Candies: Rocky Road Drops | Submitted By: Shannon

These are wonderful to give to friends as gifts. We make them every year at Christmas. You can change quantities and ingredients as needed.

From Allrecipes Daily Recipes for Desserts.

It’s fast enough to put together on a weeknight, but so delicious that I proudly serve it to company as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Apple Apricot Dessert

• 1 lb cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 can (14 oz) apricot halves in natural juice, drained
• Sugar to taste
• 4 slices bread (preferably whole wheat)
• 1 ½ oz butter or margarine
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Place chopped apple pieces in a large saucepan. Add the lemon juice and 1 tbsp of water and toss well. Slowly bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the apples are soft.

While the apples are cooking, slice the apricots and add to the apples for the last few minute. Add sugar to taste and set aside.

Preheat the grill to hot and grill the pieces of bread until deliciously golden brown. Butter the slices of bread on one side and sprinkle with cinnamon (and if desired some more sugar). Place under the grill again until hot and bubbly. Cut the bread into bite-size pieces.

Serve the hot fruit in bowls and top with the toasted bread.

The fruit mixture also makes a great pancake or waffle topping on a Sunday morning.

• 1 cup cocoa
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla

Combine cocoa and sugar in a saucepan and whisk in water and corn syrup. Let mixture come to a full boil over medium heat and boil for approximately 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Let the sauce cool down until it thickens, cover and store it in refrigerator until needed.

Yogurt Popsicle Treat

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups plain yogurt (ideally low-fat)
2 small bananas
2/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate (undiluted)

Combine yogurt, bananas and orange juice in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour mixture into Popsicle containers and put in freezer.

This is a very easy to make and guilt-free treat for the whole family.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Custard

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeds removed
2 teaspoons canola oil
4 eggs
1 3/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions:

Brush the entire squash with the canola oil.  Place cut side won on a baking sheet.  Heat the oven up to 400 degrees.  Bake the squash for 55 minutes.  The squash should be fork tender when done.  Set the baked squash aside until cool enough to handle with your hands.  Bring the oven temperature down to 300 degrees.  Once the squash has cooled remove the skin.  Place the flesh into the blender and puree until smooth.  Place 2 cups of the puree into a large mixing bowl.  Add the eggs.  Pour in the half and half and the maple syrup.  Blend together until completely combined and very smooth.  Sprinkle in the salt and pepper and stir to incorporate into the mixture.  Very lightly spray a ceramic baking dish with a non stick cooking spray.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.  Fill a slightly larger pan 1/2 full of water.  Place the baking dish into the water filled pan.  Bake 50 minutes or until the custard sets and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Be sure to cool before cutting.

Serves 6

I make huge batches of different versions of fudge as Christmas presents each year and now is the perfect time for me to experiment with new recipes. With that said, here’s my new favorite. The berries really brighten things up and even someone who isn’t into rich chocolaty foods will like this one. The almonds in this recipe give the fudge a nice crunch.

Berry and Almonds Fudge Recipe

12 ounces good quality white chocolate
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds, toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1 tablespoon grated orange peel

In a large microwave bowl place the white chocolate and milk together.  Microwave on high for about 2 minutes.  Chocolate should be almost melted.  Remove from microwave and stir with a rubber spatula until chocolate is completely melted.  Stir in the almonds.  Carefully fold in the blueberries and cranberries.  Add the orange peel and mix well. Place foil into an 8 inch square pan. Be sure the foil extends over the top of the pan so you can use it as handles when removing the fudge.  Spread the mixture into the pan evenly with a rubber spatula.  Place in the refrigerator until firm. This usually takes about 3 hours.  When fudge is firm remove from pan by lifting the foil by the extended area.  Cut and store tightly in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Warning — since this recipe involves heating marshmallows, things tend to get a little messy and sticky when you’re making these, especially if young children are involved.

Popcorn Crispie Bars

1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
20 caramels
1/4 cup butter, cubed
10 cups popped popcorn
1 1/2 cups salted peanuts
1 cup M&Ms plain chocolate candies (the red, white and blue ones if you can find them)

Place the marshmallows, caramels and butter into a large saucepan. Place pan over low heat and cook until all the ingredients have melted and is smooth.  Place the popcorn in a 9X13 cake pan.  Pour the marshmallow mixture over the popcorn.  Use a rubber spatula to mix all together being sure to coat the popcorn well.  You will have to do this quickly before the caramels start to harden again.  Add the peanuts and M&M’s.  Spread out evenly.  Cool until firm.

Lemonade Cake

Batter
1 – 18 oz. box classic white cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Frosting
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 tbsp. grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
3 to 4 tbsp. milk

Garnish: Fresh raspberries or blueberries, if available

Preheat your oven to 350F. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans (buttered and floured).

In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, blend the cake mix, water, oil, eggs, and lemonade concentrate. Blend on low for about two minutes. Evenly divide the cake batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
For the frosting, using a mixer on medium speed, blend together the shortening, extracts, and lemon zest. Add half of the powdered sugar, slowly, while continuing to beat the mixture. Add half the milk and blend. Add the remaining sugar, beating all the while, and then the remaining milk, one tablespoon at a time, to reach the correct consistency.

After frosting the first layer of the cake, cover the frosting with fresh berries, spread evenly over the surface of the cake. Place the top layer of the cake and finish frosting the cake. Garnish the top of the cake with additional berries, if desired.

Strawberry Pecan Treat

1 lb. softened butter
1 cup toasted, chopped pecans
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 stiffly beaten egg whites
1 quart hulled and quartered strawberries
1 – 12 oz. box crushed vanilla wafers

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place pecan pieces in a shallow baking pan and cook for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir often so they don’t burn. Take out of the oven and allow to thoroughly cool.

Cream together the sugar and butter. Gently fold in the strawberries, egg whites, and nuts. In a 9×13 glass baking dish, pour in 1/3 of the wafer crumbs. Put 1/2 of the strawberry mixture onto the crumbs, as evenly as possible. Sprinkle another 1/3 of the crumbs over the berries. Top with the final layer of crumbs. Place into the refrigerator and allow it to chill for several hours; overnight would be better. To serve the treat, cut into squares and garnish with either whipped cream or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Apple Cake

Batter
3 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 cups thinly sliced apples.

Icing
2 – 4 oz. packs softened cream cheese
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp. lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9×13 inch pan, then spread the sliced apples over the bottom, sprinkle lemon juice over the apples to help keep them from turning brown.  In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer until they are thick and light. Stir together the sugar and oil, then add that to the egg mixture.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Combine that with the eggs and mix well. Stir in the nuts and vanilla. This mixture will be thick.

Spread the batter over the apples and then bake the cake for one hour. You can also test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it’s clean when you take it out, the cake is finished. Remove the cake and allow it to cool completely on a rack.

For the icing: Beat the cream cheese until fluffy and then add the melted butter. Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice. Frost the cooled cake and then refrigerate it.