Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls

I made these for a Christmas Eve dinner that I'm attending tonight. I found the recipe in the new issue of Martha Stewart Living - perfectly sweet and salty!

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls


1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup, plus 1 tbsp confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon room temperature unsalted butter
1 cup crushed pretzels
5 ounces melted milk chocolate

Stir together peanut butter, confectioners sugar, unsalted butter, the crushed pretzels. Roll into 1" balls. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Melt chocolate over very low heat. Dip balls into melted milk chocolate, refrigerate until set.

*To crush pretzels, place in a resealable bag, and bang with a rolling pin.

Buttermilk Biscuits with Parmesan

Buttermilk Biscuits with Parmesan


2 1/2 cups all - purpose bleached flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup Parmesan
1/8 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Set a rack to middle level of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees (500 degrees if you aren't adding cheese)
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl and stir several times.
Rub in butter until completely blended using your fingertips. Add buttermilk and stir in with a fork. Add Parmesan, paprika and lemon zest stir in with fork.
Turn dough out on lightly floured work surface and fold dough over on itself several times to distribute moisture evenly and to make the dough slightly less sticky.
Pat or gently roll dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured cutter. Avoid twisting cutter which distorts the sides of the biscuits. Place biscuits on pan.
Press scraps together and pat to 1/2 inch thickness again and cut remaining biscuits. Discard any scraps left after second rolling.
Bake Biscuits about 10-12 minutes, until well risen and light golden brown.

Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps

They look like little chocolate mountains, and taste like the perfect blend of morning coffee and chocolate. Delicious!

Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps - Martha Stewart

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tsp instant espresso (or coffee)

1 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp unsalted butter

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

4 ounces semi sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 tbsp milk

confectioners sugar for coating

1/8 tsp salt

In medium bowl, sift flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well combined. Mix in cooled chocolate. With a mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture. Beat in milk until just combined. Flatten dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, freeze 45 minutes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheets with parchment. Shape dough into 1" balls. Pour confectioners sugar into a medium bowl, roll balls in sugar 2 times, letting them sit.

Place on prepared baking sheets, 2" apart. Bake until cookies have spread & coating is cracked, 12-14 minutes. Cookies will be soft to touch. Cool cookies on wire rack.

Olive and Blue Cheese Ball

My first non-baked blog. I love cheese.

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup chopped green olives (I used garlic marinated, from whole foods olive bar)

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, butter and blue cheese.  Stir in the olives and chives. Spoon onto plastic wrap and gather into a ball. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. To serve, unwrap and place on a serving tray. Surround with your favorite crackers.

Danish Danish

Copenhagen, Denmark
October 3, 2010

October 4, 2010