Festive Candy Cane Kiss Centered Brownie Bites

Festive Candy Cane Kiss Centered Brownie Bites from this website
1 brownie mix 9×13 inch size
18 Candy Cane Hershey Kisses
1/2 Cup chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
3 original candy canes, crushed
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and scoop into a mini cheesecake pan or mini muffin tin pan that has been generously sprayed with cooking spray, about 3/4 way full. Press kisses into center of brownie batter, do not push all the way to bottom, some of the tip should stick out the top. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until brownies are cooked through. Let cool completely.
2. Melt chocolate chips in microwave, 30 second intervals until smooth and melted. Stir in cream until silky smooth. You can place back in microwave for 10 seconds to smooth more if needed. Dip tops of brownies into melted chocolate, then sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Serve with a tall glass of milk. Enjoy!!

**Note** I ended up making way more than 18 using this recipe, thus way more (36) kisses; I would recommend having more Hershey kisses on hand than the 18 the recipe calls for.
**Note**Comments from from the original post said a lot of people had problems with the brownies sticking to the pan. I used Crisco cooking spray with flour and had zero problems. Even when I substituted caramel filled kisses for the candy cane ones.
**Note**I didn't have heavy cream, so I used 1% milk. Worked fine.

Popcorn Balls

Ingredients:
1/2 c. margarine (I think real butter would work)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. mini marshmallows
2 quarts popcorn (popped)
2 c. mini marshmallows
mixed nuts (optional)

Directions:
Melt butter and sugar. Stir in 1 cup of mini marshmallows. Add popcorn, other marshmallows, and nuts. Shape into balls.

Microwave Caramel Corn

In the spirit of the holidays, I thought I'd add another treat to those already shared. This caramel corn is good anytime, but for some reason my family only made it around Christmas. It's pretty simple.

Ingredients:
5 c. popped corn (Note: 1/2 c. unpopped = 12 c. popped)
2 T. dark or light corn syrup
4 T. butter (or margarine--even lite margarine works)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 t. vanilla
1/4 t. baking soda

Place popped corn in a paper grocery bag. In a glass bowl or measuring cup, microwave syrup, butter, and brown sugar for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir. Microwave for 1 minute more. Stir. Add vanilla and baking soda. Stir. Mixture should get foamy. Pour syrup over popped corn in bag. Close bag and shake. Place bag in microwave for 1 minute*. Shake again and microwave 1 minute* more. Spread on cookie sheet (no need to grease) and allow to cool.

*When I made this before I got married these times worked great. Then I used our new microwave and the popcorn got overcooked. Now I do 30 seconds/30 seconds, give or take. You might want to just play with it, but if you have a new-ish microwave, it's probably more powerful than the ones used when this recipe was written (which was a LONG time ago). Generally, the longer you cook it the darker and crunchier the caramel corn will be. Shorter times result in lighter, chewier caramel corn. It depends on how you like it.

Another note: Like I said, this was written a long time ago. I recently read that it's not good to cook things (namely turkeys) in paper bags because of chemicals used in production. I've never had a problem with this recipe (so far all of my children have turned out fine), but if any of you know that there is a problem with microwaving food in paper bags, let me know. And let me know if you know of any alternatives because even if it's not unhealthy, paper bags in the microwave are bulky and hard to work with.

Fudge Recipe for dummies

1 Cube Margarine
1 Cup Evaporated Milk
3 Cups Sugar
• Put all the ingredients in a heavy LARGE saucepan.
• Cook at medium high heat until butter is melted.
• When it starts boiling set the timer for seven minutes (this may differ for you, but this the first time you need to check for soft ball stage) Use a glass bowl, fill it with cold water, take a spoonful of the mixture and drop it in the water. If it forms a soft ball when you roll it between your fingers, pop it in your mouth and be on your way… if not, set the time for one more minute and test again. Repeat procedure until soft ball can be formed. If you do it too long though it will completely ruin it…..be careful!
1 pint of marshmallow crème
1 bag of milk chocolate chips (you can use semi-sweet too, but I think it is too bitter tasting)
nuts (yuk) if you want.
• Stir until all the chocolate is melted
• SPRAY WITH NONSTICK SPRAY and put in a regular 11 X 13 cake pan.
• Cover and put in fridge

English Toffee

A recipe from my sister-in-law Rynell. This is a Andersen family Christmas favorite- Christmas is not Christmas with out these. I hope it is what you are looking for!

Toffee:
1 lb. real butter (sweet cream or unsalted)
2 c. white sugar

For Topping:
2 regular size Hershey milk chocolate bars or 1 bag milk chocolate chips
1 cup finely chopped almonds or pecans

1. Butter a heavy cookie sheet. (I use a jellyroll pan.)
2. Put butter and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Keep stirring as butter melts and mixes with sugar. Keep Stirring! Stir until the mixture turns the color of peanut butter. (I actually get a jar of peanut butter out to compare colors.)
3. Carefully pour hot toffee out onto buttered cookie sheet. Use the back of a spoon to spread if needed. (At this point, put the sauce pan in the sink and fill with hot soapy water for easier clean up.)
4. Let mixture sit for about 3-5 minutes or until you finger doesn't leave an impression in the toffee. Put chocolate on very warm toffee. Once the chocolate is shiny, the chocolate is ready to spread. Spread it with the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula.
5. Sprinkle nuts over melted chocolate. Put in fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.
6. Take toffee out of fridge. Crack the toffee into servings by sliding a knife under it and also by using a heavy knife to break it up. Enjoy!