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised by the results and will be adding these delicious tidbits to many more of my future salads.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

K2's Holycraptheyaregoingtobehereanyminute Croutons

3 cups old artisan bread (but not moldy bread), cut into cubes
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. garlic salt
3-4 spritzes spray butter or 1/2 tbsp. butter melted

Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, toss together the bread cubes, seasonings, and butter.  They don't need to be saturated or overly coated, just a couple of light turns around the bowl should do.

Pour the coated bread cubes into a small baking dish or onto a small cookie sheet.

Put them in the oven and set your oven on broil.

Stir/flip the cubes every 1-2 minutes until browned along the outer edges. Should take about 5-6 minutes total, if even.

Once nicely browned, turn the oven OFF and leave the croutons in the oven for another 3-4 minutes.  This will allow them to dry out in the center, but not burn.

Remove from oven and toss on salad...or in mouth...

NOTES

I buy artisan bread loaves (not bagged sandwich breads) which tend to be denser and work best for making croutons.

Cheesy Olive Buns

 

Holidays! Holidays! Time for some fun festive foods.  Let's start out with a little salty goodness.  I've found variations of this throughout my cookbooks from the '60s and '70s.  For those who don't like olives (I know Wendi is making her squiggy-ewww face right now) this is probably not going to be the recipe for you, but if you're going to be doing a little holiday imbibing, this makes a great date for your drink.

Cheesy Olive Buns 

1 (8 ct.) roll buttermilk biscuits
24 stuffed green olives
1/4-1/3 cup grated parmesan

Drain and pat dry the olives.  Set aside.

Layout the biscuits and cut into thirds.

Wrap each section around an olive and press seams closed.

Roll in parmesan and set on a prepared cookie sheet.

Bake at 450 degrees for 6 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from cookie sheet and set on a rack. Serve up hot or at room temp.

NOTES

Most grocery stores will carry an assortment of olives.  You can find them stuffed with almonds (which is what I used), bleu cheese, garlic or jalapeno.  Pick your favorite and use that.

If you're using small olives, you can always cut the biscuits into 4 pieces each and proceed as planned.

Itty Bitty Minty Bites

Looking for something quick(ish) and easy(ish) to throw together for a holiday party?  Here's something fun and cute and yummy.  Be warned though -- HIGHLY addictive!

Itty Bitty Minty Bites

Hershey's Mint Truffle Kisses
Synder's Butter Snaps pretzels
Colored nonpareil sprinkles

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Lay pretzels out on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Or wax paper in a pinch.

Unwrap kisses and place one on each pretzel.

Put cookie sheet in the oven for 1 minute.  No more, no less.

Remove immediately and gently press another pretzel onto of each of the mooshy kisses.

Sprinkle spinkles on each.  Make sure to get it in all the little pretzel holes.

Put cookie sheet in the fridge for 20-25 minutes until the chocolate is firmed up.

Then start popping them in your face...or share them with others if you really feel you need to.

NOTES

I used Mint Truffles Kisses, but you could do this with any of the flavor-filled kisses that Hershey's makes.

One bag of kisses makes about 5 dozen Itty Bitty Minty Bites.