Vanilla Bean Caramels

Yum, I love caramels. They're sweet and chewy and addictive! Last year around the holidays was the first time I tried making caramels. It can take awhile getting use to your candy thermometer and trusting it. My first ever batch was a bit runny like caramel sauce because I didn't let the mixture get hot enough. Lesson learned.

Luckily, I perfected my technique just in time for Christmas. They were a hit! So, I think it will become a tradition that I bring the caramels each Christmas from now on. This year, I tried a new recipe with less ingredients but I still think it has a great flavor.

What are some of your holiday must-have recipes? A few of ours include peanut butter blossoms, cake balls, and spritz cookies. The best part about these goodies, along with these caramels, is that we really only get them once a year. I think that makes them taste twice as good!

Happy Holidays!
Brittany


Ingredients
2 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1/2 lb. butter
1 c. light corn syrup
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk

Instructions
1. melt butter on medium heat in a sauce pan.
2. Mix in brown sugar and stir until it begins to melt
3. Add corn syrup and stir for 2-3 minutes.
4. Mix in the sweetened condensed milk.
5. Cook to exactly 245 degrees. This may take awhile and you may need to up the stovetop to high heat. The mixture will bubble vigorously for awhile. This is normal.
6. Off the heat, stir in vanilla.
7. Pour into a greased 9X13 pan.

8. Allow to cool, cut, and enjoy!

Dulce De Leche Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

I love me some Rice Krispie treats! They are so gooey, silky, buttery and crunchy all at the same time, and easy to make. I wonder if marshmallow haters also hate on RK treats?  I think the marshmallow part is what really draws me to them. I get where people are coming from though, but that chalky, dry and blandness of a marshmallow is really lost in a RK treat; these ones especially.

These start with two cans of sweetened condensed milk simmering away for a few hours. You are correct, I'm coming at you with more dulce de leche this week. I can't help myself. Its like a super easy, no stress caramel.

No stress assuming I didn't scare you the other week with warnings about cans exploding. They won't explode if you are careful, something about the water, science and the sweetened condensed milk being viscous. More importantly, it hasn't happened to me.

Use the deepest pot you have and be sure to check on the water level and all will be well. You can always buy dulce de leche at the store too, but where is the fun in that?

Other than the planning ahead on the dulce de leche, these RK treats come together really quick. Essentially the same method for making classic RK treats. Easy peasy, but with a "gourmet" twist and chocolate on top. Delicious!

I had originally planned to combine the chocolate and dulce de leche instead of swirling it. Do not attempt to combine them. Ever since sometime during my sophomore year of high school, I've had a tendency to burn chocolate.

That is what I thought happened on my first attempt at melting the chocolate and dulce de leche together, to create a smooth and cohesive topping. Fail. I tried again, this time only adding a tiny bit of dulce de leche to the melted chocolate, and boom, bam! It seized up and got all grainy and weird.

Therefore, gently swirling the dulce de leche into the chocolate already on top of the RK treats is the way to go. Anyone know why the dulce de leche would do this to chocolate? They were both the same temperature. It is lost on me. May never know. I'll survive though.

Anyways, these are pretty fantastic. Almost like a scotcharoo bar. Except it isn't.  My only word of caution would be to eat them within about 24 hours. They get a bit soggy otherwise, still tasty, but soggy. Storing them in the refrigerator really helps slow this.

 Lucky for you they take about 15 minutes to throw together and about an hour for the chocolate to set, but the chocolate doesn't have to be set. I know I wanted to dig in right away, but restraint is something I'm working on these days.

xo
April

Ingredients:
For dulce de leche:
2 cans sweetened condensed milk

For Rice Krispies: 
1 can dulce de leche
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 - 10oz package mini-marshmallows 
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies
For chocolate topping:
1 bag dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup dulce de leche

Instructions:
to make the dulce de leche:
Remove the label from the sweetened condensed milk cans. Place the cans in a pot and cover completely with water. Bring the pot to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and let simmer for about 2 ½ – 3 hours, making sure to add more water as necessary to keep the cans fully submerged in water (I have a medium saucepan and refill the water every 30-45 minutes). Remove the cans of dulce de leche from water and let cool to room temperature.

to make the Rice Krispies:
In a large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add dulce de leche and salt, whisking until combined and smooth. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray.

While the Rice Krispie treats cool,  using a microwave-safe container, place chocolate in microwave at medium power (50 percent) for 2 minutes. Remove and stir. If chocolate is not melted, return to microwave and repeat heating step, stirring every 30 seconds to avoid scorching, until smooth. In a separate microwave-safe container, put 1/2 cup dulce de leche, with a pinch of salt, in the microwave for 30 seconds; stir until smooth.

Spread the chocolate evenly over the cooled Rice Krispies, using a knife or fork, place tablespoons of dulce de leche evenly over the chocolate, and then swirl into the chocolate. Allow chocolate to set and cut into desired shape and size. Best served the same day, but will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Similar posts: Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cake, Salted Caramel Brownies, Salted Caramels

Caramel Chocolate Tartlets

The other weekend, my fiancé and I met up with our wedding photographers to thank them for doing such a good job on our engagement photos. Seriously, I couldn't ask for better pictures. If you are on the look-out for talented and personable photographers, check them out here! We treated them to a little Madison secret, the Chocolaterian cafe. If you love all things chocolate, you need to stop into this wonderful cafe. I ordered the caramel chocolate tart. Oh my goodness. It was oh-so-good! Naturally, I decided this had to be my next culinary adventure. 

After researching recipes, I realized it shouldn't be too difficult to make. What's the hard part about making tarts? It's finding a store that carries the pans! After a few disappointing trips, I landed at Williams-Sonoma. That store ceases to fail me! Finally, I was all set to recreate the caramel chocolate tart that I fell in love with at Chocolaterian.

This dessert has every element to satisfy any dessert craving. It's sweet, rich and topped off with a hint of salt. It's delectable flavor is perfectly enjoyed in it's tiny tartlet size.  

Caramel Chocolate Tartlets

adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

Tart Shell

10 tbsp butter

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp salt

Caramel Filling

1/8 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

1 tbsp corn syrup

2 tbsp butter

1/8 c. heavy cream

pinch of salt

Chocolate Ganache

1/8 c. heavy cream

1 oz. bittersweet chocolate

coarse sea salt to garnish

Instructions

Tart Shell

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  

2. Cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs.

3. Add flour and salt until combined.

4. Ball the dough and wrap up. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but up to overnight.

5. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch. Cut the dough to size and press into 6 tartlet pans. Chill 20 minutes.

6. If desired, cover dough with parchment paper and add pie weights. Bake 15 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment paper. Bake another 5 minutes or until golden edges appear. Let cool.

Caramel Filling

1. Combine water, corn syrup and sugar in a sauce pan on medium to high heat. 

2. Stir sugar mixture often. It will become bubbly. 

3. Turn to low heat once mixture is an amber-yellow color. Add in butter, heavy cream and a pinch of salt. Be careful, the mixture will fizzle up. 

4. Once all combined, transfer to a glass measuring cup and distribute evenly between tartlets. 

5. Let caramel set for at least 45 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache 

1. Heat heavy cream in sauce pan until a light boil.

2. Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate that is in a glass measuring cup.

3. Once chocolate is soft and melting, stir until a smooth consistency.

4. Pour evenly over tartlets.

5. Let tartlets reach room temperature, which takes about 2 hours.

Sprinkle coarse salt over each tartlet and enjoy!

Salted Caramel Brownies

One thing that I love to do for people on their birthdays is bake them something, because duh, calories don't count when it's your birthday so it's the perfect day for indulgence.  I usually let the person pick whatever dessert they want and then I try my darndest whether I've made it before or not.  It usually comes with a disclaimer if I'm trying out a new recipe.

Like last year my brother-in-law requested a marble cake.  Having never made a marble cake before I found what I assumed would be a reliable recipe since it was from Food & Wine and got a lot of really good reviews.  I don't know what I did wrong though because what I created was a dense, dry cake that I'm pretty sure half of it got thrown away.

Last week was one of my co-worker's birthdays and her request was for salted caramel brownies, a new but really scrumptious sounding dessert.  I gave the usual disclaimer and decided that I wanted to do it right, which meant making my own caramel.  I've heard horror stories about making caramel, so obviously I was basically expecting a disaster before it even began.

I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and decided to go with it, it was the one.  She made making caramel look so easy (who would've thunk?)  The caramel making nightmares started to go away.  My palms got less sweaty at the thought of it.  I was honestly still a little skeptical though.  But when push came to shove, it actually ended up being pretty simple.  The hardest part actually ended up being cutting the caramel into pieces since it's on the harder rather than chewy side so that it melts better with the batter.

The brownies ended up getting rave reviews at work and I'm sure that I will be making them many more times.  Now that I've successfully made caramel for the first time, dare I say that caramel candies will be next?  Or maybe some of April's caramel corn?  I guess I better add a candy thermometer to my kitchen wish list.

Ingredients:

Caramel

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Generous 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Brownies

• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Generous 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour

Directions:

Caramel:

1. Put a piece of parchment paper over a medium size plate.  Coat it with butter or non-stick spray.
2. Using a medium, dry sauce pan, melt sugar over medium-high heat.  Should take approximately 5 minutes.  It is done when it turns a copper color.
3. Remove pan from heat and stir in butter.  Then stir in the cream and salt.
4. Return pan to medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.  Let it bubble for a few minutes until it turns a shade darker.
5. Pour onto parchment paper and place it in the freezer to harden, around 30 minutes or so.

Brownies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray or grease with butter.
2. Melt chocolate and butter together in a bowl in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between.
3. Whisk in sugar, then one egg at a time, then vanilla and salt.  Stir in flour.
4. Cut hardened caramel into 1 inch squares.  Set aside a small amount of caramel squares and fold the rest into the batter.
5. Pour the batter into the parchment paper lined pan.  Sprinkle the remaining caramel pieces on top.
6. Cook for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in freezer.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

Sweet & Salty Caramel Corn

My brother and sister-in-law had there "wedding" last weekend. Really it was a vow exchange. There is this goofy thing you can do in Colorado, where only one person needs to be present. Proxy wedding for the win! Lucky for them, the family knows people in Colorado. That person being my dads BFF and grooms man from back in the day. So needless to say they wanted to exchange their vows and throw a big old party, two years into marriage.

I had the great pleasure of cooking the rehearsal dinner, which was more like a cocktail part-ay, for 30 some people. There has never been a meal where I have put so much thought or planning into. Despite all the thought and planning, it wasn't until the week before the rehearsal that panic struck. Sitting in my apartment, surrounded by cookies (so many cookies), that I started to think about how much food I was making.

The fact that I chose to make deviled eggs and then the realization that I'd be hard boiling, peeling and filling a couple dozen eggs, caused a serious moment of panic.Then that I would be making 60 mini empanadas, blue cheese cookies, red velvet cake balls, whiskey weiners, prosciutto wrapped pear, endives with blue cheese and walnuts, and cheese board. Yup, my panic snow balled so far I worried about constructing a cheese board.

My brother's response to the panic was order pizza instead then, which was not received well by me. The look on my face was something like "I will kill you if you say that again". He said it many more times, which makes him lucky he lived to see the rehearsal dinner. Luckily I'm confident in my food and great at talking myself down.

Plus 2/3 of the desserts were complete close to a week in advance. The millions of compost cookies that sparked the panic snow-ball were in the freezer and caramel corn is my jam. I've spent a good amount of time finding the perfect recipe.

The process is simple, especially if you excel at popping pop corn (I still usually burn the first batch). The ingredient list is small. There is no thermometer involved, just time and color judgement. You're looking for a caramel corn color essentially. Which, the above doesn't quite to justice to the color you're looking for.

A lot of recipes have you pour the caramel over the pop corn and bake it, for even caramel distribution. That seems like a waste of time to me, when I can just stir the hell out of it and get the same results. Wear a oven mitt. Be careful. I do more of a folding approach than stirring. Cutting down the middle.

When there are no more caramel clumps, distribute it between two baking sheets. Spread it out into one even layer and break up any large bits. Let it cool. It shouldn't take terribly long to reach a edible temperature. Its hard to resist the sweet and salty goodness.

The next party you have make this and be confident that if nothing else turns out, this will, and people will not complain about eating only this. If you don't have a party just bring it to the next one. It makes a good drinking snack too, home and bar snack approved.

xo
April



Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup, plus 1/8 cup unpopped popcorn kernels

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, light corn syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

Instructions:

1. Heat oil with 3 popcorn kernels, in a large pot over medium heat. When kernels pop, add remaining 1/2 cup of kernels. Cook, covered, shaking pan occasionally, until popping stops, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let stand, covered, 1 minute. Transfer popcorn to a clean bowl, checking for any burnt or unpopped kernels and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan heat sugar, butter and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until the mixture is golden brown (don't stir the mixture, only swirl the saucepan). Add the salt to the mixture (still not stirring, give the pan a good shake instead).
3. Add the popcorn to the saucepan, stirring until evenly coated. Transfer to two baking sheets, spreading it out and breaking up any large chunks. 

Caramel Oatmeal Chewies

So yesterday while I was at work I was thinking about how it is less than two weeks until I leave to study abroad in Spain for the summer, and boy am I excited!!!  The only problem is that being away for two months means two months of not cooking and baking, so I figured I should try to get in a couple of good posts before I leave.

I decided I wanted to bake a dessert so when I got home from work I looked through my two new cookbooks and found this bad boy.  I was short a couple of ingredients though, so I decided to walk the couple of block to Trader Joe's since I had never been there which I am now embarrassed to say because it is my new favorite grocery store!  It is awesome!

Recipe from Fresh, Fast and Fabulous: 2nd Edition.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups oatmeal
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, divided
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 cup caramel ice cream topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom of a 13x9 inch metal baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats, 1 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt.
3. Stir in melted butter, mixing well.
4. Set aside 1 cup of oats mixture.  Press remaining mixture into bottom of pan.
5. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
6. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and pecans.
7. Mix caramel topping with remaining 1/4 cup flour.  Drizzle over pecans to within 1/4 inch of edges.
8. Sprinkle with remaining oats mixture.
9. Bake for an additional 18 to 22 minutes, or until golden brown.
10. Cool in pan on wire rack.  Then refrigerate until firm.

Caramel DeLites

Caramel delites (or samoas) have become one of my favorite Girl Scout cookies (but thin mints are definitely number one). But, I don't normally get any because I don't know any Girl Scouts. Hopefully, my little niece will become one someday soon! Anyway, I was browsing Pinterest and found the perfect recipe for caramel delites. The recipe is pretty involved so I waited until spring break to try it out. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed when I finally got to taste my hard work. They were a little bland, which is far from the yummy Girl Scout caramel delites. So, for next time, I am going to change a few things: (1) splurge on tastier caramel. I got Kraft's caramel bits which I thought would be perfect because they don't have wrappers and they would melt quicker but they lack flavor. (2) stick to shredded (perhaps sweetened) coconut. I picked up finely shredded unsweetened coconut but I think the cookies would look and taste better with sweetened shredded coconut.

Although a little on the disappointed side, these cookies have potential, especially because the shortbread cookie base is delicious! Plus, with the right caramel and coconut, they will be just as good as the ones you get from Girl Scouts.

Caramel DeLites

adapted by Once Upon a Plate

Part 1: Cookie Base

Ingredients

1 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Blend with a hand mixer butter and sugar in a large bowl. 

3. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt on a low speed.

4. Add in vanilla extract and milk. The dough should become a soft, malleable ball.

5. Using a floured rolling pin and floured hands, roll out dough on a clean surface or parchment paper.

6. Use a round cookie cutter to cut out circular cookies. Use a piping tip (or knife) to cut a hole in the center. Place cutout on a cookie sheet. 

7. Place cookie sheet in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. 

8. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Part 2: The Topping

Ingredients

2 to 3 c. shredded coconut

12 oz. chewy caramels

1/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. milk

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Spread coconut out evenly on a cookie sheet and toast in oven for about 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. Coconut can toast quickly so keep an eye on it. 

3. Let coconut cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

4. Place caramels in large bowl with milk and salt and microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring a couple of times. 

5. Once caramel is smooth, stir in coconut. 

6. Spread caramel/coconut mixture onto the cookies. Microwave caramel for a few seconds if it becomes firm. 

7. As the topping sets, microwave the chocolate chips in a small bowl on 50% power. Stir often and microwave until the chocolate is smooth. 

8. Dip each cookie into the chocolate to cover the bottom and set onto parchment paper. 

9. Scoop the left over melted chocolate into a ziplock bag. Snip a small hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle chocolate on the tops of the cookies.

10. Let the chocolate completely set and enjoy!

Salted Caramels

The first theme for Cheese Club this semester was cheese and chocolate pairings. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to share some of my kitchen creations with a big group of people. They were a huge hit and paired wonderfully with the cheeses. The consensus was that these paired best with the Spanish Mahon compared to the other two cheeses we had.

Caramels are surprisingly easy to make and if you mess up it is not a big deal, just start over. The ingredients are inexpensive and the process isn't complicated or overly time consuming. The most important thing is to not cook them beyond 248F. I would suggest removing the caramel for the heat right before it hits the 248F mark, to be safe.

An alternative method is the cold water test. Prepare a small glass of ice water and as the caramel is about ready, drip a small amount into the cold water. You do not need to let it sit in the cold water for long, reach in and give it a taste for texture.

The caramels are wonderful without chocolate too. I dipped them into chocolate for Cheese Club, but it is tedious work. I got bored and started to dip just the tops or half of the caramels. You could always drizzle chocolate over them too. Have fun with it and get creative!


Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon french grey sea salt or fleur de sel
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 bag chocolate morsels (optional)
Instructions:

1. Spray a 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray and then line with parchment paper. 
2. Combine the cream, butter and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a low boil and then remove from the heat, setting aside.
3. In a 3-quart saucepan, boil the sugar, corn syrup and water, over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Continue to boil, without stirring but gently swirling the pan, until the mixture is a light golden to amber color.
4. Attach a candy thermometer to the pan. Carefully add the cream mixture (it will bubble up) and simmer, over medium-low heat, until the temperature just reaches 248F. DO NOT let it go beyond that or you will get very hard caramels. It will take 10-15 minutes. Pour into prepared pan and cool for 2 hours. If you want to add salt to the tops, wait for them to cool slightly or the salt will dissolve.
5. Once cooled, cut them into the desired size, wrapping them in parchment or wax paper. If keeping them for yourself, its not worth the fuss, just store them in an airtight container. 

Covering them in chocolate:

1. Using the double boiler method, place a glass or metal bowl with your chocolate, over a pan 1/4 to 1/2 full with simmering water. Allow the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally. I chose this over the microwave because I can keep the chocolate warm. While the chocolate melts, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper for the finished chocolate covered caramels.
2. Once the chocolate is melted, dip them one by one into the chocolate, using a fork. Make sure to tap the fork on the edge of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. If you want to add salt to the tops, let them cool slightly first. Let the chocolate set up completely and then store in an airtight container.