Christmas Crack Saltine Toffee

This recipe seems to cut corners by using saltines, but seriously, it could not be easier.  And, it's really good, so just go with it and don't feel guilty about being an embarrassment to your from-scratch-only relatives.  It does need a new name though.  

Bonus:  This is flexible, so you could use graham crackers too! I am going to try that.

Christmas Crack Saltine Toffee

40-50 soda crackers (saltine crackers), depending on the size of your cracker and pan

1 c. unsalted butter (or salted and just use a bit less salt)

1 c. brown sugar, well packed

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 t. kosher or sea salt

2 c. chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli dark chocolate melting discs that I had for a while and wanted to use up)

Optional toppings of your choice.  Ideas:  chopped pecans, m&m's, sprinkles, crushed candy canes.

Line a jelly roll pan (10 x 15 or so) with nonstick foil coated with cooking spray, or even better, use a silicone baking mat.  That worked great!

Place the crackers in a single layer on the pan.

To make the caramel, melt brown sugar and butter together in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium high heat, stirring frequently.  Bring it to a boil for a full 3 minutes, stirring almost continuously.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and salt.

Pour the caramel mixture over the crackers and spread evenly.

Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees.  Caramel should be bubbling vigorously when removed.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and either cover the pan with foil and let it sit for 5 minutes or turn off the oven and pop it back in there for a minute or two.

When the chips are glossy, they are probably soft enough to spread the chocolate all over the top with an offset spatula.

Sprinkle on toppings of your choice or keep it naked.

Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

If you used foil on the bottom, carefully peel away the foil.  Use your hands to crack it into pieces.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge or up to a week.

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c = cup

t = teaspoon

Peanut Butter Temptations

 This recipe is from Hersheyland.com and you can't go wrong with anything from Hershey Land.  We took a road trip out East and stopped at Hershey and ended up coming back with way too many bags of goodies.  Shopping bags full.  Nope, I don't regret it.

If you know me, you know that anything with peanut butter is on my must-make list. 

Peanut Butter Temptations

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1 egg

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. flour (192 grams)

1/2 t. salt

3/4 t. baking powder

36 - 40 mini peanut butter cups

Beat the butter, sugars, peanut butter, egg, and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the peanut butter mixture and mix until blended.

Roll into 1 inch balls and place in mini muffin tins.  

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until puffed and lightly browned.  I found that a darker pan takes 10 while a light silver takes 11 minutes.  Remove from oven and press 1 peanut butter cup in each cookie.  Let it cool completely in the pan before removing them.

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c = cup

t = teaspoon

Pasta with Lemon Parsley Sauce

I wanted to give homemade pasta a try so asked for some accessories for my birthday.  Today was the day to give it a try.  I searched some recipes online.  Some I looked at said you should knead by hand for 8-10 minutes and didn't recommend using a stand mixer.  I wanted a recipe that would allow me to let the stand mixer do the work.   Why else would I have a stand mixer with a dough hook after all?  I settled on this one from selfproclaimedfoodie.com.   

I made up a sauce to put on it that was light and wouldn't overpower the noodles, since I was new to this whole noodle making thing.   I've added it below the pasta recipe.

Conclusion:  this will not be the only time I make pasta.  It was a very good decision.

Pasta

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (192 grams)

1 1/2 c. semolina flour (270 grams)

4 eggs, room temperature and slightly beaten

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. water

1 t. salt

Throw everything in the stand mixer and knead on medium speed with the dough hook for 8-10 minutes.  If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle in a bit of semolina flour.  If it is too dry, sprinkle in water until it is right.   You want to knead it until it is elastic-like and forms a smooth ball.  Test the dough by pressing your knuckle in the dough.  if it starts to bounce back, it's ready.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

Attach the roller to your stand mixer.

Cut the dough into quarters and press each down to prep it for the roller.  Flour it a bit so it doesn't stick in the roller and press it down and feed it through at the thickest setting.  Fold the long sheet in thirds and feed it through again.  Then, change the thickness to the next level down and send it through.  Repeat until you get to to 4 or 5.  (My roller started with 8 as a thickness and I stopped at 5, but think I'll try 4 next time)

Do this for each ball of dough.

Switch to the fettucine cutter or spaghetti cutter and run each pasta sheet through to cut.  Dredge in flour to keep it from sticking together (it will float off when cooking).

Either set the pasta on a cookie sheet until ready to cook or hang it on a drying rack.

To cook, bring a large pot with salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook until tender (3-5 minutes).  If you are doing lasagna noodles, you don't need to cook the noodles first.

Drain the noodles and toss with the sauce.

Sauce

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c. olive oil

3-4 T. butter

Juice of 1 lemon

1-2 t. lemon zest

1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

salt and freshly grated pepper

Freshly grated parmesan for garnish

Heat a bit of the oil in a small sauce pan and add the garlic.  Saute for 30 seconds or so.  Add the rest of the olive oil and butter, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and cook until butter is melted.  Add the parsley, lemon zest.

Toss with the pasta and fresh parm.  Garnish with more parm, chopped parsley and cracked pepper.

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c = cup

T = tablespoon

t = teaspoon

Lunch Lady Brownies

Brownies.  So many variations!  Here's a great one.

Lunch Lady Brownies

1 c. butter, melted

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 c. all purpose-flour

2 c. sugar

4 large eggs

4 t. vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting

1/4 c. butter, softened

1/4 c. milk

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

3 c. powdered sugar

Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray.  Set aside.

With a stand mixer, add the melted butter and cocoa powder using the paddle attachment, blend until smooth.

Add the flour and sugar.  Beat together and then add the eggs and vanilla.  Mix just until combined  Don't overmix.  The batter will be thick.

Pour batter into the baking pan and spread out evenly.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove brownies from the oven and let the brownies sit for 15 minutes before frosting.  You want them to be warm when you frost them.

For the frosting:  

Beat together all the frosting ingredients until smooth.  Pour and spread it over the warm brownies.

Let them cool completely before cutting and serving.

Roasted Potatoes Variations

 Looking for ideas for roasting potatoes?  Try these.  This will be a running list as I try them!

Start with 1 lb. potatoes, diced a bit smaller than 1 inch square.

Salt and Vinegar

In a bowl, toss potatoes in:

2 T. olive oil

2 T. malt vinegar

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

Scoop out with a slotted spoon and set the bowl aside.  After roasting at 400 degrees for about 35-45 minutes throw them back in the bowl and toss them in the oil/vinegar mix that was left over.

Delicata Squash

 I read about delicata squash and wanted to give it a try since you don't have to peel it.  Sounded easy!  It was.  It's a very mild flavor and I've made it a couple times already.    Below are a couple of ideas on seasoning.

(Shout out to another kind of squash I tried recently that is harder to find unless you are at a farm -- honeynut squash.  It's smaller and darker than the butternut and I prefer it over butternut.  If you find it--buy it!  Cut it in half, scrape the seeds and plop some butter in the cavity with some brown sugar.  Bake.)

Delicata Squash

Cut the squash in half the long way and scrape out the seeds.  Cut in half moons less than an inch thick.  Toss in olive oil and seasoning.

Seasoning 1
Salt, pepper, and 1 tsp. curry powder.  

Seasoning 2

1/4 t. each: paprika, cinnamon, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt

Roast at 425 degrees on parchment paper, about 25 minutes.

Optional dipping sauce:

1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt

2 t. lemon juice

1/4 t. salt

Garnish with olive oil and toasted sesame seeds

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c = cup

t = teaspoon

Dutch Apple Crisp

I had never been apple picking.  Can you believe it? So sad.  But, this year was different--my birthday, my pick.  We headed out on a long drive out to Edwards Orchard, purchased our 1/2 bushel basket, climbed up on the wagon pulled by a tractor, and headed out to the trees.  The day we went, we had our choice of Fuji, Golden Delicious, and Autumn Beauty.  We meandered around filling our basket with an assortment of all three kinds.  Not including the ones we had to 'taste test'.  You gotta be sure you like 'em, right?

Side note--Wearing plaid and jeans just screams apple picking outfit.   Did I wear it even though it was warmer than you would expect in October?  Yes.  Do I kinda wish I would have worn shorts?  Also, yes.

Once you get home with that beautiful bounty, you have to figure out what to do with all those apples!   This apple crisp doesn't use much, but it is so good--you simply must warm it up a bit for maximum enjoyment.  My apple sauce recipe is also a great way to use some apples.

Just checked apple picking off my bucket bushel list.

Dutch Apple Crisp

Crisp:

2 c. flour

1 c. brown sugar, packed

1/2 c. quick cooking oats

3/4 c. butter, melted

** You can easily 1/2 this if you only want a single top layer.  Just put the full amount of filling in a pie plate or smaller casserole dish and top with the 1/2 recipe of Crisp.

Filling:

2/3 c. sugar

3 T. cornstarch

1 1/4 c. cold water

4 c. peeled and chopped apples

1 t. vanilla

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

Mix the Crisp ingredients and save 1 1/2 cups aside.  Press the remaining in a 9 inch pie plate, on the bottom and up the sides.

In a saucepan, cook the sugar, cornstarch, and water until the mixture is smooth.  Bring it to a boil and cook it and stir until it is thickened, about 2 minutes or so.  Remove it from the heat and stir in the apples, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Pour the mix in the pie plate.   

Crumble 1 1/2 c. crisp topping that was set aside on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.

Let cool on a wire rack.

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c = cup

T = tablespoon

t = teaspoon