Best Holiday Gift- Hot Fudge Sauce

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I was looking around for easy fun gift ideas for friends when I saw in Southern Living (www.southernliving.com) the idea of gift jars of hot fudge sauce.  I had a few nights before fixed Corby and Walker ice cream for dessert and had found some hot fudge in the refrigerator.  I heated it up and poured some on Corby’s ice cream.  This is not something that we have very often at all, and I am wondering now why we don’t have it very often because it is awesome.  For some reason, it is just not something I think about adding to ice cream, and it makes ice cream- especially oreo ice cream so much better!  So, this gift idea really appealed to me, and of course they had an awesome recipe to go with it.  Find some mason jars and fill them with hot fudge sauce- which by the way is super easy to make, tie a ribbon around them, and you have become the hero of Christmas!

Hot Fudge Sauce

Ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) package unsweetened chocolate baking squares
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Melt chocolate and butter in a large, heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add milk, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract and salt. Cover and chill leftover sauce up to 2 weeks.
To reheat: Microwave sauce in a glass bowl at HIGH 1 minute. Stir and microwave at HIGH 1 more minute or until sauce is thoroughly heated.

MMMM Eggnog

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So winter finally decided to visit Charleston, and it is now freezing!  I am sure the cold won’t last but while it does, what is better than eggnog and a fire?  Pretty sure it is at the top of the list.  It is great for parties, it is great for Sunday afternoon, and last night, it was great for Wednesday night.  And while I really do love eggnog, I find it to be a little like candy corns, I think it is probably best that they only come out at Halloween.  Eggnog is a Christmas thing, and that makes it even better.  Here is a great recipe for eggnog for the adults, and another on for the kids.

Eggnog (adult version)

Ingredients:

6 large eggs
3/4 cups vanilla sugar
1 quarts half and half (or light cream)
1 cup brandy
2 cups bourbon or dark rum
freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

In large bowl, beat eggs until pale yellow and slightly frothy. Add sugar and half and half, and stir until well blended. Add brandy or bourbon (or dark rum) and stir. Transfer to large pitcher and chill until cold, at least 3 hours. Divide between 6 punch cups, garnish each with sprinkle of nutmeg, and serve.

Eggnog (for kids)

Ingredients:

3 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

Whisk together the milk, cream, sugar, and eggs in a medium-sized nonreactive saucepan.

Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Serve immediately, topped with freshly grated nutmeg to taste. Or you may refrigerate it, serve it cold, or reheat it before serving. If it thickens with refrigeration, simply thin with a little extra milk.

Lemonade and Gingerbread Angels

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I am trying so hard to get into the Christmas spirit!!  But when it is over 80 degrees, and Walker and two of his buddies have a ragingly successful lemonade stand in the middle of December, it just does not feel like Christmas.  So to combat the feelings of summer, I made gingerbread angels over the weekend.  They are so pretty, and now the house smells like cinnamon and nutmeg and all sorts of Christmasy smells, and it is back in the frigid 70s today, so a little less like summer.  I got a very cute picture of my angels pre decorations and wanted to get one post decorations, but Walker and his friends ate them too quickly.  I love this recipe because it is so easy, but the one trick I think is to make sure you roll out the dough thinly enough because the gingerbread definitely rises in the oven.

Gingerbread Men (or Angels)

Cream:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses

Sift:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to the butter- sugar mixture alternately with about 1/4- 1/2 cup water, or enough to be able to roll out the dough.  Cut into shapes for a house or into gingerbread men and bake on double waxed paper.  Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Christmas Parade and a Cookie Decorating Contest

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The annual Charleston Christmas Parade was yesterday afternoon.  I haven’t been to the parade in maybe twenty years, and it was so much fun.  The parade route runs right in front of the Charleston Library Society where I work, and it is definitely one of the best places to watch the parade.  First, the steps going up to the Library offer seating and a great vantage point for lots of people, and more importantly, we hosted an awesome cookie decorating contest.  We had a category for adults and one for children, and everybody got so into it.  We had four tartlet dishes donated from Le Creuset for our adult winner, and we had two gift certificates to Robot Candy for our kid winners.  I was in charge of making/getting the cookies and all of the decorating items.  I took Walker to the grocery store with me to help me pick out what we would need, and let’s just say we went a touch overboard (which is probably why the cookie were as awesome as they were)!  I had every intention of baking 200 sugar cookies using this great recipe I found on a wonderful blog called Baked Bree (www.bakedbree.com).  They really are delicious cookies, but while at the grocery store, the 12 for $3.00 fresh baked sugar cookies seemed so much easier, so those won out.  However, if you don’t have to make 200 cookies, I highly recommend this recipe.  Judging was very difficult with so many creative cookies- such a fun day!!

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups softened unsalted butter
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon butter extract (optional)
7 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugar until it is really light and fluffy. Add the eggs and the vanilla and butter extracts. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
Roll the dough out and cut using your favorite cookie cutter.
Bake the cookies in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Do not brown the edges.