Fluffernutter -

by snebbu

Endless Christmas Cookies: Fluffernutter Candies

I’m pretty sure my wife has made more cookies than Mrs. Clause does this time of year. Awful, I know. There’s the nostalgic cookies that remind us both of our families, then the cookies made because they are Italian and that’s what Italians do, the experimentals … the list goes on. This year, we introduced fluffernuter candies to the list. First off, if you like peanut butter, then you’ll love these. Secondly, they are very easy to make – no baking required.

These crack-like substances are made from four things: Ritz crackers, peanut butter, fluff, and chocolate. Sandwich a rich and luscious mixture of peanut butter and fluff between two Ritz crackers. STOP. DO NOT eat the sandwich. You will be tempted for sure. Then, dip these scrumptious sandwiches in melted chocolate until submerged. That’s it. Friends and family will be impressed (if you have any left by the time the holidays come around). Make sure you find a good spot to forget about them until then…because you can’t eat just one.

In case you need a “real” recipe, here it is:

Ingredients:

Ritz Crackers
Peanut Butter
Fluff
Melting Chocolates

Mix together peanut butter and fluff to a ratio of your liking (half and half works well)
Spread mixture onto cracker and top with another cracker
Melt melting chocolates in microwave
Dip/cover sandwiches in melted chocolate and let them cool

Yes…it is that easy. You’re welcome.

by snebbu

Marshmallows Gone Wild! Top 10 Summertime Uses for Jumbo Marshmallows

Maybe I’m just sheltered, but I never knew about jumbo marshmallows until I saw a large palate of them in a grocery store near the shore a few weeks ago. As a proponent of campfires and burning marshmallows to a charred, crispy, oozing sweet goodness, you would imagine that I got excited.

With the summer finally here, it’s time we break out the mallows and start toasting away. But wait…there’s more you can do with a marshmallow than toast it in a fire? Well yes, and here are ten favorite, craziest ways:

10. Chocolate and Caramel Covered Marshmallow Pops

Whenever we’re making caramel apples, I make sure no caramel goes to waste. I dip marshmallows in the caramel, then set them in the freezer. Why didn’t I think of then dipping in chocolate afterwards? I’m ashamed. The peeps (no pun intended) at the turtle’s life for me made these. A layer of crushed Oreos after the caramel and before the chocolate would MAKE these.

(Photo: A Turtle’s Life for Me)

9. Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

They sell toasted coconut marshmallows in stores — but I’m pretty sure they couldn’t even compare to homemade toasted coconut-covered marshmallows. Now imagine this: they are made with jumbo marshmallows. I’m thinking you can coat the store-bought jumbo marshmallows in melted butter and the toasted coconut would stick. Or just make them from scratch. Whoever said marshmallows are boring: you lose.

(Photo: PreventionRD)

8. Oreo Marshmallows

Again, they’re homemade so the first goal would be to make these oreo marshmallows double the size. Do I hear a challenge? Damn right.

(Photo: Raspberri Cupcakes)

Make Way for Fluffertella

Can someone who is allergic to peanut butter really make a good peanut butter anything besides a quick smear between some jelly and bread? Unless my friends and family are all liars, the answer is yes.

I have to rely on them as my taste testers when it comes to peanut butter treats. The last one I made was a Fluffernutter (marshmallows, Reese’s peanut butter cups, chocolate chips and Nutter Butter cookies). Although well received by the majority, it did receive feedback from two people that it was too “peanut buttery.” To correct that, this time I decided to try cutting the strong peanut butter flavor with some Nutella. It worked. The Nutella comes through strong enough to taste, but not so much that it overwhelms the peanut butter. As it turns out my friends actually preferred the Fluffertella Bars over the Fluffernutter Bars.

So if anyone gives this a go, do come back let me know if my friends are lying to me.

Fluffertella Bars

Just In Time for Summer: AP Settles Barbecue Debate; Deems Foodie Real Word

Today the Associated Press releases its first ever food section for the 2011 AP Stylebook. What does this mean for food lovers? We can finally settle the debate on what barbecue means: Can grilling and barbecuing be used interchangeably?

Growing up, I would use barbecue to simply mean a party where we grilled foods. We were not eating actual food that had been barbecued: no pulled meats, with either dry or wet rubs coating the skin. We ate dogs and burgers. As I learned more about the severity of the vinegar vs. tomato-based barbecue debates, I became careful not to use the term barbecue when I all I wanted to do was grill jalepeno poppers. Although, now it looks like I’ve been doing it right all along:

barbecue: The verb refers to the cooking of foods (usually meat) over flame or hot coals. As a noun, can be both the meat cooked in this manner or the fire pit (grill). Not barbeque or Bar-BQ.

But this isn’t the only food war settled. Among AP Food Editor Jason M. Hirsch‘s most interesting findings, which he detailed on a call last week:

Bloody mary is not capitalized, but sloppy Joe is;
Fluffernutter is trademarked, as well as Broccolini;
Use foil when referring to aluminum foil, and definitely not tin foil. (“It’s never been made out of tin,” Hirsch discovered.)

Hirsch admitted he was “puzzled over whether to include foodie.” But he deemed the word “pervasive” enough in the culture to provide it a proper definition:

foodie: Slang for a person with a strong interest in good food.

While I hate the term, I do find it useful when describing the current crop of food lovers. It’s more fresh than gourmet: “a person who likes fine food and is an excellent judge of food and drink;” but also sits above the fine line of gourmand: “a person who likes good food and tends to eat to excess; a glutton.” (Or does it?)

My favorite find, though, brings me back to the frightening, yet ridiculous days of post 9/11: the changing of french fries to freedom fries. Why is the f in french not capitalized when talking about these magically fried spuds: “lowercase french because it refers to the style of cut, not the nation.”

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