Homemade Soft Caramels

I am SO excited to share this recipe with you!

I never thought I would ever get around to making candies in my kitchen, but this year I decided that it was a personal goal I wanted to take on. 

I love caramels, but I was always so hesitant to try making them at home because the recipes all use a candy thermometer. I always thought to myself, "gosh, if I try using one of those I'd probably burn the house down." Don't ask me where that thought came from, it just popped into my head. 

Anyways, I finally found a recipe online and decided to give it a whirl. I split this recipe in half and omitted the vanilla and I found these caramels to be amazing. It also made a billion caramels. I'm only partially joking, because it made a ton. A. Ton. 

My iPad will not allow me to link the recipe, but I found the original post on Tatses Better From Scratch (search: homemade caramels).

I do have a few tips for making caramels from my experience that others might not warn you about or that you might over look.

1) Stir, stir, stir. - If you're anything like me, you like to just let things simmer and go about doing other stuff around the house. Well, don't. Not with this recipe. You need to be alert and at the ready at all times, and stirring will keep the caramel from getting too brown at the bottom of the pot.

2) Wrappers - If you need wrappers, try your luck at pre-planning and finding some cute ones online. Otherwise, I would pre-cut your wrappers so you don't have to do it while you're cutting your caramel. I successfully wrapped mine in wax paper that was about 3" wide and 2" tall, I would place the caramel in the center of that wax paper piece, then fold the 2" side over the candy and twist the 3" sides to close it. I hope that makes sense. If not, practice makes perfect. :)

3) Cutting the caramel - This part isn't hard. You chill the caramel for a bit then you take it out and cut it. I would recommend something short like a flat-edged metal spatula rather than a knife because you'll be pouring these caramels into a lipped cookie sheet and the knife can't really get in the sides. Also, the metal spatula will be perfect for scooping them out, too!

4) Candy Thermometer - Yes, there are some people out there that can tell when caramel is ready just by looking at it. That is super impressive; but for a newbie, I'd recommend getting a candy thermometer. They are about $6 at Walmart or you can check your local kitchen gadget shop for more kinds. I like the old school kind, not the digital. (Personal preference, but I know that my battery will never die, hah!)

These photos are gorgeous, oh my gosh. I love them! They are seriously some of my favorite photographs of food I've taken yet! 

Alright, let's get started! Also, don't be discouraged if you mess up. This was my second attempt. My first was without a candy thermometer and I ended up having 6 cups of caramel syrup that I had to find uses for. It was still tasty though! 

Homemade Caramels

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

1 cup light Karo syrup

1 (12 oz can) evaporated milk

Directions:

1) Butter a jelly roll pan and set aside. (Mine was approx. 15" x 11")

2) Add butter, sugar, and Karo syrup to a large heavy-bottomed sauce pot over medium heat. Attach the candy thermometer to the side, but do not let the tip touch the bottom of the pan. Stir the mixture over medium heat until it begins to boil, this could be anywhere from 5-15 minutes.

3) Once the mixture starts to boil, slowly add in the evaporated milk, making sure you allow the mixture to constantly boil.

4) Stire the mixture often, scraping the sides and bottom of the pot, until it reaches 240F on the candy thermometer. This could take anywhere from 20-45 minutes. Once the caramel reaches 240F, remove it from the heat.

5) Pour the caramel into the buttered pan. Refrigerate until the caramels are cooled and hard. This should take several hours or even overnight. Cut the caramel into small squares and wrap if desired. 

Reese's Cookie Bars

Hello readers! 

I know, I know. It has been almost a YEAR since I last posted, and I am so so so sorry about that. My job has taken over my life and leaves me little time to do recipe developing on the side. Also, my laptop went capoot, so I am currently typing this on my iPad. It's weird.

Anyways, I'd thought I'd bring you a pretty simple recipe today. It involves two ingredients. Make it 3 if you want to add sprinkles. This recipe is also quite versatile. You can make it with any shape of Reese's candy, any kind of cookie dough (personal,y I'd keep to chocolate chip, but that's my favorite!), you can change up the color of sprinkles to match the season. It's so easy!

Look at dat Reese pumpkin. Delish. 

I love Reese cups, shapes, pieces. I love it all. It's really the only candy I make the conscious decision to buy from time to time. Crazy, huh?

Alright, enough with chit chat, I hope you enjoy!

Reese's Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

1 package or tube of chocolate chip cookie dough

A handful of Reese cups or shapes, chilled for easier cutting

Seasonal sprinkles

Directions.

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9" x 9" pan with aluminum foil.

2. Take the dough and press evenly in the 9" x 9" pan. Yes, it will be thin.

3. Take your chilled Reese cups and sprinkle them over the dough, the slightly press into the dough. Feel free to chop them up to make them smaller and more evenly spread. 

4. Sprinkle the top with your favorite seasonal jimmies.

5. Bake for about 18 minutes and check for doneness. You want the outside of the cookie bars to be baked but the inside can be slightly undercooked. If not baked to your liking, continue baking at 3 minute intervals until it is.

6. Let the bars cool completely before cutting and serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. 

Pumpkin Pie Cookies - Cookie Craze Countdown

Welcome to Day 4 of my Cookie Crazy Countdown!

Today, I'm sharing a recipe that people just adored, pumpkin pie cookies! I posted these when I first started this blog, but I thought I'd give them a re-shoot and a re-bake so I could enjoy them again and share them with you. 

This recipe is so easy. Just a few simple ingredients like sugar cookie mix, cream cheese, some pumpkin, and other staple items. Mix it up, press it in a pan, bake, and you're ready to go. I love recipes like this because they are quick to make and don't require chilling the dough before baking. Sometimes us humans just don't have time for that!

Pumpkin Pie Cookies

Ingredients:

Cookie Base & Topping - 

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix

1/4 C cold butter

4 oz cold cream cheese

Filling - 

4 oz cream cheese, softened 

2 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp canned pumpkin

2 tsp flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350F. Grease two cupcake pans and set aside. 

2. In a medium bowl, cut the cold butter and cold cream cheese into the cookie mix until crumbly. Reserve one cup for the topping. Press two tablespoons of the mixture into each pan, which will make approximately 18 cookie bases. 

3. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, canned pumpkin, flour, and cinnamon until fully incorporated. Place a spoonful of the filling into each cupcake cavity. Sprinkle the remaining cookie mixture on top of each cookie and baked for 18-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the cupcake pan. 

Paleo Gingersnaps - Cookie Craze Countdown

Day 3 of the Cookie Craze Countdown and I've got something for you healthier folks. My significant other has been on a Paleo diet for many moons. So in order for him to eat desserts, I have to come up with something that has no gluten, dairy, or processed sugar in it. Sounds difficult, huh?

His favorite cookie happens to be gingersnaps, and lo and behold, I was able to whip up a batch of Paleo Gingersnaps and I even topped it with some chocolate drizzle.

These cookies don't have the snap that I've experience in, say, Nabisco Gingersnaps, but they have the same flavor and, for a Paleo cookie, are pretty good.

Paleo Gingersnap Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle

Ingredients:
2 C almond flour
1/4 tsp salt, kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/3 C honey or syrup
4 tbsp melted coconut oil
Coconut sugar - optional

For the chocolate drizzle - 
4 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
2 tbsp agave nectar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. In a smaller bowl, mix together the honey and coconut oil. Add the wet into the dry and mix until combined.

3. Scoop the dough into balls and place 2" apart on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle with coconut sugar if desired. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

4. Mix all the ingredients for the chocolate drizzle in a bowl. Drizzle over the gingersnaps. Most likely the chocolate will not set until you keep the cookies in the freezer.

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies - Cookie Craze Countdown

Welcome to the 2nd day of my cookie craze countdown!

Today is a special recipe, because I used this recipe for the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap!

If you haven't heard of the FB Cookie Swap, it's a pretty neat deal. If you're a food blogger and post regularly, you can participate in this awesome event. Each food blogger donates $5 to Cookies for Kids' Cancer, and then you send one dozen cookies to three different food bloggers, and you receive one dozen cookies from three different food bloggers as well! It's a win-win-win situation!

Also, I got this awesome piping set from OXO! Can't beat that.

Here are the cookies and their respective bloggers that I got this year as well. They were all great recipes and I can't wait to see them posted on the Cookie Swap page!

First was some Pomegranate Coconut Thumbprint Cookies and Bourbon Salted Caramels from A Spicy Perspective. They were great! (and they mail well, hint hint!)

Next I got these awesome Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies from Garlic, My Soul. They had such a good flavor, like they were made with extra love!

Lastly I got these Cinnamon Toffee Crunch Cookies from The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie. They are my favorite kind of cookie, chewy and full of flavor. Yummy!

Ok, back to my recipe! It's is pretty simple, the dough base comes from this delicious cookie and for some reason, I'm drawn to chocolate recipes for this cookie swap, because last year I made these.

Nothing too fancy, but here are a few tips to help you with your cookie making!
1. If, for some reason, your cookies turn out flat as a wafer, chill the dough for 30-45 minutes. It won't hurt it, and will help revive your cookies if this does end up happening. I've had these cookies turn out perfectly and flat and haven't figured out what went wrong, but when I chilled them that ended up baking well.
2. You can switch out the add-ins for anything your heart desires: Reese's minis, more chocolate chips, Reese's chips, Andes Mint chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, and on and on!
3. The cookie dough will be sticky and that's a good thing! Don't worry about it, and if you follow the directions word for word, you should come out on the other side with perfect cookies!

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Ingredients:
1 C semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 C light brown sugar, packed
1/4 C granulated sugar
3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C Andes peppermint crunch baking chips

Directions:
1. Melt the 1 cup of semisweet chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments (or in a double broiler on the stove). Stir until completely melted and set aside to cool.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fully incorporated. Add in the egg mixture and beat well.
5. Slowly pour the melted chocolate into the creamed mixture and beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix thoroughly.
6. Using a wooden spatular, stir in the chocolate chips and peppermint crunch pieces. Cover and let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 350F. Using a cookie dough scoop, drop the cookies 2 inches apart on a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper) lined cookie sheets. Lightly press down the dough. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.