Entries Tagged as 'christmas'

Caramel and Chocolate Covered Marshmallows

December 25th, 2011 · No Comments

Two things I had leftover from the cookies I made for this year’s cookie party: Dulce de leche and marshmallows. What’s a girl to do? How about dip the marshmallows in the dulce de leche? I weighed the dulce de leche and it was about 7 ounces. I mixed this with 7 ounces of sweetened condensed milk, added a dash of cinnamon and a bit of vanilla, and stirred it up on top of a double boiler.

I put the marshmallows out on a waxed-paper-lined tray and stuck toothpicks in them. I had the cocktail toothpicks with the colored plastic on the end, so I picked out all of the red and green ones. One by one I dipped the marshmallows in the caramel mixture, still simmering on the double boiler, and then placed them on the waxed paper.

In some small, shallow dishes, I put chopped nuts, red and green sprinkles and some holly and berry jimmies. I wasn’t sure which would work the best. Then I melted some chocolate. I dipped the caramel marshmallows in the chocolate, but only covering the bottom third of the marshmallow.

Then I dipped the wet chocolate in the garnishes. I like how the sprinkles look, but the nuts were easier to work with. And the holly and berries just didn’t work right (see above). The chocolate was melting into the dish and making the holly and berries just a glob. The dipping can be kind of tricky. You have to shake off a lot of chocolate so that the chocolate doesn’t fall off into the garnish dish.

Anyway, I think they turned out great. I imagine kids will love these, but if I was making them for kids, I would probably use those sucker sticks instead of sharp toothpicks. I didn’t think I would like them so much, but they’re really good. The chocolate hardened a bit and the crunch of the sprinkles and nuts is a good contrast to the gooey marshmallow. Oh, and using different kinds of sprinkles would make these easily adaptable for different holidays or parties.

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Yearly Santa Hat Photo

December 24th, 2011 · No Comments

I thought it appropriate that this year’s photo be a grainy, low-quality Hipstamatic iPhone photo taken in a mirror, since those still seem to be all the rage these days.

So, this year the big news, of course, was that we got married in February. What fun that was! It seems like so long ago already! Dallas and I are coming up on our one-year anniversary soon. Our wedding trip ate up pretty much all of my vacation time, but we still managed quick trips to Boston for the Fourth of July and San Francisco for Thanksgiving this year.

We continue to be blessed with many great friends and family. This year we attended way fewer weddings, but had probably just as many friends having babies. Work continues to be interesting and challenging at Roundarch. I am looking forward to seeing what 2012 brings!

Merry Christmas, everyone!


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Angel Food Candy

December 24th, 2011 · 7 Comments

Angel Food Candy. Ever heard of it? Didn’t think so. But every year my mom would make this for my dad. It is one of his favorite Christmas candies. I never really got involved with the candy-making portion of it, since it’s kind of like a science experiment with very hot liquids and baking soda, but I have done more than my fair share of the chocolate coating portion of the recipe!

The first thing you need to do is mix some corn syrup and sugar together and put it over medium heat. Again, I had candy thermometer drama. This thermometer promised to go up to 420 degrees, but really, once it hit 200 or so it became unreadable. It said something like 888.8. Really helpful. So, I had to rely on the test where you drop a bit into a cup of cold water and judge doneness by color.

When it’s ready, take the sugar mixture off the heat and immediately whisk in the baking soda and vinegar. This is the part that freaks me out the most and why I used a big 6 quart pot. The baking soda somehow reacts and causes this whole thing to puff up. Which is awesome later, because it makes a crunchy, airy candy. But make sure you get the baking soda totally stirred in really fast. If you ever do not mix in the baking soda well and take a bite of candy later, you will never forget it. Baking soda does not taste good and I still have memories of this from when I was a kid!

Note: When I opened the cupboard we didn’t have any vinegar. My choices were white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar. Oops. I used the red wine vinegar and it turned out fine, though I would recommend cider vinegar or regular vinegar.

Did I mention, do this all as fast as you can? Then while it’s still liquid, pour it into a pan that has been lined with aluminum foil and greased.

Note: Don’t use a whisk that is coated with silicon. This is awesome for your non-stick pots and pans, but not for candy making. When I chipped off some of the hardened candy to test it, it also peeled the silicon off of the whisk. Whoops. I don’t think any got into the candy, but still, not good.

Ok. So now you let the candy cool. And hope that the middle doesn’t fall. This candy is light and airy and crispy and if it flattens it becomes dense and chewy. Dense and chewy is not what you’re going for. I was kind of worried because I didn’t know if I’d cooked it the exact right amount because of my malfunctioning thermometer. The candy seemed to settle just a little in the middle but not too much too ruin it.

When the candy is completely cooled you can turn it out of the pan and break it into pieces. I don’t like to have too big of pieces. I prefer 1-3 bites per piece.

I like doing this part, the breaking up. It’s kind of fun to see which ways the candy breaks when you stick the knife in. All different shapes are made.

Melt some chocolate down in a double boiler or the microwave. I used some Ghirardelli bittersweet and semisweet chocolate mixed together. Dip each piece of candy into the chocolate. I don’t like the chocolate coating to be too thick, so I try to shake a lot of it off.

After dipping in chocolate, set the candy on waxed paper to dry.

Wikipedia gives a detailed explanation of the science behind what happens with the acid (vinegar) and the baking soda and how it explodes and everything. It also tells how this treat goes by many names: sponge toffee, honeycomb toffee, honeycomb, yellow man, puff candy, golden crunchers, hokey pokey, sponge candy, sea foam, bonfire toffee, cinder toffee, Turkish honey, and fairy food candy. But in Wisconsin, only in Wisconsin, is it called angel food candy.

Here’s the recipe:

Angel Food Candy

1 c. Granulated Sugar
1 c. Light or Dark Corn Syrup
1 Tbsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbsp. Vinegar

Line a baking pan (I used an 8×8) with aluminum foil and butter the foil.

In a large pot (I used a 6qt) combine sugar and corn syrup over medium heat. Clip a candy thermometer to the side so the tip touches the liquid and does not touch the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil and allow mixture to hit the 300 degree mark (this is also called the hard-crack stage). Stir occasionally while boiling to keep the mixture from foaming too high. Remove from heat right away. Whisk in the baking soda and cider vinegar simultaneously ( I dump and pour them while Shawn whisks). If you’re making the candy alone, pour the liquid first, then dump in the soda. Whisk it in thoroughly or you’ll get pockets of soda… this would taste awful. The mixture will foam considerably when you add the last two ingredients so take care and whisk well. Pour into the prepared pan, try to pour evenly, set on a rack to cool. We found it’s better to NOT spread the candy with a spatula while pouring or afterwards – just let it spread on it’s own. When cool, lift out by the foil, peel foil away and slice on a cutting board. Dip in melted chocolate if desired – it’s great on its own!

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Red Ornament

December 23rd, 2011 · No Comments

I walk through 203 N. LaSalle every day as an indoor shortcut from the Clark/Lake blue line. I noticed my reflection one day in their holiday decorations. Apparently, I like to take this kind of photo:

- Roscoe Village Community Christmas Tree (love this one!)

- Dallas and I at Breakfast at Kitsch’n This Morning

I thought I had more examples but I can’t find them right now.

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Easy Butter Toffee

December 23rd, 2011 · No Comments

Toffee is a sweet treat that my family used to make every year at Christmas time. I think my mom originally got the recipe from my Aunt Deb, or at least that’s what my old recipe card says. I thought I’d give this a shot this year, since it’s always been one of my favorites and my sister-in-law loves it, too.

The instructions on my old recipe card have you adding water and corn syrup to the butter and sugar mix, but I decided to go with this recipe that only called for butter, sugar and a bit of salt and promised to be easy! Also, I halved the recipe.

My prepared pan, buttered and sprinkled with nuts.

Here’s my one problem. I didn’t have a candy thermometer so I bought a thermometer at the supermarket, but when I tested it at home (it should read 212 degrees in boiling water) it didn’t work. The reading was way low. So I read up about what color the toffee is when it’s done (brown paper bag) and how it should be brittle when you drop a sample in a cup of cold water. Basically, I guessed about it was done. If it’s not done enough it wont be crunchy enough. And once I remember having a batch that was really grainy and sugary. So, I was kind of afraid how this would come out.

At the exact right moment, I hoped(!), I poured the butter and sugar mixture out onto the prepared pan. Some of the butter separated a little so I was a bit worried. I remember one year making this and the chocolate just slid off the toffee. I didn’t want that to happen. I blotted the toffee a bit with a paper towel to try to get some of the butter off. Note: Don’t do this. Your toffee will stick to the paper towel.

So, I had a feeling this didn’t turn out, but you really cannot tell until it’s cooled and you can taste it. I didn’t know what to do. You have to layer the chocolate chips on top while the toffee is still hot so that they chocolate will melt. Of course, an alternative we’ve done in the past would be to leave the toffee plain and break it up later then dip it in melted chocolate. I decided to go ahead and spread the chocolate chips on top anyway. Press my luck!

Let the chocolate chips sit on the warm toffee for a few minutes and then spread them with a spatula. Then sprinkle some ground nuts on top. I used roasted, salted almonds.

When this is all cooled down and set, you can get to breaking the toffee up into pieces.

And how did it turn out? Pretty good, actually! The toffee is really crunchy. The only thing I’d do different, besides buying a real candy thermometer, is to use a smaller pan if you only make a half batch. If I’d have used something like an 8-inch square pan, the liquid toffee would not have been able to spread as much. As it is now, my toffee is pretty thin on some pieces!

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