It’s one of the most colorful traditions we have, and it all starts on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany celebrating the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. The Three Kings Cake, with its colorful adornment of beads, a plastic baby hidden inside and topped with a king’s crown also kicks off the Carnival season with Fat Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras. With this treat, you’ll be feasting your eyes on fun!
Watch my How To Video here!
This one is personal! I’ve been making my special wreath bread for the holidays ever since I was in high school. I love making it, I love cutting into it (as pretty as it is) and I absolutely love giving it away as a holiday gift from my kitchen. I think I cut the recipe out of a Women’s Day Magazine many, many years ago, and eventually the clipping just disintegrated from overuse. By the time that happened however, I had the recipe embedded in my cooking DNA. The inside of this gorgeous bread wreath is filled with delicious surprises like brown sugar, walnuts, soaked raisins and spices. The outside is a thing of beauty and in my opinion, the perfect holiday wreath to share! Enjoy it as a breakfast bread or a sweet snack anytime!
Uh Oh. Maybe that’s what I should re-name this dessert… because it’s a bit dangerous.
Or maybe irresistible is a better word. If you love Samoa Girl Scout Cookies, or the combination of caramel, toasted coconut and chocolate, you’re going to love Samoa Dessert Lasagne! I’m not sure how the “lasagna” got in there, but this treat does have layer upon layer of flavor starting with the crispy cookie crust to the drizzle of caramel on top! That cook crust has an American classic cookie as a base, Nilla Wafers! The Nilla’s get ground up and combined with melted butter and toasted coconut to create the perfect firm base for this delicious treat.
A word about the coconut flakes. When you toast the flakes in a hot, dry skillet, keep stirring or the flakes can burn. You’ll want to toast them just to a golden brown, and that’s when the real flavor of coconut comes through!
There are plenty of store-bought caramel sauces on the market. I chose Smucker’s for this recipe, and of course, you can make your own homemade caramel sauce pretty easily with sugar (brown or white), butter and milk or cream.
Finally for the chocolate drizzle on top, melted chocolate chips or a chocolate coating gives this decadent dessert a final touch. Once you try this treat, you’ll know why it’s called Gimme Samoa!
Whenever I get an email from someone who has a recipe to share, my experience has been that that recipe is pretty darn delicious! If it was a hit in your family, it’s probably going to be a hit in ours. So it was with Jan R. from Mesa. She sent me a recipe for something called Chocolate Fluff, and let me tell you, it’s now on my recipe radar! Simply put, I love it, and I think you will too! Here’s Jan’s story:
“The recipe for Chocolate Fluff goes way back to the1950’s, when I spent my childhood in southeast Iowa. I was the oldest of three sisters, but only two of us had arrived by the Chocolate Fluff time frame. We had big family gatherings for all major holidays. (Of course, I was relegated to the “kids table” until I was about 20 years old!) Mom was the one who introduced Chocolate Fluff to the family. She was an avid recipe clipper for as long as I can remember, so she could have even found it in the newspaper. Mom would make Chocolate Fluff for large family gatherings. Back then, nobody knew about watching your calories or fat intake. It was definitely a special treat—not an everyday dessert. Somewhere along the way, maybe by the time I was in high school, Chocolate Fluff faded away from Mom’s dessert repertoire. My last attempt to make Chocolate Fluff was over 20 years ago. The dessert turned out well and was devoured by family. Like mom, I don’t make many of the recipes I clip, but sometimes I find a really good one.”
Well, Jan, this indeed is a good one! I hope to turn more folks into Chocolate Fluff fanatics!
Watch my How to Video here!
