candy

Bourbon Praline Fudge

Sep 27, 2020

Bourbon Praline Fudge – quick and easy fudge that tastes just like homemade pralines! With just a hint of bourbon and a crunch of pecans. Your holiday cookie tins need this fudge!

Pralines are one of my favorite holiday treats but I can’t make them to save my life.

That’s why I love this Bourbon Praline Fudge recipe. It tastes just like pralines but with a lot less work. It doesn’t require a candy thermometer so it’s practically fool proof.

This fudge would be a great for a holiday cookie exchange or in your holiday cookie tins!

If you love pralines as much as I do, my Baked French Toast with Pralines in another holiday favorite in my house!

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Crockpot Candy VIDEO – Crockpot Chocolate Peanut Clusters

Dec 18, 2019

Crockpot Candy is a must make for the holiday season! It’s like chocolate covered peanuts but better! Only 4 ingredients and made completely in the slow cooker. It makes a ton so it is perfect for cookie tins or holiday parties!

This is my ultimate, most favorite recipe ever.

If I had to pick a signature recipe, this would be it.

And it’s not even mine.

My best friend Megan and her mom gave me this recipe years and years ago.

They make it every Christmas and every Christmas I would beg her to bring me some. I honestly had no idea it was so easy until she showed up at my house with all the ingredients on year and threw it all in the slow cooker.

Now I make at least 2 batches every holiday season to fill Christmas cookie tins and send as teacher gifts. It is so delicious, practically addictive, everyone loves it, and everyone you gift it to will be asking for the recipe!

I also love to fill Christmas cookie tins with my Cranberry Orange Cookies, Eggnog Fudge, and Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies.

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Candy Corn Fudge

Oct 07, 2019

This post and recipe was created for #HalloweenTreatsWeek! I was sent samples by some of the sponsor companies but as always opinions are 100% mine.

Candy Corn Fudge – white chocolate fudge with mini candy corn and salted peanuts. The perfect sweet and salty treat for Halloween!

You guys, it’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek!

The lovely and incredibly talented Angie of Big Bear’s Wife organizes #HalloweenTreatsWeek every year and I am so excited to be participating. There are 40+ bloggers sharing delicious and fun Halloween treats this week and I’ve got the full list of everyone’s first recipe down below.

My first post for the week is Candy Corn Fudge and I’ve been dying to share it for weeks now.

Y’all know I love all things sweet and salty so I mixed candy corn with salted peanuts and put in in a white chocolate fudge. I love everything about it. The saltiness of the peanuts keep it from being too rich and sweet and I just love when you slice into it and can see a full piece of candy corn. It’s just so pretty.

If you love candy corn but want something besides fudge, I have Caramel Corn Treats that are also a great sweet and salty treat.

And if you want more fudge recipes, try my Maple Bacon Fudge or Pumpkin Pie Fudge!

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Eggnog Fudge

Dec 19, 2018

Eggnog Fudge is the perfect Christmas fudge recipe! Creamy white chocolate eggnog fudge with pecans for a crunch. Delicious and so easy!

Okay, I think this is the last Christmas treat I’ll be sharing this year.

The kids last day of school is today and, you guys, it’s almost impossibe to find time for a blog post when they’re home. Also, it’s Christmas break! You’re supposed to be building gingerbread houses, watching the same Christmas movies over and over, and going to see the lights!

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White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

Dec 10, 2018

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge – homemade white chocolate fudge with crushed peppermints! Easy, delicious, and perfect for Christmas!

Happy Monday!

How is your holiday prep going?

We finally got our tree this weekend. I think I had mine up weeks before Thanksgiving last year but we’ve just been so busy/we kept waiting for a tree lot to pop up around us and nothing ever did.

My closet has filled with Target boxes and I’ve watched The Holiday Calendar 17 times.

It doesn’t really feel like Christmas though. You know? It’s not super cold, I haven’t taken the dogs to see Santa, we haven’t even made gingerbread houses yet.

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Butterscotch Peanut Fudge

Dec 07, 2016

Butterscotch Peanut Fudge – butterscotch, peanut butter, and peanuts! This is going to be your new favorite fudge recipe. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and salty!

You guys.

I want you all to be proud of me. Not only do I have decorations up, I’ve even started buying presents.

This is a big deal because up until about 3 days ago, my kids were only getting donations to my favorite charities in their name.

I have had quite the year.

At some point in the near future, I’ve got to A) figure out where to move and B) move myself, 3 kids, 3 dogs, and all our stuff.

So I am very much anti-stuff right now. I don’t want to bring anything else into the house that I will then have to store and then move. I just cannot handle anything else.

But yeah, I gave in and bought them a few things and they’ll be happy with what they get, dangit.

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Cranberry Macadamia Nut Fudge

Nov 28, 2016

Cranberry Macadamia Nut Fudge – white chocolate fudge with dried cranberries and macadamia nuts. Perfect for cookie tins and holiday parties!

Happy Monday, y’all!

The holiday weekend flew by, right? I’m not ready for today! I need a few more days of doing nothing!

But the good news is that we can officially move onto holiday treats now! Yaaaaay!

So tell me, do you stick with the same holiday treats every year or do you switch it up and try new things?

I usually do a mixture of both. I always make my crockpot candy, my almond bark drop cookies, the cranberry orange cookies, and my mom’s snack mix. And then I always try a couple new recipes.

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Maple Bacon Fudge

Nov 03, 2016

Maple Bacon Fudge – the perfect sweet and salty treat! These are great in Christmas cookie tins and at holiday parties.

Hey guys, happy almost weekend!

I haven’t talked to you since Halloween so how was trick-or-treating? We’re really lucky that literally everyone in our large neighborhood has kids so Halloween is always a fun night around here.

But I guess now it’s time to move onto Thanksgiving.

Or Christmas according to my Snapchat feed.

You guys. Stop. It’s too early.

Normally I’m that psycho putting out lights the day after Halloween but I just can’t handle it happening so early this year.

Plus, it’s still stupid hot in Texas.

I won’t lie, though, I was in Austin yesterday and may have run into Trader Joe’s for some of their holiday goodies. Christmas trees, I can skip for now. Buttercream truffles? GIMME.

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Pumpkin Pie Fudge

Oct 17, 2016

Pumpkin Pie Fudge – the taste of pumpkin pie in delicious fudgy bites! Pumpkin, white chocolate, marshmallows, and walnuts for a bit of crunch! Perfect for cookie tins at the holidays!

This post originally published on November 27, 2008. Wait. Have I really been blogging that long?! Anyway, I’ve updated the photos, the words, everything. Enjoy!

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend? Mine was fabulous. Didn’t leave my house at all.

Okay, well, I ended up at In-n-Out once but besides that, I only left for dog walks.

I spent Saturday binging on crime documentaries. You guys. Have you seen There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane? It’s a must watch but be warned: I sobbed through the last 20 minutes.

In between depressing documentaries, I made lots of fudge. I have a bunch of delicious recipes coming up for the holidays but I wanted to share this Pumpkin Pie Fudge now since we’re kind of in peak pumpkin season.

I’ve seriously been making this recipe for almost 10 years. I always make it for Thanksgiving and then usually again at Christmas.

It’s not overwhelmingly pumpkin so even the pumpkin haters in my life enjoy it. Plus, it’s a change from the usual mountains of chocolate and peanut butter fudge that I do every year. And it’s perfect in little tins as teacher gifts or whatever.

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Homemade Sprinkle Marshmallows

Aug 11, 2016

Homemade Sprinkle Marshmallows – easy homemade marshmallow recipe. Only 6 ingredients and so fun for s’mores or hot chocolate!

Okay, so this isn’t technically s’mores but how fun are s’mores made with sprinkle marshmallows?!

I’m obsessed.

But first, we haven’t talked Olympics.

Are you into it?

I really only care about the opening ceremony and gymnastics.

I was such a mess during the opening ceremony. I happy cried through most of it and I can’t even explain it. Every time they introduced a new country, I squealed, “Aww!” and started crying.

My kids left the room after the first 2 countries. No idea why.

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Peanut Butter Saltine Toffee

Dec 16, 2014

Welp guys, sorry I haven’t been posting Christmas cookies and treats like I’m supposed to be doing.

I’m the worst.

I wish I could be one of those bloggers who had hundreds of posts lined up and ready to be published. Nope, I have exactly none. I pretend it’s because I like to live in the moment and blog about what my heart wants me to. But let’s be real, I’m just a horrible procrastinator. Like I said, I am the worst.

So yeah, my husband came home a couple weeks ago. On Thanksgiving, actually. It’s quite a different experience this time around. Last time he returned from Afghanistan – because of how the war was going and probably because it was his first deployment – things were just bad. Just really, really bad.

This time, it’s been really easy. It kind of just seems like he’s been gone for a week instead of 9 months. Whereas last time, it took us about 7 months to get to a good place. It’s crazy different and I’m very grateful for it.

But I’m finally here with a Christmas treat! I’ve been meaning to make Saltine Toffee for years and years but I always run out of time and energy – finally managed to get it done this year! And I added peanut butter because why not? And peanut butter M&Ms because… duh.

It’s delicious. And I hate Saltines with a fiery passion. But the sugar mixture and then the peanut butter and then the chocolate… it’s just sweet and salty and I love it.

I do have more Christmas-y recipes coming. Hopefully.I’ve had several cookie fails lately so we’ll see. I’ve got a drink coming for sure. Don’t even worry about that.

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White Chocolate Peppermint Chex

Nov 19, 2014

If you do nothing else today, go to Starbucks, get a White Peppermint Mocha and then email me and tell me every single detail.

I haven’t had a single red cup yet. Can you believe it? I’m currently avoiding Starbucks because I know I’ll get talked into gingerbread loaf or cranberry bliss bars or my favorite blueberry muffins. And you guys, DAYS from now my husband will be home. I can’t be stuffing my face with muffins.

Guess what y’all! I got my car back! It was such a mess. But I got it back!

You guys know I live on Fort Carson. So to get to my house you have to go through an ID check point. It’s really not a huge deal to get on post even if you’re not military. I mean, the ice cream man gets through, the UPS guys, I even saw the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile go through once. But for whatever reason the dealership shuttle guy couldn’t get through. Even though they had assured me days before that he could.

So the girl at the dealership was all, “I’ll just have my boyfriend pick you up.”

And now, looking back at it, I realize that she was just being super duper helpful and wanted to do whatever she could to get me my car.

But at the time…

At the time, I was convinced I was about the be kidnapped. Like, seriously convinced. Like, searching through my husband’s Army closet looking for something to put in my purse that could be used as a weapon.

Yeah, this is how my brain works. So I tweeted my BFF so someone would know what happened if I disappeared and then had a massive panic attack that I then convinced myself was a heart attack.

This went on all day.

I don’t even know what to do with myself.

So they ended up sending the poor technician out to get me and all my children because by this time all of them were home. The poor guy got stuck in traffic for an hour then got stuck at the gate getting searched forever and then had to endure a 30 minute car ride of my children whisper-screaming at each other. I totally happy cried when he pulled my car around.

And then I sad cried when I paid the bill.

Anyway, back to white chocolate and peppermint! I made Chex Mix! Well, kind of. It’s really just Chex cereal covered in white chocolate and crushed peppermints. Super simple, my favorite winter flavor combination, AND it will hold you over while you wait for the White Chocolate Peppermint Pringles to show up in the grocery stores.

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Dr Pepper Fudge #drinkTEN

Oct 29, 2014

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

I have good news! I took my fave soda, Dr Pepper TEN, and turned it into chocolate fudge!

We are days away from the big day and I have somehow managed to keep my hands out of our candy jar. You guys, this has never happened before. At this point, I’ve usually eaten every single piece of good candy and then on Halloween day, I’m running like a madwoman to the store to buy more.

Not this year though! I have conquered my candy addiction.

Just kidding. I ate homemade Dr Pepper Fudge instead.

As I mentioned, I used the Dr Pepper TEN (that I purchased at King Soopers – it’s with all the other sodas) in this fudge. It is my absolute favorite because it only has 10 calories but it doesn’t taste like a diet soda. I also used Canada Dry TEN in the Creepy Ginger-Ade recipe you see below. I’m currently obsessed with all things ginger which is weird since I named my blog Fake Ginger because I couldn’t stand ginger – and also because I like to dye my hair red. Speaking of, should I do that this weekend? I’m bored of blonde.

Anyway, the Canada Dry TEN is so delicious and it was perfect mixed with lemonade! I added a packet of powdered lime drink mix to the mix to turn it green. And then I popped some spiders in! (And PS, you could totally put some vodka in if you’re making this for an all adult party!)

Funnily enough, just the other day I commented on a blog post about fudge saying that if I was any good at making fudge, I’d make some right then. Because I love fudge. But I’m SO bad at making it. And then that night, I got super excited about the idea of Dr Pepper Fudge that I went downstairs at 11 pm and made this in less than 20 minutes.

It really couldn’t be easier. No candy thermometer needed! Which is awesome because you guys know I buy a candy thermometer 3 times a year and then throw it out when I decide it’s too much work.

You just cook most of the ingredients together and then stir in the chocolate, let it set for an hour or two, and slice into squares.

And you really can taste the Dr Pepper TEN! It’s absolutely delicious and perfect for this time of year when candy is on everyone’s mind.

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Peanut Brittle

Dec 10, 2013

Do you give baked goodies as gifts around the holidays?

I think I did one year and I really enjoyed it but in recent years I just haven’t felt as confident in my baking abilities and have been too scared to give anything away.

I always feel like people are telling me they like something just so they don’t hurt my feelings!

Peanut Brittle!

I wanted to make some peanut brittle just because I hate making candy and needed to see if I could actually make it.

Amazingly, it was super simple and took less than an hour to make! You just boil corn syrup, water, and butter until it hits the soft crack stage on your candy thermometer, stir in the peanuts, and keep boiled until it hits hard crack. So easy!

Peanut brittle is one of my favorite holiday treats so it’s pretty exciting that I know I can make it now.

Peanut Brittle

Ingredients

1 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter no substitutes
2 1/2 cups peanuts
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Instructions

Butter 2 large baking sheets; set aside.
Butter sides of a heavy 3-quart saucepan. In pan combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and butter. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Reduce heat to medium-low; continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, stirring occasionally, until the thermometer registers 275F, soft-crack stage (about 30 minutes). Stir in nuts; continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until thermometer registers 295F, hard crack stage (15 to 20 minutes more).
Remove pan from heat; remove thermometer.
Quickly sprinkle baking soda over mixture, stirring constantly. Immediately pour onto prepared baking sheets. Use 2 forks to lift and pull candy as it cools. Cool completely; break into pieces. Store tightly covered up to 1 month.

Want more holiday treats recipes?

Crockpot Candy

Maple Bacon Fudge

Cranberry Orange Cookies

Birthday Cake Marshmallows

Jan 17, 2013

Y’all know that one of my favorite things in the entire world is cake batter goodies. The other night we went out for froyo and my husband made fun of me because I filled my cup with birthday cake, red velvet cake, and cheesecake (with pistachio thrown in for good measure). What?! I just love anything cake flavored!

Well, tomorrow is Nicole’s birthday! So we decided that a birthday cake Thursday theme was in order! I’ve had these Birthday Cake Marshmallows on my “must make” list forever now so this was the perfect opportunity.

I’m really not a marshmallow person – s’mores being the exception, of course – but I really love the process of making marshmallows. It’s just fun to take something as basic as gelatin and sugar and turn them into marshmallows. Plus it’s one of those things that seems really impressive to other people because holy cow! You made marshmallows! But really, it took me less than 30 minutes to whip these up.

Be sure to stop by Nicole’s to wish her a happy birthday and check out her birthday cake shot!

One year ago: Cheesy Breadsticks
Two years ago: Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

Birthday Cake Marshmallows

from The Baker Chick

Ingredients

4 1/2 tsp of unflavored powdered gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup divided
1/4 cup water
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup yellow cake mix
2 tablespoons sprinkles
coating: 1/4 cup corn starch and 3/8 cup powdered sugar combined

Instructions

Line an 8x8-inch pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.
Whisk together the gelatin and cold water in a small bowl and let soften for 5 minutes
Stir together the sugar, 1/4 cup of the corn syrup, 1/4 cup water and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches 240F on a candy thermometer.
Meanwhile, pour the remaining 1/4 cup corn syrup into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Microwave gelatin on high until totally melted, about 30 seconds. Pour into the mixer bowl, Set the mixer speed to low and keep it running.
When the syrup is 240F, slowly pour it into the mixer. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes. Increase to medium-high and beat for 5 more minutes. Beat on the highest setting for 1-2 mins more and beat in the vanilla. The finished marshmallow will be opaque, white, fluffy and tripled in volume. (don't overwhip the batter or it will make folding in the cake mix a huge mess.) Sift in about half the cake mix over the marshmallow batter. Use a spatula to gently fold it in and then sift and fold in the rest. Fold in the sprinkles.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, using an offset spatula to smooth it into the corners. Sift the coating over the top, reserving some for later. Let it set for 6 hours in a cool dry place.
Use a knife to loosen the marshmallow from the edges of the pan. Invert the slab onto a coating-dusted work surface and dust it with more coating. Use kitchen scissors to cut the marshmallows into pieces and dip the sticky edges into more coating, patting off the excess.