July 22 is National Penuche Fudge Day and July 23 is National Lemon Day! Celebrate with some sweet and unique recipes!
Penuche Fudge (AKA Brown Sugar Fudge)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon plus 1/4 cup butter, divided
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
- Line a 9-in. square pan with foil; grease foil with 1 teaspoon butter.
- In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugars, milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a rapid boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 234° (soft-ball stage). Remove from heat. Add vanilla and remaining butter to pan (do not stir).
- Cool, without stirring, to 110°, about 40 minutes. Beat with a spoon until fudge just begins to thicken. If you want walnuts, add now. Continue beating until fudge becomes very thick and just begins to lose its sheen (about 10 minutes total). Immediately spread into prepared pan. Cool.
- Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Remove foil; cut fudge into 1-in. squares. Store between layers of waxed paper in airtight containers.
Options
For mapley goodness, add 1-2 Tbsp of maple syrup to the recipe
For candy crunch, add crumbled toffee to the top before the fudge cools
Lemon Fritters with Ricotta
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- Pinch salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- Oil for deep-fat frying
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Honey or strawberry jam
Directions
- In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, lemon zest and salt. In another bowl, whisk eggs, cheese, sugar and extract. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.
- In a deep cast-iron skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls, several at a time, into hot oil. Fry 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm with honey or jam.
Limoncello Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
- 1/3 cup lemon curd, divided
- 3 tablespoons limoncello
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 graham cracker crust (9 inches)
- 6 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided
- 1/4 cup marshmallow creme
- Grated lemon zest, optional
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine ice cream, half of the lemon curd and all of the limoncello and lemon zest. Spoon into crust. Freeze, covered, several hours or overnight.
- In a microwave, heat chocolate with 1/4 cup cream at 70% power until melted; stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.
- In a small bowl, beat remaining cream until soft peaks form. Beat in marshmallow creme. Fold in remaining curd. With a spatula, fold half of the cream mixture into cooled chocolate mixture just until blended. Fold in remaining cream mixture; spread or pipe over top of pie. Freeze, covered, 1 hour.
- Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving. If desired, top with lemon peel.
