Sloppy Joes

I'm usually not a fan of sloppy joes, or beef in general, but I was browsing through one of my cookbooks and found a recipe that seemed interesting. So I thought I'd give it a shot. It also happens to be another one that you can freeze without much issue.

Sloppy Joes
Modified from Southern Living 2007 Annual Recipes

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb turkey sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 cup water
Hamburger buns

Brown beef and sausage with onion and bell pepper. Drain well. Add next 6 ingredients, cover and bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To freeze leftovers, cool and place in freezer bag. Lay flat in freezer. Thaw overnight or defrost in microwave and heat through before serving.

My Notes:
I was skeptical, but this recipe is awesome. The sweetness from the sugar mixed with tartness from the vinegar makes the sauce addicting. My sisters weren't too excited about it initially, but I think I won them over. My older sister likes it more with chips than on a hamburger bun, though I think this might be my mom's influence on her. Overall, definitely a recipe I'll make again.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Original recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350*F. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Add to the wet ingredients. Mix well. Fold in the dark chocolate chips.

Take a couple tablespoons of batter and roll it into a ball (it will be sticky, so dust your hands with the powdered sugar). Roll in the powdered sugar, ensuring a thick coating. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining dough.

Bake cookies at 350*F for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
This recipe was inspired by Panera. They have a red velvet crinkle cookie that I fell in love with. Since I've yet to have any success with red velvet anything, I figured a straight up chocolate crinkle cookie wouldn't be a bad thing. They're not bad tasting, but I'm not sure I like the crinkle-ness. The ones at Panera have like a dusting of powdered sugar that skillfully avoids the cracks in the cookie. The only way I figured they could do that was to bake the cookie with the powdered sugar on it. But it didn't turn out that way when I pulled the cookies out of the oven.

I'll work on it some more, I suppose. I also probably need a bit more flour. I always add too little when I'm doing these recipes.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

My family is in town this week, which means my mom brings her own version of recipes along with her. This time, it's this bread and a new twist on chicken salad, which I'll share in a bit. I was skeptical of the bread, since every yeast bread I make turns out really dense and tough. But, it turned out pretty well and was really easy to make, hence I'm sharing it. Enjoy!

Rosemary Foccacia Bread
Originally found at Alexandra Cooks

2 cups lukewarm water
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp active-dry yeast (or 1 packet)
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp butter, warmed to room temperature
2 Tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt
Dried Rosemary (about 1 tsp)

In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. Allow to sit 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy or bubbling. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. When the yeast mixture is foamy, add it to the flour bowl and mix until just combined. Cover and set aside in a warm spot for at least an hour.

Grease a 9x13 inch pan with the room temperature butter. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Punch down the dough and scrape it from the sides of the bowl, then transfer dough to the buttered dish. Pour olive oil over the dough and press out with your fingers to an even thickness throughout. Sprinkle the top with rosemary and sea salt. Allow the dough to rise 20-30 minutes, until approximately doubled in size again.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then decrease temperature to 375 and continue to bake until the top if golden brown. Turn out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

My Notes:
I was skeptical of this when my mom first made it, but it's pretty good. So good that the entire loaf disappears by the next morning, with four of us there to eat it (well, three and a half, since my baby sister eats like a bird and hides herself away in my room).

Iced Chai Latte

I've been going a little crazy with the recipes these past few weeks (if you couldn't tell from the multitude of photos posted in the past couple days) because I know I'm not going to have a whole lot of time once I officially start my job next month. Seems like a perfect time to stock up my freezer with pre-made foods in an attempt to eat somewhat healthy when I get home from work (my job provides lunch every day, so I don't have to worry so much about that).

I've also found a much easier way to transfer the photos on my phone to my computer, and then to add them to the blog than what I had been doing. If you can get it, the Transfer Pro app is amazing. It allows you to share photos between devices (phones/tablets/computers) over the same wireless network. It's pretty awesome.

This one is more of an original recipe. I was hanging out with one of my coworkers, and we decided to try a new coffee shop around where we live. Since I don't drink coffee, my go-to drink everywhere except Starbucks is a chai latte. The mix of tea and spices is just amazing and so I get it whenever I see it on the menu. But, the barista gave me the option of doing it iced. I'm not sure why this didn't occur to me before, but it was brilliant. Refreshing on the unbearably hot day, but still a nice pick me up.

So while I was out grocery shopping, I went down the tea and coffee aisle and decided to remake it. I think I did a fairly good job.



Iced Chai Latte
Copycat Recipe

5 tea bags chai
3 cups boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Pour the water over the tea bags and allow to steep 4-5 minutes. Remove bags and mix in sugar. Cool in fridge. This is your concentrate.

To prepare latte, fill glass with ice cubes. Mix equal parts concentrate and almond milk. Stir to combine. Enjoy!

My Notes:
Simple, yet oh so yummy. You can easily substitute the almond milk for soy, regular milk, or even cream, and adjust the mixture to your liking. I prefer the unsweetened almond milk because I use it in my cereal as well, but if you use sweetened milk, you might want to cut back on the sugar a bit. I make it a little strong, knowing that the ice cubes will melt into it and dilute the flavor some.

Beer Bread

My first experience with beer bread was one of my classmates bringing it to a class potluck. She did a rosemary/sage version of the loaf, and it was amazingly moist and crumbly and buttery. She brought it a few more times and I became obsessed. Thing is, I don't drink beer, so I really didn't want to go out and buy a case of beer just so that I could make the bread.

Thankfully, at another potluck I went to, one of my coworkers brought a case of bottled beer. In a variety of flavors. Since a number of other people also brought beer, there was a ton leftover, so I grabbed a bottle to give this thing a shot.

I used Blue Moon's Harvest Honey Wheat beer in my bread. You should use a beer that you'd enjoy the taste of, because while the alcohol will burn off, the taste of the beer itself will remain. This is probably something you want to avoid getting the cheapest beer you can find for.



Beer Bread
Originally found at Bess's Bistro

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ x 5″ x 3″ inch loaf pan. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in beer and honey. Mix to combine. Add water, as needed, to get all ingredients wet and a stiff dough.

Pour half the butter into the loaf pan. Spoon batter into the pan, then pour the rest of the butter over the loaf. Place in oven over cookie sheet or foil to stop drips. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

My Notes:
So, in my move, I realized that I don't own a loaf pan. Oops. So I actually made this in a Angel Food Cake pan. I was very nervous putting it in, because there is an uncertain seal at the bottom, making it almost certain I'd get drips in the oven from the butter. Also, with a single recipe of this stuff, I really had to spread it to get it to cover the pan. On the bright side, it made it pretty easy to get out of the pan :) Yes, I will go out and get a loaf pan. Once I start getting paid. It's on my list.

Roasted Garlic Twice Baked Potatoes

I'm working on finding recipes that I can freeze, so that when I get home from a 12 hour shift at the hospital this year, I don't have to stress so much about what I'm gonna make for dinner. One of the websites I found suggested twice baked potatoes, but then refused to provide a recipe. Well, that wouldn't do, would it? While browsing through my cookbooks, I found a recipe for smashed potatoes--essentially mashed potatoes, but with a little more texture. As the filling for twice baked potatoes is typically just some variation of mashed potatoes, I decided to give it a try.



Roasted Garlic Twice Baked Potatoes
Modified from Southern Living 2007 Annual Recipes, Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes

1 large garlic bulb
1 tsp olive oil
2 lbs potatoes, washed well
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Cut off pointed end of garlic bulb. Place on a piece of aluminum foil, then drizzle with olive oil and fold foil over top. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30-45 minutes. Cool. Remove roasted garlic.

Prick potatoes with fork, then place on oven rack (or foil covering the rack). Cook at 375 for about an hour, until done when pierced with fork. Allow to cool, then slice in half and spoon out inside of potato, leaving about 1/4 inch in the skin all the way around. Set aside skins.

Beat potato filling with cream cheese and sour cream. Add milk until the consistency is slightly stiffer than mashed potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon filling back into the skins. At this point, you can opt to freeze the potatoes.

If cooking without freezing, drizzle tops with olive oil and bake at 375 for 15 minutes, until tops are light brown and filling is heated through.

If cooking from frozen, place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes, until heated through.

My Notes:
Overall, not bad. I think I could use a little more creaminess. I reheated them from frozen and they were just a bit dry, but should be fine if you make them straight through. I'd probably up the cream cheese if I made them again.

Orzo Pasta Salad

I'm a big fan of pasta salads. Just not ones with mayo/Miracle Whip. They just seem too heavy to me. I like the light and refreshing ones with just a hint of olive oil, not drenched in the stuff so it collects on the plate or at the bottom of the bowl.

So when I had to come up with some side dish to bring to a potluck, I searched for some recipes for pasta salads. I found a couple that were interesting, but also laden with fat thanks to a creamy dressing like ranch or blue cheese. Plus, I really wanted something with orzo, since I had a bunch sitting in my cabinet. So, when I stumbled across this recipe, it worked out.



Apologies for the poor picture. It was taken quickly at the potluck I brought it to, so I didn't really stage it.

Orzo Pasta Salad
Originally found at Fork Knife Swoon

1 1/2 cups orzo, uncooked
2 Tbsp olive oil, or just enough to lightly coat the pasta
1 lemon
1 large cucumber, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the orzo until tender, according to package directions. Rinse in cold water and toss with olive oil. Zest and juice lemon and mix with pasta. Mix in cucumber, mint, and cheese. Chill at least 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold.

My Notes:
I think there needs to be some other spice in this dish, but I'm not entirely sure what. The people at my potluck enjoyed it, though, so I think it's a keeper.

Red Curry Lentil Soup

This is a post I was waiting to post until I got a picture of it taken. That hasn't happened yet and I'm getting sick of it sitting in my drafts folder. So here you go!

For some reason, I bought a jar of red curry a while ago, and have been searching for a way to use it. Thanks to Pinterest, I found a number of recipes for lentils as well. So when I got a gift card to Whole Foods, I figured Lentils would be a good thing to get and I made my way over. Unfortunately, as I was getting ready to make the recipe that I thought sounded the best, I realized I didn't have any coconut milk. Sadness. So I improvised and ended up doing a bunch of substitutions to end up with this lovely soup. It's nice and warm and fills you up nicely.

Red Curry Lentil Soup
Originally found at Zesty Cook

1 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
3 cups vegetable broth + 2 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)

In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and carrot and cook until tender. Add the garlic, ginger, and curry paste, heating until fragrant. Add in the lentils, vegetable broth, water, and tomatoes, and cook until the lentils are soft, about 10-15 minutes. Add in the cayenne pepper (more to taste), then add the chickpeas and heat through. Serve hot with a side of flatbread.

My Notes:
This dish has a ton of fiber and protein. The original recipe calls for quinoa as well, but I didn't have any on hand, so I skipped it. They also recommend garnishing with cilantro and plain greek yogurt, but I found it wonderful even without the extra creaminess. It's great reheated, and the flavors really meld together well. Though this makes a ton of food (far more than enough to feed lil' ol' me), I'll be make this again in the future.

Easy Fudge

The lovely Ms. Stephanie over at A Year of Slow Cooking posted this recipe a few weeks ago. I immediately wanted to give it a try. So I went out and bought the only thing I was missing--chocolate chips--and proceeded to make it as one of the first dishes in my new place. It's inaugural fudge!



Easy Fudge
Originally found at A Year of Slow Cooking

3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Spray the crock well with cooking spray. Dump in everything. Cover, and turn heat to low. Stir every 30 minutes. Once the chocolate is fully melted (about 2 hours), pour into a lined 9x9 baking pan. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Cut into bite-sized squares. Store in a cool, dry place.

My Notes:
It's not terrible. It's certainly not the best fudge ever, but it's easy, and doesn't include Marshmallow Creme, which so many of the recipes now do. It's very creamy, but very, very rich. While I normally indulge in fudge quite often, this one I can only do a couple of small pieces at a time (I divided my 9x9 pan into roughly 36 squares).

Overall, it's probably a recipe I'll use again. Just make sure you stir every 1/2 hour or so. Even on low, this gets hot enough to scorch the chocolate if you're not watching.

Chorreadas

This is a dish that I didn't actually have while in Costa Rica, but when I was looking for recipes for gallo pinto, I came across it and was fascinated by it. So much so that I decided to make it. These are fresh corn pancakes, generally made a little sweet. They are evidently served with sour cream, but I'm not much of a fan, so I served them plain.

Chorreadas
Originally found at Taringa.net (note that this page is in Spanish)

2 cups of fresh (raw) corn
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 eggs
Oil, as needed

Blend together corn and water until well pureed. Mix in sugar, flour, and eggs until well combined. Heat a small amount of oil over medium-high heat in a skillet, and pour a bit of the batter onto the hot surface. Allow to cook until lightly brown, then flip and brown the other side. Serve warm.

My Notes:
Do not attempt to make these regular sized pancakes, as they do not form quite as well and you'll have a heck of a time trying to flip them. I'd aim for palm-sized pancakes. Mine weren't very pretty, but they tasted awesome. Good enough to eat without any toppings, though you can have fun and top them with whatever you'd like. Previous suggestions I've heard include sour cream, cilantro, etc.

Enjoy!

Gallo Pinto

Last month, I spent 2 1/2 weeks in Costa Rica. And while it was a terrible place to attempt to keep kosher on my own (especially with me not speaking very good Spanish, and my host mom not quite understanding what I could and could not eat), I did learn to love some particular dishes that I encountered there. See, the typical 'casado' is a lunchtime meal consisting of rice and beans (mixed or not), some sort of meat, some sort of salad, and fried plantains, with a side of 'fresa', or fruit juice. Even after being there for 2 weeks, I was still loving the daily rice and beans. Such a simplistic and filling part of the meal, and they made it so flavorful.

In the central region of Costa Rica, the area around San Jose, the combination of rice and beans is referred to as 'gallo pinto'. The dish 'rice and beans' is actually on the Caribbean side and is made with coconut milk. I was not fortunate enough to travel to the Caribbean side (due to concerns over malaria there), so I did not try this version, but I heard it is also awesome.

So without further ado, I present to you the Americanized version of Gallo Pinto.



(Note that this particular picture includes scrambled eggs as well--it's a great variation for breakfast if you happen to have leftovers from lunch or dinner).

Gallo Pinto
Adapted from Perry's Plate

1 1/2 cups rice
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 15oz cans cooked black beans, drained
1 Tbsp cumin
1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Cook rice as directed. Allow to cool completely.

In a saute pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and red bell pepper and cook until just soft. Add beans and cumin, stirring well and heating through. Combine with rice, and mix well. Add Worcestershire sauce, stirring well to coat rice. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Season as needed with salt and pepper.

My Notes:
This is best done with rice leftover from the previous night or cooked earlier in the day. You really do want cold rice, as it prevents the rice from getting all mushy and sticky.

I was skeptical about using Worchestershire sauce in this recipe, but it actually turned out quite well. My friends went up for seconds, and said they would've gone up for seconds and thirds had it been socially acceptable. Always the compliment of a great dish.

Crazy Cake Variations

Apologies for not posting in the past couple months; I just got back from Costa Rica, and will have a few more recipes posted within the next few days. I also have a couple months of no responsibilities, so pending funding for food, I fully plan on exploring some new recipes in that time. For now, I have some variations to Crazy cakes that I've been working on for a while.

Like most people who get introduced to Crazy Cakes, I got a tiny bit obsessed with them. And wanted to try out other flavors. A couple of these were already developed by others, but they have been tested by yours truly, and they are quite good. The instructions for all are essentially the same, so I'll put those at the bottom.

Almond Crazy Cake
Original recipe

1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water

Spiced Crazy Cake
Adapted from Sweet Little Bluebird

1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice or spice mix
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water

Pumpkin Spice Crazy Cake
Adapted from Crazy Cake Recipes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree (mix in with oil)
1/3 Cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 Cup Water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You can mix the ingredients directly in an 8" square baking pan, or you can do it in a bowl first. Mix the dry ingredients together until well blended. Make 3 depressions in the dry ingredients--two small, and one larger. Pour vinegar in one depression, extracts in another, and vegetable oil in the largest. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth. Pour into prepared pan if mixing in a bowel.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar, or your favorite icing.

My Notes:
Play around, mix and match--have fun with all these. There are endless possibilities here!

Cornbread

Cornbread
Originally found at Coupon Closet

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients until well combined. Add egg, milk, and oil, and mix until just combined. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

My Notes:
Not the dairy-free version I was hoping for, but it's a step in the right direction. The dry ingredients can be pre-mixed and stored in an airtight container, and used in any recipe requiring 'cornbread' or 'Jiffy' mix.

Southwest Egg Rolls

I have been eagerly awaiting the day when I could make these. I had the hardest time finding egg roll wrappers at my grocery store, but I randomly found them one day. I have yet to see them there again. I wonder if someone requested them...

Southwest Egg Rolls
Originally found at Emily Bites

2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups shredded cheese
4 scallions (green onions), chopped
1 (4 oz) can of green chiles, drained
1 t ground cumin
½ t chili powder
¼ t cayenne pepper
1 package egg roll wrappers

Preheat the oven to 425. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except egg roll wrappers. Stir to combine.

For your assembly station, you'll need a flat, clean, dry surface; your filling; a bowl of water; and your oven sheet for baking. For instructions on how to roll an egg roll, see this link. Use a few heaping tablespoons of filling per wrapper. Do not overfill.

When all egg rolls are assembled, lightly brush or mist the tops with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn and brush or mist the other side with oil. Bake another 5-10 minutes, until wrappers are golden brown. Serve warm.

My Notes:
I omitted the spinach in my version, because I didn't feel like taking the time to wilt the fresh spinach I had on hand to mix it in with the rest of the filling. As a result, I had far less filling than Emily did, and only managed to fill about 14 wrappers (I also think I was a little more generous with my filling than she was at first). You can also go crazy and fry these, just make sure they're sealed reallly good, because you don't want oil splattering everywhere if they burst open. Baking does change the texture a little--they're not quite as chewy and much more crunchy than crispy, but they're still good.

Crockpot Chocolate Peanut Clusters

Last one of the holiday recipes. I had an issue getting all my pictures downloaded, which is why it's taken this long for me to get them all up.

Crockpot Chocolate Peanut Clusters
Originally found at Redbook Magazine

1 lb (36 oz) salted dry-roasted peanuts
2 oz (2 squares) German's sweet chocolate
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 lb white almond bark

Pour peanuts over bottom of 2-quart slow cooker. Layer the chocolate over the peanuts. Set temperature to low and cook for 2-3 hours. Mix well and drop by tablespoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight container.

My Notes:
This recipe was initially doubled for a 4-quart slow cooker, but this produces a lot of clusters. Great if you plan on giving them away, not so great if you plan on eating them yourself. I ended up bringing home a giant container of them because my stepmom and dad were intending on starting a diet after the new year. They are quite good--nice and smooth and creamy.

Toffee Crack

You though I was kidding with the bajillion recipes this month. My stepmom really likes to bake, so I have a number of new baking recipes for you. None of them very good for you, but oh, so delicious. A few of the names are changed, because I just don't feel right naming something "Christmas Crack" when I don't really celebrate Christmas.

Toffee Crack
Originally found at Toffee Crack

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 sleeve Saltine crackers
12 oz. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar in the butter and bring them to a boil. Boil for three minutes. Meanwhile, cover a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Arrange crackers over the pan. Pour the caramel mixture over the crackers, spreading the caramel as necessary to cover the crackers. Bake for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers and allow to soften. Spread with a spatula. Allow to cool completely, then remove from foil-lined pan and break-up into bite-sized pieces. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
The original recipe asks that you freeze the mixture to cool it, and then keep it in the fridge. While this may be necessary for preventing the pieces from sticking together, they are certainly safe to keep out on the counter. I have not made them by allowing them to cool naturally, so if you do and they never really harden, please let me know and I'll adjust the directions accordingly.

This is a very sugary, typical holiday treat. Eat with caution.