Sugar 'n' Spice Pecans

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup corn syrup
• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 pounds pecan halves

Directions

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine corn syrup, sugar, and water. Stir mixture only until sugar is completely moist and mixture reaches 242 degrees F on a candy thermometer. At that point, without stirring, immediately remove from heat and add cinnamon. Stir until mixture settles or stops boiling. Stir pecans into mixture all at once. Stir until all pecans are coated completely. Pour out onto a cookie sheet and allow to cool. Break into pieces and serve.

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Stuffed Cupcakes

Ingredients
Cupcake:
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin/cupcake pans with papers.
3. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and milk, alternately, into the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Add the vanilla and continue to beat until well mixed. 
4. Divide the batter equally among the papers, filling them about 34 of the way up. Level the batter by dropping muffin pan on counter top to release the air bubbles.
5. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.


Vanilla Cream Filling:
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup light corn syrup


1. With an electric mixer, cream shortening and butter together. Add confectioners' sugar and granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract. Gradually beat in corn syrup. Continue beating until the mixture has thickened to a mayonnaise-like consistency, about 3 minutes.
2. When the cupcakes have cooled completely, fill a pastry bag, fitted with a medium-small plain, round tip with the vanilla filling. With a sharp, paring knife, cut a cross down into the center of each cupcake from the top, about 1-inch deep. Insert the tip of the pastry bag into the cross and gently squeeze about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the vanilla filling into the center of each cupcake. 
3. Wipe away any vanilla filling that oozes out when you remove the tip from the cupcake.


Peanut Butter Frosting:
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 cups confectioners' sugar


1. Cream the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar and salt together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract and heavy cream. 2. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar.
3. Frost the vanilla filled cupcakes with a butter knife or from a large star tipped pastry bag.


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Cupcake

Magnolia Lace Trumpets

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup dark corn syrup
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon Irish Cream Liqueur, optional
• Filling, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet with foil. Lightly grease the foil; set aside (if you don't grease the foil, the cookies will stick and be ruined).

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, butter, and syrup. Cook mixture over low heat until butter melts; remove from heat. Stir together flour and ginger; add dry mixture to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in Irish Cream, if desired.

Drop batter by rounded teaspoons 3 to 4 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake only 2 or 3 cookies at a time because you must work quickly to form the cones before they cool and become brittle.*

Bake in preheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Quickly invert cookies onto another cookie sheet, and wrap each cookie around the greased handle of a wooden spoon or a metal cone. When cookie is set, slide cookie off spoon or cone; cool on a wire rack. Fill cookies with filling.

To store: Place unfilled cookies in a single layer in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature in a cool, dry place for up to 3 days or freeze unfilled cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw cookies and fill.

*If cookie gets too brittle to roll, run back in the oven for a minute to soften.

Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups solid shortening (recommended: Crisco)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 egg white
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup hot milk

Cream together shortening and butter. Add sugar and beat well. Add egg white and vanilla; beat thoroughly. Add hot milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until creamy. Put into pastry tube with star tip and fill cookies.

Yield: frosting for 30 cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes per 3 in batch

Ease of Preparation: Easy

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Mama’s Divinity

Ingredients:

2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
3   egg whites
3/4 cup cold water
1 cup white corn syrup
4 cup sugar

Directions

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water.  Stir only until sugar has dissolved. Do not stir after this point. Cook syrup mixture until it reaches 250 degrees on a candy thermometer, bringing it to a hard ball stage.

While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Once the sugar mixture reaches 250 degrees, carefully pour a slow steady stream of syrup into the stiffly beaten egg whites, beating constantly at high speed. Add the vanilla and continue to beat until mixture holds its shape, approximately 5 minutes.  Stir in pecans.

Using two spoons, drop the divinity onto waxed paper, using one spoon to push the candy off the other.  This may take a little practice because the technique is to twirl the pushing spoon, making the candy look like the top of a soft serve ice cream.  If the candy becomes too stiff, add a few drops of hot water.  You will need to work fast when making this type of candy.

Let sit for 30 minutes and serve.

SOURCE:  Mama's Divinity