Italian Pasta Red Sauce

Ingredients


1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste

1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 medium onion, diced

spices and herbs, to taste


Directions

1Saute the diced onion in a little bit of olive oil, butter, or cooking spray, in a medium saucepan over medium heat. (If you like garlic, you could add a few diced garlic cloves too).

2Add the stewed tomatoes and the tomato paste. Stir to combine.

3Add the brown sugar. Start with just 1/2 a cup. If you like it sweet, keep adding more. Here is when you can add salt, pepper, and any herbs like basil and oregano.

4Turn the heat down to low and simmer for at least an hour. Stir every so often. The stewed tomatoes will keep breaking down the longer you cook it, so you can keep going for a less chunky sauce. The perfect sauce for any pasta that can also be used as a pizza sauce, or for meatballs, etc.

Chocolate Crinkles

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1.In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.

2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. I like to use a number 50 size scoop. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

3.Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Oreo Truffles

Oreo Truffles


1 package Oreos

1 brick Cream Cheese (room temperature)

1 bag white chocolate morsels

1) Crush entire package of Oreos until very fine. To make this easier, I place the oreos in a large ziploc bag and seal. Then use a rolling pin to crush until fine.

2) Mix crushed oreos with cream cheese until well mixed. Form into small balls and place on aluminum foil.

3) Melt chocolate morsels. I do this in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes in a microwave safe bowl but your time may vary.

4) Dip each ball into chocolate and place on foil.

Marshmallows

Homemade Marshmallows


From Alton Brown, FoodNetwork.com



3 packages unflavored gelatin

1 cup ice cold water, divided

12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

Nonstick spray



Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer set up with the whisk attachment along with 1/2 cup of the water.



In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes (Jane note: it was longer than 8 minutes when I did it). Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.



Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. (Jane note: as you can see in the picture, I used my ingredient-pourer-shield-bowl-attachment-thingy and it worked perfectly for pouring in the hot sugar.) Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.





Combine the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.



When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan (Jane note: I also used my lightly oiled fingers to press the the mixture evenly into the pan). Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.



Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners’ sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Buckeye Bars

Buckeye Bars

Prep Time: 15 min Total Time: 2 hr 15 min Makes: 25 servings

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
22 NILLA Wafers, crushed
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 of 8-oz. tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping (Do not thaw.)
3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Make It!

LINE 8-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Beat butter and peanut butter with mixer until blended. Mix in wafer crumbs. Gradually add sugar, mixing well after each addition. Press onto bottom of pan.

MICROWAVE COOL WHIP and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min.; stir. Microwave 15 to 30 sec. or until chocolate is melted; stir until blended. Spread over peanut butter layer.

REFRIGERATE 2 hours. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting to serve.