Chocolate-covered Prunes 

Chocolate-covered dried fruit is quite popular in the region of Russia, where I come from. It's usually stuffed with nuts, dipped in milk chocolate and sold in boxes, just like candy. What's amazing is that even people, who are normally not crazy about dried fruit, often find this candy delicious. I love all the different varieties but prunes have always been my favorites.  I've been making my own for a few years now, mostly using milk or dark chocolate for dipping. This time, however, I decided to experiment: I was having a tea party, and tea goes wonderfully with mint, so I used white mint chocolate instead and the result was yummy!

Note: Prunes are an excellent source of dietary fiber but this also makes them a laxative, so, when eating prunes, limit yourself to 3-5 pieces a day.

Ingredients:

Sunsweet Pitted Prunes - 9 oz bag

Premium Candy Wafers (or any other brand of molding chocolate) White Mint flavor - 3/4 of 1 lb bag 

Walnut pieces - as many as you have prunes

Cupcake Gems Perfect Pearls for decoration

Stuff each plum with a piece of walnut. Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals. Stir between intervals to help break up the chips. Using toothpick, dip prunes and place on waxed paper to harden. While chocolate is still warm and not set, decorate with Perfect Pearls.

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Cherry Blossom Candy 

This recipe was inspired by our April trip to Washington D.C. during the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. I took "buckeye" candy recipe and experimented until I finally came up with this delicious and festive Cherry Blossom Candy.

 Ingredients:

1\2 jar (9 oz.) peanut butter

1 cup maraschino cherries

1 1\2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1\3 stick butter (softened)

1\2 cup coconut flakes

1 1\2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 bag green "cooking chocolate" in a package of small disks

1\3 bag white  "cooking chocolate"

1. Save some (6-8) cherries for decoration, chop the rest. Mix together peanut butter, butter, coconut flakes, chopped cherries and vanilla. Add powdered sugar 1\2 cup at a time until thoroughly combined. The mixture will be crumbly but will stick together when rolled into balls.

2. Line cookie sheets with wax paper. Form "nut-sized" balls with the mixture and place them on the cookie sheet. The dough will soften and stick together the more you work with it. Place the balls in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes to harden before dipping in chocolate.

3. Take green chocolate, save 12 disks for later, place the rest into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir between intervals to help break up the chips.

4. Remove balls from the freezer and dip each one in the chocolate using a toothpick and replace them on the cookie sheets. If the balls get too soft just return them to the freezer for a few minutes until they stay on the toothpick. Only dip about 3/4ths of each ball into the chocolate leaving a spot of peanut butter showing as if you were making buckeyes. Let them set for about 15 minutes. Now you have dark green buckeyes.

5. Put the rest of the green chocolate disks into the same bowl. Put aside 15-16 white chocolate disks for decoration and add the rest to the bowl. Melt and mix green and white disks together. You will get a light green color chocolate. Take each candy by the bottom and dip the top into the chocolate, so that a peanut butter spot is covered. Let them set well. Now you have 2-color candy with a dark green bottom and a light green top.

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