Tag Archives: sugar

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Honeydew Mint Ice Pops

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Guys! This weekend I’m heading to sunny Orlando for the Food Blog Forum conference with my good pal, Megan. As a girl that is usually awkward, at best, in social situations involving crowds and small talk, I’m a bit nervous…but! my horoscope for the weekend says that I’ll be inspired by people I admire and I’ll be a social butterfly of sorts, so I’m gonna take that and run with it. Who am I to argue with the cosmos?!

But, let’s get to the matter at hand…ice pops! Tis the season and I have plans to crank them out all spring and summer…maybe into the fall. Watch out!

When I was a kid I always thought cantaloupe was honeydew because it’s more the color of honey — kid brains are so interesting. My kid brain would have loved these pops because they’re a real treat and fruit was the main dessert around our house…as I’m pretty sure my mom is part fruit bat.

I’m a huge fan of mint, but as a child I don’t recall ever having it in any other form than mint-chip ice cream or gum. I’m an adult these days, or so they say, and I LOVE fresh mint — especially with fruit, it’s just such a winner! These ice pops really couldn’t be any easier or more refreshing. They’re cool from the mint (and the freezing, duh), sweet from the honeydew, yet bright from a squeeze of fresh lime. And because I can’t help myself, I know that these would be excellent with a little booze mixed in (I love the idea of herbal gin or straight-up vodka). With or without booze, these ice pops are super refreshing, dead-simple, and sure to impress.

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Honeydew Mint Ice Pops

Makes 10 ice pops. 

Instead of pulsing the sugar and mint in a processor, you can just chop the mint and rub it into the sugar until fragrant. I made a REALLY minty syrup ’cause I like that, you can use half the amount for a more subtle flavor. Depending on how sweet your melon is, you may not need to use all of the mint syrup — taste the melon and add whatever amount of syrup you prefer.  If you aren’t a fan of honeydew, use whatever melon you’d like, cantaloupe or watermelon would be excellent! 

1/2 cup sugar

1 loosely packed cup of mint leaves

1/2 cup water

4 cups diced honey dew

juice of 1 lime

In a mini food processor, pulse the sugar and the mint leaves until the mint is finely chopped and the sugar is fragrant. Place the mint sugar into a saucepan with the water and bring to a boil to dissolve. Boil the syrup for 60 seconds, remove from heat, and strain through a fine mesh sieve.

Place the honeydew in a large bowl (or a blender, you may want to do this in batches if using a blender), along with the lime juice and mint syrup. Pulse with an immersion blender until smooth and no chunks of honeydew remain. Divide the mixture between popsicle molds, freeze 30-60 minutes, insert sticks, and continue to freeze until solid (8 hours is best).

 

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Walnut Caramels w/ Hawaiian Black Salt

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Hey! I have yet another salty-sweet combo for you today. This time in the form of nutty, chewy, caramels.

I pretty much make a batch of these caramels every year–with or without nuts–for certain friends and family members around the holidays. These caramels ship well AND can be made several days in advance AND you won’t even have to rush the shipping…plus, they won’t get damaged by rough handling. I love a treat that doesn’t cause me stress when it comes to shipping and sharing.

These walnut caramels start out by cooking sugar with a bit of water and some syrup (golden, corn, and honey all work nicely). The syrup helps the sugar from re-crystalizing and keeps the caramel smooth and free of gritty granules. Once the sugar becomes deeply golden–as dark as you dare, I shoot for a rich bourbon/whisky color–warm cream, butter, vanilla, and sea salt are added. There’s a lot of hissing and steaming and fuss at this point, but everything mellows out and comes together. The caramel is then cooked a little longer until it comes to temperature–key for a set caramel–it’s then mixed with plenty of toasty walnuts, scraped into a pan, and liberally sprinkled with black salt. The caramels are chewy, nutty, crunchy, and salty-sweet. I think they are really pretty wrapped in gold candy foils–like little gold nuggets–but parchment or wax paper is nice, too.

Walnut Caramels with Hawaiian Black Salt

adapted from this recipe

I love the black salt on these because it’s super -dark color makes for a dramatic piece of candy, but don’t feel like you have to go out and hunt for fancy salts. I have a variety of salts on hand, mainly because whenever I travel (or friends/fam travel) my favorite souvenirs are edibles–specifically specialty/locally harvested salts and honeys. Every time I use one of my fancy salts, I remember the trip or the people or the place–it’s a nice, edible reminder. This black salt–also called Hawaiian Black Lava Salt–was a gift from one of my brothers-in-law. It’s dramatically black, a bit mineral-y, and super crunchy–which is a great contrast with the sweet and chewy caramel. 

1 1/4 cups granualated sugar

1/4 cup golden or corn syrup, or honey (honey will impart a distinct flavor)

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (a touch less if using table or kosher) plus more for sprinkling

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 generous cup toasted walnut pieces (I like halves and large pieces)

Prepare a standard loaf pan by lining with parchment, leaving an overhang on the two long sides, securing parchment with binder clips, and spraying the parchment and pan lightly with canola oil.

In a small sauce pan, gently heat the heavy cream, butter, salt, and vanilla. Bring to a bare simmer and remove from heat, set aside.

In a heavy bottomed, medium saucepan gently mix sugar, syrup, and water until everything is well moistened. Heat the sugar mixture over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and a clear syrup forms. At this point, it is important to not stir the sugar syrup–or it will re-crystalize and you will have to start over…if you must, you can swirl the pan, but mostly leave it alone. Continue to cook the sugar syrup, without stirring, until it becomes deep golden brown–it will start off a light honey color, but try to take it to a whiskey colored golden-brown. Remove the sugar syrup from the heat and add the cream/butter mixture and stir to combine well. The caramel will hiss and steam violently–I recommend using a long wooden spoon and covering your stirring hand with an oven mitt.

Clip on your candy thermometer and continue to cook the caramel over medium heat, without stirring, until the thermometer reads 260*F (I found that at higher elevations, above 4,000 ft, the caramel becomes too hard–when I lived in Nevada, I always cooked to about 250-255*F). Remove the caramel from the heat, quickly stir in the nuts, and scrape into the prepared pan. Allow to cool about 5 minutes before sprinkling with salt–this keeps the salt from sinking into the caramel, but still allows it to stick nicely to the top. Allow caramels to cool before cutting into squares and wrapping. Can be stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

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Eggnog Streusel Muffins

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Hello, December!

The holidays are in full swing over here, as this is my ever-fave time of the year. One of my favorite holiday flavors is Eggnog. The thing is…I’m not so much into drinking it. In a latte? Totally. In ice cream, hell-to-the-yes. Cookie, cakes, etc…yup.

Even though eggnog is basically melted ice cream–drinking it is just too much for me. The viscosity gets to me every time. I love to add eggnog to a baked good–like these super soft cookies or this pretty cake. It replaces the dairy in many recipes like a dream. The richness and subtle nutmeg spice is perfect for holiday baking. I threw these muffins together, using my favorite recipe as the starting point, over the weekend. The muffin is tender and fragrant with eggnog flavor. The streusel has hints of nutmeg and the sugary crunch is perfection in top of the tender muffin. They come together quickly and are perfect with a cup of coffee on grey-sky mornings.

Eggnog Streusel Muffins

adapted from this recipe. 

Makes 8 standard or 24 mini muffins.

1 cup all-purpose flour

6 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 egg

1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons eggnog

3 Tablespoons browned butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel:

2 Tablespoons browned butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

tiny pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350*f and line your desired muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.

Brown the butter for the muffins and streusel. Melt 5 Tablespoons of butter in a small pan. Heat over medium until the butter becomes foamy, continue heating–swirling or stirring the butter–until the milk solids become dark golden brown and fragrantly nutty. Remove from heat and divide accordingly into two bowls. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl mix the streusel together by combining the 2 Tablespoons of browned butter with the flour, sugar, nutmeg, and salt. Set in refrigerator until ready to use.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg.

In a large measuring cup whisk together the egg, eggnog, 3 Tablespoons of the cooled browned butter, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry and fold until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups, divide streusel evenly over the tops of each muffin and bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean–about 13-15 minutes for minis and 16-20 for standard muffins. I would check them both after the earliest suggested time and go from there. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

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Marble Cake

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Marble cake speaks to the gemini and the indecisive-crazy-person in me. I mean it’s two different cakes in ONE CAKE.

There really isn’t a way to lose.

This cake is dense yet tender in the crumb and manages to be moist yet sturdy. The light batter is fragrant with vanilla and butter, the dark batter is rich and dense with dark chocolate. I think it’s key not to go too crazy with the marbling, so you can taste the two distinct flavors–just a few swirls with a knife or a toothpick through the batter give you just enough marble, leaving you with dedicated sections of vanilla and chocolate cake. This cake has the character of a pound cake–it’s dense and rests well, getting even better the 2nd and 3rd day. It’s totally the kind of cake to have around for impromptu coffee dates and, I have a hunch, would probably ship well–a theory I plan to test this holiday season.

Marble Cake

Adapted from Baking: from My Home to Yours

The original recipe calls for a little less butter, but I was being a bit of a space-cadet and just chucked two whole sticks of butter into my mixer–the batter was made before I realized my mistake, but the cake definitely didn’t suffer from the extra butter. I used an 80% dark chocolate bar–this made for a super-dense and rich chocolate batter–use a good quality chocolate, whatever is your fave will work great.

2 cups, plus 2 Tablespooons, all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

2 sticks unsalted butter (8 ounces), room temperature

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1/2 cup milk

4 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 325*F. Grease and line a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with parchment, place the pan on top of a sheet pan. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Working with a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat another 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. The batter may look curdled at this point, but that is okay. Scrape the bowl and beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Reduce speed to low and alternately add flour and milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Place 1/2 of the batter in a separate bowl and fold in the melted chocolate so you have a vanilla batter and a chocolate batter.

Alternately drop spoonfuls of batter into the loaf pan until the pan is filled with the batter and plunge a butter knife into the batter, making a zig-zag pattern from one end of the pan to the other. Do this only once for a perfectly marbled batter. Bake in the center of the oven for 40 minutes uncovered. Cover loosely with foil and continue to bake another 30-40 minutes, until the vanilla batter on top is golden brown, the top is cracked, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before turning out and cooling completely. Wrap cool cake well with plastic. Can be kept, wrapped well, at room temperature for several days.

 

 

 

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Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Buns

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I know that I just lamented about pumpkin, but, truth be told…I’m not even close to being over it yet.

I’ve been eyeing this recipe for Chocolate Swirl Buns since I saw them on Smitten Kitchen over the summer, but I wanted to wait until the air was crisp and the leaves were fallen before I delved into it. There’s just something about baking with yeast when the cooler months start rolling in, that I cannot resist…I can’t resist pumpkin right now either…surprise!

So, given my love of fall-time baking AND pumpkin AND chocolate, these buns were a no-brainer-mega-hit. I had 3, THREE, the day I made them. My husband had a few himself, and the rest got sent to his office and out of the danger zone–aka, my face. The dough is super-soft and tender, lightly flavored with pumpkin and cinnamon, and slightly sweet. The spiced chocolate filling is the best thing when still warm–gooey, melty, and just spiced. The egg wash and sugar crust make for the best crisp-crunch on the tops of the buns. I love the way the buns unravel, allowing you to eat layer-after-layer of perfectly tender, yeasted dough, with bits of crunchy sugar topping, and rich, gooey pockets of chocolate. Though these buns may be nice for an ultra-decadent weekend brunch, they would be perfect along side an afternoon pick-me-up, as well.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Buns

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 12 buns.

This recipe calls for a bit more liquid and flour than the original and yield buns that are a little larger. I also switched the sugar in the dough and filling to brown, but regular granulated sugar would be perfectly fine. The dough is pretty soft, so work gently and flour the counter and rolling pin liberally to keep things from getting too sticky. Though these are best eaten soon after baking, you can pop leftover buns in the microwave for 10-15 seconds–mimicking that ‘just-baked’ warmth. 

Dough:

1/3 cup warm milk

1/3 cup plain pumpkin puree

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 Tablespoons unsalted, softened butter

Filling:

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

8 ounces (1 cup) chocolate chips, or chopped bar

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Egg Wash:

1 egg

1 Tablespoon cream

sugar for sprinkling

In measuring cup, combine milk with yeast and a pinch of sugar. Allow to proof 5 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and the egg. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attatchement, combine flour, remaining sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the yeast-pumpkin mixture and mix on low to combine. Add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time, mixing until the butter is incorporated before adding the rest. Scrape dough from the paddle, add the dough hook attachment  and knead on medium speed for 10 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky and stringy. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

While the dough rises, make the filling. In the bowl of a food processor, process all ingredients until all of the butter is distributed and you have an uneven, gravely mixture. Set aside.

Liberally butter a 12-cup muffin tin. Set aside.

Once dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and gently deflate. Allow to rest 5 more minutes, before rolling the dough out into a large rectangle, the short end measuring about 12 inches–the long edge can be about 18-22 inches. Sprinkle the chocolate filling evenly over the rectangle, it will be bumpy, and begin rolling from the short end all the way up into a 12-13 inch log and pinch to seal. Gently saw off about 1-inch spirals, placing each into a prepared tin. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise another hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350*F.

Whisk together the egg and cream, brush gently over the tops of the proofed buns and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Bake in the center of the oven for 15-25 minutes. Mine took closer to 25 minutes to bake. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

 

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Chewy Chocolate Ginger-Spice Cookies

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Sometimes a night in with friends is what you need. Ideally, these sorts of gatherings should involve a plethora of mini sandwiches and spiked libations…maybe even a little illicit cross-stich art for good measure. Hopefully, a kitchen dance party will erupt, followed by girl-talk, then more dancing. Sometimes that is exactly what you need to remind you that good times are to be had…even if you go to bed with the threat of a headache and need an evening nap the next day, it’s still a breath of fresh air and totally worth it.

Sometimes you just need all of that, but, sometimes in a pinch a cookie will do.

These cookies are an ultra-spiced, chewy, chocolate delight. Cocoa and shards of chocolate add depth and smooth richness. A gang of spices, plus candied ginger, add heat and excitement. Sparkly and fragrant cinnamon sugar bring crunch and texture to the party. These sweetly-spiced cookies are similar to one of my favorites, but with an added layer of depth from the cocoa. The combination of spices in this cookie is pretty bold and literally spicy–these are not for the shy, but perfect for the adventurous and brave.

Chewy Chocolate Ginger-Spice Cookies

Makes 24-30 cookies.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

The dough for these chewy gems has to be chilled before baking and I would suggest placing the remaining dough in the refrigerator between batches, as well. Also, there are two forms of chocolate in this cookie, as well as three incarnations of ginger, PLUS cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and black pepper. One could dial back the spices, but I think these cookies are made different because of the boldness of the spices. As always, I encourage you to make these your own, so if super spiced baked goods aren’t your game, then definitely begin by reducing each spice by half. These cookies are great for cookie jars and will keep at room temperature for several days. 

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon fresh, grated ginger

1/2 cup molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground, dried ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground, black pepper

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

pinch of salt (scant 1/4 teaspoon)

1/4 cup chopped, candied ginger

4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon, for rolling

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter with the brown sugar until creamy and combined well. Add the fresh ginger, molasses, and vanilla, mix to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, cocoa, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, nutmeg, and salt.  Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and pulse until just combined. Fold in the candied ginger and chopped chocolate. Cover and chill the dough for at least 2 hours, or until very firm.

Preheat oven to 325*F and line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.

Scoop dough (I used a 1 1/2 inch disher/levered scoop) into rounds and roll into a ball. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar and place on baking sheets spaced about 1-2 inches apart–as the cookies will spread. Working with 1 sheet at a time, flatten the top of each cookie and chill for 10 minutes before baking in the center of the oven for 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the sheet pan about 10 minutes before placing on a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

 

 

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Recipe: Strawberry Balsamic Conserve

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Tiny strawberries are so enchanting, I can’t even resist them. I always go a little crazy for perfect summer berries at the farmer’s market…I just want to buy them all. They are perfect for snacking on out of hand, but since I do tend to go crazy, we can’t always get to them all.

I’m a big fan of berry pies and crumbles, jams and frozen treats, but since these particular berries were petite gems, I really wanted to preserve their shape. I came across this conserve–whole berries suspended in syrup. This conserve has a bit of balsamic in the syrup–making it not only an appropriate topper for yogurt or ice cream, but equally as welcome on  a cheese plate. Think about it, cracker + goat cheese + syrupy strawberry gems. I imagine it’s a perfect bite and one that is definitely in my future. It’s a preserve that goes sweet or savory, it’s ready to party…no discrimination here.

Strawberry Balsamic Conserve

adapted from Orangette

I adapted the recipe a bit, allowing one to make this stellar, fruity condiment in a little less time.

4 cups strawberries–stemmed, rinsed and halved if large

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons balsamic, divided

Fashion a double boiler, using a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. In the bowl, gently toss the berries with the sugar and 1 teaspoon of the balsamic. Set the bowl over the pan of water and cook for 20-30 minutes (check the pan and make sure there is still water about halfway through, add more water as needed), the berries will release all of their juices, become just soft, and combine with the sugar to create a syrup. Using a slotted spoon, spoon the berries into a jar. Pour the water out of the saucepan and pour in the syrup. Set the syrup pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, about 1-2 minutes to thicken slightly, stir in remaining vinegar and pour the syrup over the berries. Cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate for up to 1 month. You can also process the jars according to proper canning guidelines for longer shelf life.

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Recipe: Sugar and Spice Wafers

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Oh, man, it’s been a week.

You know the type where nothing seems to go your way and every little thing becomes a frustration? There’s been a lot of muttering and cursing and stomping around. There has also been a lot of pondering whilst drinking tea and staring off into space.

Then, there were these cookies. Just a little wafer to nibble during said pondering/spacing-out/tea-drinking. The dough didn’t give me any trouble, unlike some of my other kitchen ventures this week, and it was totally down for chilling in the freezer for days before I sliced the wafers off and baked them up.

How kind, right? They were just the spice and nice I needed.

Sugar and Spice Wafers

adapted from Martha Stewart

These spice wafers are crunchy, yet dissolve quickly on the tongue. They are full of spice and while the actual dough isn’t very sweet, a sprinkling of coarse sanding sugar bumps it up and gives the wafer a lovely crust. Perfect for the season, nestled next to a cup of something hot.

3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

coarse sanding sugar for sprinkling

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spice. Set aside.

Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, scraping well after each addition. Mix in flour in 3 additions to combine. Press the cookie dough into the prepared loaf pan with fingertips, cover with plastic. Flatten the top by pressing the plastic covered dough down with another loaf pan. Wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze for 1 1/2 hours up to 1 month.

Preheat oven to 400F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.

Remove loaf pan from the freezer and allow to defrost slightly, 5-10 minutes. Remove dough from pan and plastic and slice off wafer thinly, about 1/8 inch. Arrange slices on sheet pans about 1 inch apart and sprinkle with sanding sugar, pressing lightly into the dough. Freeze wafers on pan for about 5 minutes and bake in the center of the oven for 10-12 minutes, until dark brown and crisp. Cool completely on wire cooling racks. Repeat with remaining dough, freezing between batches.

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Recipe: Crepes with Homemade Ricotta, Lemon, & Sugar

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Crepes are just so dang good, right?

I mean, have you ever heard anyone say, “Meh, crepes…” shrug…

No, I don’t think you have. I haven’t anyway.

Crepes are like fancy pancakes that you can fill with just about whatever you want. You can make them dinner, or dessert, or breakfast…even brunch or lunch.

Crepes are versatile that way. They’re laid back, they do what you wanna do.

As I tasted the first one, I thought, “WHY DON’T I MAKE THESE ALL THE TIME????”

My thoughts were yelling they were so good. All caps.

Then I figured out why…

…I CAN’T STOP EATING THEM.

Seriously, I just shoved like 6 in my face.

Roll one, take it’s photo, devour.

That’s what I did.

I wrapped up the rest and stowed them in the far reaches of the refrigerator.

I mean, I do want to save some for Sean…plus I want to save me from myself and my insatiable need to eat ALL OF THE CREPES EVER.

I have a problem.

A delicious problem.

Crepes

So, I was definitely watching Mad Hungry on TV the other day and saw Lucinda Scala Quinn make these. Then, I saw that Deb from Smitten Kitchen made crepes too. Then, I needed crepes. That is the story of these crepes…super thrilling. I used the Smitten Kitchen recipe, except less honey. 

As for the ricotta, I made it! I used Tracy from Shutterbean’s recipe. It is solid as cheese curds…which is to say, mighty solid. I used fancy-glass-bottle milk and cream from Calder Dairy here in Michigan. I am so glad I splurged on it, that stuff is darn good pre-cheese AND post-cheese. 

To fill, I just spooned some of that crazy-good ricotta into the crepe, sprinkled with a little plain-old granulated sucre, squeezed a little lemon over it, and rolled it up. I did this 6 times before I, painstakingly, stopped myself.

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

1/2 cup milk

2 large eggs

1/2 cup flour

big ol’ pinch of salt

a few gratings of nutmeg

2 teaspoons honey

Using a blender, an immersion blender (my choice), or your sick whisking skillz, combine all of the above ingredients and mix until you have a smooth, thin batter. Place batter into a vessel and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour to 2 days.

Heat a medium non-stick skillet over a medium flame. If you have a crepe pan, use that. Brush the heated pan with oil or butter and pour in about 1/4 cup of batter. Swirl the pan to coat thinly and evenly. Allow the crepe to cook for about 2 minutes, flip, and cook another 10 seconds or so. Transfer to a plate, repeat until all the batter is gone.

Crepes can be eaten immediately, smeared with whatever is edible and delicious, OR you can wrap them up and store in the refrigerator for a few days. Just reheat in a skillet.

 

 

 

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vanilla marshmallows

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have you had a homemade marshmallow? if not, please make these. not only do they far surpass those jet-puffed, bleach-white mallows in flavor…they are deceptively easy to make. plus, everyone will think you are some sort of confectionary genius. these mallows were made to impress.

listening: the wrong side of reno: rocky votolato

because that was our recessional song for our wedding and, well we live, met and went to school in reno.

Next week, I will be camping with my fam near Santa Cruz, Ca…I’m very excited. I’m bringing the mallows for some s’more action. Be excited!

Homemade Marshmallows

adapted from this recipe at epicurious.

I used organic cane sugar instead of regular white, granulated sugar. Since my husband and I have been on a quest to virtually eliminate  High Fructose Corn Syrup from our diets, I used Lyle’s Golden Syrup in place of corn syrup. I have also used honey with excellent results. MMMmmm, honey scented mallows! (Can be made and stored in an airtight container for two weeks at room temperature.)

Nonstick cooking oil spray

1 cup cold water, divided

3, 1/4-ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin

2 cups sugar
2/3 cup golden syrup or honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Prepare a 9×13 inch pan by spraying with oil spray and lining with parchment. Dust powdered sugar over the oiled sides of the pan.
Place 1/2 cup of water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Sprinkle gelatin over water and allow to soften, 5 minutes.
Place remaining water, sugar, golden syrup or honey, and salt into a large saucepan. Melt all of the ingredients together, without stirring, and bring to a boil. Boil until the syrup reaches 240 F on a candy thermometer.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour hot syrup down the side of the bowl, being sure to avoid the whisk as it will splatter the syrup and possibly burn you (oh no!). Once all of the syrup is incorporated gradually increase mixer speed and whip on high until the mixuture turns white and become very thick and stiff. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Spread the marshmallow into the prepared pan and with wet hands, smooth the top. Dust liberally with powdered sugar and allow to set at room temperature for at least 4 hours.
Once set, remove the marshmallow from the pan and with a sharp knife, cut into squares. Using the same pan, place 1/2 cup powdered sugar with the cut marshmallows and toss to coat. Store in an airtight container.