Holiday Cookies and Fudge - A Review

Fellow blogger Jen from Redhead Ranting is offering some wonderful packages of cookies and fudge for sale through her website.  I was lucky enough to receive a sample of the goodies in exchange for providing a review.  I was more than happy to oblige.  Sugar and chocolate are my weaknesses, and you'd be hard pressed to find a sweet treat that I would turn down!  The choices include sugar cookies, fudge (with and without nuts), and Bourbon Balls.  I snagged this photo of the actual goodies from her website where you can order any combination of these tasty treats.  Check out the blog post here with links to order: The Holiday Treats Are Ready.

Photo by Jen

Fudge with Walnuts

Jen sent a generous chunk of fudge to review, and it was very good.  The texture was just right.  It was smooth and creamy, not at all grainy like some fudge I've had before.  This stuff was melt-in-your mouth smooth.  While I normally prefer my fudge without nuts, this sample was quite good and had an appropriate ratio of nuts to fudge.  The chocolate flavor was delicious and reminded me of Hershey's Kisses!  It wasn't too sweet or too rich.  I could eat the whole sample (about the size of a brownie) without feeling sick to my stomach.  This was a nice soft fudge that could be bitten into easily and without it sticking to your teeth.  I've never tried to make my own fudge before since the recipes I've always seen have required a candy themometer and seemed too complicated. If you feel the same way, check out Redhead Ranting to buy some of Jen's fudge - "baked with extra love"! 

Sugar Cookies

I've got one word to describe these sugar cookies - YUMMY.  I don't even know where to begin on these.  They were perfect!  I don't know how she got them rolled out so evenly.  They were the perfect thickness and biting into them was a pure pleasure.  They had LOTS of red and green sugar sprinkles, which I enjoyed.  There's no such thing as too many sprinkles! These cookies were evenly baked (no overly-browned bottoms like my cookies always seem to have) and so light and fresh tasting.  I must say it's almost frustrating how pretty and tasty these cookies were.  I've given up on trying to make sugar cookies myself because mine are always wrong.  They taste more like lightly-sweetened flour than sugar cookies, and I can never get them rolled out thinly enough without them tearing to bits when I try to use the cookie cutters on them. My solution has always been to make them thicker, which makes the final cookies either too soft or too hard, and overcooked on the bottom.  And mine always seem to lose their shape and get all warped when I try to move the cookies onto the baking sheet before putting them in the oven.  There is apparently some special secret to making sugar cookies, and Jen must be privy to it!  A tip of the hat to you, Jen, for these great cookies.  I could have plowed through 5 pounds of them easily! 

I don't do alcohol, so I asked Jen not to send the Bourbon Balls and therefore couldn't provide a review for them.  They look so pretty in the picture though.  If they could be made without the alcohol, I'd be all over them! 

Please check out Redhead Ranting now to order some of these homemade holiday treats!