SEA SALT VANILLA CARAMELS

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2016/10/14/sea-salt-vanilla-caramels/

SEA SALT VANILLA CARAMELS
These tasted very good but were not a caramel consistency.  Could have been the weather?  See recipe in blog folder - there is attached tips.  Used red cast iron pan.  Took about 45 minutes.

• 1 and 1/2 cups (355ml) heavy cream
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup (80ml) light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• seeds scraped from 1/2 of a vanilla bean
• 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, softened (plus more for lightly buttering the pan)
• coarse sea salt for topping

1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the caramel once it has set. Lightly grease the foil with butter.
2. Combine the cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a 3-quart heavy duty saucepan over medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly as the sugars dissolve. The mixture will be thick and cloudy looking.
3. Once boiling, brush down the sides of the pan with a water-moistened pastry brush. Attach a candy thermometer to the pan, making sure not to let it touch the bottom.
4. Cook and stir gently every minute or so until the temperature reaches 245°F (118°C). Immediately remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of salt, the vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, and butter. The mixture may burst and bubble, so be careful stirring.
5. Pour the hot caramel into the prepared baking pan and top with coarse sea salt. Allow to cool at room temperature, uncovered, for 4 hours or overnight (no need to cover).
6. Once set, remove the caramel from the pan by lifting out the aluminum foil. Peel the foil off and, using a very sharp knife, cut into rectangles or squares. Wrap with candy wrappers, if desired.

HONEYCOMB CANDY

HONEYCOMB CANDY
Made this as dessert for our meal we have the week before Easter - a meal like Jesus would eat.  Found in The Friend.  The kids thought it was way cool.  And it tasted good too.  It really looks like a honeycomb inside when you break it. I did it in the microwave.  Don't have a candy thermometer (sp) so I think I might have cooked it a little too long.  I did like 3 minutes, stir and then maybe another 2 minutes.

The scriptures say that Jesus ate honeycomb after He was resurrected (see Luke 24:42). This honey-flavored candy can be a sweet reminder of the joy of Easter. Remember to get an adult’s help when cooking.

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons water

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1. 1. 
   Grease a cookie sheet.
2. 2. 
   Combine sugar, honey, and water in saucepan. Simmer over high heat without stirring until the syrup looks like caramel and reaches 300°F (150°C).
3. 3. 
   Remove pan from heat and mix baking soda into the syrup. The syrup will foam up. Stir just long enough to mix the ingredients.
4. 4. 
   Pour mixture onto baking sheet. Do not spread.
5. 5. 
   Allow the candy to cool, then break into pieces and enjoy!

BUTTERFINGER BITES

BUTTERFINGER BITES
http://lilyandbliss.com/2012/10/diy-butterfinger-bites/
I was shocked how much these taste like butterfingers.  We had so much junk food around the holidays I kept these in the freezer.  Taste yummy frozen.  I just used cheap candy corn.  Next time I would like to try it with Brach's since it is the only one made with real honey.  I used chocolate bark for the coating, but chocolate chips would work fine too.  I think we used about 1/2 a package.  We only put chocolate on the top.

1 ½ cups of candy corn
8 oz. peanut butter (I used creamy)
Chocolate to coat

In a microwave safe bowl heat the candy corn for one minute. Stir and keep heating for 20 second intervals until completely melted.

Stir in peanut butter. I use organic peanut butter so it was in the fridge. I placed it in the microwave and heated it by 20 second intervals again, stiring in between, until it was blended.

Take a loaf pan and line it with parchment paper. Place the candy corn mixture into the pan and let it cool completely for about 2 hours.

Once it is cooled you can remove from pan and cut into pieces (I made about 15, remember bite size!).

Heat your chocolate via the microwave or the stovetop and then dip your butterfinger bites into the chocolate, drizzle it or spoon some on the top like I did. Just put some chocolate on it!!

SNACK MIXES 2

HARVEST BLESSING MIX
Jackson brought this home from school (1st grade - Mrs. Edwards -Lincoln Elem. Rexburg, ID). He just loved it.
Each ingredient in this snack mix symbolizes something associated with the Harvest Season (Thanksgiving).
Bugles - represents a cornucopia, a horn of plenty
Pretzels - represents arms folded in thanks and prayer
Candy Corn/Corn Nuts - during the first Winter, the pilgrims were each allotted only 5 kernels of corn per day because food was so scarce
Dried/Candy Fruits - Thanksgiving is the celebration of the harvest
Peanuts/Sunflower Seeds - seeds represent the potential of a bountiful harvest for the next season if they are planted and well tended

PRETZEL CEREAL CRUNCH

taste of home 2009 QUICK COOKING pg. 39

Was addicting! Made with chocolate chips (melted)

CINNABON CARAMEL POPCORN

Tina brought this to my going away party when we left Oregon. We made it here in Idaho for Jackson to take to school on a "P" day. It is sooo yummy! And smells absolutely wonderful when it is cooking.

PREHEAT oven to 280.

POP 2 bags of popcorn (butter okay)

MIX:

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

CUT IN:

1 stick of butter

POUR:

1/4 c honey

MICROWAVE:

30 seconds - stir

2 min - stir

2 min - stir

ADD (stir quickly):

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp baking soda

POUR OVER POPCORN and stir a lot

BAKE 30 minutes (or less) - stirring every 10 minutes on a cookie sheet that has been covered in tin foil

MELT:

1/2 - 1 cup white chocolate chips and drizzle on top

Sweet & Salty Crunch Munch (submitted by J. Lawrence) 4 cups rice Chex cereal 2 cups popped popcorn 1 cup cheddar Goldfish crackers 1 cup pretzel Goldfish crackers 1 cup lightly crushed plain bagel chips 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 4 tablespoons maple syrup 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce 1 tablespoon cinnamon Heat oven to 250 degrees. Stir together Chex, popcorn, both kinds of Goldfish and the bagel chips. Whisk together butter, syrup, soy sauce, and cinnamon. Drizzle over Chex mixture; stir well. Spread mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for 40 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool completely. EASTER TRAIL MIX This is from Nancycreative.  This makes me think of Christmas Crunch that Lisa makes.  She uses $1 store candy (or anything - bulk is a good place) and mix with honey nut cheerios.  Something that’s hard for me to resist when I see the long aisle of Easter candy at the store are those malted milk Robin Eggs–malt balls covered with a candy coating. I buy them every year and eat way too many of them! This year, I told myself I would not buy them unless I used them in a recipe. And since I’ve been short on time lately, it needed to be something pretty simple. So I came up with an Easter Trail Mix–a blend of chocolatey sweets mixed in with some healthy ingredients. The mini robin eggs and pastel M&M’s give the mix plenty of chocolatey taste and spring color, and the other goodies include raisins, sunflower kernels, coconut flakes, peanuts, and mini pretzel twists. This recipe makes a large bowl of trail mix, so there’s plenty for everyone to munch on! EASTER TRAIL MIX by NancyC Makes about 13 cups 1 (13.7 oz.) bag Mini Robins Eggs (almost 3 cups) 1 (11.4 oz) bag milk chocolate easter M&M’s (about 1 2/3 cup) 1 cup raisins (you can use golden or dark raisins) 2/3 cup roasted and salted sunflower kernels 1 cup sweetened dried coconut flakes 1 (16 oz.) container cocktail peanuts or dry roasted peanuts 3 cups mini pretzel twists (you can also use mini pretzel sticks or mini pretzel snaps) Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, stirring with a large spoon. Eat right away or store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Makes a great food gift, too, packaged in treat bags!

CHOCOLATE CANDY ROLL

CHOCOLATE CANDY ROLL
This was one of my favorite things my Mom use to make at Christmas time. I am guessing Grandma McCleve use to make it too since she submitted it for the 1st McCleve cookbook. I love that you store it in the freeze and it is so easy to make.

1/2 cup margarine or butter
2 sq. unsweetened chocolate
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup broken nuts
1 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows (colored marshmallows make it look "festive")
Coconut (about 3 1/2 oz.)
Tin Foil

Melt margarine and chocolate over heat. Stir constantly. Cool slightly. Stir in powdered sugar and beaten egg. Cool. Fold in nuts and marshmallows. Stir until they are coated with chocolate. Depending on how big you want to make your rolls - get out 2-4 pieces of tin foil. Coat tin foil with coconut. Drop mixture onto tin foil and shape into a candy roll. Can sprinkle coconut on top as well. Wrap carefully. Store in freezer until needed. Yields: 2 lbs. Can be taken directly out of the freezer and sliced without thawing.