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I don't know if anything I've ever eaten has tasted as much like Christmas as these wonderful truffles, the recipe provided by Orson Gygi. The mixture of ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon were a perfect combination with the chocolate and one we'll make again for many Christmases to come. The recipe below yields about 8 dozen truffles. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS 24 oz. Peter’s Ultra milk chocolate 8 oz. Heavy cream 1/4 cup Molasses 1/2 tsp. Ginger 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg 1/4 tsp. Cloves 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
DIRECTIONS 1. Heat heavy cream to near boil. 2. Remove from heat and add molasses, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.
3. Allow to steep for approximately 30 minutes. 4. Reheat and add Peter’s Ultra milk chocolate, mixing until reaching a smooth consistency.
5. Allow to set up and firm in the refrigerator for several hours.
6. When firm, scoop or form into balls and dip centers into dipping chocolate.
7. Sprinkle with Ginger powder.
December 27, 2010
Buckeyes
Buckeyes are a favorite candy from Ohio, named after the horse-chestnut tree, or buckeye. These candies are made from balls of a peanut butter center dipped close to the top to resemble the buckeye nut. The trick to these is getting just the right consistency to the peanut butter center. If too little is used, the centers won't be firm enough and won't hold shape. If too much is used, the centers will be too crumbly. This was the first time I had made them and they were definitely a hit on the Christmas plate of goodies. The recipe below comes from my "Chocolates and Confections" book by Peter Greweling and makes approximately 5 dozen. Enjoy!
DIRECTIONS 1. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. 2. Cream together the peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed.
3. Add the confectioner’s sugar slowly until the mixture forms a workable dough. Add up to ½ cup more sugar if necessary.
4. Remove the mixture from the machine.
5. Using a teaspoon, scoop out balls of the buckeye mixture and place the portions on the sheet pans.
6. Using your hands, roll the portions into round balls 1 ¼ inches in diameter, then return to the sheet pan. 7. Chill the formed buckeyes for approximately 20 minutes. 8. Impale each buckeye lightly with a toothpick to use as a handle for dipping chocolate. 9. Holding a buckeye by the toothpick, dip it in the tempered chocolate, leaving a ½ inch circle of the center uncoated on top.
10. Place on a prepared sheet pan.
11. Remove the toothpick and smooth the small hold on top of the candy. 12. Allow the chocolate to set completely. 13. Store at room temperature, tightly sealed.
December 23, 2010
We Believe in Santa
The text below comes from a talk entitled "The Man Who Would Be Santa" by James E. Faust from the 1998 First Presidency Christmas Devotional. This sums up how Jeni and I and our kids feel about Santa.
"No one can measure the effect of an unselfish act of kindness. By small, simple things great things do indeed come to pass. Of course gifts given and gifts received make Christmas special. For many children Christmas Eve is a very long night as they look forward with eager anticipation to the gifts Santa brings, which is why children love Santa Claus. Let me share what someone once said about Santa Claus: First of all, he's a joyous individual. People are attracted to joyous individuals as filings are attracted to a magnet. Next, Santa Claus is interested in making others happy. He increases the happy moments in the life of everyone he meets. He loves his work; he gets fun out of his job. He is childlike, simple, humble, sincere,and forgiving. Finally, he is a giver. His philosophy is to give himself away inservice. He is a friend to everyone. He smiles.Perhaps you and I could attain greater happiness if we emulated Santa Claus a little more, for his way is the way of theInfant Jesus also. We can all reach out like Santa Claus and spread happiness to those around us.
This delicious cookie recipe combines a rich chocolate cookie with the crunch of pecans and sweetness of caramel, much like the Turtle Chocolates the cookie is named after. Very easy to make, this one is going to become a holiday staple for us. The recipe below yields about 30 cookies. I doubled the batch so the ingredients in the pictures may look a little more full than if you just make one batch. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS 1 cup all-purpose flour ½ cup cocoa powder ¼ tsp salt 8 Tbs unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 large egg, separated plus 1 egg white 2 Tbs milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 ¼ cups pecans, chopped fine 14 soft caramel candies 3 Tbs heavy cream
DIRECTIONS 1. Combine flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.
2. With electric mixer on medium high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
4. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined.
5. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
6. Adjust oven rack to upper middle and lower middle positions and heat oven to 350 F. 7. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 8. Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy.
9. Place pecans in another bowl. 10. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, then dip in egg whites and roll in pecans. 11. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
12. Using ½ tsp measure, make indentation in center of each ball.
13. Bake until set, about 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. 14. Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
15. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently re-press existing indentations. 16. Fill each with ½ tsp caramel mixture.
17. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
December 18, 2010
16 Years
I continue to be so grateful for my marriage to Jeni, now 16 years in the making. Despite health, financial, employment and other difficulties during that time, we've been able to endure and in Jeni's case, endure it well. I stand in awe of her resiliance, her patience and her faith. She is grounded in the simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is those truths that define her character. She is humble, kind, quick to forgive and full of charity. I am thankful to be able to celebrate another year by her side. Happy Anniversary Jen - I love you.
December 11, 2010
Merry Christmas 2010
We are continuing the tradition we started last year with our family Christmas Card, using our blog to deliver our annual Holiday greeting. If you're interested in what we've been up to during 2010, feel free to browse through the blog posts from this year in the archives section on the left side of this page. You'll see school plays, musicals and concerts, recipes, scouting awards and camps, home improvements, family trips, more recipes, and a new dog. Did I mention recipes? Most of the major events of this year can be found here.
We love this season of the year more than any other because it helps turn our attention to God’s great mercy and love in the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ, to this world. (John 3:16-17) Our minds have gone this year to the shepherds that were abiding in the field that first Christmas night and we have pondered their response following the angels’ message.
“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:15-16)
These shepherds came “now” and “with haste” to find Jesus. They felt the majesty of the message and left all else to seek Him. It is so easy in our lives to get distracted by the cares of the world and as a result our journey to find Jesus often gets delayed or sidetracked. We would be wise to follow the example of the shepherds. We too can put aside the cares of this world “now,” and cast the trappings of sin and the daily distractions behind us “with haste” in order to seek Him. We can do this by pondering more frequently the majesty of God’s message, by being a little kinder, a little more repentant, a little more quick to forgive and extend mercy to others. This Christmas our family has renewed our committment to follow the shepherds’ great example in giving the greatest priority to that which is most important, our search for and then emulation of Jesus.
In that spirit, please enjoy the video below, “The Shepherd’s Carol” by Bob Chilcott, performed by the King’s College Cambridge Choir.
We stood on the hills, Lady, our day's work done, Watching the frosted meadows that winter had won. The evening was calm, Lady, the air so still, Silence more lovely than music folded the hill. There was a star, Lady, shone in the night, Larger than Venus it was and bright, so bright. Oh, a voice from the sky, Lady, it seemed to us then Of God being born in the world of men. And so we have come, Lady, our day's work done, Our love, our hopes, ourselves we give to your son.
We hope that you and your families have a wonderful Christmas and a great new year. We appreciate our association and friendship with you and pray that it may continue throughout the years to come.
With love,
Ro, Jen, Maddy and Joey Shearer
Picture above is "The Birth of Christ" by Carl Bloch
December 10, 2010
The Empty Room
Our ward put on a play called "The Empty Room" last night after our annual Christmas dinner. Maddy had a brief role as Mary and sang "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant. It was a wonderful production that lasted almost an hour, telling the Christmas story from the perspective of the Innkeeper. Below are pictures of the cast and crew.
Shakespeare 2010
Earlier this year Maddy and Joey headed down to Cedar City with their Jr. High Shakespeare team for the annual Utah Shakespearean Festival. Joey was involved in one acting sketch and Maddy was in acting, dancing and singing sketches. Below are pictures from the trip as well as a video of Maddy's Dance and Maddy and Joey's acting group. Jeni and I are really having fun watching their talents develop in this area of the arts.
December 08, 2010
Sponge Candy
I finally found a recipe for sponge candy or seafoam that works! This comes from a new book I recently bought called "Chocolates and Confections" by Peter Greweling. Growing up one of my favorite candy bars was the Violet Crumble which this recipe imitates. The only problem I found with the recipe below was that I couldn't get the candy out of the pan. So, with my great wisdom and kitchen experience, I decided to use a chisel and a hammer to lightly get it out and ended up shattering the pan it was in. I either didn't butter it enough or used the wrong kind of pan. Thankfully the candy still tasted great, other than the small bits of glass that were a bit too crunchy. Just kidding. Also, the picture above is not mine, though my candies did look like that. I guess I was so distraught about shattering the pan that I forgot to take a final picture. The recipe below yields at least 100 pieces (depending on the size of your breaks) and one shattered pan. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS ¼ tsp gelatin 1 tsp cold water 24 oz sugar 12 oz Light Corn Syrup 8 oz water 1 ½ oz honey ½ oz baking soda, sifted 24 oz milk chocolate, tempered for dipping
DIRECTIONS 1. Brush a 9x13 inch baking pan with soft butter and dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour.
2. Mix the gelatin into the cold water in a small bowl or cup. Set aside. 3. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 4 quart saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil.
4. Boil covered for 4 minutes, uncover, insert a thermometer, and continue cooking without stirring until it reaches 280 F. 5. Add the honey and continue cooking until the syrup reaches 310 F. Remove from the heat and allow to sit undisturbed until the bubbling stops, about 2 minutes.
6. Whisk the gelatin into the hot sugar. Be certain that it has been mixed in well.
7. Whisk the baking soda into the mixture. Whisk vigorously to thoroughly incorporate the baking soda.
8. Return the batch to the heat and whisk over the heat for 30 seconds. The mixture will rise up in the pan. 9. Pour immediately into the prepared baking pan and leave undisturbed to cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
10. Invert the pan on a piece of parchment paper and tap out the sponge candy. Do not use a hammer and chisel or you will end up with this.
11. Break into the desired size pieces using a knife.
