Christmas Countdown: Salemme Pepper-Infused Onyx Moonshine Balls

We are somewhat famous for our rum balls. People request that we bring them to parties every year, and this year we even had someone admit they had been dreaming about them. So of course, yes, we made them again this year - here's the recipe, and here's a photo.

But in the interest of changing things up a bit, we thought we might used a different liquor to make a second batch. At first we considered Grand Marnier, since orange and chocolate go well together. Then Amy thought she might try Creme Violette, but decided it could be too flowery for some. Bourbon? Boring. Then Chris had it! Why not try our own Salemme Pepper-Infused Onyx Moonshine? 

Onyx makes a "111" version that is higher proof than their regular product, and is perfect for infusing. We infused it with Salemme Pepper, a special dried red pepper that is Connecticut-grown and cultivated. Basically, we added a tablespoon of the pepper flakes into the bottle of moonshine and let it infuse for the past few months. Then we used our infusion to make chocolate balls that have all the kick of a spiced hot chocolate, with a little booze in there as a bonus. Made in CT with CT products, these Christmas balls are a uniquely local experience!

Salemme Pepper-Infused Onyx Moonshine Balls


Makes about 70

Ingredients:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

3/4 cup hot pepper-infused Onyx moonshine

2 1/2 cup vanilla wafer crumbs

cinnamon for dusting (optional)

In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and corn syrup. Stir in moonshine, then add vanilla wafer crumbs and mix well. Cover and cool in refrigerator until mixture is hard enough to roll into balls. Line a baking sheet with wax paper, and using your hands, roll into 1/2-inch balls and place onto wax paper. Store in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Dust with cinnamon when serving. 

Christmas Countdown: Pecan Sea-Salt Drops

We are heading to New Orleans for a few days after Christmas and while we're there, we always pick up some freshly made pralines from Southern Candymakers in the French Quarter. But we wanted a praline-style candy to include in our gift packages this year, and settled on another Martha Stewart recipe, Pecan Sea-Salt Drops. 

A praline without the cream and butter, these drops consist of chopped pecans in a crunchy caramel sprinkled with sea salt. Martha suggests using a mini-muffin tin, and we tried them first in one, but then we tried a regular sized muffin tin and liked the look much better. What's great about these candy drops is not only the salty sweetness but also the pretty elegance.  

Pecan Sea-Salt Drops

(from MarthaStewart.com, makes 12-16 candies)

Ingredients:

cooking spray

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

flake sea salt

Coat the cups of a muffin tin with cooking spray. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cook, swirling occasionally, until mixture becomes golden around the edges. Stir in pecans and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is pale and amber-colored, about 8 minutes. Spoon mixture into muffin cups, about 1 tablespoon each, and immediately sprinkle with sea salt. Let cool completely, then remove from tins. Store in an airtight container.

Christmas Countdown: Honeycomb Brittle

It's the weekend before the big holiday, and A Couple in the Kitchen has been busy making sweets and treats for sharing with friends, neighbors and loved ones. We're still quite busy with school and life and all that, like everyone, so we started with something very easy - a candy recipe from the queen of all things homemade, Martha Stewart - Honeycomb Brittle. Making candy seems scary to some, but we find it much easier than baking. And less time-consuming! We used orange blossom honey to get a hint of orange essence in each crispy, crunchy, airy bite. And that great honeycomb-like texture comes from whisking in some baking soda at the very end.

Honeycomb Brittle

(from MarthaStewart.com, makes 1 sheet, about 9"x11")

Ingredients:

cooking spray

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon baking soda

Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. Bring sugar, honey and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook without stirring until mixture reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and whisk in baking soda until combined and bubbly. Gently pour onto prepared baking sheet, tilting to spread, and allow to cool. When cool, break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Chocolate-Covered Sea Foam (Secret Recipe Club)

Chris writes:

If there is one sort of candy that Amy loves, it's molasses chips; her #2 would be "sea foam," also known as "sponge candy." Growing up, the only place that I remember having it was during the occasional family trip to Mystic Seaport when I was a child. I remember buying it in the general store for a penny (those were the days) and enjoying it until my sister told me it was made out of bad eggs which had turned foamy. Don't get me wrong, I still ate and enjoyed it -- I was a 10 year old boy after all! The next time had it was almost twenty years later when my then-girlfriend-soon-to-be-wife Amy told me the real ingredients when we saw it at Munsons, a local chocolatier. When I saw the recipe on our March Secret Recipe Club assigned blog, Melissa's Cuisine, AND saw how simple the recipe was, it was a no brainer to give it a try.

Chocolate-Covered Sea Foam

recipe from Melissa's Cuisine

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup

4 tsp baking soda

6 oz chocolate chips

Mix the sugar and the corn syrup in a saucepan over med/high heat until the temp reaches 305 degrees. Add the baking soda. (This will cause the mixture to rapidly foam to almost three times its original volume so be careful not to burn yourself!) Immediately pour it into a pre-greased baking pan and allow to cool. Score lines into the bottom of the candy to help you break it evenly. Heat chocolate in a double boiler and dip pieces. Placed dipped pieces onto wax paper for cooling.

It's that easy.

A big "Thank You" to Melissa for this recipe and the memories it brought back. I am looking forward to everyone's comments (Did you ever lie to your siblings?) as well as hoping my sister will read this and see how much she affected my culinary tastes. Probably not as much as when my mother told me that tapioca was really frog eggs; but that is a different story.

Secret Recipe Club: Peppermint Bliss Bark

It's the third Monday of the month, and you know what that means! Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! Our assigned blog this month was The Weekend Gourmet by Wendy from Texas. The Weekend Gourmet features tons of festive recipes for every occasion, from the big game to National Brownie Day to the holidays. Wendy also offers giveaways very often, so check out her great blog for recipe ideas or for the chance to win a prize!

In the spirit of Christmas, we decided to make Wendy's original Peppermint Bliss Bark to include in our treat packages that will be going out to friends and neighbors. This recipe was so easy to make and turned out a delicious bite filled with plenty of different textures and flavors - chocolate, peppermint, oreo cookie and marshmallows. Blissful indeed! We followed Wendy's directions but used fewer peppermint pieces. Our version of her recipe is below. Make this stuff! It's delish!

Peppermint Bliss Bark

from The Weekend Gourmet

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup mini-marshmallows

1 cup mini-Oreo cookies

1/2 cup chopped peppermint candies

4 ounces white chocolate

Melt chocolate chips in a double-boiler or very carefully in the microwave. Place marshmallows, cookies and 1/4 cup peppermint candies in a large bowl. Fold in the melted chocolate and gently mix until everything is combined. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread the mixture onto the paper. Melt the white chocolate in a double-boiler or very carefully in the microwave. Drizzle the white chocolate over the semi-sweet chocolate bark and sprinkle with remaining peppermint pieces. Chill the bark in the refrigerator (or outside if it's cold enough!) for an hour so it hardens. Cut into pieces and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve/share/eat.

Gather your ingredients

Melt your chocolate

Mix it all together

Melt your white chocolate

Spread it all out on a parchment-lined baking sheet

Cut and serve!

Countdown to Christmas: Rosemary Almond Butter Toffee

Severe abdominal pain caused Amy to go to the doctor on Friday morning and that seemingly quick doctor's visit turned into a 9-hour event complete with lab tests, cat scans and all kinds of nonsense in the E.R. They "think" it's some sort of intestinal infection, but all she could think was, "I don't have time for this! When is our Christmas baking going to get done?!?"

Saturday morning, after an anti-inflammatory injection and a couple of prescriptions began to work their magic, we got to some light work in the kitchen. We're not even half way done, but it was a good start. And while that annoying abdominal pain isn't quite gone, Amy is starting to feel a little better. Kitchen therapy. Works every time.

Anyway... We knew we wanted to do a toffee to include in our friends-and-neighbors Christmas treat boxes. Who doesn't love the crunchy sweetness of a good toffee? And Amy loves to mix salty and sweet, so we knew it would be a nut toffee. But it wasn't until she spied Rosemary Marcona Almonds during a recent visit to Trader Joe's that this particular recipe was born. That rosemary really gives this toffee a uniquely delicious hint of herbacious fabulousness. And it looks cool, too. So very Christmas-y! Enjoy!

Heat butter, salt, sugar, and corn syrup to 300 degrees

Sprinkle chopped almonds over wax paper-lined baking sheet

Pour toffee over chopped nuts

Top with chopped Trader Joe's Roasted and Salted Marcona Almonds with Rosemary

Rosemary Almond Butter Toffee

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar

6 tablespoons dark corn syrup

1/2 cup chopped plain roasted, salted almonds

1/2 cup chopped Trader Joe's Roasted and Salted Marcona Almonds with Rosemary

Melt butter over low heat. Add the salt, sugar and corn syrup and stir until sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil until mixture becomes foamy and reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. In the meantime, line a baking sheet with wax paper and sprinkle the plain chopped almonds all over it. Pour the caramel over the nuts on the baking sheet, spreading with a spatula to cover. Sprinkle the chopped rosemary marcona almonds over the toffee mixture. Chill in refrigerator (or outside if it's cold enough!) until hardened, about one hour. Peel wax paper away and break into pieces.  Store in an air-tight container until ready to serve/share/eat.

Christmas Candy #7 - Snickers Bar Fudge

Besides truffles, fudge is another "must do" Christmas candy. A Couple in the Christmas Candy Kitchen found a recipe for "candy bar fudge," made with Snickers Bars. We made a couple of minor adaptations and were quite pleased with the result: smooth, chocolatey fudge with a nutty nougat center, much like the Snickers Bar itself. You can find the original here, while ours is below.

Ingredients:

1 bag (11.18-ounces) of Snickers Fun-Size Snacks

3 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 sticks salted butter, plus enough to butter the pan

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line a 9X13 rectangular cake pan with foil. Butter the foil and set pan aside. Cut candy bars into 1/2-inch slices and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to a boil over medium heat. Insert a candy thermometer into the pan and stir mixture until thermometer reaches 234 degrees F. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips, marshmallow creme and vanilla until smooth. Pour half of the mixture into prepared pan. Cover with a layer of Snickers Bar slices. Top with remaining chocolate mixture and spread evenly. Let stand at room temperature to cool. Lift out of pan and remove foil. Cut into squares of desired size. Makes about 7 dozen pieces, depending on cut size.

Christmas Candy #6 - Earl Grey Truffles

Truffles: the ultimate chocolate treat. A Couple in the Christmas Candy Kitchen had to make truffles, and since we love the idea of cooking with tea and have many tea aficionados in our lives, we created the Earl Grey Truffle. Earl Grey is a black tea infused with the flavor and aroma of bergamot, a citrus fruit, one of Amy's favorite scents. This is a tea lover's dream - smooth, creamy chocolate with just a hint of Earl Grey.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 teaspoons loose Earl Grey tea leaves

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

In a small heavy saucepan, bring cream and butter just to boil. Stir in tea leaves, then remove from heat. Allow the tea to steep in the cream for at least five minutes, up to ten minutes. Place the chocolate chips in a separate heavy saucepan. Pour the cream through a fine-mesh sieve onto the chocolate chips. Whisk until mixture is a smooth ganache. Refrigerate until firm, about an hour. Mix the cocoa and confectioner's sugar together in a small bowl. Dust palms lightly with cocoa/sugar mixture and roll teaspoon-sized balls of ganache in your hards, washing and re-coating hands as needed. Dust with additional cocoa/sugar as desired. Store in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Makes about 3 dozen truffles.

Christmas Candy #5 - Chocolate-Dipped Fleur de Sel Caramels

Wondering what to do with the leftover chocolate you had after making those Buckeyes? Can't let good chocolate go to waste! Our suggestion is the latest in A Couple in the Christmas Candy Kitchen's holiday recipes. However, #5 isn't a recipe at all, just a suggestion. We bought Trader Joe's Fleur de Sel Caramels and they are delicious. But aren't most things even more delicious when they are dipped in chocolate? We dipped only half and loved how they look. What do you think?

Christmas Candy #4 - Buckeyes

Buckeyes, aka Peanut Butter Balls are the fourth candy recipe from A Couple in the Christmas Candy Kitchen. They are known as "buckeyes" because when finished, they resemble the nut of a buckeye tree. We love this recipe because there isn't a lot of measuring involved. Also they're smooth and creamy, and, well...peanut butter and chocolate. Enough said.


Note: don't throw away that leftover melted chocolate! Dip something in it! Check later for one suggestion...

Ingredients:

1 28-ounce jar creamy peanut butter

1/2 stick salted butter, softened

1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Line baking sheets with wax paper. In standing mixer, beat peanut butter and butter until creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until mixture is moist and holds together. Using your hands, roll into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheets. Freeze for one hour until hardened. Place the chocolate chips and shortening in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted. Using a toothpick, dip the peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate leaving the top center uncovered. Return to lined baking sheets and refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Christmas Candy #3 - Burnt Molasses Candy

The third offering from A Couple in the Christmas Candy Kitchen comes from a booklet by Bear Wallow Books called Old-Fashioned Candy Recipes. They call it Molasses Skillet Taffy, but Burnt Molasses Candy might be a better name. This is not for everyone - the flavor is strong and distinct. If you like the taste of burnt sugar, you may like this, but in very small doses. The color makes it a good "coal for the naughty" gift.

Ingredients:

2 cups molasses

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon salted butter

Combine ingredients in a large cast iron skillet. Bring to a boil. Continue cooking (stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon) until mixture reaches 310 F on a candy thermometer. Pour mixture into a greased cake pan and refrigerate. When hardened, break into very small pieces.

Christmas Candy #2 - Rum Balls

A Couple in the Christmas Candy Kitchen's second Christmas candy is a favorite with coworkers, neighbors and friends who request it every year - it's Rum Balls. (And right now, we're giggling thinking of the "Schwetty Balls" Saturday Night Live skit, and we hope you are too). It's very easy and makes about six dozen candies. We usually use regular white rum, but spiced or dark rum, or even bourbon offer a darker, deeper flavor that we've enjoyed in the past. A dusting of confectionary sugar over the top offers the illusion of newly fallen snow.

Ingredients:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

3/4 cup rum

2 1/2 cup vanilla wafer crumbs

confectionary sugar for dusting

In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and corn syrup. Stir in rum, then add vanilla wafer crumbs and mix well. Cover and cool in refrigerator until mixture is hard enough to roll into balls. Line a baking sheet with wax paper, and using your hands, roll into 1/2-inch balls and place onto wax paper. Dust with confectionary sugar. Store in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Christmas Candy #1 - Holiday Divinity

It's the weekend before Christmas and all through the house, every creature is stirring...the skillet, that is! It was the weekend of A Couple in the Christmas Candy Kitchen. We're not great bakers, so we rely on the kindness of friends, relatives, neighbors and students for our supply of Christmas cookies. In return, we made a Christmas Candy variety, which we'll also share with you.

Other than some minor adjustments and adaptations, we can't take credit for any of these recipes ourselves. In fact, we don't know where some of them came from - they are just tradition. But we'll share nonetheless in the hopes that people will be forgiving ('tis the season, after all). Special thanks to our weekend visitors Pat and Becky for taste-testing and nut-cracking.

Our first recipe is for Holiday Divinity, which we found in The Christmas Candy Book by Lou Seibert Pappas. Divinity is a sweet, airy egg-white-based candy made with fruit and nuts (we chose Craisins and pistachios for a seasonal color scheme). This (slightly adapted) recipe makes about 4 dozen candies and is a wonderful choice for Christmas sharing.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup roasted pistachio nutmeats, chopped

3/4 cup dried cranberries (Craisins), chopped

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup, and stir to blend. Place over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil. Cover and boil 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and insert a candy thermometer ni the pan. Cook, without stirring, until the temperature reaches 256 F. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat the whites until they hold firm, upright peaks. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and carefully pour the hot syrup into the egg whites, continuing to beat until the mixture cools to room temperature and is very stiff, 7-10 minutes. Blend in the vanilla extract, then fold in the nuts and craisins. Drop the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet using a melon baller. Let stand until set, about one hour. Carefully remove the candies from the paper. Store in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.