Joanie's Kris Kringle Cookies

This recipe is written in ballpoint pen in my Grammy's handwriting and is dated 1960. Joanie was Elsie's youngest daughter who ended up getting this recipe named after her because of her love for them (hence the well-worn recipe card seen above). This is a simple butter cookie that many families came to adopt as a Christmas tradition when the Mirro Cooky and Pastry Press came on the market (see ad below). I still have my Grammy's cookie press in it's original shipping box. Christmas just isn't the same until I've had one of these delightful morsels.

Grammy wrote some variant measurements, temps, and times in pencil. This may be what she found to be preferable in her kitchen at 3500 feet above sea level in elevation. I have yet to test these measurements in our kitchen (that is close to sea level in elevation) to find which is best for our locale. I've included the variants in parentheses below.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup margarine [butter is better]
• 1/2 (3/4) cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 (1/2) teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups sifted flour
• 1 egg

Instructions:

1. Cream margarine [butter], sugar, egg, and flavoring
2. Add flour and mix well
3. Put dough into cookie press and form cookies on ungreased cookie sheets
4. Bake in 350°F (400°F) oven for 10-12 (8-10) minutes.
5. When cookies are cool, decorate with colored butter icing as desired [my favorite is to sprinkle the cookies with colored granulated sugar before baking]

Chocolate variation:

1. Blend into shortening mixture a 1 ounce square of melted and cooled unsweetened chocolate

Napoleon squares (untested)

This recipe is written in ballpoint pen in my Grammy's handwriting.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup sifted flour
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1 package (3.25 ounce) vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
• 1 teaspoon shortening
• 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions for pastry dough:

1. Cut butter into flour with pastry blender
2. Stir in sour cream with a fork
3. Divide dough into 4 equal portions
4. Wrap each portion
5. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight
6. Roll out one portion of dough on well-floured board into a 12-inch by 6-inch rectangle
7. Place on ungreased cookie sheet
8. Repeat with other 3 portions of dough
9. Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden brown
10. Transfer carefully to wire racks
11. Cool completely
12. Trim sides carefully with a sharp knife so all layers are the same size
13. Place one layer, puffed side up, on a separate wire rack set on a piece of wax paper to be decorated for the top of the Napoleon

Instructions for fillings, frostings, and assembly:

1. In a saucepan, combine milk, pudding (or pie filling mix) and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil
3. Cool
4. Chill mixture well
5. In a double boiler set-up, combine chocolate pieces and shortening and heat over hot water until chocolate melts
6. Stir to blend
7. In a saucepan, combine confectioners' sugar, syrup, water and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
8. Cook mixture over low heat until frosting is smooth and shiny and coats a wooden spoon. Don't overcook or frosting will be too hard
9. Remove from heat, pour over top layer immediately and spread evenly
10. Pour chocolate mixture into pastry bag or tube with small writing tip
11. Pipe lengthwise strips 1-inch apart over frosting
12. With a toothpick make chevron marks 1-inch apart pulling the toothpick left to right, then right to left
13. Set top aside to assemble
14. Place an undecorated layer, puffy side up, on serving platter
15. Spread layer with 1/3 of chilled vanilla filled
16. Top with frosted pastry layer
17. Chill at least 1 hour before serving

Makes 6 servings

Chocolate crunch cookies (untested)

This recipe is written in pencil on a folded piece of paper with two other unrelated recipes. The handwriting may belong to Grammy's daughter Ann.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 pound Guittard chocolate [it appears this is a bar of baking chocolate]
• 1 1/8 cup flour

Instructions:

1. Mix ingredients as you would a cake
2. Add walnuts
3. Cut chocolate in half-inch squares and fold in to the batter as the last thing
4. Drop from teaspoon onto baking sheet
5. [No over temperature or baking time is provided but another cookie recipe on the same piece of paper uses a moderate oven (350°F–375°F) with a baking time of 10-12 minutes]

Cocoa fudge (untested)

This handwritten recipe is in a handwriting I don't recognize. It is written on a piece of notebook paper that was folded and tucked into the "Candies" section along with the rest of the recipe cards. The front of this recipe is spattered and I have to wonder if it was spattered with cocoa fudge.

What I love about this recipe is the way it is written in a familiar tone. Reading it feels like the cook is right there giving you instructions in her own voice. Read it. You'll see what I mean. I had to smile as I transcribed it.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Equipment:

• a deep saucepan
• a flat buttered dish
• a large spoon

Instructions:

1. Stir the sugar and cocoa together in the saucepan
2. Add the milk, a little at a time, and stir until very smooth
3. Put the mixture over a low fire and let it boil slowly (whatever you do, don't stir it after it has begun to boil or your fudge will be sugary and hard)
4. When the bubbles grow as a large as a quarter, your fudge is ready to be tested
5. Drop a little from the end of a spoon into a cup of cold water and try to form it into a ball with your fingers. If it is too thin to roll up, then your fudge will be soft and sticky.. If your fudge is stiff and thick, then your fudge will be like a brick. Not too soft and not too thick is the way it ought to be.
6. Take the fudge off the stove
7. Stir in the butter, vanilla and salt
8. Set the pan in a bowl of cold cold water for about ten minutes
9. Everyone may take a hand at beating it to make it smooth and creamy. The butter gives it a shiny look. As the fudge thickens, it loses this shiny glow. At last it begins to harden on the spoon and around the edges of the pan.
10. Then pour it into the buttered dish
11. Cut it into squares and eat

Hip-O-Lite fudge (untested)

This typewritten recipe requires a bit of "translation" because of brand name products used in it that no longer exist—Hip-O-Lite (misspelled on the recipe card) and Sego Milk. For those interested in how I arrived at the ingredient substitutes, you can go to the bottom of this post for more info.

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 large can unsweetened evaporated milk [substitute for Sego Milk]
• 3 packages of Nestles chocolate chips
• 1 cube margarine [I'd use butter]
• 2 cups nuts
• 13 ounces of marshmallow creme [substitute for Hip-O-Lite]
• vanilla [no measurement is included but 1 teaspoon is probably a good guess-timate]

Instructions:

1. Boil sugar and unsweetened evaporated milk for 10 minutes
2. Take off heat and add the remainder of ingredients
3. [There are no further instructions beyond this point. I'm certain that all ingredients need to be mixed thoroughly and then poured into a rectangular baking pan (I'd use my glass Pyrex pan as I do with other fudge)]

Hip-O-Lite
Hip-O-Lite was a brand of marshmallow creme. Although the recipe above calls for "1 can hipolite", in my research I could only find references of Hip-O-Lite marshmallow creme in jars. After some hunting around, I found someone on Pinterest that had posted a photo of a vintage jar label that shows the actual amount of product in one jar was 13 ounces.

Sego Milk

Sego Milk was produced at the Sego Milk Plant (also known as the Utah Condensed Milk Company Plant) located in the town of Galt in Northern California (a couple hours drive south of my Grammy's home). Based on the alternate name of the plant, I thought that Sego was a brand of sweetened condensed milk. But after doing further sleuthing, I found a photo on Pinterest of an original Sego Milk tin from the 1920s that clearly shows Sego Milk was unsweetened evaporated milk.

I also found a scan of a vintage ad that says the same thing:

Then I found an even more informative vintage ad from 1926:

Click image to enlarge

I won't make you squint to read the text. Here's the transcription:

Richer than Cream in "Whole-Milk" Richness 

Cream is rich in only one food element of milk—butterfat.

Sego Milk is extra rich in all the food elements of milk—in butterfat and in the bone and tissue building substances that cream does not contain.
That is what we mean by "whole-milk" richness. It is the quality that makes milk nature's perfect food.
As Cream—Use Sego Milk undiluted. It does the things you want cream to do—gives fine consistency and flavor to your good.
In coffee, ice creams, and desserts—in all cream uses—Sego Milk provides the "whole-milk" richness for which there is no substitute.
For Milk Uses—Dilute Sego Milk to suit any need. It still has the "whole-milk" richness—contains all the food elements of milk in their natural proportions—is never like the bottom half of the bottle—skimmed milk.
In cream soups, creamed vegetables—in all cooking—the "whole-milk" richness and clean purity of Sego Milk gives substance and flavor that nothing else can give.
Sterilized in sealed containers, every drop uniformly rich in "whole-milk" richness, Sego Milk is "nature's most perfect food" in cleanest form.
Sego Milk costs less than half as much as cream—as extra-rich milk, costs no more than ordinary milk. 

Mother's Spice Cake

This recipe is written in Grammy's handwriting and attributed to her mother, El.

The sour milk ingredient in this recipe was common in recipe in the early 20th century. It was a way to use milk that had gone sour and not waste it. To "artificially" sour milk, add vinegar to it (e.g., 1 tablespoon of vinegar added to 2 cups of milk).

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon chocolate
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 cup salad oil
• 2 cups raisins
• 2 cups sour milk
• 2 cups sugar

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Bake in a moderate oven

This is of the few recipes in the recipe box that I recognize as possibly being a favorite that was passed down to my mom and made many times as I was growing up. It was a family favorite. My mom made this in a bundt pan and then iced it with a simple powdered sugar drippy icing. Sometimes she omitted the raisins. It is delicious either way.

Here the recipe my mom has always used:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sour milk (add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to regular milk to make it sour)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons cloves
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup raisins (if desired)

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients well with a mixer until smooth and no lumps
2. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan (or two greased and floured bread pans)
3. Bake at 350°F for 45-60 minutes (it's done when a toothpick come out clean)

Maggie's Prune Cake (untested)

This recipe is written in Grammy's handwriting and is attributed to her aunt, Maggie Munce Hansen (sister of Grammy's father, William Munce).

The sour milk ingredient in this recipe was common in recipe in the early 20th century. It was a way to use milk that had gone sour and not waste it. To "artificially" sour milk, add vinegar to it (e.g., 1 tablespoon of vinegar added to 2 cups of milk).

Ingredients for cake:

• 1 cup cooked prunes
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup chocolate
• 1/2 cup fat
• 1 cup sour milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (it was originally written as 2 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cloves

No instructions are included for the cake except the note in pencil at the bottom that says "about 45 min".

Ingredients for filling:

• 1 orange
• 1 lemon
• Powdered sugar

Instructions for filling are limited:

1. Juice and rind of one orange and one lemon
2. Add powdered sugar to make it thick enough to spread

Cookie's Chocolate Cake (untested)

 

This recipe is written in Grammy's handwriting. It is dated April 20, 1955 and is attributed to Lurleen Baker. It is subtitled "Hot Water Devil Food".

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup Nestle's ever-ready cocoa
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cup flour

Instructions:

1. Mix together sugar, shortening, salt and cocoa
2. Add beaten eggs and beat well
3. Dissolve baking soda in hot water and add with sifted dry ingredients and vanilla
4. Bake in 2 layers in 350°F oven for 35-40 minutes

Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake (untested)

This recipe is written in Grammy's handwriting in ballpoint pen. It is dated September 1969 and is attributed to Gloria Greco.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup drained sauerkraut (chopped)

Instructions:

1. Sift together all dry ingredients
2. In a separate bowl, cream shortening with sugar until light and fluffy
3. Add vanilla
4. Add eggs one at a time
5. Add dry ingredients alternating with water
6. Add sauerkraut and beat thoroughly
7. Pour into well-greased 13"x 9"x 2" baking pan
8. Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes

Chocolate Devil Food Cake (untested)

This recipe is written in Grammy's handwriting in ballpoint pen and probably dates around the late-1960s to mid-1970s.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 cup ground chocolate
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour milk

Instructions:

1. Cream shortening and sugar
2. Add eggs
3. In a separate bowl, mix ground chocolate and boiling water
4. Add to sugar and shortening mixture
5. Mix in remainder of ingredients

No bake times or oven temps are included on this recipe

Joanie's Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake (untested)

This recipe is written in Grammy's handwriting. Joanie is her daughter so she must have acquired this recipe from Joanie some time in the 1970s (up to 1977).

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

1. Grease layer pans and line with wax paper
2. Sift dry ingredients into large bowl
3. Stir in mayonnaise
4. Gradually stir in water and vanilla until smooth
5. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes

Recipes for "Iva's Devil Food Cake" and "White Cake" (untested)

These two recipes are on the front and back of the same scrap from an account ledger. The recipe for "White Cake" is handwritten on one side (the ledger side) while the recipe on the other side for "Iva's Devil Food Cake" is a photocopy of a typed recipe with the original being from Iva Demaree, Victorville, March 1947.

Iva's Devil Food Cake
2 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup Wesson oil (or any melted shortening)
1/2 cup buttermilk (substitute: to a Tablespoon of vinegar, add sweet milk to make 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3 heaping Tablespoons cocoa (Hershey's)
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon soda [probably baking soda]

Break two eggs into bowl of power mixer. Add 2 cups granulated sugar; 1/2 cup Wesson oil or any melted shortening; 1/2 cup buttermilk (substitute: to a Tablespoon vinegar add sweet milk to make 1/2 cup); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 Tablespoon vanilla; 3 heaping Tablespoons cocoa (Hershey's).

Start mixer at slow speed, and sift 2 cups cake flour four times. Add flour to first mix while still on slow speed. Mix thoroughly. Then add 1 cup hot water with 1 teaspoon soda in it. Batter must be kept thin. Don't add more flour. Bake in slow oven at 350°.



White Cake
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup Wesson oil
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
2 cups flour

Sift salt, baking powder and flour together 4 times and add to rest of the batter.

[No additional cooking instructions are included probably because it was intended to be a white version of the devil's food cake recipe above.]

"Magic Chocolate Pie" recipe (with a free evite)

Click here to customize and send this invite for free

My previous post featuring lemon meringue pie may have made some of your mouths water, but I know that chocolate lovers really don't salivate for anything that isn't chocolate. So for all you chocolate lovers out there here it is...

  "Chocolate pie"!

Like my previously featured watercolor painting, I found my inspiration in a vintage Borden recipe booklet I picked up at my local antique shop. It was full of technicolor photographs of delectable desserts including a yummy looking recipe for "Magic Chocolate Pie". I don't know how "magic" it is, but it sure looks full of chocolate-y goodness.

Want to make this pie for your own holiday gathering? Well, here's the original recipe in all its glory (click on the image below to see it larger).

"Fantasy Fudge" for the Holidays

Ever since I can remember, there were two things that my mom made especially for Christmas--homemade fudge and English toffee. So although not technically a recipe from Grammy's recipe box, my mother's homemade fudge is such a long-standing family Christmas tradition, I needed to include it here.

The whole process of making candy absolutely fascinated me through my childhood. When I was old enough, maybe 8 years old, Mom let me help out instead of just watch. I was usually responsible for stirring because keeping the sugar and butter mixture stirring constantly was critical as it heated to the temperature desired for either soft ball (fudge) or hard crack (toffee).

My mom's fudge recipe is no secret. It's the recipe that Kraft has been printing on its jars of Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme (an essential ingredient in fudge) for eons . The recipe is "officially" called "Fantasy Fudge". I didn't know that until I was an adult. All I knew was that Mom's fudge was the best! There wasn't any other kind of fudge from any fancy candy shop that could rival it, and I still have yet to find one. The funny thing is that it's a Kraft recipe!

So without further adieu, here is the recipe straight off the Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme jar:

Fantasy Fudge
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine--go with the butter)
1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup)
1 1/2 pkg. (12 squares) Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, chopped
1 jar (7 oz.) Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
1 cup chopped walnuts (or leave them out if you have an allergy like Hubby does)
1 tsp. vanilla

Line 9-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan; set aside. Place sugar, butter and evaporated milke in large heavy saucepan. Bring to full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 4 min. or until candy thermometer reaches 234ºF (soft ball), stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

Add chocolate and marshmallow creme, stir until completely melted. Add walnuts (if desired) and vanilla; mix well.

Pour immediately into prepared pan; spread to form even layer in pan. Let stand at room temperature 4 hours or until completely cooled; cut into 1-inch squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature. Makes 3 lb. or 40 servings, about two squares each.

Variation - Classic Fantasy Fudge (the way Mom made it)
Prepare recipe as directed, using 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) margarine and substituting 1 pkg. (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips for the chopped BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate and a 13x9-inch baking pan for the 9-inch square pan.

Got leftover mashed potatoes? Bake a cake!

This recipe is written in fountain pen in my Grammy's handwriting and has attributed her aunt Esther's name in the top right corner. The title is written simply "Potato Cake".

Okay...

Well, let's see what the recipe says (my editorial comments are in red italics):

2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 cup mashing potatoes (warm)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons chocolate [Ahhhh! So it's a chocolate cake?!?!]
1 teaspoon each of ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts [Can't put those in because Hubby is allergic.]

Cream fat [I guess this means the butter], sugar, yolks, and potatoes. Add milk and dry ingredients. Add stiffly beaten whites and bake in layers. Temp 350 degrees 15 min., 400 degrees 3 min., 350 degrees 30 min. [HUH?] Serve with chocolate fudge filling and walnuts. [Can't find the recipe for the chocolate fudge filling... darn!]

The first thing I did was discard the baking times because I decided it was easier to make this into cupcakes. Then I realized I was out of cupcake wrappers, so I went to the store to buy some. That's when I found the mini cake pans by Wilton that let you put filling inside the mini cakes. Bingo! That's what I wanted!

Everything went smoothly once I got back into the kitchen. I used unsweetened cocoa powder for the chocolate that the recipe called for. Once the batter was made up, I filled the cupcakes and the mini cake pans and baked according to the instructions for the cake pans. The cupcakes baked for about 15 minutes. The mini cakes baked for a little over 20 minutes.

Hubby wandered into the kitchen after the cupcakes had cooled for over a half an hour. He said, "Mmmmm! These smell good!" I told him to try one of the cupcakes without any icing on it. These are his exact unedited words:

"They sure knew what they were doing back then... Nice chocolate flavor and then you get the cloves... That's good! The cloves thing kinda stays with you... And now I want more... And they're fluffy and moist... It tastes very autumnal!"

The cake is a hit! It is a very dense cake although moist and fluffy (as Hubby said). I'm sure that it would work well in a bundt pan best. The cupcakes have the weight of light muffins.

Now what to do about an icing and filling...

I dug through the recipe box and found another recipe for "Caramel Icing & Frosting".

It sounded like a possible match. The recipe reads:

• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon butter
• Put sugar in saucepan, add milk and stir until dissolved. Boil 3 minutes. Take from fire, add butter. Turn into a cold bowl and beat until creamy. Add vanilla. May add chopped nuts.

I followed the recipe as written. Everything was going along fine until I started beating the mixture to make it creamy. The mixture started to cool and become more of the consistency of real caramel candy!

Thinking quickly, I decided to add a little more milk and a little more butter. That solved the problem but it was more of the consistency of a glaze then the filling I needed. Realizing that the fat content of our 2 % milk is almost assuredly lower than the fat content of the milk Aunt Esther used, I added a bit of half-and-half, whipped it for a few minutes, and then I added a full cup of powdered sugar. That made the consistency more like a filling I could use with the mini cakes.

With the mini cakes cooled and the caramel icing/filling fixed, I filled the wells of the mini cakes, stacked the two layers, iced the whole little cake, and then put it in the refrigerator to chill. Then I garnished it with whole walnuts (Hubby can easily pick those off).

Both Hubby and I agree that the combination of the flavors, spice and caramel, are a perfect match. Yum! But I'm sure that there are a lot of other combinations you could think up for this classic vintage recipe. Let me know if you come up with one and make it. I'd love to hear what you paired Aunt Esther's "Potato Cake" with. I still can't believe it has leftover mashed potatoes in it.

Chocolate Creams

In Grammy's recipe box I found a handwritten recipe for "Chocolate Creams".

They seemed simple enough. But as I have discovered with many of the recipes in the box, the measurements on the ingredients are a bit vague--like exactly how much confectioners' sugar goes into the "cream" to make it a stiff paste. As Hubby pointed out, one was probably supposed to learn how to make it from watching someone else do it again and again. So I had to experiment a bit and tweak a little.

This is a direct transcription of the recipe (I did some tweaking that I'll note after):

Chocolate Creams 

1 egg white 

2 T cold water  

Confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) 

6 drops flavoring 

1/4 lb. sweet chocolate

Beat the egg and water together only til mixed; add the sugar til the ingredients form a stiff paste (about 1-1 1/2 cups). Work in flavoring with sugar; then form into small balls. Grate the chocolate and put in a cup over hot water to melt. Dip the balls into it one at a time; using a fork for the dipping. Lay separately on waxed paper and, if necessary, dip a second time.

Now for my tweaks and tips:

• It took more than 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar to create a paste that could be rolled. I just kept adding until it was stiff enough then rolled the centers using powdered sugar to keep it from sticking.
• All the recipe says is "6 drops of flavoring". I used almond extract AND vanilla as a flavoring and it took way more than just 6 drops to fit my taste.
• I used semi-sweet chocolate chips but I think that next time I'll use an even darker chocolate since the centers are so sweet that the darker chocolate would work. It took more than only a 1/4 lb. to have a deep enough bowl of dipping chocolate. Once I had a deep enough reservoir the dipping was really easy with a fork, and it only took one dip to coat the centers nice and thick.
• I suppose you could flavor the centers with about anything that you can think of. You could even color the center paste to make it different too.
• These need to be kept refrigerated (especially in warmer weather). I had some little Wilton's treat bags that I packaged them in to give away to friends.

Waiting for the chocolate to cool and harden

The results were decadent candy delights that feel "sinful" to even have in the kitchen. Hubby did try some of the "oops" candies and deemed them officially "sinful" in every way that a chocolate-covered almond and vanilla flavored sugar-paste ball can be. Of course I had to taste as I mixed to get the flavoring just right.  The tasting alone gave me a sugar buzz that I was still feeling as I typed up my notes over an hour later.