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I got this recipe from Tears’n'Tantrums and I had to share. I’ll be using this for the holiday bake sale at my children’s school. The nice thing about fudge is that it’s hard to screw up, though I’ve managed to do so with the pumpkin pie fudge I made at Thanksgiving. This recipe is much better - lots more detail about how long to boil it, etc.

The nice thing about fudge is that it keeps and travels well. And if you leave the nuts out of it, almost anyone can eat it.

Eggnog Fudge

Ingredients:

1. 1/8 cup butter, chilled
2. 3 cups sugar
3. 1 cup eggnog
4. 6 ounces white chocolate chips
5. 1 1/2 cup mini-marshmallows
6. 1 cup almonds, chopped (or other nut)
7. 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
8. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Line a 9 x 9-inch cake pan with aluminum foil and set aside.
2. Spray the sides of a large saucepan with butter-flavor non-stick spray.
3. Add the eggnog and sugar, and bring to a rolling boil over medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for two full minutes.
4. Fold in the marshmallows, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring back to a rolling boil for another 6 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. The mixture will start to turn brown, which is normal, but if you see brown flakes in the mixture then turn down the heat a little.
6. Remove from heat and add the butter, chips, and nuts. Stir until thoroughly mixed or until the mixture starts to lose its glossy appearance. Pour into prepared pan.
7. Cool at room temperature. Remove from pan, remove foil, cut into 1-inch squares.

While you’re waiting for the fudge to cool, stop by my Win a Holiday Gift Basket of Children’s Books contest. You have until December 12 at midnight to enter!

Did you know that surveys show that more than half of parents are unaware of the television rating system currently in effect, and only 16% are aware of the V-Chip in their TVs and what it can do?

In reality, the provisions of the 1990 Children’s Television Act are little known and mostly not enforced. Bottom line is that TV and cable networks are not held accountable to what is considered the minimum standard of “educational/informational” programming. 

The Smart Television Alliance believes that parents and other caregivers can make more informed choices about what and when children watch if they are provided easily accessible tools and information. 

Instead of focusing on the negative, the Smart Television Alliance promotes good programs - everything from MythBusters to The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron. They intend to grow the audience for these quality shows, and convince the networks that there is indeed a market for high quality children and family programming. 

They’re also partnering with the National Council of Women’s Organizations, the National PTA, the National Education Association, the Parent’s Choice Foundation, and 10 other non-profits all who have signed on as founding organizations. 

Check out their website at www.smarttelevisionalliance.org and sign up for the twice monthly SmartNewsletters with recommendations for quality children’s programming. And if you’ve been thinking about signing up with TiVo, check out their sponsor offer. For a limited time, TiVo will give you a free DVR (with a minimum one year subscription plan) and give a nonprofit member of the Smart Television Alliance a $25 donation!

And how about munching on some Thanksgiving popcorn balls while you’re watching TV?

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With two days to “H-Day” you’re probably busy with costumes and running out for a few bags of candy. In case you’re looking for last minute cookies that will impress both kids and adults, try these from Food & Wine magazine.

They’re more like small cakes than cookies, and will be a nice treat with a cup of tea after the lil’ goblins have gone to bed.

Black-and-Orange Cookies
Makes about three dozen 4″ cookies

Get the kids to help you out. I’m sure school-aged kids can help spread the black and orange icing, too.

Ingredients (cookies):

1. 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
2. 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3. 1 teaspoon baking powder
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6. 3/4 cup sugar
7. 2 large eggs, at room temperature
8. 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
9. 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
10. 2 teaspoons milk

Ingredients (icing):

1. 2 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2. 1/4 cup boiling water
3. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4. Orange food coloring, or red and yellow combined
5. 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions (cookies):

1. Preheat the oven to 350°; position 2 racks in the upper and middle thirds of the oven. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt onto a large sheet of wax paper. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating well between additions. Beat in the vanilla and milk. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients until just combined.
3. Spoon rounded tablespoons of the batter onto the baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, until the centers spring back when lightly pressed. Be careful not to let the cookies brown or overbake, or they will be dry. Transfer the cookies, flat-side up, to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Directions (icing):

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar with the boiling water until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and a few drops of food coloring and whisk until the icing is evenly colored. Using a small offset spatula, spread the orange-colored icing over half of the flat side of each cookie.
2. In a microwave oven, melt the chocolate in a small bowl. Stir the chocolate into the remaining orange icing. Spread the chocolate icing on the other half of each cookie and let stand until set, about 15 minutes. (If the icing becomes too thick, add hot water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until smooth and shiny.)
3. The black-and-orange cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

What would Halloween be without black cats? One of my favorite literary felines is Nick Bruel’s Bad Kitty, a very naughty kitty who stars in a hilarious alphabet book. When I came across the sequel, Poor Puppy, at our recent Scholastic book fair, I had to bring the book home.

Poor Puppy features a happy-go-lucky puppy who wants to play with Bad Kitty. Bad Kitty is a smart feline, and stays out of the way while Poor Puppy destroys the house. Again, Bruel gives us a wonderful ABC book but this time includes numbers 1-26.

Kids ages three to eight will enjoy Poor Puppy and Bad Kitty’s antics. And parents will be scared silly by the destruction these two manage to cause. Who knew an ABC book could be a cautionary tale?

C is for Cupcake

Now let’s count how many fall pumpkin cupcakes we can make…and eat!

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I recently came across The School Secretary from the Black Lagoon at our school’s Scholastic Book Fair. I had to laugh as a few of the school secretaries are my friends. Most of them aren’t scary like in the book, though I think some PARENTS would disagree with me.

(Really, most school secretaries are nice. Their offices are NOT the “room of doom.” They’re just a little grumpy. I would be too if I had to deal with all those kids and the principal. Eesh!)

The Black Lagoon series of books by Mike Thaler are perfect for Halloween time, especially for kids ages seven to nine who like to complain about the “awful” school nurse, teacher, principal, vice principal, custodian, substitute, bus driver, cafeteria lady, gym teacher, music teacher, etc.

Visit Mike’s website to see what new books are coming out. He also has the Black Lagoon Adventures series of chapter books for more advanced readers.

Now for a pumpkin recipe from The Pumpkin Nook. Pumpkin Pie Fudge anyone? (IT’S AWESOME!)

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