"treats" news and stories

Christmas is rapidly approaching, but there is still a day or so left to get a package in the mail to your friends and family (although you may have to second-day air it). If you've made a batch of cookies or fudge to send to a loved one and you haven't gotten it in the mail yet because you are uncertain how best to send it, then Nicole over at Baking Bites has some good tips for you.

She has put together a list of advice about how to ship, what foods work best shipped and some recommendations on how to pack your goodies so that they arrive at their location still tasting good and in one piece. So check out her info and get your treats into the mail! Your family and friends will thank you for it!

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When I was a kid, I was something of a candy fanatic. I'd eat it every chance I could get, and loved the seasonal candy that arrived with great fanfare in the grocery store. One of my favorite Halloween candies was the much-abused candy corn. Sadly, as I've gotten older, I've lost my taste for it to a certain degree, although those first couple of bites are always blissful as I nibble down the color gradations from tip to base.

On Monday in an article in the Baltimore Sun, reporter Rob Hiaasen defends the noble candy corn and traces its origins back to Cincinnati around the turn of the 20th century. Apparently the tri-color design was groundbreaking back in the day, requiring careful, handmade production. Machines were invented to stripe the kernels and soon candy corn was available all year round in an assortment of flavors.

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The elementary school I attended through 3rd grade had a Halloween parade each year. We'd come to school dressed in our costumes. Around lunchtime parents would arrive with treats, we'd eat our lunches and then gorge ourselves on cupcakes, mini-sized candy bars, frosted cookies in the shape of pumpkins and my mom's popcorn balls.

She never really followed a recipe for them, instead would just pop several large batches of corn and pour it into a large paper grocery bag. On the stove, she'd melt a stick of butter together with honey and brown sugar until it was a sticky syrup. She'd put the bag on several layers of newspaper on the kitchen floor and pour the butter/honey/sugar combination over the top. Working quickly, she'd grab a handful of popcorn and quickly mold it into balls, which would get laid out on a greased cookie sheet. When the balls were cool, we'd pack them in plastic sandwich bags and tie off the tops with curled ribbon.

(If you want a more specific recipe, with measurements and cooking times, check out this link).

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When I was a kid, my mom was one of those health-conscious parents* who refused to pack chips, twinkies or Halloween candy in my lunch. Occasionally, my sister and I could wear down her resistance enough to convince to buy fruit snacks (gussied up gummy bears) or fruit leather but those days were very few and far between. I think though, that had she been aware of this recipe for homemade fruit roll-ups, I could have gone through the lunch period each day in elementary school feeling incrementally less deprived, as it would have given me a treat that would have looked very similar to the stuff that the rest of the kids were eating.

*I cursed her in those days, but am now pretty darn grateful that she was being so careful that we ate well.

via Yumsugar

I have had some great figs this season (as well as a few stinkers, they can't all be perfect). While I admire people who make fig ice cream or fig galettes with their bounty of figs, my personal supply is typically fairly limited. So while I find myself gazing with longing at all the pretty recipes on the blogs and in the magazines, I can't bring myself to commit my few figs to any such endeavor. However, if I were to invest a few figs in the making of something, I think I would turn first to the recipe for Homemade Fig Newtons that Gena at Big City, Little Kitchen posted. The combination of pastry, cream cheese and fresh figs makes me salivate and wonder if the time has come to turn my humble little figs into some grander.