Category Archives: dessert

Strawberry Jellies

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Soundtrack: The Smiths

finished strawberry jellies

Supplies:
silpat lined baking pan
3qt saucepan
measuring cups/spoons

Ingredients:
3/4 c sugar
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 c water
3/4 c (scant) light corn syrup
1/8 tsp food coloring (red)
1/2 tsp flavoring (strawberry)
1/8 tsp citric acid
granulated sugar for coating

ingredients

line baking sheet with silpat.

cooking

combine gelatin and sugar in saucepan. add water and bring to boil over medium high heat stirring occasionally. slowly pour in corn syrup and bring to gentle boil until syrup reaches 238degrees.

cooking

remove from heat and stir in coloring, citric acid, and flavoring.

cooling

slowly pour into prepared pan. place in fridge or freezer until firm  - 1 to 2 hours.

finishing

flip silpat onto sugar coated cutting board (or parchment paper), slowly peel away silpat from jelly sheet.

cutting

cut into squares, or fun shapes.

noms

Lessons Learned:

  • make sure that you concentrate the syrup in one area so that it hardens thick enough to cut into shapes. i should have used a baking square but it still worked out ok because i got a few fun fruitrollup type treats out of this batch.
  • i only had an easter egg set of cookie cutters, so next time i would buy mini cookie cutters to make a variety of shapes.

Review: really cute final product, reminds me of jello jigglers i used to make/attempt to make when i was little. i think little kids would really enjoy these confections, especially if they are all cut into fun shapes. i would have preferred a stronger citrus sour taste so maybe next time i’ll up the citric acid?

Candied Ginger

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Dedication: Happy Birthday Mommy Judy

finished candied ginger

Supplies:
3qt saucepan
spoon or vegetable peeler
cooling rack
parchment paper
heatproof silicon spatula

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh ginger
4 c water
2 and 1/2c sugar

ingredients

fresh ginger.

ingredients

peel skin off of ginger with a spoon.

ingredients

slice peeled ginger into thin rounds. place in boiling water for 40min. until ginger is tender. measure out 1/4 cup of ginger liquid and set aside.

cooking

strain ginger and return to saucepan along with sugar and reserved ginger liquid.

bring to boil over medium high heat. reduce heat to medium and stir frequently until liquid evaporates and sugar begins to re-crystallize.

cooling

pour onto rack that has been placed above silpat lined baking sheet (to catch all excess ginger sugar).

cooling

spread apart ginger with spatula. let cool and store in airtight container.

noms

Lessons Learned:

  • absolutely use a spoon to peel the ginger, makes it very easy and the spoon gets into nooks that a peeler wouldn’t
  • make sure that the heat is medium high vs. medium low after the sugar mixture comes to a boil. it takes forever for the sugar syrup to evaporate and re-crystalize otherwise.
  • you’re left with a lot of ginger sugar underneath the cooling rack, i wonder what i can do with it…

Review: not as chewy as some ginger candies i’ve had in the past but i have a feeling those are typically supplemented with gelatin. (side note this makes me want to make fruit jellies next) the candied ginger still has a nice texture – not too crispy and soft on the inside underneath the candy coating. boiling the ginger takes out the strong ginger flavor and you’re left with the perfect amount of bite without being overpowering.

specially crafted for mother’s birthday (the date is a bit off but i’m countering for time zone differences), i think she will be very happy with the results.

just can’t get enough.

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champagne macaron

embracing the holiday spirit i agreed to bring a batch of macarons with me to a holiday gathering. still refusing to give up on the champagne extract…and partly due to the fact that i used the remainder of my vanilla extract on the marshmallow recipe…i decided to try champagne macarons filled with dark chocolate ganache. planning on pairing them with copious amounts of champagne amongst friends and loved ones.

Vanilla Marshmallows

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Soundtrack: Death From Above 1979

finished marshmallows 

Supplies:
silpat lined baking sheet
3qt saucepan
candy thermometer
measuring cups/spoons
standing mixer

Ingredients:
3 packets unflavored gelatin
1 and 1/2 c sugar
1 c light corn syrup
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbs vanilla extract
confectioners sugar for dusting

ingredients

measure out sugar/salt, corn syrup and 1/2c water

prep

line baking sheet with silpat and coat with powdered sugar

ingredients

combine gelatin and 1/2c cold water in bowl of standing mixer with whisk attachment. let sit and soften while cooking syrup mixture.

cooking

cook sugar, salt, corn syrup, and water over medium heat until sugar dissolves. increase heat and cook until syrup mixture reaches 240degrees.

mixing

slowly pour hot syrup over softened gelatin while mixer is running on low speed. once incorporated increase speed to high.

whisking

let mix for about 10min until glossy, thick and stiff.

mixing

add in vanilla extract and mix to combine.

cooling

pour onto confectioners sugar coated silpat. flatten with wet hand and shape to form rectangle(ish). top with more confectioners sugar.

cutting

let set up overnight, cut into squares and roll in powdered sugar.

noms

Lessons Learned:

  • when transferring the finished marshmallow onto the prepared pan it helps immensely to keep the faucet running on low and continually wet your hands to keep from becoming covered in strands of marshmallow.
  • as always…blast it…make sure to watch the temperature. my first batch over cooked a bit and the whipped up finished marshmallow was a bit off-white and turned out a bit too sticky/rubbery and flat compared with the second batch.

mistake

  • i tried to divide the first batch into 3 separate flavors – vanilla, champagne and strawberry. the marshmallow is so sticky and challenging to work with that this extra step just wound up making a mess. plus the amounts of extract i added in was more of a guestimation and the flavor ended up being too overpowering.

mistake

  • the champagne extract will take some work to figure out the right balance of how much to use to get the flavor, without tasting super alcohol-y. not my favorite so far.

Review: the vanilla only batch turned out perfectly. marshmallows are my favorite confection and i actually prefer them before they’ve set up completely and are still a bit melty textured. i’ve made different flavor combinations in the past and i’m looking forward to tweaking this basic recipe. re-mastering basic vanilla, obviously, is a necessary first step before i change up the flavorings, but the plain vanilla is pretty darn delicious in any case.

Sour Cream Candied Pecans

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Soundtrack: Pixies

finished candied pecans

Supplies:
baking sheet lined with parchment paper
3qt saucepan
measuring cups/spoons
wooden spoon

Ingredients:
2/3c packed dark brown sugar
1/2tsp kosher salt
1/4c sour cream
3/4tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/2tsp ground cinnamon
1 and 1/4c roasted nuts

ingredients

line baking sheet with parchment paper. combine sugar, salt, and sourcream in saucepan. stir to combine with wooden spoon.

cooking

cook mixture, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until mixture reaches 240degrees.

mixing

remove from heat. add vanilla, cinnamon, and nuts to syrup. stir until well combined.

cooling

spread onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.

noms

Lessons Learned:

  • the finished product that i came out with looks a lot different than what the recipe had as their final photo. mine turned out a bit more sticky-candied whereas their pic looked like the finished product would have a hard candy shell. maybe again something is off with my thermometer?

Review: easy to make. adding sour cream to a candied nut recipe sounds weird but the finished product is tasty. sticks to your teeth a little as you finish chewing but has a nice crunch to it when you first bite into the pecan.

Honeycomb (take 2)

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Soundtrack: Charlie Brown Christmas music

finished honeycomb

Supplies:
parchment paper lined baking sheet
3qt saucepan
measuring cups/spoons
whisk

Ingredients:
1/4c honey
1/2c light corn syrup
2c sugar
1/4c water
1 Tbsp baking soda

ingredients

line baking sheet with parchment paper. combine honey, light corn syrup, sugar and water in saucepan.

cooking

bring to boil, washing down sides of pan with pastry brush dipped in water. cook until mixture reaches 300degrees – about 20min.

whisking

remove from heat and whisk in baking soda until entirely combined. this will bubble up pretty quickly so do this over the parchment paper covered baking sheet.

cooling

pour into prepared baking pan and let cool.

noms

break into pieces. dip into melted chocolate if desired.

Lessons Learned:

  • definitely combine baking soda into mixture while holding the pot over the baking sheet to catch overflow.
  • make sure the thermometer is reading accurately.
  • **make sure store in an airtight container

Review: pretty tasty. i overcooked it a little because for some reason my thermometer seemed to read at a lower temperature on the side of the pan where i’d clipped it compared to the middle of the pot. i noticed that the color was getting super dark which is how i figured that the temperature was a lot higher than i thought. still delicious, really crispy which a rich dark caramel taste. and chocolate really does just make everything better.

 

Honeycomb (take 1)

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Screening: Misery

finished honeycomb

 
Supplies:
parchment paper lined baking pan
3qt saucepan
measuring cups/spoons
whisk

Ingredients:
1/2 c sugar
4 Tbs dark corn syrup
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda

ingredients

line baking sheet with parchment paper. pour sugar and syrup into saucepan.

ingredients

stir to combine – off heat.

cooking

cook – not stirring – over medium heat for about 5 min until sugar mixture boils and bubbles and turns the color of maple syrup. remove from heat and whisk in baking soda until entirely combined.

finishing

pour into prepared baking pan and let cool.

noms

break into pieces. dip into melted chocolate if desired.

Lessons Learned:

  • pour finished mixture into pan quickly, and don’t try to even it out with the whisk because the quickly hardening confection with glom onto everything.

Review: did not like this recipe. the finished product has a weird after taste of baking soda, and after the initial first few light and airy bites the honeycomb starts to stick to your teeth and doesn’t really dissolve. the chocolate was a pretty touch, but doesn’t really address these main concerns. a friend who does not like honeycomb as a general rule did, however, like this confection because it had such a different-than-typical taste. also i find it weird that honey was not an actual ingredient. i will be making an alternate recipe tomorrow.

 

eat my blog noms

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my favorite pics from last weekends amazing event. thank you to cathy from gas.tron.o.my. for putting it together. she said she’d add me to the list of contributors for next year…eep.

bake sale

bubblegum marshmallows

i’ve made many varieties of marshmallows in the past, this is a new one i’d love to try and master.

bacon caramel popcorn

special purchase request.

salted carmel rice crispy treat

my favorite!

 

pretzel treats

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Soundtrack: Baby It’s Cold Outside

finished pretzel treats

so i have fond memories of making chocolate/sprinkle covered pretzel rods in the past, and as such decided to use some of my leftover bark toppings to try on the super crispy flat pretzel variety (inspired by the Trader Joes holiday offerings a friend evilly introduced me to…)

inspiration

on some of the flat pretzels i poured the excess toffee topping – then threw in the oven to bake for 6min – and topped with dark and white chocolate drizzles. some i just drizzled with chocolate, no toffee. and then a few i coated completely in chocolate. all varieties were topped with crushed candy canes because, well…tis the season.

they were all delicious but my favorite would be non toffee, all dark chocolate drizzled completely coated ones. salty, crispy, chocolatey pepperminty deliciousness.

noms

Saltine Toffee Bark

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Soundtrack: …And Out Come The Wolves, Rancid

finished saltine toffee bark

 
Supplies:
aluminum foil lined cookie sheet
3qt saucepan
measuring cups/spoons
offset spatula

Ingredients:
1c (2sticks) unsalted butter
1c brown sugar (i used light)
1 to 2c semi-sweet chocolate chips
35 saltine crackers
crushed candy canes

prep

preheat oven to 350degrees. line cookie sheet with aluminum foil. arrange saltine crackers.

boiling

combine butter and brown sugar in saucepan. once mixture is melted and at a boil reduce heat to simmer. simmer 5-6min until mixture is thickened.

cooking

pour onto prepared saltines – slowly and spread with offset spatula so that saltines are entirely covered by toffee mixture.

cooking

place in pre-heated oven, cook for 5-8min until toffee is bubbling.

cooking

bubbling toffee – ready to come out.

topping

sprinkle with chocolate chips. let sit for a few minutes until chips are spreadable. i actually put the cookie sheet back into the oven to make sure that they were good and melty.

topping

spread chocolate evenly. sprinkle crushed candy canes on top – i did half with, half without just for experimenting’s sake.

noms

Lessons Learned:

  • the saltines will move around when you’re pouring on the toffee and again when you are spreading the chocolate – i just smooshed them back together with the offset spatula which seemed to work fine
  • next time i might use a double boiler to melt the chocolate chips and pour that onto the saltines/toffee rather than sprinkle with chips – but just using chips was pretty easy and eliminated that step, so maybe not.

Review: kind of chewy – i’d prefer if the saltines stayed more crunchy, like chocolate covered pretzels (which i actually made with excess toffee mixture and melted chocolate i had on hand…). the peppermint topping cut the sweetness and richness that was so pronounced with the non-peppermint topped confection.

*update: so word is that these should be a bit crunchier – next time i’d cook the butter and brown sugar mixture longer which i think would result in a harder toffee. no temperature guidelines were given in the recipe i used so therein lies the problem, next time i’d attach the thermometer and keep track and adjust accordingly.

**after a few hours in the freezer these turn magical.