caramel

Falling into Apples

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

There is a social media post challenging people to post something they hate that everyone else loves, have you seen it?

I think peanut butter and chocolate is one of the worst food combinations. I also think pumpkin spice is extremely over rated. Every time you turn around something that shouldn’t has pumpkin spice on the box!

During the fall months I would much rather a hot apple cider than a pumpkin spice latte. Give me apples and cinnamon over pumpkin any day!

I love salted caramel too – I have loved it for a long time – before it became a “fad” food. I also love it with apples and this Salted Caramel Apple Crumb pie is a winner!

Usually I like a double crust apple pie served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but for this pie I wanted more texture to go with the salted caramel. A crumb topping was the way to go! I also chose to put the caramel on top of the crumb topping after the pie had cooked. I wanted to ensure the flavor would be prominent and to keep the bottom of the pie from being too soggy with extra moisture in the center.

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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil (trust me! Pies bubble over.)

Use your favorite pie crust recipe or a store bought crust. Place the pie crust into a deep dish pie plate. Crimp edges with your preferred method. I like using my fingers.

A batch of salted caramel either homemade or store bought. You can even use a jar of dulce de leche and add sea salt to taste. This will be added after the pie is done cooking.

7-8 good size apples of your favorite variety, peeled and sliced. Granny Smiths work really well because the tartness helps balance with the sweetness. Add sliced apples to a large bowl. Coat with 1/4 cup lemon juice. Add 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/4 AP flour, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 1/2 tsp. apple pie spice. Mix well and pour into pie shell making sure to level the apple mixture.

In another large bowl add 1 1/2 sticks softened unsalted butter, 1/2 cup quick oats, 1 cup of packed light brown sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt. Mix until all combined. Use hands to break up the crumble topping and place on top of the apple mixture.

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Bake for roughly one hour until crust and topping have browned and the juices from the pie a bubbling. If you need to cover the crust edges with foil to keep from over cooking and/or burning, do so.

Once cooked remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for about 15-20 minutes before adding the salted caramel. The longer you let the pie cool the more the caramel will stay on top of the crumb topping and will be harder to spread – depending on your caramels consistency.

IMG_2358It smells so amazing when it is done! Salty, Sweet, Gooey, Crunchy goodness. My four favorite food groups covered! This fall favorite will be a great addition to your Thanksgiving desserts or just because!

Enjoy!

Sh*t Happens

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

Let’s face it. Sometimes we just need a good laugh. It can be cathartic and good for the soul.

I was scrolling through Facebook late at night a few days ago and saw a video from Hungry Happening’s for Poop Emoji Fudge. I knew I had to make them.

Not only because they are so stinkin’ cute, but because the way life has handed me one shit show after another recently – I needed to laugh or cry. I decided to laugh, and laugh I did!

I doubled the recipe and brought these cute little turds to work to share the laughter. We all need to lighten up once in awhile and be silly, carefree and childish. I can think of no better way to do this then POOP EMOJI FUDGE!!

Ingredients:
1 jar of dulce du leche (I found mine at Shaw’s near the jams and jellies)
1 1/2 bags of semi sweet chocolate chips
White Candy Melts
Candy sugar eyes

img_2722Directions:
In a medium sauce pan over low heat melt the dulce de leche and chocolate chips until smooth. While keeping an eye on saucepan, cut the Candy Melts in half to use for the mouths. Carefully spoon mixture into a piping bag that is fitted with a large round tip. Pipe in a swirling motion onto parchment paper. Add eyes and 1/2 a white Candy Melt to make face. I found it best to do these in batches. Once I had used what was in my piping bag, I added the eyes and mouth. Then went back for more of them mixture and repeated. This way, the eyes and mouth would stay on as the fudge sets quite quickly once it is piped out.

“OHHH FUDGE!” – Ralphie

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

A Christmas Story is one of my favorite movies. I watch it faithfully every year at Christmastime. It still cracks me up – every. single. time.

I still have a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies on my kitchen counter so I decided to get rid of a box last night. I was very proud of myself for not getting rid of them by stuffing them in my face! I decided I wanted to try something different than I have done before. I find sometimes that incorporating the cookies into a recipe that cooks them can sometimes loose the flavor of the cookies, hence why I crushed some Thin Mints and topped gooey brownies with them and made Thin Mint truffles, both kept the integrity of the cookies.

In my area, Samoas are now called Caramel deLites. I knew I wanted to do something that wasn’t chocolate, but still played off the flavor of the cookie to enhance it. I decided to make caramel fudge and top it with chopped up cookies. I will tell you that I am not a great fan of fudge made with Fluff or Marshmallow Creme as I don’t like the texture it gives the fudge, but that is just my personal preference.

Ingredients:
9 tbsp. unsalted buter
1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
10 soft caramel candies
3/5 cup white chocolate chips
1 box Caramel deLite Girl Scout Cookies.

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Directions:
Melt butter in a sauce pan over low heat. While butter is melting, line a 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper, lightly spraying the pan and the paper with nonstick spray. Chop up 1 box of Caramel deLite Girl Scout cookies. Add in the sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, brown sugar and 10 soft caramel candies. Stir over low heat until boiling, then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. It is very important to time this for 10 minutes – if you under cook this your fudge won’t set and if you over cook your fudge will crumble to pieces. Remove from heat and stir in the white chocolate quickly. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth over the service as best you can. Sprinkle over top the cookies and gently and carefully press slightly into the fudge so that they adhere when cutting. Try not to eat this entire pan in one sitting. Enjoy!

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Life is sticky, just like caramel.

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

You can hear the crumble. Bit by bit, piece by piece. The sound echoing within the empty walls … the hollow finally showing it’s depth. During the day it is drowned out by the background noise of daily life. At night, alone in the dark, with nothing but your muffling sobs to drowned it out, the familiar shattering ensues.
It is one thing in life to know something. It is quite another to say it out loud. What makes it truly unbearable and downright full of shame and embarrassment is someone else saying it out loud. This is not the validation you want. This is not what you want to be recognized for or have attention drawn to. Yes, you know it. How can you not? You can “not” by ignoring it and acting as though it doesn’t exist. You have perfected the toddler mentality of if you can’t see it then neither can they. You know this isn’t true, but you still let yourself believe it. You have to in order to make it through. You tell yourself it isn’t that bad. That you can change it if you want to. It will be different this time. This is what has and always will define you, because you let it. Is it comfortable? No. Is it healthy? Hell no, and on so many levels. You know all of this … So does that make it worse? Does it make it worse to be an adult, know you have an issue and with a sound mind refuse to acknowledge it? Or is that the definition of scared? Maybe it is a fine line we walk between scared shitless and ignorance is bliss.
They say knowledge is power, so why after someone else tells you what you have known deep down in that hollow space, that you feel powerless and at your must vulnerable and/or shameful. How did you let it get this far. How did it domino so fast? Maybe you have to be so low you are forced to work up. Maybe you need to be scared so shitless that there really is only one choice … to move forward and to stare into the face of what ails you and tell it to sit down and shut up. The choice is yours and yours alone.

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Ganache Brownies.

Brownies:
Grab your favorite box or recipe (I love Betty Crocker’s brownie recipe https://havesweetswillshare.com/2015/09/03/look-for-the-signs/). Make per the instructions and let cool.

IMG_0988Salted Caramel:
In a large sauce pan combined 1 can sweetened condenced milk and 3 bags of Werther’s Soft Caramels. Stir until all caramels are melted and it is smooth and bubbly. Add 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt and stir until it is distributed. Resisit licking the spoon … the caramel is scalding hot! Pour this mixture on top of your brownies and set in the fridge sans cover to firm up.

 

IMG_0958Chocolate Ganache:
Keep in mind chocolate ganache (recipe in previous post here) needs to set at room temp. for about 12 hours to become solid and non-melting at room temp. If you make the ganache and pour it immediately over the brownies it will set up in the fridge but become very soft at room temp. I suggest letting the brownie and caramel set in the fridge while the ganache sets at room temp. After 10-12 hours you can beat the ganache with an electric mixer, just to make it spreadable and then slather it on.

Everyone has 10 minutes!

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

 imageTrifle. A retro hodge-podge of goodness. Think of it as an “everything but the kitchen sink” kind of dessert. You can go elaborate or simple, all homemade, all store bought or a little of each. The mostly store bought or “left over” option can be done in less than 10 minutes!

imageThe trifle I made is layered with homemade whipped cream, Smucker’s Decadent Hot Fudge, Smucker’s Sea-salted Caramel, broken up brownies and Special K fudge covered pretzels.

You can use angel food cake, pound cake, devils food cake or any sturdy cake that can be cubed or broken without being all crumbles OR use your favorite Jell-O flavor made with the Jiggler recipe. Add some fruit or candy pieces or even pudding!! Drizzle on your favorite sauce toppings, add in some homemade whipped cream or Cool Whip and you have a stunning looking, mouth watering, crowd pleasing dessert.

The possibilities are endless and time is precious. Don’t fret when you forget you said you’d bring a dish to a potluck event or your kids class for a party. This dish will look like you slaved over it – even though you didn’t!! The crowd will love it and you didn’t have to break the bank or a sweat to make it; a win-win in my book. ENJOY!