Halloween Treats

The American Heart Association will be having a Halloween bake sale at work and I decided to bake some treats. This easy never-fail fudge recipe is a staple at our house during the holidays. Sarah's friends will come over and sit with the tin of fudge on their laps.

Easy Fudge

3/4 cup margarine or butter

3 cups sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 pkg (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 jar ( 7 oz) jet puffed marshmallow creme

1 tsp. vanilla essence

1. Butter a 13 x 9 inch glass pan.

2. Put sugar, milk and butter into a heavy saucepan and cook over a medium heat; stirring constantly.

3. When mixture comes to a gentle rolling boil; cook for an additional 5 minutes.

4. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in chocolate chips until completely dissolved.

5. Add marshmallow creme and mix thoroughly.

6. Pour into prepared pan and set aside to cool. I usually will let the fudge set overnight before cutting into squares.

This bundt cake is a new recipe I tried out. It is a very moist cake that is wonderful with tea or coffee.

Milk Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 milk chocolate candy bar (7 oz.) broken into pieces

1/2 cup chocolate syrup

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

1. In a heavy saucepan melt the candy bar pieces with the chocolate syrup; stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

4. Stir in chocolate mixture and vanilla.

5. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, starting and ending with the flour.

6. Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch fluted tube or bundt pan. Bake at 350 deg. for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes in pan before removing and cooling on a wire rack.

7. When cake is completely cool decorate with powdered sugar or a chocolate glaze. I did a Sandra Lee and used two tablespoons of canned fudge frosting that I melted over low heat and then drizzled over the cake. When the drizzle was almost set I mixed about two heaping tablespoons of powdered sugar with enough milk to make a glaze. I colored this with orange coloring, put it into a sandwich bag, cut a tiny piece of the tip and drizzled the orange glaze over the chocolate one.

Note: I used Hershey's milk chocolate bar for this recipe. And when you eat this cake you can actually get a subtle underlying flavor of the chocolate bar! (Since this is a new recipe I put a little batter in a ramekin and baked that for a taste ... yummy).

Filets Mignon with Mustard Caper Sauce

I made this for a dinner party many years ago and this has become a family favorite. Sarah will come home from anywhere for this meal.

6 loin tenderloins steaks, 1 1/2 inch thick

1/2 cup dry vermouth or good white wine

3 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. thinly sliced green onions

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream

2 Tbsp. capers

2 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 beef buillon cube

1. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, in hot butter, cook the steaks until the undersides are browned. 4- 5 minutes on each side for rare and about 8 - 10 minutes for well done. Remove steaks to heat proof dish and place in 300 degree oven to keep warm while you make the sauce.

2. Reduce heat to medium. To drippings in skillet add vermouth and green onions and cook about 2 minutes, stirring to loosen brown bits on bottom of pan.

3. Stir in water, heavy cream, capers, mustard, salt, pepper and buillon cube; heat sauce to boiling.

4. To serve: either pass sauce in a gravy boat or spoon over filets and sprinkle chopped green onions.

Note: I like the sauce a little thicker so I mix a heaping teaspoon of corn flour/starch with 1 Tbsp. of water and add it last to the sauce. Turn the heat down to low when you do this and stir constantly so the sauce doesn't clump. This is a very forgiving sauce and you can experiment with different types of mustard and wines. When I am out of vermouth, I have used a good drinking white wine and it's been just as good. This sauce is also good with salmon.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is Sarah's favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and she actually makes it better than I do now. She mixes the batter and I bake the cookies.

2 sticks butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

1. Mix flour, baking powder & salt together in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Beat butter or margarine with the two sugars until light and creamy.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Beat in vanilla extract.

5. Fold in flour in two additions.

6. Mix in chocolate chips. Refrigerate batter for two hours or overnight.

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls on baking stone or lightly greased cookie pan.

8. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 - 8 minutes before removing from pans to cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before storing in airtight tins.

Note: This makes a crisper cookie but if you'd like a slightly softer cookie, just add an additional 1/4 cup flour to make 2 1/2 cups.

Chunky Chip Cookies

This is my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe which uses four different kinds of chocolate but is just as good with only two (semi-sweet and dark chocolate). This recipe makes about 8 1/2 dozen cookies, so I usually half the recipe or if you make a full batch, you can freeze the other half of the dough.

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup vanilla or white chocolate chips

4 squares (1 oz each) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup English toffee bits or almond brickle chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter & shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

3. Rest dough in refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart. I use a small round ice cream scoop to measure out my dough so all the cookies are the same size. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until lightly brown.

5. Cool for 2 - 3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. They are absolutely superb eaten warm too.

Lemon Squares

Sarah's grandmother and Aunty Cathy love lemon squares. Of all the recipes I have tried this one is the easiest to make and is always a hit. They are very good with coffee for a midmorning break or at teatime. You may have to make more than one batch!

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Filling:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. grated lemon peel

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, butter and sugar. Pat into a ungreased 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

2. For filling: in a small bowl beat eggs. Add the sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon juice and peel, beat until frothy.

2. Pour the lemon mixture over the hot crust and bake for another 20 minutes until light golden brown.

3. Cool the pan on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into squares.

Note: If you like a more tangy lemon square add more lemon peel and another tablespoon of lemon juice.

Chocolate Chip Scones

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

2 Tbsp cold butter

1 egg

3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

2. In a small bowl, mix egg and cream together. Stir into dry ingredients until just mixed. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Turn onto a floured board and knead gently 6 - 8 times. Pat into a 6-inch circle and cut into 6 wedges. Separate the wedges and place an inch apart on an ungreased baking tray.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 - 20 minutes. Remove from baking tray onto a cooling rack. Serve warm.

Strawberry Trifle

This is a favorite summertime dessert. It is easy to make, it looks pretty and it is delicious.

1 yellow cake mix (butter recipe) or any butter or pound cake

1 quart fresh strawberries

1 8 oz. container of Cool Whip or two cups of whipped cream

2 Tbsp. sugar

One Day Before:

1. Prepare cake mix according to directions and bake in rectangular pan.

2. Wash and dry strawberries; cut the stems off and slice. Save a strawberry for decoration.

3. Place the sliced strawberries in a container with a lid. Add sugar and mix. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight.

To Assemble Trifle:

1. Slice cake into two-inch slices.

2. Arrange a single layer of cake slices in the bottom of a trifle bowl. Cut cake slices to fill in gaps. You want a nice solid layer of cake.

3. Spoon half of strawberry slices over cake slices and sprinkle juice over.

4. Spread half of Cool Whip over the strawberry layer.

5. Place another layer of cake over the Cool Whip layer.

6. Add last half of strawberries over the cake layer.

7. End with a last layer of Cool Whip. Decorate with the whole strawberry.

8. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours.