~ FOR NEW YEARS, we went to our good friends' house for a countdown party. There were great appetizers, and sweets from some of our friends who are amazing cooks and of course champagne, but there was a festive cupcake in particular that looked delicious! They came in a mini and jumbo size so, of course, I reached for a mini. We brought some Verdi to the party which is a sweet champagne that we served at our wedding. Verdi also comes in flavors of apple, raspberry and the most delicious of all, peach which lets off a wonderful peach essence. I had some in my plastic party cup, and while chatting and having a cupcake, took a sip of the champagne with the cupcake. It was a surprisingly delicious combination! A perfect combination of sweet and bubbly.
Yuuuum!
The Super Chef? Miss Tammy.
Also, congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes for their Rosebowl win!
Over the holidays, I tried making some desserts called Buckeyes which are made to resemble the real Buckeye, which is a poisonous nut that looks like this:
Buckeyes are made from a combination of smooth peanut butter, confectioners sugar and butter which are rolled into a ball. Poke toothpicks in them, refrigerate, then dip them into melted chocolate and leave to harden in a cool dry place.
Try them! They're simple and good for entertaining for the guests.
BUCKEYE RECIPE
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups confectioners' sugar
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar. The dough will look dry. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.
Press a toothpick into the top of each ball (to be used later as the handle for dipping) and chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until smooth.
Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate holding onto the toothpick. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes. Put back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving.
Buckeyes should be the size of a chestnut, but don't do what I did and make them the size of donut holes.
