Lesson #181: Pumpkin Spice Caramel Corn

Whew! Between the craziness of the end of the semester (I'll be glad when I'm not teaching four classes on the same day) and the holidays, it's been hard to find time in the kitchen. Luckily, I've had a little time to experiment with a few new recipes.

As part of the Thanksgiving celebration I hosted, I made this pumpkin spice caramel corn recipe. It was pretty low stress since I used my favorite caramel corn recipe that I've made a dozen times and added pumpkin spice for flavor. I think it appeared more complicated than it actually was to make - just the way I like it!

LESSON LEARNED: You could transform this recipe by adding a teaspoon of your favorite spice to the recipe.

Recipe for Pumpkin Spice Caramel Corn

Lesson #125: Caramel Easter Popcorn

I really love my usual caramel corn recipe, so I didn't know how this caramel corn recipe would measure up. I was a little skeptical because you didn't bake the caramel corn and you mixed in mini-marshmallows into the hot caramel to create a gooey-caramel mixture. On top of that, I planned to make it a day before I served it, so I wasn't sure if it would taste stale after sitting around.

Well, it turned out to be super YUMMY I would say it's a cross between caramel corn and rice krispies treats, but that's not a bad combination in my book. I love the saltiness that the crushed pretzels add and the touch of chocolate from the M&M's. And yes, it still tastes good if you make it ahead of time!

LESSON LEARNED: After the caramel corn has cooled, break it up into small pieces so it's easy to grab a handful from a bowl.

Recipe for Caramel Easter Popcorn

Lesson #105: Turtle Sundae

If I owned a dessert restaurant, this would definitely be on the menu. Here's how I would describe my ice cream creation.

Turtle Sundae
Salted Caramel Ice Cream - Dark Chocolate Hot Fudge - Honey Praline Pecans & Walnuts - Hand-Whipped Cream

Sounds fantastic, right? I was in the mood to create a multiple component ice cream dessert and this was the result. The ice cream was smooth, nutty, and slightly salty, The fudge sauce was rich and ultra thick. The nuts were sweet and salty. The whipped cream was light and delicious. Yes, I whipped it by hand because I figured I could use a little arm workout before indulging in this treat :)

LESSON LEARNED: All of these individual components come together to create a fantastic ice cream dessert!

Recipe for Turtle Sundae

Lesson #92: Twix Caramel Corn

YUMMY! This is the best word to describe this snack. It would be perfect for a Superbowl party this weekend. First, you make a batch of caramel corn. Then, you drizzled it with melted chocolate and mix in chopped Twix candy bars. Adding the chocolate and candy really dresses up the popcorn and makes it taste like gourmet popcorn you can buy in a specialty shop.

LESSON LEARNED: Simple mix-ins add a whole new level of deliciousness to caramel corn.

Recipe for Twix Caramel Corn

Lesson #81: Caramel Cupcakes

Today is my mom's birthday, so I made these cupcakes especially for her! These are super FANTASTIC cupcakes and since she doesn't eat chocolate, these make the perfect birthday cake.

Caramel is incorporated into both the cake batter and frosting. The cake has a nice mellow caramel flavor and the frosting is buttery, yet not-too-sweet. My homemade caramel sauce from yesterday is mixed into the frosting. Do you see the specks of vanilla bean in the frosting? Both parts of this cake are good, but when you eat them together in one forkful, the caramel flavor really shines. Enjoy!

LESSON LEARNED: Homemade caramel sauce has many yummy uses!

Recipe for Caramel Cupcakes

Lesson #80: Homemade Caramel Sauce

Homemade caramel sauce is heads and tails above the store bought version. This sauce is AMAZING! The first step is to carefully melt sugar in the bottom of a saucepan. When the sugar melts and turns a deep amber color, heavy cream is mixed in with the seeds of a vanilla bean. The last step is to cook the caramel on low heat until the sugar melts and the sauce is completely smooth.

One helpful tip is that this sauce requires a careful eye and a little patience. If you caramelize the sugar too much it turns into a burnt mess. If you don't let it caramelize enough it doesn't taste like caramel (it's like honey instead). The love that you put into this sauce pays off in when you taste the finished product. It's rich & creamy, sweet & salty, and smooth & silky. This sauce just makes your day a thousand times better!

LESSON LEARNED: Patience is the key to perfecting caramel sauce.

Recipe for Homemade Caramel Sauce

Lesson #56: Blondie with Peanut-Pretzel Caramel

These cookie bars slowly grew on me after I made them yesterday. They are pretty messy to try cut, and at first, I was turned off by this. I would describe them as breaking apart better than evenly cutting apart. Even though they aren't the prettiest dessert I've made, these bars are surprisingly ADDICTIVE.

First, there is a layer of gooey brown sugar blondie. Then, peanuts are roasted in the oven, mixed in with pretzels and tossed with a homemade caramel. This mixture is generously poured over the blondies. The result is a salty & sweet dessert with multiple textures from the blondies, peanuts, and pretzels.

LESSON LEARNED: Messy desserts taste good too!

Recipe for Blondie with Peanut-Pretzel Caramel

Lesson #42: Caramel Corn

I was super excited to try this new caramel corn recipe! I've been testing all the new recipes I want to make for Thanksgiving and this caramel corn is likely to make an appearance as a pre-Thanksgiving feast snack :)

The only part of the recipe that I was a little concerned about was popping the actual popcorn. Silly, right? Well, in our household, Justin is the master popcorn popper. We cook our popcorn using oil in a large pot over the stove (no microwave popcorn in our house!). He has perfected his method over the years and his popcorn turns out perfectly. I, on the other hand, always burn the popcorn. I wanted to make this recipe while he was at work, so I had to pop my own popcorn. Surprisingly, it didn't turn out too burnt - I only had to throw away a few handfuls of popcorn!

After making the popcorn, the rest of the recipe was easy. You make a quick caramel sauce (no candy thermometer needed!) and bake the popcorn at a low heat in the oven. The result is an AMAZINGLY crunchy, sweet popcorn. It was so good that I had to give most of it away so I didn't eat it all!

LESSON LEARNED: Making popcorn on the stove takes some finesse and practice!

Recipe for Caramel Corn