Sweets Archives - Page 2 of 5

The Easiest Chocolate Covered Strawberries Ever!

October 21, 2014

I wanted the menu at my mom’s bridal shower to be filled
with the things that she loves so I had to make chocolate covered strawberries.
She will have them any chance she gets and she has taught me how to make the
best and easiest chocolate covered strawberries. Do you want to know our little
secret? Okay, you convinced me. I’ll tell you. I have two words for: Dolci
Frutta. You can buy these little cans of chocolate in bulk at Sam’s Club during
the holidays, or you can buy them throughout the year at most grocery stores.

First, wash and dry your strawberries completely. If the
strawberries are wet at all, the dip doesn’t work as well. Then you simply heat
up the chocolate in the microwave. The trick is to heat up in short amounts of
time then stir the chocolate until it’s melted. The chocolate will not be
completely melted until you stir it. Dip the strawberries in the chocolate then
set out onto a sheet of tin foil until the chocolate has dried. When you’re
done, simply throw away the chocolate container and you have yourself some
tasty chocolate covered strawberries. Hardly any mess and so quick and easy!
You can dip other fruit with this dip too, as well as other things like graham
crackers.

These cute food tags were designed by the super talented
Jess Kasteler of Jess Kasteler Design Studio. She does INCREDIBLE design work;
anything from branding for your Web site to wedding invitations to stationary.
Check out her Web site here!

S’mores Night

August 21, 2014

My sister-in-law recently got married so Tyler and I threw a fun s’mores and hot dog roasting evening in our backyard. We sat around the fire and had a relaxing evening chatting with each other before the wedding rush ensued. It was a great night.

To make the s’more packages, you will need:

– Cellophane bags. I got these at Walmart in the cake decorating section. The brand is Wilton.

– A paper typed out or written that says, “L+J (whatever initials they have) Every Day I Love You S’more”

– Stapler

– Graham cracker cut in half

– 3 squares of Hershey’s chocolate

– 1 large marshmallow

Put graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow in the cellophane bag. Fold bag at top along with paper and staple together.

Have a fun night!

Sweet Cherry Almond Bread

August 8, 2014

This bread is sweet and bright, bursting with cherry and almond flavor!

almond, bread, brunch, recipes, sweet snack

The moment I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. Cherry + almond? Yes, please. It’s so sweet and soft and I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But I won’t. At least while someone’s looking.

The only thing I would change about this recipe based on my experience in making it is I would put the batter into one 8 x 4 inch loaf pan instead of one because I think my loaves came out a little too short.

Sweet Cherry Almond Bread

Printable recipe

Ingredients

Cherry Bread:

One 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt, optional and to taste
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
cherry juice, reserve 1/4 cup
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cherry-Almond Glaze:
1/4 cup reserved cherry juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
about 1 1/2 cups+ confectioners’ sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease and flour one 8×4-inch loaf pan and set aside.
Cherry Bread – Remove cherries from jar and place on a cutting board. Roughly chop them.
Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour (prevents them from sinking during baking) and toss to coat evenly; set cutting board aside. Set jar with the cherry juice aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add 1 3/4 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, optional salt, and whisk to combine; set aside.
In a small mixing bowl or glass measuring cup, combine eggs, oil, all the cherry juice from the jar except 1/4 cup to be reserved for the glaze, almond extract, vanilla extract, and whisk to combine.
Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients and stir to combine; don’t overmix. Batter will be very thick.
Lightly fold in the chopped cherries.
Turn batter out into the prepared pans, smoothing the tops lightly with a spatula. Strategically place a few cherries on top for visual appeal.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until bread is domed, set, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Allow bread to cool in pan on top of a wire rack for about 15 minutes before removing and allowing to finish cooling completely on rack. While bread cools, make the glaze.
Cherry-Almond Glaze – In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup reserved cherry juice, almond extract, about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, and whisk to combine until smooth and satiny. Add sugar until desired consistency is reached. Glaze the bread prior to serving. After the photos were done, I glazed much more liberally, spreading the glaze like butter on the interior of the slices. Bread will keep airtight at room temp for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Do not glaze bread until ready to serve if you plan on storing long-term.
Enjoy!