A Splurge-Worthy Treat You Can Do Yourself
Salty? Sweet? Both? You know, those treats, those indulgences that you crave at times. They bring a bit of happiness to you and your tummy. Some will treat themselves to higher-quality olive oil for dressings or maybe a special bottle of wine for Saturday night's dinner with the whole family after a long week or some yummy coffee beans to grind on Sunday morning as you play Words With Friends and the kids eat Eggos and watch My Little Pony and Doc McStuffins.
Another perk of these little treats: they don't have to cost a lot of money. Like chocolate covered strawberries and fresh whipped cream. Seriously, even I can do this little indulgence, folks, and as I've mentioned often enough, I'm no whiz in the kitchen. Here's what you need courtesy of YumSugar and Mother Nature Network:
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
-- Put one cup of chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it until the chocolate melts.
-- Wash and dry your strawberries.
-- Place a piece of parchment paper over a baking sheet. Set aside.
-- Dip strawberries in chocolate and turn to coat evenly. If the chocolate begins to harden as you're dipping, just put it back in the microwave for 10 seconds and give it a stir.
-- Place dipped strawberries on parchment-lined baking sheet and set aside to dry. For faster drying, place in the freezer until chocolate is hard.
They suggest adding sprinkles or drizzling the strawberries with melted white chocolate...and I guess you can use butter in the chocolate, but I don't know about that. This seems pretty easy as it is.
Homemade Whipped Cream
-- an 8-ounce container of heavy whipping cream (organic or from a trusted dairy if possible)
-- 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
-- 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla
-- Place a metal or glass bowl and the beaters you'll be using in the refrigerator for one hour or freezer for 20 minutes before making the whipped cream. My mom-in-law does this, and she says it makes it go faster.
-- Put the cream in the bowl and beat on medium speed until soft peaks begin to form.
-- Add the sugar and vanilla, and continue to beat until peaks are well formed and stay put when you take the beaters out of the bowl, but stop there. If you beat it any longer, you will start to make butter.
-- Serve immediately or chill until needed.
Do you have your own recipes for these? What is your favorite little indulgence to make?
©iStockphoto.com/Soubrette
Inside - not those cheap ones from the cake pop maker that are just cake). I also enjoy a good cheese fondue.
I have my own recipes for treats, ones that don't involve refined sugar or flours. One of my favorites is dark chocolate (75% or higher) melted with coconut oil, then stir in almonds or cashews and drop onto waxed paper.
I have tons of recipes for sweets. I don't make things up myself but I'll adapt them to meet the likes of my picky eater dh lol.
Monthly expenses
- HeatherNYC
on Apr. 11, 2012 at 12:00 AM