New Recipe-Pecan Nougat Logs

 I made these in 3inch logs but could easily make them shorter to get more out of a batch.  Bite size would be a thought as well.

 Unfortunatley Kadin is still a little to short, but he wanted to get a picture of me chopping pecans.  He was my big helper with the logs.

These are the finished logs. Not the traditional pecan logs that are dipped in caramel(b/c my caramel did not work) but much better if you ask me because they are dipped in chocolate. Yum!

My husband and I had to take a quick trip to Florida a couple of weeks ago with his brother and wife and on the way home through Georgia I found out that they Love Pecan Logs. They had to stop at a little shop and buy some for everyone in their home. I had never tasted one before, so they gave me a sample. Sweet marshmallow in pecans. Jim, Dan's brother, suggested that I should try to make some and see how close I could get to what they fell in love with.  So I did.  As you can tell, they turned out for me.  After they hardened up some, I broke one in half to see if the middle was a soft, delicate, creamy filling like the one I tasted in Georgia. It sure was!  The chocolate gave it a nice crunch and was not overpowering.  I really hope that Jim, Lana and their family enjoy them.  I'm sure they will! 

Oreo Truffles

Well, today I made my first batch of Oreo Truffles. OH MY GOODNESS!  These decadent, rich treats are so addicting, you can't have just one.  I did one package of cookies with cream cheese and it rolled out 58 balls.  I then dipped half in vanilla almond bark and the other half in chocolate.  Placed them back in the freezer till ready for a treat and oh man YUM!  This is a recipe to keep forever I'm afraid.  It has been very hard to keep the boys out of the freezer.  I was so worried that the coating would take away from the cookie flavor but not happening.  You get a crunch of frozen chocolate in your mouth then a creamy blast of oreo and you can't even tell that there is cream cheese binding it all together.  Dan has yet to try one because it has cream cheese in it (lactose allergy) but if he would, I know for sure he would love them like the rest of us.  I am going to try to get him to eat half of one tonight just so he knows what I'm selling and really don't think it will hurt him any since the cookie ratio is much larger than the cheese ratio. We will see.  I am thinking about saving the rest for our church dessert auction on April 3rd so others can see how yummy they are.  But I might show up at Wickmans, Dans work, with them and pass them out for some business publicity.  Not sure yet.  One way or another, these little 2 bite goodies will be ate by someone that loves sweet treats. :)

Report on BonBons

Well, arrived at Ladies retreat with Bon Bons in hand and got rave reviews on them.  I did not have to bring any home thank goodness because I knew they would not get ate here except by me and I did not need them.  On Saturday after the devotion was over I went looking for my container thinking maybe there might be one or two left but could not find the container or any bon bons. Luckily, it was just a through away aluminum container and hope everyone that wanted one got one.  I did learn that I do need to stick with half or less frosting to mix in just to keep the cake texture and so they do not weep or get to moist.  Thanks to all who gave me a report on them. I really do appreciate all words of advice and will put it to good use. I am soon to make some red velvet or german chocolate ones and hope I will beable to sale them.

My Version of Bon Bons

A baked lemon cake-just follow box instructions. I added about 1/3 cup of  lemon juice instead of all water for added flavor.

        After cake cooled, I just crumbeled the cake up and added cream cheese frosting and mixed well.

                          After chilling in fridge, I rolled into small balls.

                         Melted chocolate squares and dipped the balls in.

                                     White chocolate morsals melting

                                Dipping cake balls in white chocolate.

2nd batch of chocolate balls.  I used semi-sweet morsals for these and they turned out much better.

This is half of the finished bon bons.  The white chocolate ones are my favorite.  The cake is moist and full of flavor and very rich.  I am looking forward to letting my church friends try these pretty little treats at the Branson Ladies Retreat.  I hope they give me some good feedback.  I know they will not appeal to all but to those that do like them I know they will give me their opinion and hopefully I will return home with an empty container.  These are very simple to make and would be great in a treat bag for someone special or for an office party or for any special occasion.

Valentines to My Men

Valentines 2011 for the men in my life, big and small.  I normally do a large dinner and a dessert for the family on Valentines, along with a stuffed animal and candy for each. This year we had to change it up some due to money.  I fixed a good dinner that I new everyone would eat without any complaining and a large cake.  Home made chocolate with rich, chocolate frosting. I added a little texture and flavor with sliced cherries in between the layers and on top for some pretty for me.  It was so rich and creamy.  I have to admit, one little slice was enough for us but we had to have 2! :)  Some friends at church had a birthday on Valentines so since the cake was so big I took a piece to them on Wednesday night.  The report came back on Sunday that it was so yummy and decadent.  I really don't make cakes very often because they are time consuming with the decorating, so when I do, I don't do any major piping or fancy decorating. I just swirl on the frosting and its good enough to eat.  It never last long enough in my house to admire anyway.   I hope to have some time to make up some cupcakes and decorate them so I can post some pictures for you all to see.  I know I will have pictures by Friday of my cake truffles since the plan is to take some samples to our church ladies retreat in Branson.  Stay tuned.