easter baskets

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Can you get Sunspire malt-sweetened chocolate chips

where you live? Here's a recipe for chocolate fudge I

developed back when I was a vegan.

3 cups peanut butter

5 cups Sunspire chips

It's really easy--you melt the chocolate, stir in the

nut butter, pour it onto a greased cookie sheet, stick

it in the fridge. Remembering to cut it before it

hardens completely will make your life easier. The

only tricky part is melting the chocolate on a

seriously LOW heat. Chocolate burns at a really low

temperature, like 120 or something. So be patient.

Also--chocolate and water DO NOT mix. If any moisture

gets in, the chocolate will seize and be useless. So

make sure everything is squeaky dry. I don't use a

double boiler, just a solid pot on a very low flame.

If you use almond butter or other nut butter instead

of peanut butter, these butters are more viscous. So I

add a few more chips, maybe 3/4 a cup more. This fudge

is a totally forgivine substance. You can also add

other extracts or flavors to taste--mint, orange,

rapsberry. Or chopped nuts or coconut. It's endlessly

expandable stuff.

I'm going to forward you my chocolate truffle recipe,

too, which takes more time, but is really great.

Another sweet treat you can make easily is like

cracker jack, only with maple syrup. I live in New

England, where maple syrup pretty much runs in the

street this time of year. I've also done this with

rice syrup, and I bet honey would work as well, though

the boiling time may be different.

1/2 cup maple syrup

8 cups popped corn (not sure how many kernels that is)

pinch salt

Pop the corn until you've got 8 cups. One round in my

air popper is usually more than enough. Put the maple

syrup in a heavy (cast iron) pot, put on medium heat

and bring to a rolling boil. Let it boil for 2.5 to 3

minutes. It will change to a dark color. Remove from

heat. Add the pinch of salt and all the popcorn. Stir

quickly, and pour out onto a seriously greased cookie

sheet. Let it cool and YUM! I had someone at a party

propose marriage to me on the basis of this popcorn.

(I said writing down the recipe would be easier.)

An alternate to popcorn is to substitute 2 cups of

nuts instead of the corn. Any nuts work.

The whole process takes maybe 5 minutes. Clean up is

easier if you grease your kettle with butter, but if I

forget I just soak it in water and the sugar dissolves

in a few hours.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

Lierre

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