Easy Homemade Caramels

Life lessons.  We all experience them, we all learn from them hopefully, and sometimes they sting.  Or wait, sometimes rather, they give you 2nd degree burns, on your feet!

OK, so maybe 2nd degree burns is a little over the top but, my heart will not get over how freaked out I was!  When people tell you to read up on candy making or watch a video, talk to others who make candy.....yeah, you should probably do that.  I only tell you that because, I DIDN'T!

For a beginner this is really an easy recipe.  I think when you make candy you need to start out easy.  And make sure you have access to a candy thermometer or you will end up using a meat thermometer.  HA!  Or you can ALMOST forgot what is bubbling and stick your finger in it to taste it.  I am a mess friends, a hot, bubbling over mess.  When my temperature got to that very anticipated "firm-ball stage", I kept the pot on the burner, shut off the heat, and added my vanilla.  DUH.  It blew up, a small explosion but none the less, is scared the hell outta me. I will make these again because they are so easy, but my candy making days are over.  If you need a recipe for candy, ask me, I will refer you to a good website!

One thing about these caramels, is you MUST prepare the pan well.  I mean, when I tell you that you MUST, you MUST.  I used foil, but in hindsight I would use parchment and then I would spray the heck out of it with nonstick cooking spray, maybe even like 4 times over.  Yes, use parchment.  I also used parchment to individually wrap them, waxed paper is a good alternative.  If you cut these into 1 inch squares you will get about 81 candies.  Uh-huh.......start cutting girlfriend/boyfriend. 

These would be a delightful edible gift and if you groove on the salted variety caramel, after you pour the mixture in your pan, sprinkle with course sea salt or pink salt!  Hereeeee..we go!

1 cup butter
2 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Line a 9x9x2 baking pan with parchment.  Then spray or butter it WELL with non stick cooking spray.  Set aside. 

In a large pot add all ingredients EXCEPT the vanilla. Clip a candy thermometer to your pot and stirring almost constantly bring your mixture to the firm-ball stage.  This will be 242 degrees F.  This took me about 19 minutes on medium heat.  Don't use more than medium or you will burn your mixture.  Your mixture will be a moderate, steady bubble. 

Remove the pot from the heat.  remove your thermometer, and add vanilla.  BEWARE, you will have a mini volcanic eruption on your hands, so thus, using a large pot!  Maybe if you use a large pot you won't have an eruption but I had one, so I am just putting it out there into the universe, wear socks!

Pour immediately into your prepared baking dish and let cook in the fridge.  When it is set, use the parchment to lift the caramels out and a buttered knife to cut into 1 inch squares or whatever size you like.  I did bigger pieces as you can see.

DE-lightful.  I promise!

Rainbow Rose Meringue Cookies

Hello friends!  Just me again, making some more wildly delicious and fun stuff!  Ok, well in my opinion it is ALL that!!  Just more like finding excuses to make meringues.  Any excuse will do, I love them!

These are so easy.  Have you heard all those old wives tales about when to make meringues and when not too?  Never on a humid or rainy day?  It might be true, I am just saying, I made mine on a humid rainy day and they turned out perfectly.  I am not saying the old wives are wrong, I am just saying, they were wrong about my superhuman abilities, that's all. 

These will brighten up anyone's day, so make them, and share them with someone who needs some cheer!  Or let's be real, keep them for yourself because you know since they are mostly air, they have no calories.  I mean that is what I heard, so I am just sayin......R

PS.  Don't throw those yolks away kids, use them, for some pastry cream or homemade egg noodles!

3 egg whites
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
red, blue and yellow food colors
pastry bag
Wilton 1M tip

In a very CLEAN metal or glass bowl, being to whip your egg whites.  Wipe them until they become foamy.  No peaks yet, just good and foamy.  Add in your granulated sugar and cream of tartar and whip until you have soft peaks.  Add in vanilla and continue to whip your egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. 

In 3 bowls, divide your meringue evenly.  Color on red, one blue and one yellow.  Or, use any colors you like!  Carefully fold in the coloring so you don't lose all the fluffy air in the whites.

Now using a 1m tip and a large pastry bag or Ziploc bag, cut off the corner and insert tip.  Roll the bag clear down and add one spoonful of each color at a time, then move up the cuff and add more.  This will give you more rainbow, and less of one color blob at a time.  Get it?  Yes, I said color "blob". 

Now with your baking sheets lined with either parchment or silicone mates, pipe out a rose shape.  Working in circles from the center out.  I yielded about 16 cookies, but it depends on the size of roses you make and you can do other shapes as well. 

Bake at 195 degrees F for 1 hr. 30 minutes.  Rotate the pans half way through.  When the time is up, turn the oven off and crack the door open.  Let cool to room temperature. 

ENJOY!



 



Adapted from CherryLanesCupcakes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Bark

Uh huh.  That's what it says in the title.  This recipe is a chocolate/peanut butter lovers dream.  I qualify, and apparently, after eating nearly this entire batch over the course of 3 days, my son qualifies as well!  HA!   It never gets old, no matter how old your kids get, seeing them enjoy something you make.  Am I right?  Or am I right?

I have seen this recipe so many places, I can name a few here, but a lot on Pinterest and then two YouTube channels I subscribe to most recently, they are Tammy over at Yoyomax12 and Lynn at Lynn's Recipes.  When I saw it, I thought how easy it looked, how fancy Nancy it looked and how flipping GOOD it looked!  I had to try it. 

Now, you can opt for any chocolate on the bottom.  I opted for semi sweet, I used chocolate chips which some don't recommend but let me tell you it turned out perfectly for me.  With the chocolate chips there is just ONE little trick.  Heat it for 30 seconds at a time and stir well, you ideally do not want to overheat the chocolate so mix it well every 30 seconds, so the heat of the bowl and the already melted chips will melt what is in there more.  If you overheat the chips you are done.  Ok?  Btw, the semi sweet, balanced all of the milk chocolate perfectly, not disgustingly sweet, but, still fairly sweet.

I made a "larger" batch, I would say double what most of the recipes call for.  I definitely see, taking this as an edible gift in the future, because it is that good.  In a decorative little box, oh yea, this will be a fun gift! 

Here is what you will need:

parchment paper
1 8oz. bag of Reese's minis
12 oz. bag of semi sweet chocolate chips (or whatever kind you choose)
6 ounces of peanut butter chips (about half of any bag)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Melt semisweet chocolate, slowly, take your time or you will ruin it!  When it is melted spread as thick or thin as you would like it.  Mine turned out to cover the better part of my cookie sheet. 

 

Next, working fairly quickly, melt your peanut butter chips.  Using the same method as the chocolate.  Drop spoonful's all over the chocolate you have melted and using a skewer, toothpick or butter knife, swirl the peanut butter around.  Be careful to make sure it maintains the swirled look and not so mixed up it looks like mud!!

 

 

Now take your mini peanut butter cups and cover the top, just drop them on, sort of evenly, you can always move them round.  Then, take your hand and press them down to so adhere into the chocolate and peanut butter!

And here is what you will end up with!  Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to make sure it is good and set.  Then break into pieces and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.  You can leave it out while serving as well, it will stay hard.  (unless it is super hot).  No worries, to be honest, it won't last that long!

Enjoy this simple, sinful treat!

PS.  Don't worry about the peanut butter and chocolate on my fingers.  When I was done I went ahead and licked it off!

Homemade Gumdrops!

Who would have imagined I would one day be making gumdrops, from SCRATCH.  No way!   Let me tell you, these were so fun, so easy, and taste so good, I think this will become a new "go to" for little edible gifts in a cool little box or bag. 

In my quest to find a good recipe, because let's face it, some recipes, I just need some help with.  I found numerous recipes, with all the same ingredients.  I am convinced one took it from another who doubled it from another who tripled it from the first and so on.  I didn't care that all the recipes were basically the same, this was my maiden sailing and I just wanted to see what the outcome of this recipe was before I tried to "play" with it.  They turned out fantastic but there are a few little tips that make it MUCH easier if you take the time to do them.

I used an 8x8 square pan.  You could use a 9x9 or a 7x11 or, well, don't get bigger than that.  Either spray the CRAP outta that baby with nonstick cooking spray or line every last inch of it with parchment.  Or BOTH!  Before I poured the hot mixture in my prepared dish, I added about 1/2 cup of granulated sugar to the bottom  so it would perhaps come out easier. 

If you do those things and follow my other directions you will find how easy, and delicious these little treats are.  I also cut mine into heart shapes for Valentine's Day.  I got 21 hearts.  If you just cut them into cubes, you will obviously get many more.  Just an FYI.

You will need
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup applesauce, use sweetened or unsweetened (I used sweetened)
1 3.4 oz. pkg strawberry jello (use cherry or anything red or pink for V-Day)
1 .25 oz. pkg unflavored gelatin
1 cup granulated sugar for dusting at the end

Prepare pan as described above and set aside.  It must be prepared first. 

In a saucepan combine 1 cup granulated sugar, lemon juice, applesauce, jello and gelatin.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and one it boils, let it boil for 1 minute. 

WARNING this is a hot sugar mixture be VERY CAREFUL!!!  Pour carefully into your prepared pan and refrigerate at least 4 hours, I left mine overnight which I think is best. 

When it is chilled, run a knife around the edges and turn out unto a cookie sheet that is covered in granulated sugar.  Use a knife or cookie cutter to cut your gumdrops into your desired shapes, dust in the sugar and lay in a flat layer to let dry.

 Let them sit overnight!!

 

ENJOY some sweets, for your sweet!