White Hot Chocolate (adult and kid versions)

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
• candy cane

Directions:

1. 1
   Combine the chopped chocolate and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
2. 2
   Combine the milk and cream and heat over medium heat until simmering. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and whisk to melt.
3. 3
   Add the brandy and pour into glass or ceramic mugs. Hang the candy cane over the edge of the mug and serve.

Starbuck Hack: White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Frappuccino

Time for another Starbucks Hack tested by your truly! This time it is the white chocolate and macadamia nut frappuccino! As always remember to order the drink by the ingredients and not by the name! So with that here is the recipe:

1. order a white mocha frappuccino

2. add toffee nut syrup (2 pumps for a tall, 3 pumps for a grande, or 4 pumps for a venti)

3. add java chips

4. top with caramel drizzle if you would like

White Chocolate Limoncello Truffles Recipe!

Makes 30 truffles

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup heavy cream
1 lemon, zest of
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon limoncello
additional grated white chocolate (for rolling) or grated coconut (for rolling)

Directions:

1 Bring cream to a bare simmer with the zest of one lemon. Turn the heat off and allow to cool slightly. Strain before using for the rest of the recipe.
 

2 Combine the cream, chocolate, and Limoncello together until well blended.
 

3 Chill until firm enough to scoop. Roll in grated white chocolate or coconut and shape with a fork.
 

4 Keep refrigerated.

Source: http://www.food.com/recipe/white-chocolate-limoncello-truffles-191378

White Chocolate Brownies Recipe!

Ingredients
1 C butter
1/2 C white chocolate, chopped
4 eggs, beaten
2 C sugar
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Frosting
1/2 C butter
1/3 C white chocolate, chopped
3 C powdered sugar
2 Tbsp whipping cream (or more to right consistency)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  For the brownie part melt your white chocolate or butter either in the microwave or a double boiler.  White Chocolate burns easily so be sure and watch it.  Melt it in small increments of time.  Whisk in eggs and then add in sugar.  Add flour and vanilla.  Put into a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cool and then frost.
Frosting:
Melt butter and white chocolate in microwave or double boiler.  Remove from heat and add powdered sugar, whipping cream and vanilla.  Frost brownies.

Source: http://portland.todaysmama.com/2011/06/white-chocolate-decadence/

White Chocolate and Peanut Butter Crisp Bar Recipe!

Ingredients

• 12 oz bag of White Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 cups Rice Krispies
• 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips + 2 Tbsp for garnish.
• Lightly grease a 9x9 pan

How to Make

1. In microwave-safe bowl pour in white chips and heat on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir and continue in 30 second increments until chips are melted.
2. Combine the peanut butter with the melted chips and add the krispies.
3. Let cool approx 15 – 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so to help cool.
4. Add the marshmallows and the mini chocolate chips and stir to combine.
5. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing lightly with the back of your spoon, but do not compact too much, otherwise they will get hard.
6. Press the remaining chocolate chips into the top for garnish.
7. When the bars are completely cooled cut into squares and enjoy! 

Source: http://cookiesandcups.com/avalanche-anyone/

White Chocolate Cherry Scones Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 cup dried sour cherries; chopped
1/2 cup white chocolate chips; roughly chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in dried cherries and white chocolate.
2. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth; stir in vanilla.
3. Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
4. Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.
5. If desired, drizzle with melted white chocolate after the scones have cooled.

Notes:

1. I added a light egg wash to the top of the scones and a sprinkle of coarse sugar before placing in the oven.
2. I have prepared these in the food processor with fabulous result, simply pulse cold butter into the dry ingredients instead of grating the frozen butter.
3. Add in a variety of ingredients to make your signature scone, think chocolate chips, nuts, espresso powder... endless possibilities!

Source: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/cherry-white-chocolate-scones/

White Chocolate Cocoa Nib Ice Cream Recipe!

Recipe (makes 1 pint)
250 ml whole milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
100g white chocolate chopped
125mL heavy cream
75g cocoa nibs (a little over 1/2 cup)

Heat the milk and about half of the sugar in a saucepan until it boils. Whisk the yolks with the rest of the sugar. (Do not let it sit, mix the sugar immediately after adding it to the yolks.) Slowly pour a portion of the hot mixture into the eggs while stirring to temper it. Return the egg mixture the sauce pan and stir over medium heat with a wooden spoon. When the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, it is done.

Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl containing the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Add the heavy cream and cool it over an ice bath. Refrigerate the mixture for at least an hour or overnight. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker. Add the cocoa nibs into the mixture toward the end of the churning process if you can or fold it into the ice cream when you empty the machine’s ice cream bowl.

Source: http://www.dessarts.com/2010/08/cocoa-nibs-challenge-and-a-recipe.html

White Chocolate Covered Pretzel Recipe!

Ingrediants
1 10-ounce (or 12-ounce) bag non-dairy white chocolate chips
1/8 – 1/4 cup canola oil
1 bag small pretzel twists (or your favorite pretzel shape)
few drops red food coloring (optional)

Directions

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave at 50% power.  Once it’s melted, add the canola oil until you get a thin enough consistency for dipping your pretzels (how much you use will depend on the chocolate that you use – you may need more than 1/4 cup.)  You can also melt the chocolate in a double-boiler.

Place a pretzel on a fork and dip it into the white chocolate.  Tap the excess chocolate off and slide the pretzel off of the fork onto a parchment or wax paper-lined tray.

If you’d like to do colored stripes just mix a few drops of food coloring (make sure it doesn’t contain water!) into a small amount of the melted chocolate.  Transfer the mixture to small plastic bag or a piping bag, and cut a very small hole in the corner of the bag, or use a very small piping tip.  Once the white chocolate on the pretzels has set, drizzle the colored chocolate over the pretzels.  Alternatively, you could top these with crushed candy cane pieces or vegan decorating sugar.

Source: http://www.cestlavegan.com/2010/12/white-chocolate-covered-pretzels/

White Chocolate Bread Recipe!

White Chocolate Bread

Makes 5 loaves. Recipe from ClubMed Insider.

Ingredients:

8 cups flour
1 teaspoon yeast
1 tablespoon wheat gluten
2 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups water
2 3/4 cups white chocolate chips

Directions:

Place flour, yeast and gluten in a small bowl. Mix on medium-low or first speed for 1 minute. Add water and mix for another 2 minutes. Add salt and continue to mix for another 8-10 minutes on medium or second speed.
Add chips and mix for 1-2 minutes or until the chips are well distributed throughout the dough. Take dough out of bowl and lightly knead into a ball. Let rest for 15-20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450?F. Divide dough into 5 equal portions and knead into the desired form. Let the loaves proof for about 30-45 minutes, depending on the heat and humidity of the area.
Place uncooked loaves on a baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake for approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes.

Source: http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2009/08/white-chocolate-bread.html

Review of the Classic Snack Gift Basket by GourmetGiftBaskets.com

Hey Sasaki Time Fans! I am back with another great product review! This time from the fine folks at GourmetGiftBaskets.com! They were very generous to send out one of their classic snack gift baskets to me! The first thing I have to say is that there is nothing standard about this! What a collection of snacks to keep everybody happy!

Your gift basket comes shipped in huge box!

This is what the gift basket looks like out of the box!

Where to begin? Where to begin? The first thing that stood out was the Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip by Robert Rothschild Farm. This did not sound like it would be very good at all, so I figured I would start here! 

Such a strange looking mixture. I opened up the pretzels they came with.

Dipped a pretzel and expected the worst and....and was completely blown away by the flavor! The sweetness of the raspberry and honey are fantastic and then you get the tanginess of the mustard. Just a perfect flavor combination! My friend and I couldn't stop eating it but had to because this was only the first item that we tried!


Next, we opened up the Buttered Peanut Crunch by Old Dominion Peanut Company. I love peanuts and these were mixed with butter and brown sugar and cut into squares that were crunchy and chewy! We almost ate all of these in one sitting!

The next thing we opened was the Almond Pecan-dy Crunch by Morley Candy Makers. Buttery toffee coated popcorn with pecans and almonds are just perfect! Think of a freshly made cracker jack and you are pretty much there!

We then went for the Peanut Roll by Dillon Candy Co. since it was more peanuts, covering fluffy nougat and a layer of caramel in between the two! So good with the crunchy peanuts and the soft nougat and the chewy caramel! Sort of a snickers without the chocolate!

Next was the Coconut Bar by Oskri Organics. It is made from 100% coconut and rice syrup and is 100% organic! I love coconut and I made short work out of it!

 We then decided to open the box of Salted Peanuts in Box by Feridie's. They only use the top 2% of peanuts to make each batch. These were definitely some of the largest peanuts I have ever seen and they had a different taste to them. It was sort of a sunflower seed type taste. Unique and different and these were gone in a day and a half.

The Banana Chips were the only thing in here that was just plain and ordinary to me. Not that they weren't good, they were just too run of the mill for me.

The true highlight of the basket were the Key Lime White Chocolate Chip Cookies by Brent & Sam's. These are made from scratch and just taste like they were just made. The white chocolate perfectly balances the tartness of the lime. The lime is really stands out here. We ate the entire box in one sitting I'm afraid to say!

 The last thing we opened were the Petite Cheese Biscuits by Salem Baking Co., as we thought this would be a good way to finish off our gourmet gift basket snacking adventure!These petite biscuits packed a lot of cheese flavor due to the extra-sharp aged cheddar cheese! There is also just the hint of spice from the cayenne and paprika! needless to say these disappeared quickly as well! 

An incredible basket from the great people at GourmetGiftBasket.com! This is something I would definitely get for friends and family especially with the holidays coming up!There are so many options that I spent hours going through everything that they have! Check out their website below:

http://www.gourmetgiftbaskets.com/

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this review. I received a Classic Snack gift Basket from GourmetGiftBasket.com for review purposes only. All thought and opinions are 100% my own.