caramel

Dulce De Leche

by alice on December 17, 2009 · 47 comments

dulcedeleche

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It is crunch time around here. I still have lots of baking and other homemade food items to make, package, and deliver for Christmas.  This Christmas I made  dulce de leche for the kids to give to their teachers.  Because time is precious, I am going to show you how to make this under 30 minutes (20 minutes to be exact) using a pressure cooker or the more common way of cooking it on the stovetop. [click to continue…]

     
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Chocolate Dipped Caramel Pecan Bars Recipe

by alice on December 7, 2009 · 24 comments

pecanbars [donotprint]The Holiday Season is in full swing and this means Christmas baking is happening in kitchens everywhere.  My good friend Jennifer Perillo of “In Jennie’s Kitchen” is hosting “12 Days of Sharing” benefiting Share Our Strength – an organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America.   Several Bloggers (including myself) are sharing our favorite recipes for this great cause.  I decided to made chocolate dipped pecan bars (adapted from this older post) for my contribution to “12 Days of Sharing”. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! [click to continue…]

     
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Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Recipe

by alice on November 13, 2009 · 84 comments

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True story – Last year I fell crazy in love with Starbucks Signature Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.  Each day I would drink 2 of these bad boys as a treat to myself.  My son was only 6 months old back then and I would have the baristas pour double shots of espresso into my drink.  It was my guilty pleasure except I would call it more like therapy.  And if you’re a mom reading this – thank you for understanding what I mean when I say “therapy”. [click to continue…]

     
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{Simple Yet Glorious} Caramel Sauce Recipe

by alice on November 4, 2009 · 105 comments

caramelsauce6[donotprint] Caramel sauce is a wonderful sweet condiment to have on hand.  The beauty of making your own sauce is how simple it truly is.  A candy thermometer is helpful but not necessary if you have attentive eyes and a wooden spoon or whisk ready to be used in a seconds notice.

When people discover I make my own caramel sauce they are often surprised by how easy it is to make.  I’m surprised by how many people don’t realize caramel is basically sugar, water, butter, and cream.  I find the most problematic part of making caramel sauce is the sugar water burning, making it inedible or hardening to rock candy stage, which leaves you with (ehem..) candy.  However if you are concerned about this, I would recommend purchasing a candy thermometer such as the Taylor Classic Candy and Deep-Fry Analog Thermometer. The clear benefit of having a candy thermometer is knowing when to turn off the heat so your caramel does not burn.  You want to cook the sugar syrup to 350 degrees.  When I make caramel sauce, I just watch the sugar water change colors and from there I move quickly. [click to continue…]

     
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Oh Cracker Jacks! Recipe for Caramel Popcorn

by alice on September 21, 2009 · 37 comments

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Saturday night I had a special “Mommy-Daughter Night” with my 6yr old daughter. Her older sister was at a friend’s house and I took the rare opportunity to just have one on one time with my youngest daughter who also happens to be the “middle child”. She was so excited for special date night with mom! But if truth be known, I think I was even more excited to spend time with her. What I love about my daughter is her enthusiasm to bake and cook. She loves to just jump in and take ownership of any type of baking/cooking project and Saturday night was no different. We rented a movie and instead of the usual buttered popcorn we usually make, together we decided to make caramel popcorn similar to Cracker Jacks. [click to continue…]

     
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