TWD: Salted Butter Caramel Brownies

It has taken considerably longer to get back into some sort of baking/blogging routine than I had expected. My life will still be in a bit of upheaval for the next several months, so bear with me!

The brownies for this week's TWD were supposed to have peppermint patty chunks in them, but there isn't a truly organic version (and the ones that are close are insanely expensive). I was planning on using chopped mint chocolate, but the town that I am temporarily in is very small, and there was none to be had! So I decided on adding pools of salted butter caramel. In my opinion, you can never go wrong with salted butter caramel.

It was a bit of an experiment, and though they were quite tasty, they weren't terribly attractive... I think I will play around with the way the caramel is incorporated. If I had had more time to make them I would have dropped spoonfuls of the warm caramel onto parchment, frozen them, and pressed them into the brownie batter so that it wouldn't be visible in the final product. I may also try a sturdier brownie recipe. I liked that this one was thin and fudgey, but it was rather flimsy and prone to falling apart. I'll let you know if I try this one again...

The brownie was chocolatey, not too sweet and nice and fudgey. I was pleased that the pools of caramel stayed soft and pliable even after 30 minutes in the oven, and the rich and creamy flavor was a wonderful contrast to the deep chocolate.

I baked these brownies for a family lunch, and they were quite a hit. Taste-wise, there really aren't any changes necessary, my only problems were more aesthetic in nature.

The Brrr-ownies were chosen by Karen of Welcome to our Crazy Blessed Life. The recipe for them (including the peppermint patties) is on her blog.

Let me add an apology for the less-than-stellar photos... We can't win them all...

Salted Butter Caramel

(makes more than you'll need for these brownies)

1 cup sugar

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons salted butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook sugar and salt, stirring frequently, until completely fluid. Add butter, stirring constantly - careful here, it will spit and boil furiously. Just keep stirring. Add cream and vanilla and stir until smooth. Pour immediately into heat-proof jar or bowl.

To finish the brownies like I made them, drop about a tablespoon of caramel into pan of brownie batter - portioning it so that there will be a pool in the center of each slice. (I cut mine into 9 pieces, so I had 9 pools). Bake as directed in brownie recipe.

Homemade Mounds

I wasn't allowed to eat candy growing up. I mean, there were the occasional indulgences on Easter and Halloween, but even then they were carefully rationed - or so my mom thought... I had quite the sweet tooth, and found ways to sneak treats as often as possible. I always discovered the hiding places of the Easter baskets and Halloween bags, helping myself to just enough that I knew wouldn't be missed. And then there was the bookstore.

The school that I grew up attending had (has) a university attached to it, and that university had a bookstore. A small place, carrying the essentials; toothbrushes, greeting cards, tees & hats with the school's logo, and candy. Tons of candy. Oodles of candy. My favorites were Laffy Taffy, Lemonheads and some other sour, chewy thing whose name escapes me. I liked the sour chewy things best of all. Though the university bookstore has since been overhauled and no longer carries such junk food - now it is all organic, corn syrup free, etc... back then they had it all, and I ate it all. I babysat a lot, so I had my own income, and I lived on school campus because my mom taught there. Every day, I would ride my bike home, speed to the bookstore before it closed for the day, stock up on candy and ride home. When we moved out of the place on campus, my mom found a candy wrapper graveyard behind the sofa. Oops.

Mounds weren't one of the things that I bought at the bookstore - remember, it was the sour, chewy things that were my candy of choice - but my mom enjoyed the occasional Mounds, especially when we went to the movie theatre. It was the legitimatly consumed candy of my childhood. As soon as I saw a recipe for homemade Mounds, I knew I had to make them. I'm sure it has been at least a decade since I ate a real Mounds, but I'm positive that these are considerably better than the real thing.

They have a soft and slightly gooey coconut center enrobed in a delicate layer of dark chocolate. Thankfully, this recipe doesn't make very many. Feel free to double or triple it it. I got 8 candies, each a little more than an inch in diameter.

I would recommend using a silicone candy mold for these. I didn't, and they look a little sloppy. The chocolate layer would be much more even with a mold. I don't have one - yet - and I couldn't wait to acquire one before making this recipe.

Mounds

adapted from Elana's Pantry

3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tablespoons agave

3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Combine coconut, coconut oil and agave in small bowl. Form into desired shapes, lay shapes on parchment-lined baking sheet, and place in freezer for about 10 minutes to harden. Drop coconut shapes one at a time in bowl of melted chocolate, coating thoroughly. Remove with fork, and lay back on parchment for chocolate to set. You could temper the chocolate if you desire, but honestly, these won't last long enough for the chocolate to bloom. If using a mold, paint the inside of each well with a thin layer of chocolate, place in freezer to harden, press coconut mixture into chocolate-lined mold, paint top of coconut with chocolate, put back in freezer. Remove from freezer, pop candies out of molds and enjoy!

Chocolate-Dipped Marzipan Coins

Whenever there was a special occasion growing up, marzipan was my treat of choice. It was not available in the small town I grew up in - except for a short time when there was a much-loved (by me) candy store downtown - so it was only on birthdays and other holidays when I would get it. It came in a shallow little green mesh box, divided into 9 separate spaces. In each space was a molded marzipan fruit or vegetable, airbrushed some bright color or another. Thinking about it now, it sounds slightly repulsive, but back then it was magical. I would savor each piece, trying to stretch out my enjoyment as long as possible, but the marzipan never lasted more than a couple hours at best.

I was trying to come up with something to post that would be Valentine's Day appropriate, though sophisticated - nothing red, heart-shaped or containing catchy sentimental phrases. Not that there's anything wrong with those things, I'm just not so much in the Valentine's spirit this year.

These are treats that you could give anyone you love on V-Day, not just a significant other. They are also ridiculously simple to make.

They taste better than any marzipan I've ever eaten. They taste fresh, which is not usually something you get with the electric red strawberry-shaped version. They are moist, not too sweet, and tender. The store-bought variety can tend towards rubbery, and these are anything but.

If you have molds, you could certainly use them to make fun marzipan shapes. I rolled my marzipan out and used my smallest biscuit cutter.

If you need a last-minute Valentine to give someone, these are perfect. They are delicious, beautiful and only take about an hour from start to finish - including time for the chocolate to set.

Chocolate-Dipped Marzipan Coins

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

8 ounces blanched almonds

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon almond extract

4-5 tablespoons corn syrup*

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, tempered

Place almonds in food processor. Grind to a fine powder, then process a little longer. About 2 minutes in all. Scrape bowl, and add confectioner's sugar and almond extract, process until well combined. Add corn syrup* and process for another minute. The mixture will be crumbly, but when you squeeze a bit of it, it should form a cohesive piece. Turn mixture out onto a board and knead until it comes together. Form a log, wrap in plastic and place in freezer while you temper the chocolate.

To temper chocolate: Place 2.5 ounces in a heat-proof bowl placed over a pot of simmering water. Melt chocolate, stirring frequently. When temperature is over 105, add remaining .5 ounces of chocolate and stir until melted. When the chocolate cools to 90 degrees, it is ready. Keep it at this temperature while you're dipping.

When the chocolate is ready, remove the marzipan from the freezer and roll it out to about 1/4" thick. Using a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter, knife, etc... cut out shapes as desired. Dip into chocolate, and place on a piece of parchment until chocolate is set.

* I've had a couple of comments from people who have made this, saying that the marzipan was extremely sticky and difficult to roll out. My suggestion is to start with 4 tablespoons of corn syrup, and test the marzipan to see if it stays together when squeezed in a clump. If it is still crumbly, add the additional tablespoon. You can also try dusting your rolling surface & pin with powdered sugar, though I have made this twice in the last couple of weeks and didn't need any, so the ideal is to have marzipan that is soft, moist, not crumbly and not sticky (though it will be slightly oily from the natural oils in the almonds).

Walnut Pralines

I love Charleston, SC. Though I live very close, the first time I went there was only about 2 1/2 years ago. Pretty much my entire trip was spent eating, which was not something I complained about. So many fantastic restaurants there, it is probably a good thing I don't live closer.

There is a sweet shop in downtown Charleston. I don't know what its name is, and frankly, it's probably a big tourist trap, but they make pralines. Lots of pralines. They give out free samples of these pralines, and they are oh so tasty. We intentionally walked past that shop several times a day. There was just something so addictive about those nutty chunks of melt-in-your mouth caramel-flavored sweetness.

I've been intending to make pralines for a few months, and finally had the chance a couple of days ago. I was amazed at how easy and quick these were.

I took one bite, and I was right back in Charleston.

These pralines are rich, sweet, satisfying. They have the consistency of fudge with the flavor of caramel, studded with walnuts which lend a slight bitterness. I think the next time I make them, I'll try toasting the walnuts - or whatever nuts I use. I think it would bring out a wonderful flavor that would compliment the sugary candy beautifully.

Walnut Pralines

adapted from marthastewart.com

2 cups sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

small pinch of salt

2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Line two baking sheets with parchment, set aside. In a heavy-bottomed 3 quart saucepan, combine sugar, baking soda, salt and cream. Over medium-high heat, cook until deep golden brown, stirring occasionally. The temperature should be 235 on a candy thermometer. Add butter and walnuts, and stir until butter is melted. Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Work rather quickly, as mixture will become harder to scoop as it cools. Allow pralines to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Creamy Chocolate Fudge

I've been trying to bring you this fudge for a long time. I would have given it to you sooner, but I hit a few bumps along the way.

I saw it originally on Tracey's blog, and knew immediately that I had to make it. I can't even tell you how many years its been since I ate a piece of fudge, and it looked so creamy and heavenly I got right to it.

The first time I made it, it didn't exactly work. It cooked too long, and turned into a strange - though delicious - sort of caramel. I later discovered that my thermometer was off by a none-too-insignificant 6 degrees. Sigh.

The next time I made it, I went solely by the times for each stage of the recipe and ignored the temperature altogether. This time it was perfect. I bagged it up and gave it out for Christmas gifts, thinking I'd have a chance to photograph it before it was gone. Boy oh boy was I wrong! Who knew I was among voracious fudge-eaters, and that it would last less than 6 hours in their hands! Should it have really surprised me, though, given the great chocoholism that runs in my family? Not to mention, we were in the middle of an ice storm and had no power or water, so I had things other than photos on my mind.

Then, I made it again. I had to post it! This time, I went by temperature - I had a new thermometer - and again, it cooked too long. I threw it out.

The next time I made this fudge - oh yes, there was a next time - it tasted fantastic and it was definitely fudge, but it wasn't as beautiful as the perfect batch. I photographed it, but knowing it could be better I just couldn't bring myself to post it.

Now we come to this week when I made it for the fifth time.

I decided to ignore the temperature, as it seemed like in all my experience with this recipe it isn't as important as the length of time the mixture actually cooks for. This time, it was perfect again! Ahhhhh. This fudge is heaven. It is so smooth and creamy, without a trace of grit that is so frequently present in the store-bought variety. It is rich and chocolate-y with a hint of salt. This is some serious fudge. I think you're gonna like it.

Creamy Chocolate Fudge

adapted very liberally from Fine Cooking via Tracey's Culinary Adventures

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons agave (or light corn syrup)

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Line an 8"x8" pan with parchment. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine chocolate, sugar, heavy cream, agave and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring all the time. This should take 7-12 minutes - I find it takes around 10. Once boiling, cover pot and let cook for 2 minutes uninterrupted. Then remove the lid and cook for another 4 minutes without stirring. (The original recipe calls for a temperature of 236, but the last time I made it, it only reached 228 on an accurate thermometer and it was perfect). Remove from heat, add the butter without stirring and let it stand until it is 100 degrees, about an hour. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high for 20 minutes. Then let it rest for about 10 minutes. Beat again on high for 5 minutes, and let rest for 5 minutes. Continue in this way until you can make a wave in the mixture (with your fingers, spoon, etc...) and it doesn't immediately melt back into itself. Pour into prepared pan. Smooth the top or make swirls in it. Let it stand several hours or overnight in the pan, uncovered. Remove parchment, place on cutting board and cut into squares. The fudge will be quite soft at this point. Separate squares and let them sit uncovered for several hours, until they firm up.

*I believe the problem with the batch of fudge that wasn't attractive enough was that I didn't beat it long enough. The top of it wouldn't hold a swirl, and the surface had lots of tiny bubbles. To be sure you've beaten it log enough, take a small dab of the warm fudge out of the mixer and place it on a plate, spoon, anything. Make a swirl in it with your finger. Come back a few minutes later, and if the swirl has remained and the fudge has hardened as it cooled, it is done. If not, keep beating.

Salted Caramel & Toasted Walnut Shortbread Bars

I am really at a loss for words with these bars. They are so delicious, they have taken the words right out of me.

I actually made them for the first time a week ago, and couldn't get a photo I liked enough before they all got eaten. I couldn't very well post an inferior photo of such a superb treat, so I just had to make them again! The ways in which I suffer.

The base for these bars is a brown sugar shortbread. It is rich and buttery (without being greasy), it is smooth, almost creamy and melts in your mouth. On top of it is a layer of caramel. Beautifully smooth caramel, soft caramel, salted caramel. The caramel contains large pieces of toasted walnuts, whose bitterness are a perfect counterpoint for the sweetness of the other elements. Topping all of this is a light sprinkling of coarse sea salt. Wow.

These bars are surprisingly easy to make, which may or may not be a good thing. I haven't yet decided. Another thing I haven't decided is whether chocolate would improve upon these already-so-close-to-perfection bars. I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Salted Caramel & Toasted Walnut Shortbread Bars

adapted liberally from Cookin' Canuck

For the Crust:

9 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

For the Filling:

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter

1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

scant 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup agave

1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted until golden brown

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

coarse sea salt for finishing

Preheat oven to 375. Line an 8x8 baking dish with a piece of parchment, letting it hang over by a couple of inches on each end. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, salt and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add flour and stir until just combined. Press firmly and evenly into pan, prick all over with a fork and place in fridge for 2o minutes. Then bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Place on cooling rack while you make the filling.

To make the filling: Reduce oven temperature to 325. Place butter, sugars, agave, heavy cream and salt in medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue to boil for about three minutes, or until caramel is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, stir in toasted walnuts and vanilla, and pour into crust. Place back in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until mixture has begun to bubble. Remove from oven and let cool on rack, or to speed things up you can place pan in the refrigerator. When filling is lukewarm, sprinkle with coarse salt. Wait until bars are completely cooled, then remove from pan lifting by the overhanging parchment. Peel parchment off, and cut with a sharp knife.

Cocoa Almonds

It seems that I am a few weeks too late with many of my recent posts. I can't seem to get away from making things that would be really great food gifts, these almonds included. Hopefully I'll remember all of them when the holidays roll around again!

These are so easy to make. So. Easy. Let me show you!

These almonds are the perfect treat for someone who doesn't like things that are terribly sweet, as they are coated in unsweetened cocoa powder.

When you put one of the almonds in your mouth, the bitter cocoa powder dissolves on your tongue, giving way to a thin layer of semisweet chocolate. Then you bite into it, crunching, releasing the almond's sweetness that mingles perfectly with the now melted chocolate. Oh yes, I tell you they are divine.

Cocoa Almonds

6 oz semisweet chocolate

2 cups almonds (raw or roasted)

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

In a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until smooth. Add almonds and stir to coat completely with chocolate. In a medium-sized bowl, pour 1/4 cup of the cocoa powder. Add a large spoonful of the chocolate-covered almonds (about 12-15 almonds), and shake the bowl to coat them in cocoa. Using a skimmer or slotted spoon, scoop out the almonds, shaking all excess cocoa powder back into the bowl. Spoon cocoa-coated almonds onto a piece of parchment in a single layer until chocolate is set. Repeat with remaining almonds, adding more cocoa powder 1/4 cup at a time as needed.

*If you think these will be too bitter for you, you could add powdered sugar to the cocoa powder to taste.

Caramel Corn

I have two questions: Why have I never made caramel corn before?! Why did I have to go and make caramel corn?!

It is always a little dangerous to figure out the things you're capable of in your own kitchen.

Caramel corn isn't something I buy, it isn't something I think about, it isn't something I crave. I couldn't even tell you when the last time I had it was - though I'd be willing to bet I was still wearing braces and that the caramel corn came out of one of those tins with three flavors of popcorn in them that my school used to sell to raise money. Nothing good ever came out of one of those tins.

This caramel corn couldn't be more different.

I've been seeing different variations of caramel corn everywhere lately. Funny how food trends go. The recipe I used - or should I say, changed - is from a new book called DamGoodSweet, as seen on Orangette. I chose this one because it was basic, and could be altered easily enough so that my sons could eat it.

My version has no refined sugar in it - palm sugar has replaced the granulated, and agave was used instead of corn syrup. I also left out the nuts, because they are to difficult for the little guys to eat. I also upped the salt, because I wanted it to be more of a flavor than just a flavor enhancer. I just love sweet/salty treats!

I couldn't stop eating this caramel corn, it is so delicious. Fortunately, I only made 1/3 of the recipe. It is wonderfully crunchy, but not at all in a way that will break your teeth! It is sweet, and salty, and has an amazing rich caramel flavor from the palm sugar. It couldn't be easier to make, either. Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas, because this would make a great food gift!

I'd like to play around some with flavorings - different nuts, different spices - but for now, here is the basic recipe that is so good on its own, it really doesn't need any dressing up!

Caramel Corn

adapted from DamGoodSweet by David Guas and Raquel Pelzel via Orangette

10 cups popped popcorn - I popped mine in ghee on the stovetop, but you can use any kind you like (if you use microwave, it will probably have added salt, so keep that in mind when salting yours)

1 cup palm sugar

1/4 cup light agave

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon baking soda (measure this before you start cooking your caramel)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (measure this before you start cooking your caramel)

Preheat oven to 250. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Place popped popcorn in large greased bowl, set aside. Combine palm sugar, agave, butter, salt and water in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Continue to simmer, stirring frequently until the mixture reaches 250 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat, and immediately add the baking soda and vanilla and whisk to combine. Quickly pour caramel over popcorn, and using a rubber spatula, stir to coat all of the popcorn evenly. Be gentle here, you want the popcorn to remain whole. Pour the popcorn onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it evenly. Bake for 1 hour, stirring, turning and re-spreading the popcorn every 20 minutes. At this point, you can take a little taste and see if it is salty enough for you. I sprinkled some coarse sea salt on mine, and I highly recommend it! Let cool on rack for 20 minutes, then gently break apart and serve! You may store in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days, but I doubt it will last that long!

SMS: Chocolate Cream Caramels

Sweet Melissa Sundays took a bit of a break around the holidays, and I got so used to not making the SMS treats, I completely forgot that we had resumed our schedule! Oops! My apologies to Jeanette of The Whimsical Cupcake for being tardy on this post.

Jeanette's selection was Chocolate Cream Caramels. Caramel-making has never scared me, so I was quite excited about this recipe!

This is definitely the simplest method I've ever used to make caramel - combine all ingredients (except chocolate and vanilla), bring up to 248 degrees, stir in chopped chocolate and vanilla, pour into pan to set! Simple!

I used agave in place of both the corn syrup in this recipe, and it worked fantastically well! These caramels are very tasty, and have a great texture - soft enough to eat right out of the fridge, and they don't stick to your teeth! I would like them to be creamier in flavor - I think there should be more heavy cream and less corn syrup (or agave) in the recipe. Other than that, they are very good!

You can find the recipe on Jeanette's blog.

Peanut Butter Cups

Well, as if it wasn't bad enough that we had a snowstorm about a week ago that knocked out the power from 67,000 homes in the Asheville area (including mine), we woke up to this on Christmas morning. An ice storm! That knocked our power out! Yeesh! Let me tell you, the grand baking plans I had were entirely thwarted...

We were at my mom's house - about 15 minutes from mine. She lives in the woods, and thankfully has a fireplace and a gas stove, so we had heat and could cook, but that was about it. I won't go into the details of how we spent much of our day melting snow so that we could flush the toilet...

Anyway...

We didn't end up having Christmas dinner until yesterday. I made Mexican Wedding Cookies, a Peanut Butter Truffle Tart and World Peace Cookies, so no new posts from those, but I did whip up some Peanut Butter Cups last night! I had to have something to share with you, I've been so absent lately!

I've mentioned before that I've never been a fan of peanut butter, but there are a few things I really do love it in. A good peanut butter cookie is hard to beat, and you certainly can't go wrong with a peanut butter cup. There is really something about the combination of peanut butter and chocolate.

I really mean it when I say I whipped these up. They couldn't be easier to make, even at the last minute. Below is how I made them, but there is certainly a lot of room for adjustment depending on your personal preferences.

Peanut Butter Cups

12 oz best quality semisweet chocolate

1/4 cup peanut butter

small paper or foil candy cups - the ones I used must have held about an ounce, though unfortunately I threw away the packaging without looking... Next time, I would use smaller foil cups, as the paper ones were a tad difficult to pull off of the chocolate. With the size I used, I got 18 candies.

Melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. When completely smooth, spoon just enough into candy cup to cover the bottom, then place about 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter on top and cover entirely with melted chocolate so that the surface is smooth and flat. Place in fridge to set.

Mendiants

Oh my, it feels like forever since I've posted anything, though it has only been a couple of days! This has been a crazy last week. First the snowstorm, which severely crippled sales at my store (which have been terrible anyway because of the economy), not to mention knocked out the power at my house for three days, and now here we are just 3 days from Christmas! Thankfully, the sun came out yesterday, and people have started braving the still icy sidewalks and shopping, hallelujah!

In case you missed my last post, I recently hosted a 5-course chocolate meal as part of the December version of Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24. As party favors, I made bags of these mendiants to give to my guests.

Mendiants are wonderful confections, because if done right you get a different and distinct flavor with each bite. There are limitless options for toppings, so you can really get creative. They are such fun treats to make, and surprisingly easy!

Go to it! There's still plenty of time to include these in holiday goodie bags!

Chocolate Mendiants

10 oz best quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

A few tablespoons of your choice of toppings, such as candied citrus peel, crystalized ginger, nuts (toasted or not) dried fruits, cocoa nibs, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, culinary herbs, the list goes on!*

To temper chocolate:

Place 8 oz of chocolate in heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted, and measuring about 100 degrees. Add remaining 2 oz of chocolate and stir to melt, stirring until it reaches about 90 degrees.

Drop spoonfuls of tempered chocolate on parchment and use the back of spoon to swirl chocolate into a circle. When chocolate has begun to set but is still soft, add toppings. Use 3 - 4 toppings per disk, but don't overdo it. Alice Medrich calls mendiants an ode to simplicity, which is a lovely and perfect description for these heavenly disks.

* Some combinations I made were: nib, dried cherry and cracked pepper; candied orange peel, fig and lavender, candied lemon peel, crystalized ginger and almond; candied orange & lemon, fig and walnut.

SMS: Butter Toffee Crunch

I was raised by a single mom. It was just the two of us, and I was fine with that. My parents divorced when I was very young, so I really have no memories of all of us being together.

When I was 10 my dad remarried. We lived in different states, so I didn't see my dad too often, but I loved going to visit him in Wisconsin. He would drive to Iowa (where I grew up) to pick me up and drive me back to Wisconsin. Sometimes on our drive I would sing entire musicals from start to finish - we had several hours to kill.

Once in Wisconsin, I actually spent a lot of time by myself. I was fine with that, too. I could always find a way to keep myself busy; drawing, making jewelry, hand-sewing a quilt, designing clothes, and making toffee.

I didn't use a recipe, I just tossed a lot of butter and sugar in a pan and cooked it for a long time. I didn't use a candy thermometer, and I didn't really know what I was doing - I was only 12 though, so cut me some slack - so sometimes it was crunchy, sometimes chewy with unmelted sugar crystals. I poured it into a buttered pan and when it cooled a bit, I slathered it in melted chocolate.

It has been at least 15 years since the last time I made my toffee, so imagine my delight when I read through this week's SMS pick, and found that it was very similar to my childhood concoction!

This version uses brown sugar and vanilla for depth of flavor and baking soda, which gives the toffee an airy texture.

Thankfully, I only made 1/4 of the recipe. Even 1/4 was a lot, and it is quite a tasty thing to nibble on every time I walk through the kitchen.

I used pecans instead of almonds, as that is what I had, but that was the only change I made.

The recipe calls for taking the butter, brown sugar and a little water up to 290 degrees, but had I done so, it would have been completely burned. Even at 280 it had slightly bitter burned flavor. Maybe my thermometer isn't accurate, I don't know... Other than that, this was a really easy recipe to throw together, and a great treat to have on hand around the holidays.

Thanks to Kaitlin of Kait's Plate for this week's selection, please visit her blog for the recipe. Check out all the other SMSers toffee here.

SMS: Vanilla Rose Pecan Truffles

This week we were actually supposed to make hazelnut truffles, but I just don't like them. I love just about every other truffle I've ever had.

I made a few changes to the recipe, needless to say. I steeped a vanilla bean and 1/2 cup dried rose petals in the cream before pouring it over my chopped chocolate (while straining it). After all of the chocolate was melted, I stirred in 2 tablespoons rose water and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract. When the ganache was firm, I formed balls and rolled them in finely chopped toasted pecans.

These were delicious. I would have liked the rose and vanilla flavors to be a bit more pronounced, but they were detectable, and everything worked really well together.

Now I need to find some people to give these away to, because it is mighty dangerous to have so many truffles in the house!

These truffles were selected by Annie of Living Life Foodcariously, where you can find the recipe for the hazelnut version.

The Daring Bakers: (vegetarian) Mallows

The Daring Bakers challenge for this month was our choice of two Gale Gand cookie recipes: mallows - chocolate covered marshmallow cookies - or milanos (of Pepperidge Farm fame), or both. I have been on a mission to make vegetarian marshmallows for the past couple of months - I've tried 3 versions containing agar agar with no success - so I went for the mallows, hoping for a marshmallow miracle. And a marshmallow miracle I received.

My excitement has been rather hard to contain, actually. I'm a life-long vegetarian, though I did used to eat marshmallows as a kid - I don't think my mom knew what gelatin was, exactly. I didn't eat them often - only on camping trips, really, but oh how I loved a toasted marshmallow, and don't even get me started on s'mores... I have no idea when the last time I had a marshmallow was, but let me tell you it was a long time ago. A very long time ago.

Here is the miraculous vegetarian marshmallow recipe:

Marshmallows with Xanthan

by Elizabeth Falkner (Demolition Desserts)

Ingredients:
• 60 mL water
• pinch of cream

of tartar
• 255 g sugar, granulated
• 255 g light corn syrup
• ½ vanilla bean
• 85 g egg white

s (about 3 egg whites)
• 5 g xanthan (0.76%)

Grind xanthan with a tablespoon of sugar. Set aside. Heat water, cream of tartar, remaining sugar, corn syrup and vanilla to 120ºC. Discard vanilla bean. Whisk egg whites for about 2 min until still soft. Continue whipping egg whites at slow speed while adding syrup slowly. Sprinkle xanthan mix while still whipping. Turn speed up and continue mixing for 2-3 min or until meringue pulls away from sides. Sprinkle a pan or baking sheet generously with cornstarch and spread out the meringue. Sprinkle top with cornstarch, cover with plastic and leave to set for 4 hours in a refrigerator. Cut marshmallows into desired shapes and dip cut surfaces in cornstarch.

I made these marshmallows yesterday, and since then I have been happily nibbling on them, toasting them on a fork over the flame on my stove, and tonight I had s'mores with homemade graham crackers. More on those tomorrow. These marshmallows are delicious.

Ah, but the reason for this post - the mallows. I must admit, I haven't tasted them yet, as my chocolate glaze is still setting. All of the components are delicious on their own, so I'm sure the cookies will be a big hit. They were fun and easy to make, and something very new and different for me as well. I'll post more pics when the chocolate is set.

The marshmallows were not entirely perfect - they stayed pretty gooey, even after a couple of days, so I'm going to play around with the recipe a bit, but they will most certainly be making frequent appearances in my house from now on. The possibilities are endless!!!

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

SMS: Not Exactly Butterscotch Cashew Bars

This week's recipe was for butterscotch cashew bars. I knew I'd have a problem when I saw the list of ingredients, because it called for butterscotch chips. We're very dedicated to eating all organic food, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to find organic butterscotch chips. I was right. 

So, I was trying to decide how I could alter the recipe. I thought I could double the other ingredients in the topping, but after a second look, that didn't seem like it would work. I considered using chocolate chips, but I was looking forward to a caramely flavor. So I thought I'd find a recipe for caramel and top the crust with that - caramel is something I've wanted to try my hand at for a ong time. But because I've wanted to try it for so long, I wanted some on its own, without a crust. I didn't want to make one pan with a crust and one without, so I settled for just making caramel. So that I would be making something remotely resembling what the other SMSers were doing, I topped part of my caramel with roasted salted cashews. (The rest of it was topped with fancy sea salt I got from a great little salt/chocolate/flower shop called The Meadow, on a trip to Portland, OR last year).

I found the caramel recipe on the wonderful blog Baking Obsession. It is a variation of an Alice Medrich recipe. I didn't steep my milk with cardamom pods, because I didn't have any - though I think that would be delicious, and I'll definitely do it next time I make these - and I used brown rice syrup to avoid heating honey. These caramels took a whole lot longer to make than I thought they would, but they were worth it. They are delicious!!! Please visit Baking Obsession for the recipe. 

Thanks to Pamela for chosing this week's recipe - sorry I didn't exactly make it!!! The recipe for butterscotch cashew bars can be found on her blog Cookies with Boys.

Take a look here if you want to see what was supposed to be made this week.

Candied Orange Peel

This was the first time I had ever made a candied citrus peel. It was fairly simple and quite fun. I made two batches - one with brown sugar and one with white. I made these to go in the Honey Beescotti - the first recipe that the Sweet Melissa Sundays bakers are doing. It was supposed to be posted last Sunday, but I didn't have my cookbook yet, so I'm a little tardy with this recipe... Anyway, it calls for candied orange peel. Many of the bakers made their own, so I decided to do the same. I made the brown sugar batch because I was anxious to try it out, and realized too late that I was out of white sugar. However, it came out with a beautiful amber color that I think will add a lot to the look of the biscotti. I'll post that tomorrow. Many of the bakers felt that the process of preparing the orange peels to be candied was quite time consuming and messy, so I came up with a technique that was easy and tidy. 

Candied Orange Peel

adapted from a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

1 navel orange

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Wash orange thoroughly and dry with towel. Slice a small disc of peel off of each end of the orange - about 3/4 inch in diameter. With a small, sharp knife, score the orange from end to end, leaving about 3/4 an inch between cuts. Don't go too deep, or you will cut into the meat of the orange, and the process won't be quite so easy... Once you have gone all the way around the orange, slide your finger under each slice to remove it from the orange. After all slices are removed, your orange should be intact. Don't worry if there is a lot of pith, the recipe takes steps to temper its bitterness. Cut slices lengthwise so that they are about 1/4 inch wide. In a small saucepan, place about 1 1/2 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Add orange slices. Cook for 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Repeat with fresh water. This blanching removes the bitterness from the pith. Once the process has been completed twice, place the 3/4 cup of water and the sugar in the saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved and bring to a boil. Add orange slices, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. 

Turn heat to low, remove orange pieces from syrup with tongs, let excess syrup drip off, and place on parchment paper to cool. When cool, lightly toss in sugar and place back on parchment. Leave uncovered to dry for 2 days. I found that the sugar syrup formed a very hard coating when the pieces were immediately removed, but after being coated in sugar and sitting for many hours, they become wonderfully chewy.