Red Velvet Bon Bons

This week I had the most delicious treat - a Red Velvet Bon Bon from Velvet's Bakery. I thought these would make great gifts for the holidays. Since I'm currently working on improving my (somewhat non-existent) culinary skills I thought I would try to make them myself. I found this recipe on Bakerella and it looks fabulous! I'll let you know how it goes. :)


Here's the recipe:

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

It's all about the presentation...
I plan to wrap them in modern cupcake liners from Crate and Barrel and then tuck them into a miniature lime green boxes that I found at Container Store.

Happy Friday!

Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of the season - and temporary moment of insanity - I decided to make Halloween brownie lollipops. I saw similar (mucho expensive) ones in a Williams-Sonoma catalog and thought I could just make them myself. Turns out that I'm missing the gene responsible for the ability to melt chocolate.... So a few hours, some google research, and another trip to the grocery store later... The brownies turned into pumpkins and ghosts. That said - if you're good at melting chocolate - this project would be a breeze. :)




Here's the recipe... if you dare.

Brownie Lollipops

Ingredients
1 pkg Fudge brownie mix (and ingredients to make brownies!)
24 Lollipop sticks
1 pkg white chocolate morsels
Food coloring
Additional decorations such as sprinkles (optional)

Directions
1. Line 9-in. by 9-in. pan with a piece of parchment paper; lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions; pour batter into pan. Bake 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Remove from oven to cooling rack; cool 10 minutes or until still slightly warm.

2. Using a small scoop or spoon, scoop brownie into 24 rounded scoops, packing brownie into scoop using hands. (Entire brownie will be used.) Roll brownie scoops into smooth balls. Insert candy sticks into centers of balls and pinch each brownie ball where candy stick and top of ball meet. Stand upright on parchment paper.

4. Place white chocolate in small glass bowl; microwave according to package directions until smooth. **or insert your own, better melting instructions here** Spoon melted chocolate evenly over each brownie ball, turning to coat completely. Be sure to coat where candy stick meets brownie ball. Allow excess chocolate to drip off. Allow to cool at room temperature - DO NOT put in the freezer to speed things up... ooops. When the chocolate coating is cool, use a toothpick or small brush to paint on ghost/pumpkin/insert-holiday-icon-here face. (I used extra white chocolate mixed with food coloring but you could also use decorating gel or icing.) Let stand until set. Place into miniature cupcake liners.