Caramel Corn

You know those recipes that you make so often that you can just open the cookbook to the exact page. And the page has stuff spilled and crusted all over it. This is totally one of those recipes. Except I can’t always open it since it’s caramel that has spilled onto the pages and they sometimes stick together. Ooops. I am kind of totally a messy cook.

Caramel Corn
recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

7-8 cups popped popcorn
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. light-colored corn syrup
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. vanilla

1. Remove all unpopped kernels from popped popcorn. Put popcorn into a 17x12x2-inch baking or roasting pan (I use 2 13×9 pans). Keep popcorn warm in a 300 degree F oven while making caramel.
2. Butter a large piece of foil; set aside. For caramel, in a medium saucepan combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, without stirring, for 5 minutes more.
3. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour caramel over popcorn; stir gently to coat. Bake in a 300 degree F oven for 15 minutes. Stir mixture; bake 5 minutes more. Spread caramel corn on buttered foil; cool. Store, tightly covered, for up to 1 week.Recipe linked to Sweets for a Saturday.

Candy Corn Mix

Who doesn’t love candy corn? I get so excited when I see it on the grocery store shelves. This snack mix ALWAYS graces my coffee table throughout the fall season and I’m the only one in the house that likes it. It’s so easy to throw together and tastes so yummy! My mom first tasted this at a work potluck and quickly passed it on to me knowing I would love it.

This recipe, if you can even call it that, consists of a 1:1 ratio of candy corn and dry roasted, lightly salted peanuts. I mix together a cup of each and it usually lasts me a couple days. This addicting mix tastes just like a Payday candy bar. Oh so good!

And I love being able to use my awesome Peggy Karr Halloween dish! Isn’t it cute?

Recipe linked to these wonderful link parties:
Fusion Friday’s
Friday Food
Sweets This Week
Holiday Sweet Swap
What I Whipped Up Wednesday
Mangia Monday
Mouthwatering Monday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Cast Party Wednesday
These Chicks Cooked
Full Plate Thursday
Fat Camp Friday

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

The thought of zucchini breads and muffins always worried me. Why would you want a bread that tasted like zucchini? I like zucchini but that just sounded too weird. Well, after pondering this for several years and then opening my email to see this recipe in my inbox from Sweet Peas Kitchen I decided it was finally time to give it a try.

My in-laws were visiting and I like to have homemade treats when they are here. They like chocolate quite a bit so I thought they would enjoy these. The zucchini was an added bonus as they are healthy eaters (not that I’m claiming these muffins are healthy but the zucchini helps, right?).

I couldn’t even tell there was zucchini in these muffins! It just gave a nice, moist texture that was really delicious. I didn’t tell Joel that these were zucchini muffins because he most likely would have stuck his nose up at them. I also enjoy tricking him into eating things that are better for him (replacing ground beef with ground turkey in chili for example). He’s good practice for when Noah is older and probably pickier than he is now.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
recipe from Sweet Peas Kitchen

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups zucchini, washed and dried, ends and stems removed, cut in half lengthwise and seeded, and grated
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 20 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2.In a large bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, allspice and cinnamon; set aside.
3.In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, butter and oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined. Stir in vanilla, buttermilk, zucchini and chocolate chips. Gently stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
4.Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and muffin tops are springy to the touch, 20 to 24 minutes; rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Yields: 20 standard muffins

Linked to Sweets for a Saturday, Fat Camp Friday’s, Recipe Sharing Monday, Mangia Monday’s , Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Muffin Monday and This Week’s Craving.

Burnt Sugar Almonds

Have you ever had those expensive sugary, cinnamony almonds from the mall or at sporting events? You know the ones I’m talking about, the ones you can smell from a mile away that instantaneously make your mouth start to water. Oh yeah, these are those! They are amazing and super easy to prepare.

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for quite some time and was just waiting for the opportunity to make them. I knew I couldn’t make them to have around the house because Joel doesn’t like almonds (what is wrong with him?) and I can’t be trusted alone with them. We attended a friend’s birthday bash recently and even though I was told I didn’t need to bring anything I just can’t attend a party without something in hand. And I couldn’t get these off my mind. They were a big hit and luckily I didn’t have to twist anybody’s arm to take them home. I lack willpower, majorly.

These would be a great addition to Christmas cookie platters or any cocktail or appetizer party. I think pecans would be great added to the mix or in place of the almonds. Make sure to read the notes before starting these delicious little almonds.

Burnt Sugar Almonds
recipe from Get Off Your Butt and Bake

⅓ cups Water, Plus 2 Tablespoons
1-⅓ cup Sugar, Divided
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, Ground
2 cups Raw Almonds
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Notes before beginning: Make sure that you DO NOT let the first sugar mixture evaporate until it’s dry.  You don’t want it soupy, but rather a very thick syrup that is adhering to the nuts.  This is when you will add your second addition of sugar (1/3 cup).  If your mixture does become too dry, and all the sugar has dried up – don’t throw everything away.  It’s o.k.!  Just add a couple of tablespoons of warm water, and stir until you have a bit of shine, but also some lumps beginning to form.

1. First add the water, 1 cup of sugar and the cinnamon and stir. Bring it to a boil over medium heat. Add the almonds to the mix, raise the temperature to high heat and stir constantly until the water is boiled away.
2. The sugar will dry out a little but start to stick to the almonds. Keep stirring them around, so that the almonds don’t burn on the bottom of the pan.
3. Turn the heat under the pan to medium-low, to keep the sugar from browning too fast. Keep stirring until the almonds start having an even shiny coat.
4. Now dump in the rest of your sugar. Keep stirring and add your vanilla. At this point, there might be quite some noise ensuing from your pan. Some crackling and popping, but hopefully no snapping. It depends on how fresh your almonds were. Really fresh almonds will make a popping noise and the coat may start to crack. That’s the water in the almonds escaping. If the almonds are older, there won’t be as much of that.
5. Keep stirring until the almonds are fairly shiny, but still a bit lumpy. You don’t want them completely smooth. The best ones are the ones that are shiny in some areas with some delicious lumps of cinnamon sugar on other parts of the almond.
6. As soon as you see that happening, take them off the heat and transfer the almonds to a sheet of parchment paper. Spread them apart as much as you can, but don’t worry about some of them sticking together initially. Be careful, however. These are extremely hot, so only use a spoon.
These babies can really burn you!
7. While they are cooling down, keep on breaking them apart with your spoon until they are all separated. Once they are cooled, hide them in a dry, closed container. Theoretically, they keep for several weeks.

Recipe linked to
Fat Camp Friday
Sweets for a Saturday
This Chick Cooks
Jam Hands
Mouthwatering Monday’s
Full Plate Thursday
Everyday Sisters Sharing Sunday
Sweets This Week
Holiday Sweet Swap

Cheesecake Filled Strawberries

I am a perfectionist. I expect everything to be done just right (especially when I am doing it myself). I put way too much stress on myself because I won’t let anyone help me, then it all builds up and I crack. This is something I’m trying to work on and admitting it should be my first step, right? All this talk is currently in relation to Noah’s upcoming FIRST birthday party. Of course everything has to be planned out weeks, if not months, ahead of time. Everything has to be homemade and I usually won’t accept any help that is offered (I’m stubborn too). My mantra is to “let people help and let things go” this time around. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Well, with the festivities only weeks away my brain is on overload which quickly causes my stress level and blood pressure to rise.  But when I saw these beautiful berries at Herzog’s Country Fresh I knew that they would help melt the stress away, if only for a few minutes. And what could be better than stuffing them with a cheesecake-like filling? Dipping them in chocolate too? Is that what you said? I thought of that but decided to use a little restraint but oh that would be good!

The original filling recipe tasted too much like plain ole’ cream cheese to me so I added quite a bit more powdered sugar to sweeten them up. It turned out a little runny but was really yummy (like pumpkin roll filling if you have ever had it). My strawberries were pretty small so I used a 1/4 teaspoon to scoop out the middles. Then I piped in the sweet cream cheese. Cut a bit of the bottom off of the strawberry before hand if you want them to stand up.

Cheesecake Filled Strawberries
12-24 strawberries, depending on size
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional toppings:
Blueberries
Slivered almonds
Melted chocolate

1. Clean and dry strawberries. Slice off top and a bit of the bottom of the berries then scoop out the tops.
2. Place cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla in a food processor. Place the filling in a piping bag and pipe into the strawberries. Top with blueberries or other topping options.

Linked on Cupcake Apothecary and Everyday Sisters Sharing Sunday!

Granola

If you are a busy mom like me, you are looking for a quick, healthy breakfast that tastes delicious. This granola totally fits the bill. It is so simple to throw together in the evening and lasts for about a week in an airtight container. And it’s so much cheaper than buying prepared granola.

Another great feature of this granola is that it is totally customizable unlike the boxed version. Don’t like almonds? Replace them with pecans or walnuts. Use raisins, dried banana chips or dried apricots as the fruit. You can add exactly what you want to make your perfect granola.

I personally love this granola atop some strawberry yogurt with sliced bananas. Healthy, simple, tasty. Just what we need to fuel up for a busy day.

Granola

3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup assorted dried fruit

Preheat oven to 300°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; toss. Spread on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 40 minutes. Place sheet on rack. Stir granola; cool. Mix in fruit.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

This was my first attempt at sweet potato fries and I was hoping to convert my husband who has never been a fan.  Well, I didn’t convert him and these were good but not great.

I was not able to get these fries crispy which is super important in my opinion.  When I attempt these again I will try baking them at a higher temperature, maybe 450 degrees, for a shorter amount of time.  Or maybe broil them for the last couple minutes.  I think doubling the garlic and onion powder would also be beneficial. 

These are still a good and healthy side dish that I will be attempting again (and making my whiny husband something else).  Our son Noah loves sweet potatoes so at least I have someone on my side.

Sweet Potato Fries

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. olive oil (adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
dash of cayenne

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients together.
2. Bake sweet potato fries for 35 minutes, turning half way through the baking time.

Peanut Butter Eggs

Peanut butter eggs are an absolute must for Easter in our house!  I have to say that the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is one of my all time favorites.  This year, I decided to change it up a little after seeing these adorable eggs at Picky Palate.  Rather than using chocolate, pastel candy melts are used to cover the peanut butter eggs. 

I decided to go with this recipe for the eggs, it looked too delicious to resist.  I halved it as I didn’t think we would need 28 eggs (I provided the full recipe though).  After tasting them, I’m kind of regretting my decision.  I bet I could eat 5 in one sitting….but I won’t….hopefully.

These would be great to make for the neighbors or to bring to your Easter gathering.  It would also be fun to pipe each person’s name (in a coordinating candy melt color or chocolate) on the eggs to make them a little more special and personal.

Although they are messy to make and a little time consuming, they are so fun and taste much better than the store-bought variety.  This would be a great recipe to do with your kids.  I hope you enjoy these and have a wonderful Easter!

Peanut Butter Eggs
makes 28 3×2 eggs

1/4 lb butter (1 stick), softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 lbs powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pastel candy melts (these can be found at any craft store in their baking section)
Sprinkles

1. Mix the butter and cream cheese together.
2. Add the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time and mix well.
3. Add the peanut butter, vanilla, and salt, and mix until well blended.
4. Place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour (I stick the bowl in the freezer for about 1/2 hr., to harden the dough).
5. Form the peanut butter mixture into egg shapes, then refrigerate again for at least 1 hour (Again, I put them in the freezer instead of the fridge).
6. Melt the candy melts in the microwave or in a double boiler.
7. With a knife, spread the candy melts all along the sides and top of the egg, then with the knife fluff the top of the melts to make the eggs look pretty. Just press down on the melts and lift up with a butter knife. Do it all over the top of the egg.  I simply put them in the melts upside down then covered the sides using a spoon.
8. You have to work quickly while the eggs are frozen, as the heat from the melts makes them soft again rather quickly. If you notice them getting too soft, stick them back in the freezer for a few minutes.
9. Arrange the coated eggs on a waxed paper lined tray and allow the melts to harden. (I stick mine in the freezer for easier handling when coating with the candy melts).
10. Place each peanut butter egg in a paper candy cup.
11. You can decorate your eggs with sprinkles if you wish.

Homemade Poptarts

I think many of us can admit that we have gone to poptarts for a quick, on-the-go breakfast more than once in our life.  While they may not have the healthiest ingredients and sometimes resemble cardboard more than a pastry I have eaten my fair share of them.

When I came across this recipe at Brown Eyed Baker I knew it was something that we had to try.  They took quite a bit of time but they are so much better than the boxed variety and you know every ingredient in them.  If you don’t have the time or inclination, you can simply buy premade pie crust and follow the directions with similar results.

These are light, flaky and chewy unlike the store-bought version.  I made some with a powdered sugar glaze and sprinkles to look like the “real thing” and I left some plain.  My husband preferred them with the glaze and I without.  Either way, they are great!  I only made the strawberry filling but will definitely try the brown sugar cinnamon next time as that is my favorite variety.

If you have another fruit filling in mind (blueberry, cherry, apple…) just replace the strawberry jam with your flavor option and follow directions as listed.  If you try another filling flavor, let me know how it turns out!  Each filling recipe makes enough for 9 poptarts so if you want to try both, scale the filling amounts down.

Homemade Poptarts

For crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk

For strawberry filling:
3/4 cup strawberry jam
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. water

For brown sugar cinnamon filling:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tsp. all-purpose flour

For glaze:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
milk to slightly thin

1. Prepare the strawberry filling by whisking together the cornstarch and water. Combine with the jam in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. For the brown sugar cinnamon filling, whisk together all ingredients well.
3. To make the crust, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work in the butter until it is the size of peas and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. Whisk together the egg and milk and add to the dough. Mix together with a fork until everything is evenly moistened. Knead briefly on a floured surface, if necessary, until the dough comes together.
4. Divide the dough in half. (At this point you can wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.) If you refrigerate the dough, let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes before rolling out. Roll out one piece of dough to about 1/8-inch thick, in a 9½ by 12½ rectangle (using lots of flour as it can get sticky). I discovered a great trick on Dirty Jobs for rolling out dough (I know you are thinking “Dirty Jobs?” but trust me). Cover the dough with plastic wrap and then roll it out. This way, it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin. Using a sharp knife, pastry wheel or bench scraper (I used a pizza cutter), trim the rectangle to 9×12 inches. Cut the sheet of dough into nine 3×4 rectangles. Using a spatula, transfer the rectangles to a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
5. Brush the lightly beaten egg on each of the rectangles. Spoon a tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, leaving a ½-inch of space around the edges.
6. Roll out and cut the second piece of dough in the exact same manner as you did the first. One at a time, place a second rectangle of dough on top of the nine assembled ones. Using your fingers, press around the seams of the dough to make sure they are sealed (if your dough is too soft, refrigerate it now for 30 minutes rather than in the next step). Press the tines of a fork around the edges of the rectangles. Prick the tops of the rectangles in multiple spots to allow steam to escape.
7. Refrigerate the pan with the pastries (you don’t need to cover them) for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly before serving. Store pastries in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.