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!

TWD: Mrs.Vogel's Scherben

We have a rather unusual TWD pick this week - a deep-fried sugar-coated treat similar to funnel cake. Or so I'm told, but I think I've only had funnel cake once and I don't really remember anything but grease, so to me these are in a class by themselves. I don't usually do deep-fried, but these were chosen by the one and only Teanna of Spork or Foon, so I couldn't not make them! Actually, I was even looking forward to making them - they looked unique and fun, and I never would have chosen them on my own so I was excited to try something different.

Teanna and I went to college together, and after reading her blog for a few months I decided to start my own! She is also the way I found out about TWD. My life has been hugely impacted by becoming a food blogger, and without Teanna I may never have discovered this incredible community.

This scherben - is there a more fun name for a treat out there?! Say it with me, scherben, scherben, scherben! - is perfectly crispy (even almost 24 hours after frying them), and hardly sweet at all until tossed in powdered sugar. It is amazingly light for something that has been deep-fried, making it entirely too easy to pop into your mouth, one after another. After another. I used powdered sugar on most of it, but I did also top some with a blend of cardamom and granulated sugar, which was a really sublime combination.

It isn't the easiest recipe to scale down, given that it has one egg and one tablespoon of butter - though the amazing Nancy figured out the measurements for a 1/4 recipe - so I hesitantly made a full batch. Thankfully, I was able to give a lot of it away.

Though these aren't something I would normally have chosen to make, I loved them. I couldn't believe how much fun I had deep-frying them, too. It helps to have a pot that is deep enough to assuage any fears of boiling oil jumping onto my skin. I had welts for weeks after making my Apple Cider Doughnuts a few months back. I don't see myself making them again any time soon, as they are a little fussy, but I'm so glad to have made them and I'll keep them in mind in case an occasion arises in the future that they would be appropriate for.

Many thanks to Teanna for picking such a fun recipe, and of course, for introducing me to the food blog world. (You'll hear more about all of this in several weeks, when I celebrate my first blogiversary!) You can find the recipe for the scherben on Teanna's wonderful and terribly funny blog!

BBA Challenge: Italian Bread

Every time I take a bite of freshly baked bread, I wonder why I don't bake it more often. There is just nothing like it. It has to be one of the most satisfying - in more than one way - processes from start to finish.

This Italian bread is similar in many ways to the French bread I made not too long ago, but there is one very big, very noticeable difference: the crust. The French bread crust is, well, crusty! The Italian bread has a crust that is much softer and definitely easier for little people to chew.

Despite major problems which I will describe in a second, this bread was fabulous. To bake this bread - and many others, including the French bread - you set an empty pan on the floor of your oven while you preheat it. Then, when you place your dough on the baking sheet - also in the oven during the preheat - you pour water into the empty pan, thereby creating steam. It is this steam that creates the more defined crust. Well, when I poured my water in, all of the steam blew my pilot light out! I kept checking my bread, and wondering why it wasn't baking more quickly, then, after about 15 minutes, my oven had cooled down noticeably and I realized the problem. I was afraid that my bread would be ruined, but it came out of the oven looking like nothing at all had gone awry! I was so proud.

I need work on my slashing. The French Bread was slashed too shallow, this is too deep. Ah well. The bread is delicious, regardless. I made 4 torpedo rolls, and one loaf. The recipe calls for water as the liquid in the loaves and milk in the rolls, but since I did both I went with milk.

In addition to the tender, yet chewy crust, the Italian bread has a very soft interior with a tight crumb and a slightly sweet flavor. So far, we've used the bread for toast and sandwiches. I'm planning on French toast in the morning.

The recipe for this Italian Bread can be found in The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart.

I know I promised to post the SMS chocolate piecrust today, but I didn't really like it, so I'm going to skip posting about it.

Crisp Rosemary Flatbread

We've been having quite the cold snap in Asheville - I don't ever remember it being this cold here for this long. When it's cold, the only thing I want is soup. My mom made a lot of soup when I was growing up, so it is definitely a comfort food for me. Since I made a big pot of black-eyed pea soup for lunch today, it seemed the perfect opportunity to make some flatbread that I had been wanting to try out. I first saw it on Smitten Kitchen, and was reminded of it on Tracey's blog just a couple of days ago.

This flatbread is so delicious and easy to make, there is really no need to buy crackers ever again! I mean it. The flatbread is crispy and flaky, and very flavorful from the rosemary. It can hold its own against soup, cheese, hummus and all kinds of other toppings. You could use any herb to flavor it with, so it can pair with any cuisine. You could even use spices - I think cumin would be divine - or sesame seeds, heck, dried figs or other fruits would also be wonderful! It is so easy and comes together so quickly, you can whip it up even at the very last minute, making this recipe a must-have in your arsenal.

Crisp Rosemary Flatbread

adapted from Gourmet, July 2008, via Smitten Kitchen

1 3/4 cups unbleached white flour

2 tablespoons chopped rosemary

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 scant teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup olive oil

coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 450, and place a baking sheet - I use a baking stone - on the middle rack. Stir together flour, rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add the water and olive oil, and using a wooden spoon or dough whisk, stir to incorporate. When the dough comes together, knead it 4 or 5 times. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces - about 5 oz each - and roll them out one at a time on a piece of parchment. Roll it out into very thin circle (no need to be perfect here), no more than 1/8". Lightly brush top of each round with additional olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Slip the dough parchment and all onto the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Repeat with remaining dough. Flatbread will keep in an airtight container for 2 days at room temperature.

Oh, and I should mention that I did make the chocolate piecrust for SMS, but I won't be able to post it until tomorrow, as once it was made there was no light left to shoot it in!

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.

Cheese Straws

It was several months ago that I first saw these cheese straws on Smitten Kitchen, and after my first bite, I couldn't believe I had waited so long to make them! I knew I would love them - I mean, what's not to love?! I just had no idea I would love them so very much. These were the first cheese straws I've ever had believe it or not, so I have no basis of comparison, but they are amazing.

These cheese straws are incredibly crispy, but not crunchy - a very important distinction. The cheese flavor is very prominent, they are perfectly flaky, and though buttery they are not at all greasy and they are as easy to make as a biscuit!

I made a half batch, because I didn't have enough cheese to make a full one, and I haven't yet decided whether that is a good thing or not. On the one hand, they are so delicious I can't stop eating them. On the other hand, they are so delicious I can't stop eating them! Quite the predicament, I tell you. One thing is sure, these will be making regular appearances in my house from now on.

Cheese Straws

adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook, via Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups (about 6 oz) very finely grated extra sharp white cheddar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into several pieces and softened

3/4 cup unbleached white flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon milk (or heavy cream or half and half)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine cheese, butter, flour and salt. With your fingers, work the butter in until it is evenly distributed and you have a crumbly mixture. Add the milk, and again using your fingers, rub all of the ingredients together until they form a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and roll it out to about 1/8 of an inch thick. Using a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into strips 1/4" - 1/3" wide. Place them gently on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1/4" apart. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet as necessary, until the straws are tinged with golden. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them on the parchment to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Jammy Oatmeal Crumb Bars

I must apologize if you are getting tired of seeing this little bird plate. I found this wonderful artist on Etsy a while back and received a few of her pieces for Christmas, and I can't stop using them!

Anyway, on to the bars! I was trying to figure out a kid-friendly - meaning sugar-free in my house - cookie to make this morning, when I thought I should make some kind of crumb bar. I love crumb bars. Crumb anything, really. I didn't want to search for a recipe, so I figured I'd wing it. I really hit the nail on the head! These bars are wonderful!

They are relatively healthy, containing as much oats as flour, they use sugar-free (fruit only) jam, and are sweetened with palm sugar. They were enormously popular with both of my kids, as well as a friend of mine and her daughter who sampled them. I baked an 8x8 pan of them this morning, and only 4 little squares remain, if that gives you an idea of how yummy they are.

These bars are very sturdy though soft, they are dense and chewy and have a little crunch from the topping. Oh, and they take about 2 1/2 minutes to throw together.

Jammy Oatmeal Crumb Bars

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup palm sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unbleached white flour (or any other flour, really)

1 cup whole oats (please don't use quick oats...)

1 9oz jar fruit spread such as this (I used the sour cherry flavor from the same company, highly recommend!)

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper. Cream butter with palm sugar and salt. Add flour and mix until just combined. Stir in oats. It is okay if the mixture is crumbly. Press about 2/3 of mixture into prepared pan, firmly and evenly. Place jam in small saucepan and cook over lowest heat until it becomes pourable. Pour jam over dough layer in pan. Sprinkle remaining dough over jam. Bake for about 30 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 minutes, then lift out by edges of parchment and cool completely on rack before cutting.