Happen Bakers: Judith

Meet Judith, the newest member of the Happen Bakers club!

I'm particularly excited about this one, because unlike Michelle and Lilah, I have never officially met Judith... which means young bakers are now reaching out from across the country to share their talents!  In this case, Judith is a 13 year-old girl living in South Carolina who has been baking for the past five or so years.  What began with simple sugar cookies quickly developed into more challenging desserts, such as scones, tartlets, muffins and impressive cakes.  Now, her friends and family come knocking and requesting her decorated confections for birthdays and celebrations, and Judith is happy to comply.  In her own words, she wants to "use her abilities to serve others" - um, do you think her mom is proud?!  I'm not her mother, but I sure am, and it's precisely young females like Judith that define what a Happen Baker is: a positive individual, creatively paving their way through this world in the most delicious way.   

Learn more about Judith below as she whips up these delicious Lemon Tartlets!  

(My younger self is saying... what is a tartlet??)  

Recipe for the Lemon Tartlets with Lemon Curd HERE.  

When did you start baking?

I started baking when I was about 8 years old and I was inspired by watching my mom bake.  I also had been getting into baking and cooking shows and, of course, I wanted to try it too!

How did you learn?

The first thing I baked was simple sugar cookies which led me to learn a lot about baking.  I also learned a lot from watching my mom bake and watching videos and tutorials online.

What do you love most about it?

I love baking for many reasons.  One thing I love most about it is it is a way to be creative and express myself.  I think of it as my form of art.  

What's the most challenging thing you've attempted?

The most challenging thing I've baked was a unicorn cake because the decorations were very difficult.  

What's your dream dessert?

My dream dessert is a lemon cake with blueberry frosting and simple and elegant decorations.

Name 3 celebrities you'd like to bake with...

Duff Goldman, Rosanna Pansino and Linsey Lam who won the Kids Baking Championship season 4.  

Most epic kitchen fail?

My biggest fail in the kitchen was when I was making a cookie cake for a birthday.  I pulled it out of the oven and was trying to slide it onto a plate when it slipped out of my hands and I dropped it in the oven and it made a huge mess.  I had to make another one quickly because the birthday was very soon!

Any favorite songs you listen to in the kitchen?

I haven't listened to music while baking, but I may give it a try.  Until now I usually hear my little sister and brother whooping and hollering in the background.  

Favorite food site or YouTube channel?

I love the Food Network website and I also enjoy watching Rosanna Pansino's YouTube channel.

When you're not baking, you are...

When I'm not baking I'm running, singing in my choir or playing the piano.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years, I want to be using my abilities to serve others.  I also want to open a bakery and want to have been on a baking competition TV show.  I want to give to others and provide my services in many ways.

Judith - you are a superstar and your creative, kind spirit shines through your baking!

Until next month, Happen Bakers...

Buckeye Fudge

More fudge!  Fudgy fudge fudge.   I'm a huge fan of Buckeye Candy this time of year, which is a peanut butter ball of confection partially dipped in chocolate, so when I found a recipe for Buckeye Fudge I knew I must have it.  In my kitchen.  In my mouth.  They were very easy to make, they taste smooth and creamy, and once again, homemade fudge is the perfect holiday treat to give and to receive.  In your mouth.      

Recipe HERE.

Cookies 'n Cream Fudge

This is the easiest and quickest sweet treat you'll make all holiday season!  There are three ingredients and you could probably bang it out in five minutes - seriously, go try, I'll time you.  Who doesn't love homemade fudge, especially when it's laced with Oreo cookies?  Do they make Christmas Oreo cookies?  Because that's the only thing that would make these more fabulous.  Now go forth!  Do something simple for a change of pace, make these for your loved ones.  Be merry.  See you later. 

Recipe below...

Cookies 'n Cream Fudge

Makes 24-48 pieces (depending on size)

Printable Recipe

1 bag white chocolate chips (11 or 12 oz)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

25 Oreo cookies

Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.  Place cookies in a large plastic bag and crush them into chunky pieces using anything heavy (I used a wine bottle, sure did).  In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt white chocolate chips and milk together, stirring frequently.  Add crushed cookies and stir.  Immediately pour into prepared pan and smooth top with a spatula.  Refrigerate until firm, and store for up to a week in the fridge in tupperware. 

Apple Cider Donuts

I've made donuts before (here and here) but Apple Cider Donuts are in a league of their own, especially this time of year.  You see them at every pumpkin patch, every farmer's market, and they are pretty hard to pass up.  The aroma alone is a staple of the season, but that sweet, sugary taste is something else.  I decided to make my own this weekend with my kids, because I like to torture myself.  Just kidding!  It was fun!  They helped!  A mess ensued!  

I was pleasantly surprised how simple this recipe was.  Other than allowing a few hours for the dough to rise, they didn't take much time at all, and my kids loved cutting out the circles (I have this set).  My donuts fried up much quicker than the recipe called for, however, so keep an eye on them because they can easily burn.  Once you're done, you will be enjoying these delicious, cake-like donuts for days.  Seriously, someone come eat the rest of mine please.   

Recipe HERE.  

White Chocolate Blueberry Truffles

I'm going to take a wild guess that wherever you live, it's hot.  Humid too, maybe?  Sort of like you're living in an armpit?  Or maybe it's a nice dry heat.  Like you're stranded, naked, in the middle of the dessert.  With a pet camel.  OR it's totally beautiful and you have no idea what I'm talking about...

Anyway.  As much as I love to bake, I usually don't want to turn the oven on in the middle of summer.  That's why I was so excited to come across this truffle recipe.  I've made truffles before (here and here), but a rich, dark chocolate is usually the star of the treat.  These stood out because they are made with only 5 simple ingredients, two of which are sweet blueberries and creamy white chocolate.  They were extremely easy to throw together, and my kids had fun helping me roll them into truffle balls!  I highly recommend for a no-bake summer treat.     

Recipe here.

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Cake

My dear, sweet, loving husband was born on June 22nd.  That is today, in fact!  Happy Birthday Carson!!!  (He won't read this.)  Anyway.  If you are unfamiliar with June 22nd (weird thing to say), it is the day after the first day of summer.  It is often the last day of school for many.  And, AND, it happens to be VERY close to Father's Day.  One year, the two dates were actually one day apart.  Why am I writing things that are obvious?  Because I'm trying to justify my lack of enthusiasm for baking two cakes for two great occasions in such a short (busy) period of time.  

  That's why this year, I tried to combine things that I know Carson loves (mainly ice cream and the chocolate/peanut butter combo) in a dessert that was very easy to pull off.  Enter this ice cream cake: a mouth-watering crowd pleaser that anyone can throw together, and I mean ANYONE (especially if you have kids willing to unwrap all the peanut butter cups in exchange for one or two or five).   

It begins with an Oreo crust... yes, I said that.  One whole package of Oreos, crushed together, combined with melted butter and pressed into a cake pan.  Then, the ice cream.  Best part?  You can choose your favorite flavor, brand, make your own, etc.  I decided to layer my cake with a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and a Vanilla Bean (this brand).  There is hot fudge and crushed peanut butter cups in between the two layers, more hot fudge on the top, and MORE crushed cups on top of that.  All that's really time consuming is letting your layers melt in between, but I think at the end of the day... we all have patience for that.  After all, ice cream cake is worth the wait.  As would my husband's birthday be if he could move it just... you know... a weeeee bit further away from Father's Day.   

Full cake recipe here.  (But again, modify it to your liking!)

S'mores Bark

In the last 10 days, we had 7 house guests, a 1st communion, a party with close to 100 people and a 3-day trip to California (complete with a redeye).  That's a lot of numbers, and if you add them together, it equals 1 brain-dead mom.  But guess what?  Even when you're incapable of barely anything, you can make this S'mores Bark.  It's the easiest thing, requiring 3 ingredients that you probably have in your pantry and the best part?  You can make your kids do it for you... 

That little blue girl was no help, however.  

Recipe here!  

Have a great weekend and Memorial Day... and thank you to the brave men and women who serve our country to keep us safe.

Andes Mint Fudge

I love fudge, fudgy fudge fudge.  Fudge is my favorite, like smiling.  Smiling is my other favorite.  And if you're not watching the movie "Elf" as much as we are, then you probably have no idea what I'm talking about right now.  Anyway, I made this glorious fudge the other day that tastes exactly like a giant Andes Mint.  Chocolate fudge on the bottom, white chocolate fudge with peppermint extract in the middle and a dark chocolate topping that's sprinkled with mini chocolate chips and chopped up Andes Mints.  It should be it's own food group this time of year... Buddy would approve.

Recipe HERE.

Candy Corn Pretzel Hugs

If you need a last minute Halloween treat to make for whatever you're doing tonight (costume party, trick-or-treating, Monday night football, binging on candy in your pajamas while watching The Voice, etc.), these Candy Corn Pretzel Hugs couldn't be easier to make.  They require three ingredients, four minutes of baking, and a few tiny helper hands to unwrap all the Hershey's Hugs.  They are sweet, salty, crunchy and smooth... all at once.  Everyone will ask you for the recipe, and you will be a Halloween Hero.  

Recipe here.

Pumpkin Spice Truffles

It's October!!!  Ok, no it's not.  But can you believe it's almost October??  September officially flew by and now it's time to pull the Halloween decorations out of the attic and stock up on candy corn.  I was trying REALLY HARD to avoid making pumpkin-y things on my blog but I couldn't wait when I saw these Pumpkin Spice Truffles.  It's pumpkin puree and cream cheese and graham cracker crumbs and all the yummy fall spices rolled into a ball and dipped in white chocolate.  How can you avoid that??  You can't, is the answer.  And anyway, soon October will be over (and so will this election THANK GOD) so you might as well crack open the pumpkin vault now.  

Recipe here.

Pineapple Vodka Soft Serve

Yep, you read that correctly.  This is creamy soft serve, made from chunks of fresh pineapple with, yes, VODKA in it.  Tasty videos for the win again!!  When I saw this it wasn't a question of WILL I make it, it was WHEN.  While it did require freezing for 6 hours, the entire process was pretty simple!  Especially if you're lazy and buy pre-chopped up pineapple like me.  This is the perfect little (adult) treat for the summer heat.  

You can find the recipe in the comment section HERE.

Salted S'more Truffles

I saw these suckers floating around the Internet and I was like, YUP, on my way to the store, need some marshmallow fluff.  And by the way, if you already have fluff, you probably have everything else you need to make these because they only require mini chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbs, and more chocolate.  They come together in no time, and would be perfect for a Memorial Day BBQ!  However, if I were to do this again I would cut down on the graham cracker crumbs (probably only using 1 cup) because I found it difficult to combine everything.  They taste just as delicious as the S'mores you're used to, minus the campfire.  Enjoy, and have happy weekends!

Recipe here.

Chocolate Coconut Balls

Can you tell I am "out with one holiday, in with the other" around here?  It's not even March yet but my house is popping with green (especially now that I'm officially a "Daly" which totally makes me Irish, right?).  Feeling conflicted about when to put Easter up, however, it's so early this year.  Thoughts?  These are important matters we must discuss.  Also important?  How easy and delicious these 4-ingredient coconut balls are!  If you love coconut, make these now.  They are perfect for that after-dinner craving (or after lunch, breakfast...).  Recipe here.

4-Ingredient Banana Blondies

I can't tell you how many times I've glanced at my overly-ripe bananas and gone straight to my computer to google "baked banana recipes."  The number is probably absurd, in fact, I'm pretty sure if it could, my computer would roll its eyes at me.  But guess what you RUDE, SARCASTIC COMPUTER, there are still so many recipes to try!  Like, who knew I would find these simple, four-ingredient HEALTHY blondies that come together in mere MINUTES?!

I followed this recipe with a couple of adaptions based on what I had in my pantry: I used all-purpose flour instead of coconut and regular peanut butter instead of cashew.  Otherwise I used two mashed bananas and maple syrup as the recipe instructed.  Mine seem to be slightly doughier than his but they sure do taste good!  I froze them overnight and plan on keeping them in there for a go-to and guilt-free weekend treat.  Actually, they're totally suitable for breakfast, right?  Good answer!    

Ultimate Seven Layer Bars

These are bananas.  Hands down, the best Seven Layer Bars I've ever made.  I followed this recipe which includes all the normal ingredients from the familiar bars - chocolate, butterscotch, coconut, pecans, ooey, gooey sweetened condensed milk, etc - with one amazing variation.  Instead of a basic graham cracker crust, it's a graham cracker butterscotch cookie crust!  DID YOU HEAR ME?!  It's amazing.  This is the only picture I took before we ate the rest.  So much for gifting them to people!    

White Chocolate Peppermint Candy Fudge

I love making fudge, especially during the holidays, but using a candy thermometer can be intimidating (remember this fudge fail?).  That's why I was excited to find a method that only uses your microwave!  I whipped this White Chocolate Fudge together in a matter of minutes and it's rich, creamy, and deliciously festive.  I followed this recipe but swapped the chocolate candy for peppermint M&M's, peppermint Kisses and chopped up candy canes.  Another great gift idea!  

*Note: to chop candy canes I place them, unwrapped, in a bag and use a hammer or meat tenderizer to smash them into pieces.  It's fun... a good stress reliever this time of year.

More fudge...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Bittersweet Chocolate Fudge with Sea Salt

Cookie Butter Truffles

These Cookie Butter Truffles are absurd.  Absurd!!  I mean, first of all, Cookie Butter.  That's all, just... Cookie Butter.  Nothing else needs to be said.  Who invented this magical jar of goodness, because that person deserves a country named after them.  Or we could just call the country Cookie Butter, and I want to move to there.  Sorry this post is really getting away from me.  Probably because I've been staying up until midnight all week wrapping presents and then my baby wakes up at 5:45 which would be ILLEGAL ACTIVITY IN THE COUNTRY OF COOKIE BUTTER.  

Make these.  They are simple, require few ingredients, yield a crap load, will last forever in your fridge or freezer and make great gifts.  Recipe here and more truffle ideas below.

More truffles...

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffles

Nutella Truffles

White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Truffles

Cookie Dough Truffles

Sea Salt Pumpkin Butter Cups

Halloween Candy season may be over, but Pumpkin has not gone out of style just yet.  I saw these online the other morning at 5AM because my 14 month-old is all, SCREW YOU TIME CHANGE, THIS FEELS LIKE 6AM STILL, and I realized I actually had everything I needed to make them!  Chocolate chips, pumpkin puree, almond butter, pumpkin pie spice and honey.  That's it.  A dark chocolate shell with a creamy pumpkin butter center.  Oh, and sea salt on top because chocolate can barely go without it these days.  They were easy to make and delicious (however I recommend popping them in the fridge to let the bottom chocolate harden before you add the filling and top).

Enjoy these.  Enjoy your weekends.  Enjoy your sleep if you're getting any (I hate you).    

Recipe here.

Homemade Take 5 Bars

Are you ready for the best weekend ever?  A glutenous, guilt-free, indulgent weekend full of candy and costumes and sports??  At least that's the type of weekend I'm about to have.  I have my red cape and red lipstick all ready to go because I'm sorry, but I couldn't find a single non-slutty Little Red Riding Hood dress, so that's what I'm going with.  My Grandmother/Wolf, Hawkeye, Ariel and Elmo are very excited to trick-or-treat.  And last night I made these Homemade Take Five bars following this recipe, hence the beginning of the best weekend ever... because when you put peanut butter on pretzels and then caramel on top of that and then dip the whole thing in chocolate YOU WIN!

For more Homemade Halloween treats - like Butterfingers, Snickers, Almond Joys, Peanut Butter Cups and Peppermint Patties - click here.  For Baby Ruth Bars, click here.  Happy Halloween!