Tiger Butter

Hooray, spring is here! Today I sat in the sun and felt hot. As in summer time hot. Come July I may not be as excited about sizzling outside, but right now I’m gleeful. The flip flops are on and they’re not coming off. The snow is disappearing rapidly and as it melts I’m discovering rhubarb and irises and can’t wait to see what else emerges from the ground. Now I’m eager to figure out what kinds of flowers I can plant that won’t be gobbled up by the deer. Suggestions?

Bob and I finished yet another house project and built wooden floor-to-ceiling bookcases. I must say that unpacking all our boxes of books was incredibly fun and, more than anything, filling the new shelves with them has made our house really feel like home.

Also making me very happy…Sam and Isaac were just home on spring break and it was a super relaxing time - lots of cooking (General Tso’s Chicken! rhubarb shortcake!), Scrabble, movies, talking, and since it was Purim there was hamentaschen baking and hamentaschen eating. As much as I miss the boys, it is pure pleasure to see them flourishing and enjoying life in school. I also learned that the hours (and hours) of my blasting ABBA while they were growing up seeped into Isaac’s subconscious and now he listens while studying. Good taste, I say.

After Sam and Isaac returned to school I began thinking about treats I can send and Tiger Butter came to mind. I first learned about Tiger Butter back in my college days when Bob and I worked at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. We made all sorts of confections in the shop such as divinity, caramel apples, truffles, raspberry chocolate puddles and nut clusters. A vat of warm chocolate was always swirling, ready for dipping strawberries, pretzels or graham crackers. Pretty heavenly, especially as a hungry college student. It’s embarrassing how much I ate on the job. And, ahem, gave out to my friends.

So about this Tiger Butter. It’s a simple, fudge-like sweet with only three ingredients. Creamy peanut butter is stirred into melted white chocolate and then dark chocolate is drizzled and swirled on top to make the tiger stripes. After it firms up, you slice and indulge. Rich and addictive, I guarantee it will disappear quickly. Just like the melting snow!

Tiger Butter
8x8 pan

16 ounces white chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Line an 8x8 pan with foil and set aside. In a medium sized saucepan, warm the white chocolate over low heat and stir until it melts and is smooth. Gently stir in the peanut butter until well mixed. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth it. In a small saucepan, melt the dark chocolate over low heat and then drizzle it in stripes over the peanut butter. Using a butter knife, lightly swirl the chocolate to create additional stripes. Pop the pan in the fridge and let it chill for about an hour. Remove the tiger butter from the pan by lifting out the foil lining. Cut into small pieces and serve. The tiger butter will keep for a week in a sealed container.

Walnut Penuche Fudge and an Early Kitchen Disaster Redeemed

Fudge is an incredibly nostalgic treat for me. The summers of my childhood always included eating fudge, and this was usually enjoyed somewhere on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where fudge and ice cream are two vital food groups to be consumed on a daily basis. Standing in front of the glass display cases of the little candy shops, I would gaze at the different flavors of fudge such as chocolate, chocolate nut, maple walnut, rocky road, peanut butter and chocolate mint. The one that always leaped out at me (and still does) is walnut penuche. This brown sugar confection melts on your tongue in a rich, buttery sweetness and the crunch of walnuts balances out the intense sugar. Try nibbling some with the sun setting on your face after a day spent splashing in the waves.

More reminiscing here... Do you recall your first experiences in the kitchen? Let me tell you about one of mine. When I was about 10 years old, I decided to make walnut penuche at home. My parents were out for a bit and I thought this was a terrific way to spend the afternoon. I pulled out my treasured copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cook Book, which I knew contained a recipe for Quick Walnut Penuche. While I had memorized the photos and drawings in this cookbook (and had thought about cooking many of the recipes) I hadn’t yet tried anything on my own.

I pulled butter from the fridge and tossed it into a saucepan, turning the electric burner up to high. While that sizzled, I scooped out brown sugar and plopped it in with the now bubbling butter. I took some time to hunt around the cabinet for the sifter for the powdered sugar, and then remembered to pour in the milk. I didn’t make it further than the milk pouring because the hissing, smoking mixture had begun to pop all over the place! And when I tried to stir it I discovered the bottom was a hardened blob that had fused with the saucepan. Did I mention the scorched smell? Big sigh ... my walnut penuche was not to be.

My folks returned home to find me attempting to scrape a burnt buttery mess from the bottom of the pan. I remember my mom peeking in the fridge and asking, “How much butter did you use?” Apparently, I hadn’t mastered the proper weighing and measuring of butter yet, and at least a pound was melted into the brown, rock-hard blob. Fortunately, this early mishap did not daunt my desire to be in the kitchen!

I still associate fudge with summer and the time has come for me to redeem my early attempt at walnut penuche. My mom held onto my Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cook Book all these years (thanks, Mom!) and whenever I fondly open its pages I am transported back to my childhood bedroom, sprawled across my canopy bed, dreaming up menus. Pages are still marked for Frosty Lime Floats, Perfect French Toast, Strawberry-Pineapple Freeze, Stuffed Eggs, Sunny Carrots and my favorite, Chocolate Mint Cups.

I am happy to say that today’s walnut penuche fudge making was a sweet success! While waiting for the fudge to firm up, I flipped through the BHGJ Cook Book and found an overlooked recipe for “Chocolate Peppermint Delicious” (imagine cream, chocolate wafers and peppermint candy in a frozen concoction). Mmm, the book may be spending some more time in the kitchen this summer and I don’t expect any complaints (or, fingers crossed, cooking disasters!).

Walnut Penuche
From the Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cook Book
Makes one 8x8 inch pan

Butter for pan
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 cup chopped walnuts

Butter an 8x8 square pan and set aside. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar. Cook for 2 minutes over low heat while stirring. Stir in the milk. Continue mixing until the mixture is boiling.

Remove from heat and cool the mixture to room temperature. Using a wooden spoon, beat in the powdered sugar until it is a fudge-like consistency (I used just under 2 cups). Stir in the walnuts and pour into the prepared pan (I used a piece of wax paper to press the fudge down and smooth it). Chill until firm and cut into pieces. Leftover fudge can be wrapped in plastic and left at room temperature, or stored in the fridge if your kitchen is very warm. Enjoy!