treats | Books Take You Places

Hello all! I am so excited to have April from The Steadfast Reader on Books Take You Places because she is sharing a yummy recipe with us today! You all know how much I love my autumn related TREATS! I know you’re all probably wondering what you can do with those goopy pumpkin seeds after carving your beautiful jack o’ lanterns this year, well LOOK NO FURTHER. Behold! A delicious sounding treat from April!

Sugar and Spice Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Sugar and Spice Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

What better use of your seeds liberated from your newly carved jack o’ lantern than toasting them? This is a recipe that takes toasted pumpkin seeds to a whole new level. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed and

dried

6 tablespoons white sugar, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dry and toasted. Larger seeds may take longer.

2. In a large bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons of white sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and sprinkle the remaining sugar over them. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts, about 45 seconds. Pour seeds into the bowl with the spiced sugar and stir until coated. Allow to cool before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

How amazing do these sound? I will be trying them for sure. Thank you so much for joining us April! This years Fortnight of Fright is coming to an end, I will have one more review for you tomorrow, and then you’re all on your own! As always, head on over to see what B has in store and happy haunting, all!

Today Candice from The Grown-Up YA is here today to talk about one of her favorite holiday treats! Try to have a snack handy because your tummy will be rumbling after reading this post!

For as long as I can remember, giving my dad chocolate covered cherries has been a NECESSITY for Christmas. I would hate to see what would happen if we didn’t give him any for Christmas; I imagine it would be similar to the events described in the Book of Revelations.

My dad is also an expert at “guessing” what’s in his gifts. Which is annoying, especially when we go to great lengths to try to trick him. You know, wrapping a DVD in a giant box. We’ve event tried it with his chocolate covered cherries, but I truly believe he’s like Toucan Sam. He can smell those things a mile away and just follows his nose to them.

After Christmas, those cherries become high cotton in our house. He may offer you one on Christmas morning, ‘tis the season and all. But after that they are OFF LIMITS. Seriously. He puts them in the freezer – they last longer that way you know – and I actually think he takes inventory of those things.

Luckily, I’ve never developed a fancy towards them, so I’ve never wanted them. I don’t think any of us really like them. Thank goodness for Daddy, right?!

Several years ago I discovered how to make homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries and my dad LOOOOVVVEEEEDDD them. I try to make an effort to make him some every year for Christmas, in addition to the store bought ones. Of course, it’s even more of an effort not to eat half of them BEFORE Christmas!

Chocolate Covered Cherries

Maraschino Cherries (approx. 50-60), with stems or without

Dipping Chocolate

2 C Powdered Sugar

1/4 to 1/2 C Sweetened Condensed Milk

¼ C Margarine or Butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract (almond adds a great flavor)

Dash of Salt

Drain and rinse cherries; freeze.

Mix powdered sugar, ¼ C sweetened condensed milk, margarine or butter, extract and salt until it makes a dense paste ball. You can add more condensed milk as needed.

Roll paste into 1” ball.

Flatten into disk and wrap around cherry until completely covered. You can roll the paste covered cherry in your hands to help shape it into a ball. Repeat for all cherries.

Melt chocolate. Dip cherries into chocolate, covering completely. If you don’t have cherries with stems, use a fork to help. Shake off excess chocolate and place onto wax paper.

Sometimes cherries can juice out of any cracks or weak spots in the chocolate. Use a toothpick or tine of a fork to cover with extra melted chocolate.

The cherries will “ripen” after you cover them in the fondant and chocolate, meaning the sugar in the fondant will cause the cherries to juice, creating a sweet liquid between the chocolate and the cherry, kind of like the store bought ones. The longer you let them sit, the more they “ripen.”

But good luck making them last that long!

These sound delicious, Candice! I have never been fond of chocolate covered cherries myself but my mouth was surely watering after looking at these pictures! Your dad is one lucky man!

How about you, friends? Any special holiday treats you make or receive every year?