Caramel Popcorn Balls

recipe from Ashlee Marie

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter
1 cup karo syrup
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
14 cups popped popcorn

DIRECTIONS
Bring the butter, syrup, and sugars to a boil, keep bubbling over med heat until it hits the softball stage (240 degrees - using a candy thermometer).
Add the sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla and boil for one minute.
Pour over the popcorn and stir spread the popcorn out and let it start to cool.
Spray your hands with cooking spray and portion it out into 8 sections and ball up.
Continue to check back and ball and turn until they cool enough that they stay in their ball forms

Milkiest Chocolate Ice Cream

from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home,
Recipe by Jeni Britton Bauer

INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (55% to 70% cocoa)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup evaporated milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

DIRECTIONS
Combine 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
Chop the chocolate and place it in a medium bowl.
Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
Combine the remaining milk, the cream, evaporated milk, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Add the cocoa, whisking until it is incorporated, and continue to boil for 4 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the chocolate. Add the salt and whisk until the chocolate is melted.
Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon resealable plastic freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until the mixture is chilled through, about 30 minutes.
Pour the ice cream base into the ice cream maker and process until thick and creamy per the machine’s instructions.
Pack the ice cream into a resealable container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface of the ice cream, and seal with an airtight lid. Stash it in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home,
Recipe by Jeni Britton Bauer

INGREDIENTS
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Danger! This is the dry-burn technique. I don't add water to the sugar before putting it on the heat, as some chefs do. Caramelizing sugar dry means it goes faster, but you have to watch it more closely and be ready with your cream. Here is an overview of what you are going to do:

Stand over the pan of sugar with a heatproof spatula ready, but do not touch the sugar until there is a full layer of melted and browning liquid sugar on the bottom with a smaller layer of unmelted white sugar on the top. When the edges of the melted sugar begin to darken, use the spatula to bring them into the center to help melt the unmelted sugar. Continue stirring and pushing the sugar around until it is all melted and evenly amber in color — like an old penny. When little bubbles begin to explode with dark smoke, give the sugar another moment and then remove from the heat. Immediately but slowly pour about 1/4 cup of the cream and corn syrup mixture into the burning-hot sugar. Be careful! It will pop and spit! Stir until it is incorporated, then add a bit more cream and stir, then continue until it is all in.

Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.

Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

Mix the cream with the corn syrup in a measuring cup with a spout.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Heat the sugar in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until it is melted and golden amber in color (see note above). Remove from the heat and, stirring constantly, slowly add a bit of the cream and corn syrup mixture to the caramel: It will fizzle, pop, and spurt. Stir until well combined, then add a little more and stir. Keep adding the cream a little at a time until all of it is incorporated.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the milk. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.

Bring back to a boil over medium-high and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. If any caramel flecks remain, pour the mixture through a sieve.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and whisk. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

Pour into frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.

Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid.

Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Berry Muffins

adapted from Art Bar Blog

INGREDIENTS

3 cups whole wheat all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/4 cups milk
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups frozen berry mix
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar

turbinado sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a large bowl. Whisk together to be sure the ingredients are combined. In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs and melted butter.

Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture, pour the wet mixture into the well, and stir until just combined. There will be some lumps but don’t over-mix the batter. Add the frozen berries and white sugar; stir gently to combine.

Using a large cookie scoop, disperse batter into the muffin cups to fill the liners. Top with turbinado sugar, to make a pretty crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, remove muffins from tin and cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Okay guys, I originally used this recipe because it said "dairy free" but it didn't say dairy free because they used dairy free products that they just noted in parentheses on the side. Any recipe can be "dairy free" if you do that. However, I'm extra glad that I tried this recipe. I added more spices, and topped each muffin with turbinado sugar because I thought they were too sticky and moist on the tops, and I was just really craving some crunch! They're great without it, but the added sugar just puts them over the top, so try it. :)

Pecan Pie Bars

adapted from Sugar Apron

INGREDIENTS

Package of pre made pie crust
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 1/4 cup pecans
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil, leaving enough for a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
Unroll dough, and cut to fit into sheet pan; press over bottom and up sides to form crust.
Whisk together sugar, vanilla and eggs until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Slowly add in the melted butter while whisking vigorously to prevent cooking the eggs. Mix until sugar is completely dissolved, then add corn syrup and whisk until homogenous.

Add pecans.*
Spread filling evenly over crust.
Bake 22 to 27 minutes or until filling is set and golden brown.
Cool for about an hour; cut into bars.

*I left my pecans as halves, because I prefer big chunks of nut, and they cooked well. You can definitely chop them up if that's your jam. It's really a play it by ear kind of thing.

I had a craving for turkey dinner, and so I convinced my family to make a full thanksgiving dinner "in honor of the pioneers that came and stole our homeland." In Utah, on July 24th, we celebrate Brigham Young coming to the Salt Lake Valley, and deciding that Utah was Zion. Of course, my people were already here, which is something I like to remind all of my friends when they get all pioneer on me. So we had thanksgiving in July, and so to shake things up, I decided to make some Pecan Pie Bars. Pecan Pie is one of my favorite pies in the world! so to have it so portable, and easy to make was definitely a plus! This is a recipe that I'll be making for years to come!

CCC: Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from No. 2 Pencil
INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Mini semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
In a small bowl, blend butter, sugars, salt, and vanilla together with a tiny whisk, or a fork.
Add egg yolk and stir again.
Add baking soda and flour and stir until combined.
Then stir in mini chocolate chips until you feel like there are enough.
Scoop dough, and place on baking sheet at least two inches apart.
Bake for about 8 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
Remove baking sheet from oven and give the baking sheet a firm, but careful bang on the counter top. This will deflate the cookies and give them a perfect wrinkly appearance.

My grandmother once told me that "Lazy" should be my middle name. Joke is on her because my middle name is HER middle name. But she's right, because I am a lazy baker. I love baking, but sometimes I just can not. Cookies cause this laziness to come up to the surface. You make the dough, bake a couple sheets, and then you still have a crap ton of dough. It's like the song that never ends, and sometimes my hand gets crampy from all the scoopin'. This recipe is perfect for my lazy baker heart. It yields six cookies, and they all fit on one cookie sheet. It's not a holy grail recipe by any means- as in I'm not going to only use this recipe. BUT when the craving for a chocolate chip cookie comes, and there isn't any cookie dough in the freezer, and you don't feel like baking batch after batch in the oven, this recipe is a definite go to.

Deep Fried Cauliflower

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh cracked pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup whole milk
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into even pieces
Canola oil for frying
Kosher salt for after frying

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil over medium-high heat, until it reaches at least 375ºF.

While oil is heating, whisk flour, pepper, garlic powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Add milk, and mix well. Toss chopped cauliflower into batter.

Fry in batches for 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from oil, and let cool on a paper towel covered cooling rack. Salt while still hot.

Serve warm with bbq covered meat, or just eat alone until you can't eat anymore.

I'm sad to admit that there was a time when cauliflower had no place in my life. Then I moved to Cedar City, and a couple years later a little joint called, Sonny Boy's opened up. I stuck with sides that I was familiar with, until my friends forced me to try a piece of their fried cauliflower. I quickly realized how generous that act of love truly was because they were heavenly. That battered, and deep fried cauliflower changed my life. When I moved home, it became my mission to recreate the deliciousness of that cauliflower, because a five hour drive is a long-A-drive for some cauliflower. This recipe is pretty dang close that I had to share it with the world!