Irish Carbomb Truffles Submitted by Sarah Thielen

Scrumptious Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bailey’s!

Ingredients

1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix (18 oz)

Other ingredients specified by the cake mix except the water

(This may include some combination of eggs, butter or oil)

1 bottle Guinness Beer

1 bottle of Bailey’s (small 50ml size)

1 tub frosting (Buttercream, Cream Cheese, or Vanilla – 16oz)

1 bag White Chocolate or Vanilla Candy Coating Wafers (16oz)

1. Follow the mixing and baking directions on the devil’s food cake mix package, substituting the Guinness beer for the water the mix

calls for. At the end of the recommended baking time, do the toothpick test to be sure the cake is done.

2. Let the cake cool completely. You can even freeze it if you are going to roll and dip the balls on a different day. In fact, the balls

are much easier to form if the cake is cold.

3. Chop up the chilled cake. Add a little less than half of the store-bought tub of icing to the cake and combine thoroughly with a

mixer or by hand. Add the entire contents of a 50ml bottle of Bailey’s and combine. Add additional icing in dollops until the mixture

comes together firm enough to hold a ball shape. I think I ended up using around 3/4 of the tub by the time I was done.

4. Scoop and roll the cake mixture into balls. Chill the balls in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

5. Melt the white chocolate or candy wafers by microwaving for 1½ to 2 minutes, stirring every

30 seconds – making sure the chocolate doesn’t scorch. Dip the cake balls into the melted

coating, tap off the excess and place on a sheet of waxed paper to set up. If they are nice and

chilled it won’t take very long. I chose vanilla candy wafers for purely aesthetic reasons, the

white on top of the dark looks like a pint of Guinness.

6. Drizzle additional coating on the top in a decorative manner. To do this, add a little shortening

and a few drops of food coloring to the melted coating, remelting in the microwave if needed.

Place the mixture in a ziplock bag and snip a tiny bit off of one corner. Use it like a decorator’s

bag to drizzle the mixture over the tops of the truffles.

Sarah with her winning Irish Carbomb Truffles

Chocolate Truffle Shortbread Bars Submitted by Andrea Patchin

Ingredients For the crust:

1 – ½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

¼ tsp. table salt

6 oz chilled, unsalted butter, cubed

½ tsp. vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract For the filling:

1 lb. good-quality semisweet chocolate - chopped

¾ cup whole or 2% milk

4 oz (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cubed

4 large eggs

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbs. Kahlūa

Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on sides to allow for easy removal. Combine flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and vanilla and continue pulsing until the mixture is crumbly and coarse, about 45 seconds. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press into a smooth layer. Bake until the crust is pale golden and the edges just begin to caramelize, 20 – 22 minutes. The crust will continue cooking in the pan, so be careful not to overbake, which will result in a hard crust. Cool completely.

Make the filling: Lower the oven temperature to 325°F. Combine the Chocolate, milk, and butter in heavy saucepan and cook on low heat, whisking occasionally, until the chocolate is just barely melted. Remove from heat and continue whisking until smooth. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or with handheld mixer) beat the eggs, sugar, and Kahlūa on medium speed until foamy and light, about 2 minutes. Add the melted chocolate mixture and continue mixing until combined, about 30 seconds. Pour the chocolate mixture over the cooled shortbread crust and spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sides are slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out wet and gooey. The chocolate may still seem a bit underdone, but it will continue to bake out of the oven. (The center may sink a little bit; the original recipe says to use your fingers to gently press the edges down to the level of the center, but I just leave it be, and later cut the edges off for snacking!) Cut the bars lengthwise into 1-1/4 inch strips, then into 1/1/4 inch strips crosswise to form squares, wiping the knife clean with a damp towel after each cut. Cut each square diagonally into triangles. (If the chocolate seems to be getting too soft, refrigerate for a few minutes before continuing on.) Refrigerate the bars, covered, until ready to enjoy; pull 5 minutes before serving.

Raspberry Pie Cookies Submitted by Don Fischer

Ingredients

½ cup butter, softened

1/2 cup margarine, softened

2 cups flour

¾ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Raspberry pie filling (21oz)

½ cup white chocolate baking chips

Preheat oven to 325°. Beat together butter and margarine until fluffy. Add flour, powdered sugar and vanilla, mix just until combined and a soft dough is formed. Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Make an indentation in the center of each ball. Scoop about 2 tsps. of raspberry pie filling into each center indentation in the cookie. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely. In a microwave safe dish melt the white chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Be careful not to let it burn. Scoop the melted chocolate into a ziplock bag. Snip one corner with a scissors and drizzle white chocolate over each cookie.

Pumpkin Mousse Cups Submitted by Kim Anderson

Ingredients

24 large marshmallows

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1-¾ cup (10oz pkg) Mini milk-chocolate chips

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

½ cup milk

½ cup canned pumpkin

1 cup (1/2 pint) cold whipping cream

1. Line 10 muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Reserve 1/2 cup chocolates. Place remaining 1-1/4 cups

chocolates in small microwave-safe bowl; microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 1 minute or until melted when stirred. Mixture should be

thick.

2. Coat inside pleated surfaces and bottoms of bake cups very thickly with melted chocolate, using a soft pastry brush. Refrigerate

10 minutes; recoat any thin spots with melted chocolate.* Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Gently peel off paper; refrigerate

until ready to fill.

3. Place marshmallows, milk, and pumpkin in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM 1 minute; stir. Microwave an

additional 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until mixture is melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla and pumpkin pie

spice. Cool completely.

4. Beat powdered sugar and whipping cream until stiff; fold into pumpkin mixture. Fill cups with pumpkin mousse; garnish with

reserved chocolates. Cover; refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. Cover; refrigerate leftovers. 10 servings.

* Note: If reheating is needed, microwave chocolate at MEDIUM 30 seconds; stir.

Mint Brownies Submitted by Shannon Betz

Ingredients For the brownie layer:

1 pkg Chocolate Cake Mix

1 tsp. peppermint extract

1/3 cup butter

1 egg

For the filling:

1 envelope Knox gelatin

¼ cup boiling water

1 container vanilla frosting

½ tsp. peppermint extract

2-3 drops of green food coloring

For the frosting:

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 Tbs. butter

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 13x9 pan. Mix together in a bowl the cake mix, peppermint extract, 1/3 cup butter and egg.

Mix thoroughly, will be very thick. Press the batter into the pan, evenly covering entire bottom. Bake for 10- 12 minutes. Let cool.

Mix one envelope Knox gelatin into boiled water. Let cool. Beat gelatin mixture, frosting, peppermint extract and food coloring

in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Spread over cooled brownie layer.

Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips and butter in a pan over low heat, stirring constantly until completely melted. Spread over green

filling. Chill for 10 – 15 minutes before cutting into squares.

Honorable Mention

Christmas Rum Logs Submitted by Julie Ryan

Ingredients

For the cookies:

1 cup butter

¾ cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

2 teas rum flavored extract

3 cups flour

1 tsp. nutmeg

For the frosting:

3 Tbls. butter

2 ½ cups powdered sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

2 Tbls. milk

1 tsp. rum flavor

Cream butter and sugar. Stir in vanilla, egg and rum.

Mix well. Add flour and nutmeg. Roll dough into long logs about ½ wide.

Cut in 3 inch strips. Bake 12-15 minutes at 350°.

Cool and frost. You can sprinkle chocolate or nutmeg on the frosting if desired.

Honorable Mention