I’m pretty sure this toasted coconut chocolate chip cookie dough fudge is everything I ever wanted in a dessert. As a chocolate-loving adult, it incorporates everything I love – rich milk chocolate, toasted coconut and chocolate chip cookie dough. And if you think you are too old to enjoy cookie dough in all it’s unbaked glory, one bite of this fudge will definitely change your mind.

When I was a teenager, I bought my fair share of homemade chocolate fudge from the local Christmas Market in my little hometown in northern Saskatchewan. As much as I now love living in a big city, I do miss the small-town charm of Christmas Markets filled with friendly neighbors and local vendors. I’ve visited and purchased presents at a couple of the markets in Toronto over the past few years, but sometimes the crowds can be quite suffocating (think crowded, delayed subway – ugh). Thankfully with this recipe, I can get my fix in the comfort of my home and it also gives me the opportunity to enjoy a few pieces and then give the rest away to friends and co-workers.

(more…)

The post Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge appeared first on She Bakes Here.

As much as we love the city, it can sometimes reach a point where we just want to get away from it all. The loud bumper-to-bumper traffic, the constant rubbing shoulders with strangers on the subway, and just generally feeling like you’re in everyone’s way. Sometimes when I find myself feeling overwhelmed, I like to close my eyes and daydream about being at my parent’s house on the lake, hanging out on the dock with their dog. Complete bliss.

Luckily, one the great things about Toronto is the amount of parks and green spaces that are available in the GTA. Some parks are so big that it doesn’t even feel like you’re in the city anymore. We’ve spent afternoons walking around High Park feeling completely lost! Well, as lost as one can feel when we know we are sandwiched between Bloor Street and Queen Street.

(more…)

The post Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows appeared first on She Bakes Here.

So like a true sucker, I believed that the worst of winter was over. For the last few days I’ve been noticing that it’s no longer dark when I come home from work and the weather has been warm enough that I don’t require my mitts to already be on my hands before I step outside. I even broke out some of my spring dresses (worn with leggings) because I’m sick of my drab winter wardrobe. I’m not surprised that I’ve been let down though, considering it’s still February and what with my mom warning me about the never-ending snow they’ve been experiencing up in Northern Ontario. It was only a matter of time before the impending snow made an appearance down south as a roaring slushy mess (also known as a typical Toronto winter).

So to celebrate (if that is even the right word) this continuation of colder days to come, I thought I would share a fun recipe for homemade vanilla bean marshmallows. You know, to enjoy in your cup of hot chocolate after you shovel the driveway, dig out your vehicle or even if you just manage to get home in one snowy, wet piece. And if you happen to be blessed with warmer weather right now, I’m sure that these little guys would taste fantastic roasted over a bonfire and sandwiched between two graham crackers and a piece of chocolate.

(more…)

The post Homemade Vanilla Bean Marshmallows appeared first on She Bakes Here.

Just in time for the Halloween season, I thought I would give a quick run-down of some of my favourite candies I stocked up on during my three weeks in Japan. Most of these items can be picked up in Japanese or Chinese grocery stores in bigger Canadian cities for 3 or 4 times the price I paid for, so in a few weeks time I’m sure I will be mourning the loss of these goodies and the prices I paid for them.

Above is some of the chocolate available in Japan. I found Japanese chocolate to be less sweeter than Western chocolate, with a more enhanced cocoa-flavouring. I could not get enough of the plain Meiji milk chocolate bars which, in only in texture, is the same as a Hershey milk chocolate bar. Supporting my love of mint, I also picked up the Meiji Feel Mint cool tasting chocolate sticks. The strawberry Meiji chocolate cones (middle) and the Meiji Choco Babies are chocolates I’ve enjoyed since I was a little kid and I was happy to stock up on. Choco Babies are little nubs of unsweetened dark chocolate and the strawberry chocolate cones taste similar to that of Neapolitan ice cream (at least according to Trevor). Each chocolate was less than a dollar in Japan, whereas in Canada I’ve seen them priced from $3-$4 each.

Poifull are a candy I almost forgot about until my Mom starting buying them at every Japanese convenience store we stopped in at. Roughly $4 in Canadian stores, these fruit-flavoured little candies (similar to a jelly bean) are a mere 100 yen (roughly a $1.25) in Japan. The inside texture is chewy and soft like gummy candy and the fruit flavouring in much more real and intense than any Jelly Belly I’ve ever had. I’m not ashamed to say that on our last night in Japan, my Mom and I cleaned out a local store’s supply to take back with us.

(more…)

The post A Review of Favourite Japanese Candy appeared first on She Bakes Here.

If you read my personal blog, you’ll know that I heart Bakerella and I actually got to meet here when she came to Toronto on her book tour.  I had tried unsuccessfully to make cake pops once, but this time I decided to take advantage of my Christmas holidays and some help with the family.  I bought a ton of candy melts from Michael’s and some lollipop sticks and took my book home for inspiration.

The first time we made them, we used chocolate cake and chocolate frosting, since that was all we had in the house.  I’m not a big chocolate cake fan (weird, huh?) and we had trouble keeping the candy melts thin enough to keep the cake pop’s surface smooth, but I thought it went pretty well for our first collective attempt.

Our second attempt, I used lemon poppy-seed cake (add poppy seeds to the lemon cake batter for a surprise, crunchy result) and vanilla frosting.  This time around, I decided to be a little more creative and added chocolate chips to some of the undipped cake balls for ears.  We also used vegetable oil to make the candy melts thinner and therefore easier to dip (although white was definitely the most co-operative colour).  Everyone was involved in this activity, even my brother, who is usually hard to drag out of his room.

I was inspired by the little owls Bakerella had made in her book and bought candy necklaces for the eyes.  Only to my surprise, it included more than just round candy, but also star and heart shaped pieces.  This made for many more decorating ideas.

My mom got tired of using the chocolate chips as ears, so she flipped some upside down and used the chips as legs.  These “turkey” cake pops turned out to be the cutest of the bunch!

My brother especially enjoyed painting hair on the dried cake pops with the remaining candy melts.  How cool does that look?

In the end though, as pretty as the cake pops were, we had to eat them.  I think that was the best part!

To find out more about making cake pops, I highly recommend checking out Bakerella’s website or purchasing her book.

The post Kitty Cake Pops! appeared first on She Bakes Here.