Rum Balls are a traditional Christmas treat but most of the recipes I've come across use crushed vanilla wafers or chocolate cookies, not this recipe! These Rum Balls are made with a rich, dark chocolate brownie base that is crumbled and mixed with dark spiced rum (I've spiked mine with vanilla beans!) to create the most delicious "dough" that is then rolled into little balls and coated with sparkling sugar! This recipe in simple, easy and tastes amazing! These balls are best served chilled or at least cool to hold their shape well. They make a terrific addition to any gift basket and are a very welcome hostess gift as well. Here is how you can make your own:

You can find the entire recipe for Rum Balls here. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Generously coat a 12"x17" rimmed baking sheet with Pam and set aside. In a small bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt together the chocolate and butter until smooth and combines. Set bowl aside to cool slightly. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture, then mix in the flour. You will have enough batter to create a shallow layer in the baking sheet. Spread the batter evenly over the baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Let cake cool completely. After cake has cooled, break into small pieces and place in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. I like the turn on the machine and let it break up the cake into small crumbs. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the rum (I used a Spiced Rum that I had added a few vanilla beans to the bottle to give a vanilla essence to the rum) to create a nice dough ball. Using a 1 inch ice cream scoop, make small balls and coat in sanding sugar. When all balls are finished, chill in the fridge for around 2 hours.

For gift giving: wrap each of the balls individually in a small square of plastic wrap and place in a mini-muffin paper. Fit a small rectangle of cardboard (my dad cut up some Macy's shirt boxes! Yeah Dad!) on the bottom of a cello bag and add a small strip of decorative paper. Place two rows of three rum balls each in their muffin papers into the bag, tie with ribbon and add a tag. Store in a cool place before giving.

Looking for a thoughtful yet inexpensive gift? How about a homemade gift of Spicy Hot Cocoa Mix & Fluffy Mexican Vanilla Marshmallows! Treat your friends to a warm and tasty gift that lets them know you are thinking of them! This hot cocoa mix can be made with milk or water- its delicious both ways! The dutch cocoa paired with a touch of spice creates the best "adult" hot cocoa around! Rich and chocolatey, not overly sweet but a perfect foil for the fluffy white marshmallows. These marshmallows are made with a rich Mexican Vanilla Extract that melts perfectly into the hot cocoa. Wrap them up cute with ribbons and tags, add a pretty mug and you have a thoughtful, inexpensive gift that they are sure to love. Here is how you can make your own:

You can find the entire recipe for the Spicy Hot Cocoa here. I followed all the basic ingredients but I added a few shakes of cinnamon, a teaspoon of vanilla powder and a large pinch of cardamom. The most important thing to remember when making this dry mix is: whisk all the ingredients together thoroughly and then pass it thru a sifter or a sieve to get a completely lump-free, soft and powdery mixture. Then whisk again. This will ensure that your finished hot cocoa mix is smooth and rich and velvety with no lumps or chunks! Package your hot cocoa mix in cello bags, tie with ribbon and add a tag with instructions for use. I figured out that one good sized mug takes about 4 Tablespoons Hot Cocoa Mix to 8 oz. (1 cup) hot milk or water.
On to the marshmallows!

You can find the entire recipe for the Homemade Marshmallows here. I followed all the basic ingredients but I substituted Mexican Vanilla for the regular vanilla extract. You could also try peppermint extract for a pepperminty marshmallow! I also substituted a 9"x9" pan lined in parchment paper and well sifted with powdered sugar instead of a glass 8"x12" pan because I wanted thicker marshmallows. Combine gelatin with cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and let sit. On the stove, combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and water in a small saucepan over medium high heat until the temperature reads around 240-250 degrees. With the mixer on low speed, carefully drizzle the hot syrup onto the gelatin. When combined, carefully turn up the speed to high and whisk for around 10-15 minutes adding the Mexican Vanilla extract toward the end of that time. Carefully scrape the fluffy marshmallow mixture into the powdered sugar coated pan. Use damp fingers to smooth the sticky mixture out as evenly as possible. I found that my damp fingers worked better than any spatula at smoothing out the surface without sticking. Dust with more powdered sugar. Let the pan sit out uncovered overnight to dry out. The next morning turn the marshmallows out onto a powdered sugar coated cutting board and use an oiled knife or pizza cutter to cut into squares. Dust all the sides of the marshmallows with more powdered sugar and then package in a cello bag using wax paper squares in between each marshmallow. Tie tightly with a ribbon and add a tag. Homemade Spicy Hot Cocoa Mix and Fluffy Mexican Vanilla Marshmallows: a thoughtful and delicious holiday gift that's sure to please! Happy Holidays!

What better way to get into the Holiday Spirit than to make and decorate a real gingerbread house? With a few basic ingredients and some imagination you can make a house as simple or as elaborate as you like! This is my second gingerbread house (you can see last years house here) and its pretty big: 13"w x 6"d x 13"h. This mansion was inspired by a gingerbread house kit that my dad saw in a magazine. You can buy that kit here or do like we did and make your own templates! Once you have your templates cut out its time to make the dough. You can find the recipe for gingerbread house dough here. Roll the dough out to 1/8" thick and put the rolled dough into the freezer for and hour so that it is fairly stiff. The stiff dough will be much easier to cut and your edges will be nice and crisp. Trace around your template with a sharp knife and save the dough scraps. Keep re-rolling and cutting until all your pieces are finished. If you are going to have "real" windows make sure to cut them out as well. Chill all the cut-outs in the freezer until ready to bake. Keeping the dough cold will help insure that your design stays intact! Bake each of the pieces until lightly browned and cool completely on a wire rack. While the cookies are cooling, make the royal icing. You can find the recipe for royal icing here. Place the icing into a piping bag with a small round piping tip. When the cookies are completely cooled you can draw your designs right onto the cookie with a pencil and then trace over with the royal icing (I like to decorate my house before assembly but you can decorate later if you wish). Let the icing dry overnight before assembling the house. The next day I made sugar glass panes for my windows. You can do this by melting 1 1/2 cups sugar with 1/4 cup water and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a heavy bottom saucepan. Melt over high heat until slightly golden in color and the temperature should be around 282-300 degrees on a digital or candy thermometer. Pour window-sized puddles of the melted sugar onto a silpat and let set until cool and hardened. If you need to trim some of the windowpanes, use a sharp knife to score the pane and then snap apart. Remove the windowpanes from the silpat and adhere to the back of the cookie with royal icing as glue. Let set for 30 minutes to an hour before assembling the house. When the windows are set you can begin assembling the house by using either royal icing or carmelized sugar for glue (this is a good tutorial for using carmelized sugar for glue). The carmelized sugar has the advantage of setting instantly, however that means you can't move pieces around once you've glued them together! I used the carmelized sugar this time and it is really great–No waiting for icing to dry! If you use icing, have some canned goods on hand to help prop up the house until dry. Once the house is secure you can finish decorating with more royal icing, candies and sparkling sugars. Remember: icing covers all mistakes! I used powders sugar for "snow" on the roof and dusted on some sparking disco dust for lots of shimmer. I left a hole in the back of my house so that I could insert lights that make the sugar windows on the house glow like its lit from within! Happy Holidays!

P.S. If you'd like to decorate a gingerbread house but don't want to bother with the baking and mess you can run down to William-Sonoma and buy a whole pre-baked kit here for only $20! Or you can buy a pre-made mansion here, but it will set you back $300!!

Maple Brown Sugar Bourbon Brittle
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup (or maple-flavored syrup)
1/2 cup bourbon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup salted cocktail peanuts

Line a baking sheet with a silpat and set in a 200 degree heated oven.
In a medium saucepan combine both sugars, maple syrup and bourbon over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and the syrup comes to a boil. Using a candy thermometer or digital thermometer continue to boil without stirring until the temperature reaches 290-300 degrees. Remove pan from heat and quickly stir in the baking soda, vanilla extract and salt. The mixture will foam up. Add the peanuts and mix quickly then spread the candy in the heated baking sheet using an oiled spatula. Try to get the candy spread as thinly as possible. Let the pan and the candy cool completely for about an hour then break into pieces for serving. Store in a covered container or ziplock bag.

This quick and delicious Mixed Berry Crisp is a terrific ending to any meal. The warm berries coupled with the crisp slightly spicy topping (use gingersnaps!) make for a wonderful fall dessert. You can use whatever berries you like, I used a blueberry, blackberry, raspberry mix. To add a little extra flavor I mixed a few tablespoons of orange liqueur in with the berries before baking. My dad helped me out by chopping the nuts and grinding up the gingersnaps! Thanks Dad! Here is how you can make your own Berry Crisp:
You can find the whole recipe here. Start by placing 4 ramekins on a baking sheet and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the Crisp Topping stir together the flour, sugar, chopped nuts and crushed gingersnaps (crush the cookies quickly in a food processor) in a bowl until combined. Work the butter into the dry ingredients until it becomes crumbly and kind of sandy. Set the Crisp Topping aside. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the frozen berries, sugar, cornstarch, 1/2 cup of the crisp topping and 2 or 3 tablespoon of orange liqueur (if using). Divide the mixture evenly between the four ramekins. Top each of the ramekins with approximately 1/2 cup of the remaining crisp (You will probably had some topping left over. Just store in a ziplock baggie in the freezer to use later). Place the ramekins on the sheet pan and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until browned and bubbling. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a real treat!

I have several adult friends that LOVE Rice Krispy Treats, you know the ones with melted marshmallows and margarine mixed with Rice Krispy Cereal? Well, I'm not quite a fan of the Rice Krispy Treat, I think they taste overly sweet with a plastic-like texture, so when I saw this recipe on the SmittenKitchen blog for a more "sophisticated crispy treat" I had to try it out! The key update on the old classic is in the browning of the butter before adding the marshmallows. Brown butter takes on a rich almost nutty flavor that is very distinctive and appealing. Add in a little coarse salt and you've taken lowly rice crispy treats and made Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats! I have to say, my Dad hates marshmallows and rice crispy treats....but he loved these! I bet you will too. Here is how you make them:
You can find the entire recipe for Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats here. Start by buttering an 8x8 inch pan or you can do like I did and line the entire pan with aluminum foil and spray with Pam for super easy cleanup. Set the pan aside.

In a large pot melt a stick of butter on medium-low heat stirring frequently making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan. The butter will become foamy and then start to get golden brown. Watch the butter carefully and stir constantly because it goes from golden to burned quickly! When the butter looks nice and golden brown remove from the heat and quickly stir in the 10 oz. of marshmallows until they become all melted and smooth. Add in 6 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal and 1/4 tsp. of sea salt or you can use coarse kosher salt like I did. Mix well to coat and spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Using a oiled spatula (or you can just spray some Pam on your hands like i did) press the mixture evenly into the pan. Make sure to press down very firmly as this will help ensure that your treats don't fall apart when you try to cut them. Let the treats cool completely in the pan. When cool, remove from pan and cut into small squares. To package mine for gift giving I simply cut some small squares of colored wax paper and placed in between the treats. I wrapped them up tightly in plastic wrap, taped the ends together and tied with a ribbon and added a tag. Easy and fun!

These cute little candy bites are a recipe that I found in the fun cookbook entitled "You Made That Dessert?" by Beth Lipton. The recipe calls for only four ingredients to make around 35 tasty candies. The candies are sweet and crunchy with a nice peanut butter butterscotch flavor. I added a little sea salt topping to mine for some extra flavor. The recipe is pretty basic and calls for rolling the candies into little balls. I decided to take it a step further and dress them up a little by using a candy mold and some melted chocolate. I think they turned out nice and would make a fun gift! Here is how you can make your own candies: You can find the basic recipe here.  After you crush the cornflakes, add them to the melted peanut butter and butterscotch chips and mix in some vanilla extract. I used an organic unsweetened peanut butter because I wanted a true peanut flavor and not a whole lot of sugar as the butterscotch chips are very sweet! After the mixture is well combined set aside. Because I wanted my candies to have a more uniform shape I used this handy-dandy plastic candy mold that i got at the hobby store for around $2. I wanted to use up the left over candy melts from my caramel apple post, so i melted the chocolate in a squeeze bottle and poured a little into the mold. Next I used a small paint brush to brush the chocolate up the sides. The chocolate filled mold went into the fridge for 5 minutes to set. When set, I scooped out a small mound of peanut butter butterscotch mixture into the mold and then topped it with more melted chocolate. I sprinkled a little sea salt over the top of the chocolate and chilled the candies again for around 15 minutes. When completely chilled I popped the candies out of the mold and drizzled a little melted white chocolate across the tops. I placed the finished candies  into individual mini-muffin cups that I found at the grocery store (73 cups for 99¢) and set them into a box for gift giving. You can also by-pass the chocolate and just scoop some of the peanut butter-butterscotch mixture directly into the molds and top with some chocolate sprinkles. Chill and unmold. Or even skip the mold by rolling the peanut butter-butterscotch mixture into small balls and then rolling the balls in chocolate sprinkles or chopped salted peanuts! Voila, you've got lots of yummy candies for you and your friends!

Here is a sweet, spicy and crunchy Halloween snack sure to please: Sweet & Spicy Popcorn Crunch! This easy to make caramel corn gets its spicy kick from a full 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper added to a sweet caramel syrup that gets poured over a big bowl of freshly popped popcorn and salted peanuts before baking in the oven until nicely crisped, browned and crunchy. The resulting popcorn crunch is delightfully addictive with its unusual crisp caramelized sweet/spicy flavor. To make this recipe really easy, use microwave popcorn! I used around 2 1/2 packages of buttered PopSecret Microwave Popcorn. The butter and extra salt in the microwave popcorn give the finished caramel crunch an even better flavor. Here is how you can make yours: You can find the full recipe for Sweet and Spicy Popcorn Crunch here. If you are using microwave popcorn, go ahead and pop up about 3 bags. Pour 2 1/2 bags worth of popped corn (minus the uncooked kernels) and 1 cup salted peanuts into a large bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and line two baking sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper. In a medium pot over medium heat melt together the butter, sugar and corn syrup. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the heat up to medium-high and continue to cook until golden brown and bubbly. Swirl the pot occasionally so the syrup doesn't burn, this should take around 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the salt and cayenne pepper then immediately pour mixture over the popcorn and stir to incorporate. Try to cover as much of the popcorn with the syrup as possible. Divide the popcorn evenly between the two baking sheets and bake for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let the baked popcorn cool before breaking apart into crunchy pieces. Put into a big bowl, grab a blanket and turn on the spooky movies. Happy Halloween Everyone & Thanks For Checking Out My Blog!

Caramel Apples- the quintessential Halloween party treat. Flash-back to lots of sticky caramel stuck in little teeth and apple juice dripping down little chins. Lots of fun then but how to recreate that idea with a more grown-up twist for now? Hmmm....how about Caramel Apples with Bourbon Laced Caramel, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and for an extra spicy/salty kick: crushed Wasabi Peas and chopped Wasabi Almonds?! These are seriously good: the wasabi peas and almonds are the perfect spicy and salty compliment to the sweet white and dark chocolate while a touch of bourbon adds a little extra smoky flavor element to the buttery caramel before crunching down into the tart, crisp, juicy apple. Don't you just want one now? Here is how you can make your own:
This recipe will make approximately six small-medium sized caramel apples. You will need:
• 22 oz. (2 bags) Kraft Premium Caramel Bits (or 22 oz. of regular caramels unwrapped)
• 2 Tbls. of bourbon & 2 Tbls. water (or you can just use 4 Tbls. water)
• 6 small-medium sized apples, all appoximately the same size and shape
• 6 sticks (some bags of caramel will come with sticks/can also find at hobby shops)
• white chocolate candy melts or white chocolate
• dark chocolate candy melts or dark chocolate
• wasabi peas (can be found at Trader Joe's)
• wasabi almonds

Choose apples that are relatively small as they are easier to coat in the caramel. I used bright green Granny Smith apples because of their crisp tart flavor/texture and relatively uniform shape and smaller size.
Start by washing the apples really well in warm water with some vinegar added. The vinegar helps remove the wax found on the outside of the apples. If you leave the wax on the apples the caramel will slide right off! After scrubbing the apples remove the stems and dry them thoroughly. Using your sticks, carefully skewer each apple thru the stem end going down an inch into the apple to secure. Line a 1/2 sheet pan with parchment or silpat, set aside. Make sure you have room set aside in your fridge for this sheet pan! Mix together the 2 Tbls. of bourbon and 2 Tbls. water with the 22 oz. of Caramel Bits into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally with a silicone spatula or spoon until the caramel is smooth and melted. Hold an apple by the stick over the melted caramel and coat with the caramel by spooning over the apple letting the excess drip off back into the pan. Transfer the coated apple to the lined 1/2 sheet pan. Repeat process with remaining apples then place pan of apples in fridge to chill for 30 minutes to an hour. While the apples are chilling, crush the wasabi peas to a fine crumb using a food processor. I wanted to go for the texture of Shake-N-Bake so I made mine as fine as possible. Place the finely crushed wasabi peas in a wide shallow bowl. Using the food processor again, chop the almonds until they are fairly fine. Place the chopped almonds in a wide shallow bowl and mix with some of the crushed wasabi peas. (Of course you can always keep your peas and almonds chunky if you prefer!) Set bowls aside. When the apples have finished chilling, place the white chocolate candy melts into the top pan of a double boiler set over medium low heat- try not to let the water boil. Alternatively you can melt them in the microwave, following the instructions on the bag. When the white chocolate has become smooth and melted, remove the caramel apples from the fridge. Holding the apple by the stick, quickly pour the chocolate over the apple using a spoon. You will notice that the chocolate will start to melt the caramel. Just keep working quickly and transfer the apple back onto the 1/2 sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining apples and place pan into fridge for a minute or two  to lightly set the chocolate. Remove from fridge. Holding the apple by the stick roll/press it into the wasabi peas and/or almonds going all around the sides, about half way up the apple. Repeat with remaining apples. When finished, place the apples back into the fridge for another 20-30 minutes. While the apples are chilling, melt the dark chocolate melts in the top bowl of the double boiler (or use the microwave) until smooth and melted. I poured the melted chocolate into a large squeeze bottle to drizzle over the tops of the apples but you could easily just use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the apples. Remove apples from the fridge and drizzle the dark chocolate over the tops of the apples letting it run down the sides of the apple. Sprinkle chocolate with remaining crushed wasabi peas and almonds. Place apples back into the fridge to chill completely. When apples are finished chilling you can either serve them (they cut easier when left out to room temperature for a little while) or you can bag them up for gift giving or party favors. I made a "leaf" tag for my apples and tied each bag with a bright orange ribbon. For even more tips and ideas for caramel apples check out this great site: King Arthur Bakers. Whatever flavors you decide to use, everyone will love these caramel apples!