Apple and Pear Compote

I got so excited while this was cooking! The floral undertones of the Orange Blossom honey wafting up from the pot was intoxicating! Finish it with a bit of vanilla, a grate of nutmeg, and a pat of butter. Serve it over just about anything from waffles, and pancakes, to ice cream. It's great alone with a dollop of whipped cream as I did below!


2 Apples
2 Pears
1 Orange
1/4 c honey (I used Orange Blossom Honey)
2 tbs water
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 Cinnamon stick
1 slice of Ginger (I used a piece of candied ginger left over from Christmas)
1 tsp butter
A pinch of salt
Freshly grated Nutmeg

Cut your orange in half and squeeze the juice into a large bowl. Peel the apples and pears, quarter and core them. Thinly slice the apples and pears. Here's a tip, as you slice the fruit toss it in the juice to prevent it from browning before you finish the rest.

In a medium sauce pan, add the water, honey, cinnamon stick, ginger slice, and a pinch of salt. Set the heat to medium. Add the sliced fruit. Toss to coat the fruit with the syrup and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally and try to keep the cinnamon stick and ginger on the bottom in sauce to extract the most flavor from them.

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and butter. Sprinkle with nutmeg and stir that in as well.

Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Beaver Dams

Make a batch of these and it'll be sure to bring a smile to everyone's face. The chocolate and butterscotch flavors aren't overwhelming when cut with the Fluff. The flavor is chocolate with a subtle something in the background (butterscotch! But! you don't have to disclose it)! They're sweet, salty, crunchy, and oh so hard to resist!

1-11 oz bag of Butterscotch Chips

1 - 11.5 oz bag of Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

1 -7.5 oz jar Marshmallow Fluff

16 oz broken Pretzel Sticks

Place a large bowl over a pan of simmering water, or use a double boiler. Add the butterscotch chips, bittersweet chocolate chips, and Marshmallow Fluff. Stir until just melted and incorporated. Add the broken pretzel sticks. Mix until pretzels are thoroughly coated. Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper. Let the candies sit until chocolate sets (I put them in the refrigerator, but then I'm not known for my patience!)

Makes 4-5 dozen candies

Ghirardelli's Award Winning Brownies

This isn't my recipe, but when you stumble across perfection you want to share it with the world. Trust me, this will be the last brownie recipe you will EVER need! They are amazing!



2 Eggs
3/4 c Sugar
1 tsp pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 c Butter or Margarine, melted
3/4 c Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa
2/3 c unsifted Flour
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 Walnuts, chopped
1 c 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Using a spoon stir eggs with sugar and vanilla; add butter. Sift Sweet Ground Chocolate with flour, baking power, and salt. Stir into egg mixture. Add nuts and chips.
Spread into a greased 8" or 9" square baking pan. Baking 20-30 minutes.

For extra chewy brownies, use 8" pan and less baking time. For cake-like brownies, use 9" pan and longer baking time. Cut into squares.

Makes 16-20 brownies.

MY VERSION
I always double the recipe (because I'm always taking brownies to someone) and bake them in a 13x9 pan. I omit the chips and use Pecans instead of Walnuts. I also add 4 ounces of softened cream cheese to the egg mixture. The cream cheese keeps the brownies moist without them being dense; the perfect cross between chewy and cake brownies. You will have to bake them about 15 minutes more.