Chocolates

Jason’s Great Grandma Squires came over this weekend and taught my mom, my sister and I how to dip chocolate and make old fashioned cooked fudge.  It was fantastic, and we all have the expanding waistlines to prove it!  We used most of a 10 pound bar of chocolate and made gifts for everyone on our “nice” list.  And then we started a new family tradition of decorating cookies!  What a fun weekend. 

Easy Mints
¼ C. butter or margarine
2 T. water
¼ t salt
½ t. peppermint oil (3-4 shakes of oil preferred, or lots more of extract)
3 ½ - 3 ¾ C. Powdered Sugar
Heat over low heat butter and water, add salt and extract, gradually add sugar until smooth.  Yields one pound of mints.

Fondant Cherries
Marischino cherries and juice (1 large jar or 3-4 small jars)
6 T. butter
¼ C. evaporated milk
¼ C. reserved cherry juice
2 t. vanilla
½ t. salt
Powdered Sugar until it’s the right consistency, about a 16 oz bag, maybe a touch more

Dry cherries on paper towel, reserve the 1/4 C. of the juice. Warm the butter, milk, cherry juice, vanilla and salt over low heat.  Remove from heat and add powdered sugar until it’s the right consistency, sort of like play dough.  Get some powdered sugar in your hands, flatten the fondant, wrap around cherries and then chill well in the freezer.  Then dip in chocolate.

Peanut Butter Eggs (from Aunt Kat) 
Mix together
4 C. powdered sugar
1 1/2 C. creamy peanut butter
1/4 C. butter or margarine, melted
2-3 T. milk
Mix together, adding milk last.  Shape into eggs, or perhaps next time I will make these into ball-shaped buckeyes and leave the top showing peanut butter so you can tell them from the cherries.  Freeze and then dip into chocolate.

Almond Joys
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 – 1 ½ pounds shredded coconut (large package)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (maybe a little more)
2 T. butter, melted
Almonds
Mix all ingredients.  Shape into ovals, put an almond (or two!) in the center. Chill well, and dip! 

Chocolate Covered Almonds or Peanuts
Stir whichever kind of nuts you like in the leftover chocolate, and dollop by spoonful onto wax paper to dry.