Margee's Fudge

My grandma Margee is an excellent cook with several specialties - and every time I try to make one of her recipes, it is just not the same as when she makes it. Doesn't it usually turn out that way when you try to make someone else's signature dish?? Especially with older, handwritten recipes, when you just know there's more to it than what's written down.

Of course, if you go and change the recipe on purpose, yet expect it to have the same qualities as Grandma's, you're going to be in for a surprise! I always do that to myself... The results are always fine and good, but I've decided that no matter what, nothing is better than the real thing when what you want is the real thing. (The exact brands of ingredients may have something to do with it too... Remind me to ask Margee which chocolate she uses...)

That's why everyone looks forward to Christmastime when Margee makes tons of her homemade fudge and passes it around in tins collected over the years, with wax paper in between the layers of chocolate fudge with pecan halves or pieces on each irregular (but perfect) rectangle piece.

My reason this time for altering the recipe is that I didn't have too much chocolate in my cupboard (wha???? it was true), and I had some white chocolate that I never had a reason to use. So I made Chocolate-White Chocolate Swirl Fudge. I made this as a thank you token for some friends, and it got great reviews. But they've never tasted Margee's.

Margee's Original Chocolate Fudge
Margaret Waldrop

18 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 jar marshmallow fluff
2 cups chopped pecans (optional)
1 t. vanilla
4 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/8 t. salt
13 oz. evaporated milk

Butter a 12x7" pan. In a saucepan, put sugar, butter, salt, and evaporated milk. Stir 20 minutes until softball stage (236 degrees). Remove from heat and add marshmallow fluff, nuts (if using), vanilla, and chocolate. Beat until thick, then pour into prepared pan to cool. Once cool, cut into pieces.

-In stead of stirring in the nuts, Margee places pecan halves on the fudge while it's cooling in the pan so they stick. I think she estimates one piece of pecan for each square and cuts the pieces of fudge accordingly once it's cool.

-Chocolate-White Chocolate Fudge variation: Use 9oz. semi-sweet chocolate and 9oz. white chocolate. After combining all ingredients except the chocolate, divide the mixture into two bowls and add the dark chocolate to one bowl and white to the other. Layer them in the pan and swirl with a knife.

Black and White Bagel

This food is perfect for any meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert.

Take a bagel. Put two pieces of dark chocolate on it and toast.
Spread the melty chocolate around that half, and spread cream cheese on the other half.Eat.

Frozen Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Banana Loaf

One of my all time favorite sweet flavor combos is peanut butter, chocolate, and banana. (Definitely my fave milkshake and banana split flavor!) Add some heavy cream, and NOTHING else except some crunchy topping, and you have a pretty perfect dessert in my opinion!

Frozen Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Banana Loaf
I think this is a Martha Stewart recipe, but I found it on another food blog.

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped into small pieces
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 ripe bananas
1 cup heavy cream whipped to stiff peaks (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts chopped (or crumbled Oreos; I used graham crackers because it was the best I had)
nonstick cooking spray and waxed paper for loaf pan

1. Coat an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with cooking spray; line with waxed paper, leaving overhang on both long sides. Set aside.

2. Melt chocolate; cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, in a food processor, purée bananas until smooth.

3. Stir peanut butter into cooled chocolate until combined, then stir in banana purée. Gently fold in whipped cream until combined. Pour into prepared pan; top with peanuts. Fold waxed paper over top; wrap tightly in plastic. Freeze until firm, at least 3 hours.

4. To serve: Remove loaf from pan (run a hot towel across sides and bottom of pan, if necessary). Slice about 1/2 inch thick, as needed; rewrap remaining (unsliced) loaf, and freeze up to 1 month.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

It has been cookie mania over here in my messy kitchen! I've made Potato Chip Cookies, Rosemary Butter Cookies, and these Chocolate Chunk ones. Of course, each one comes with it's own story, so here they are, one at a time.

We call these Mac Cookies because my grandmother, who we called Mac, made these by the thousand every time she visited us from Florida. They are by far the best thing she ever did for us kids, but hey, we'll take what we can get! The recipe is originally from the packaging of Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, though they have changed the recipe since. I didn't add walnuts today, but I usually do (black walnuts when I can get my hands on them), or sometimes pecans. I get my chocolate from Trader Joes, and I use bittersweet, which is less sweet than semi-sweet. You can use either light or dark brown sugar, but I prefer dark. Especially if you add nuts, the batter seems extremely chunky, like there's not enough batter for the chunks of chocolate and nuts, but don't be alarmed! You can make small, bite sized cookies or huge ones and they will all be perfect, just adjust the cooking time a minute or so more or less.Chocolate Chunk Cookies
1-3/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (12 oz.) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

HEAT oven to 375°F.

MIX flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

BEAT butter and sugars in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks and walnuts. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls on to ungreased cookie sheets.

BAKE 12 to 13 minutes or just until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets 1 minutes. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.

Chocolate Cream Pie

One day at home I decided I'd like to make a simple chocolate pie, so I searched the net for a recipe that used ingredients I already had. I got frustrated quickly, even though I have a pantry stocked for baking. But this recipe I can make anytime, with the exception of the Oreo Crust because we don't usually have those on hand. A regular pie crust is perfectly fine; the Oreo Crust just puts it over the top. Everyone's pantry is different, but I think it's more likely that someone will have a can of sweetened condensed milk on hand than a quart of heavy cream. Since I made this pie a couple of different ways, I can offer some optional ingredients because I know it will work either way, and I want to keep it simple and try to avoid trips to the store.

I used my sieve, or mesh strainer, twice in this recipe: once for the egg yolks before they were added to anything, and then again for the entire mixture before it goes into the crust. I ALWAYS sieve eggs before adding them to any cream or custard pie, like pumpkin, coconut, etc. I absolutely hate those little globby bits in the egg and find it necessary without a doubt to remove them. Have you ever noticed one in a forkfull of pumpkin pie? They don't just melt away! Yuck! Secondly, when making a custard on the stovetop, you always run the chance of curdling the eggs, resulting in little globs of cooked egg inside the mixture. Sieving after cooking ensures a super smooth and creamy pie every time. Call me anal, but I promise I'll never make you eat the glob!

Chocolate Cream Pie with Oreo Crust
recipe adapted from recipezaar.com

1 2/3 cups water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa (I only tested with Dutch, but will work with regular cocoa powder)
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (optional, but this adds richness)
1 (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional, and won't make the pie taste like coffee, only gives it a richer flavor overall)
1 (9 inch) Oreo pie crust

Put the 3 egg yolks in a sieve and press through into a small bowl. In a medium saucepan, whisk the cornstarch and cocoa with the water until smooth. Sir in sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and chopped bittersweet chocolate, and cook on medium until chocolate is completely melted and the mixture becomes quite thick, stirring constantly. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter, vanilla, and instant espresso powder. Press through a clean sieve into the baked and cooled pie shell, and chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream.

Oreo Pie Crust
recipe adapted from epicurious.com

21 Oreos (about a row and a half)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter pie dish. Finely grind cookies in a food processor. Add butter and process until mixture is evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan to form thin crust. Bake crust 5 minutes. Transfer crust to rack and cool completely. Can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.

Chocolate Souffle

This was the first time in a very long time that I've attempted a souffle, and I'll definitely be doing it again soon!

So with our steak and potatoes, we had a fantastically simple chocolate souffle. You think they're hard, right? But they're SO not! All you need is chocolate, sugar, butter, and eggs! And whipped cream, but more on that later.......

Chocolate Souffle

recipe from Gourmet Magazine (on foodtv.com)

Souffle can be assembled up to 30 minutes before baking. Keep, covered with an inverted large bowl (do not let bowl touch souffle), at room temperature.

Butter
1/3 cup sugar plus additional for sprinkling
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
3 large egg yolks at room temperature
6 large egg whites

Accompaniment: lightly sweetened whipped cream
Special equipment: a 5 1/2 to 6-cup glass or ceramic souffle dish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Generously butter souffle dish and sprinkle with sugar, knocking out excess.

Melt chocolate in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove bowl from heat and stir in yolks (mixture will stiffen).

Beat whites with a pinch of salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add 1/3 cup sugar, a little at a time, continuing to beat at medium speed, then beat at high speed until whites just hold stiff peaks.

Stir about 1 cup whites into chocolate mixture to lighten, then add mixture to remaining whites, folding gently but thoroughly.

Spoon into souffle dish and run the end of your thumb around inside edge of souffle dish (this will help souffle rise evenly).

Bake in middle of oven until puffed and crusted on top but still jiggly in center, 24 to 26 minutes. Serve immediately.

So if you're anything like me, you will have immedately noticed that I used Reddi Whip; I made a souffle from scratch but sprayed on the whipped cream! I know... but I didn't have any heavy cream, and it was guuuuuuuuuuuud anyway!