Angel Kisses

50th post! :)

Remember those 8 egg whites I had leftover from the lemon curd in the Lemon Cake?  Well, I found a good use for 6 of them (the rest work just fine in scrambled eggs): a double batch of Angel Kisses.

Angel Kisses are, you guessed it from the picture and the amount of egg whites, meringue cookies.  Very easy to make with an electric mixer, and very good - oh yeah, and they have chocolate in them.

This is yet another Joanne Fluke recipe, from her Cherry Cheesecake Murder.

Angel Kisses
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
about 30 Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.  Let egg whites come to room temperature.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt until they hold a soft peak.  Gradually add in the sugar, beating hard after each addition.  Sprinkle in the flour and mix at low speed.
3. Drop little mounds of dough on cookie sheet, 16 mounds per sheet.
4. Place one Hershey's Kiss, pointed up, on each mound.  Press down slightly on the Kiss, but don't push it to the bottom of the dough mound.  Drop another meringue mound on top and make sure that it covers the Kiss.  (Spread/poke at it with a spoon until you can't see the Kiss anymore.)
5. Bake at 275 degrees F. for about 40 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are slightly golden and dry to the touch.
6. Cool on a wire rack.  When completely cool, peel off cookies from paper and store in an airtight container in a DRY place or serve.  Yield: 3 to 4 dozen.

You don't have to use Hershey's Kisses in this recipe - any small chocolate candy without a coating will do - but the name is "Angel Kisses" for a reason...and plus the Kiss gives the cookies an adorable shape.

Breaking it down:
Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt...

...until soft peaks form.

Gradually add in sugar...

Then add flour...

...and mix well.

Drop by mounds onto cookie sheet.

Take your Kisses...

Unwrap them...

...and place one in the middle of each mound.  (Aren't they so cute?)

Press down slightly on each Kiss...

...and drop another meringue mound on top to cover it up.  Make sure it covers it completely or you'll have cracks in your cookies!

Bake at 275 degrees F. for 40 minutes and cool on a wire rack.  Peel off and enjoy!

These are by far the cutest cookies (without decoration, of course) that I've made - and they taste pretty good, too.  Enjoy!
-JJ

Mini Kisses Butter Pecan Bars

I'mmmmm baaaaack!

And soon there will be several pictures of my vacation.  Unfortunately, I don't have a waterproof camera, so I couldn't take any undersea pix... :'(  But I have several nice ones and perhaps a few Look Up pictures, as well!

In the meantime, I didn't even last a whole day before I had to bake something.  Sure, I had one week of really good food and the generally crappy airport fare, but I just couldn't take it any longer.  I had to bake.  Preferably something chocolate.

So, considering I had a bunch of pecans and some Mini Hershey's Kisses lying around, I found the perfect recipe to use those up and satisfy my baking and chocolate cravings: Mini Kisses Butter Pecan Bars.

Mini Kisses Butter Pecan Bars
REQUIRES SOFTENED BUTTER

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
10-oz. pkg. (1 3/4 cups) Mini Hershey's Kisses (or any other milk chocolate chip), divided
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 8-inch square baking pan or use nonstick pan.
2. Beat butter in a medium bowl until creamy.  Beat in brown sugar.  Add egg and vanilla.  Beat in flour.
3. Stir in 3/4 cup Kisses/chips and 1/4 cup pecans.  Spread evenly into pan.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes (25 recommended) or until lightly browned; remove from oven.
5. Immediately sprinkle remaining 1 cup chocolates over top.  Let stand 5 minutes or until chips/Kisses soften.  Spread with spatula or knife.
6. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup pecans over top; press in gently with your fingers.
7. Cool completely in pan on wire rack, then cut into bars, 6 by 2.  12 bars.

Breaking it down:
Beat butter, then beat in sugar...

Add egg and vanilla and mix well...

Beat in flour...

Add Kisses...

...and stir.  Stir in pecans and spread evenly in an 8x8 baking pan...

Bake for 25 minutes.

Sprinkle with 1 cup Kisses...

Let it sit for 5 minutes and then spread the molten Kisses with a spatula...

Sprinkle on pecans and press them into the chocolate with your fingers.

Let cool completely and cut into long, thin bars.

Enjoy!

-JJ

Hershey's Kisses + Marshmallows = Chocolate Mousse

I found a recipe for chocolate mousse on the back of the Valentine's Day bag of Hershey's Kisses.  Since I had lots of leftover mini marshmallows for hot chocolate on cold (or not-so-cold) winter days, I decided to make a half batch and give it away as a late Valentine's Day gift.

My impression of the mousse is this: it's relatively easy to make, but probably not worth it.  Still, I'm posting it anyway, so give it a go and you might like it more than I did!

Hershey's Kiss Chocolate Mousse

36 Hershey's Chocolate Kisses

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1/3 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup (1/2 pint) whipping cream

Additional Kisses to garnish

1. Combine marshmallows with milk in a saucepan over low heat.  Stir constantly until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth, then remove from heat.
2. Pour 1/3 cup marshmallow mixture into medium bowl and stir in almond extract.  Set aside.
3. Unwrap Kisses.  Add Kisses to remaining marshmallow mixture and return to low heat.  Stir constantly until the mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
4. Beat whipping cream in another small bowl until stiff.  Fold 1 cup whipping cream into chocolate mixture.  Fold remaining whipping cream into reserved marshmallow mixture.
5. Pour chocolate mixture into 4 glasses/bowls.  Spoon marshmallow mixture on top.  Garnish with extra Kisses if desired.  Refrigerate 3-4 hours.  Makes 4 servings.

Remember, I halved this recipe, so your mousse will look different.  Let's break it down:

Combine marshmallows with milk on the stove...

Stir until smooth.

Combine 1/3 of the marshmallow mixture with almond extract.

Unwrap Kisses...

Add to marshmallow mixture...

And combine over heat until smooth.

Remove from heat.  As that cools, beat whipping cream until stiff...

Fold one cup into the chocolate mixture.  Then fold the rest into the marshmallow mixture.

Pour chocolate mixture into desired containers, top with marshmallow mixture, and plunk an extra Kiss on top to look pretty! :)

Have a lovely day!

-JJ