c-c-c-candy!!!

It's that time of year when there is candy everywhere. Halloween candy has already been out for months and if you love it as much as I do, it's hard to resist. This year, I promised not to buy any Halloween candy until the week of the actual Holiday. But let me say this- I'm weak and I'm already craving those mini Kit Kat's and Almond Joy's. 

And that's when these choco peanut butter crisps came into my life. A couple weeks ago I had a massive chocolate craving and when I received the Mast Brother's cookbook for my birthday, I had earmarked this recipe. It's definitely chocolate candy and it definitely makes a lot. If you're having a Halloween party, these would make great party favors thrown into a clear cellophane bag, especially since your guests would be amazed by the thought of taking home homemade candy instead of the prepackaged stuff. 

Choco peanut butter crisp

Recipe adapted from Mast Brothers Chocolate, a FamilyCookbook

Serves a lot!

Recipe Notes-

- The original recipe called for 2 Tbs. of peanut butter but with all the chocolate, the peanut butter flavor was lost completely. Either don’t bother with it all, or put enough in to taste. So I put enough in to taste- ¾ cup to be exact.

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds (24 oz.) dark chocolate

1 (½ cup) stick butter

¾ Cup creamy peanut butter

1 Tbs. honey

4 ½ Cups puffed rice cereal (aka Rice Krispie’s)

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate and butter.

2. Add the peanut butter and honey, mix until combined. Then add the puffed rice cereal and pour into a 9-inch baking pan. Let set in refrigerator.

3. Once cooled completely, cut into chunks. Keep in an airtight container.

Candy Time! How to make Pecan Pralines

A friend of mine recently returned from a trip where she visited New Orleans. I've never been but heard it's a foodie paradise... a place where I would probably put on 10 lbs. eating all the fried fish, po' boys and beignets. We chatted about all the delicious food she tried and she told me about Pecan Pralines, which she became so enamored with that she brought a box home with her. I've never had them, or really heard of them before, but upon hearing her exclamations I had to do some recipe research.

Who better to go to than Emeril Lagasse, the chef of New Orleans food? The recipe is similar to a caramel recipe but the texture is completely different. They’re crumbly, almost like a cookie but not chewy. The flavor reminds me of the brown sugar frosting for the Soft Pumpkin Cookies, and I’m crazy about that frosting, so these are pretty fantastic.

Of course I did a few tweaks along the way… I’m in love with vanilla so I added 2 tsp of vanilla, but you could get away with just 1 tsp if you’re not obsessive like me. These are truly a candy and are super sweet- that’s why I decided to add a little sprinkling of Fleur de Sel on top to balance the sweetness. I also thought bittersweet chocolate could add a nice depth of flavor and not add too much to the sweet-factor, like a milk chocolate would.

These would make a perfect gift. Bag them in cellophane with a pretty ribbon or make a plate of assorted goodies, to give away for the Holiday’s, and throw a couple of these in.
(recipe after the jump)