Sweet Tooth Haven

Move Over Oreos

I usually purchase Joes Joes chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookies from Trader Joe's when I have an Oreo craving.  (I love the vanilla Joe Joes as well!)  The other day I was in Whole Foods and was looking for something sweet when these Late July Vanilla Bean with Green Tea cookies caught my eye.  I purchased an individual snack pack to try them.  I actually bought a whole box today.  They are a bit pricey, but worth it.  Organic cookies that include whole grains and green tea.  At least you get something good for you when you're satisfying a cookie urge.   The Decadent Dark Chocolate are  probably worth trying as well. 

How to Make Caramel Popcorn

Caramel corn has been a fall staple in my family since my childhood.  I remember my mom cooking up batches of it for us to take to school as treats for classmates.  Now, I make a batch each fall around Halloween to treat my friends and coworkers.  Also makes great snack to munch on while waiting for the Thanksgiving turkey.  It's crunchy and stick-to-your-teeth chewy. 

The recipe itself is not difficult, but you do have to be careful - melted sugar is hot.  This is not an activity for kids.  I'm always making a huge mess when I cook, therefore I burn myself quite often when making this.  Before I scare you away, here's a close-up.  How can you resist?

Before starting: Make sure your candy thermometer works.  Boil some water and stick it in.  It should register 100-degrees Fahrenheit .  If not, adjust accordingly when you make the caramel, or if that math is beyond you, get a new one.

Stuff you'll need (hardware):
candy thermometer
large aluminum roasting pan
parchment paper (waxed paper is okay, but I've had caramel stick to it)
wooden spoon
good saucepan
oven mitts  - this stuff is hot
large area where you can spread caramel corn to cool

Ingredients (how many types of sugar can you count):
6 quarts popped corn
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 TBSP water
1 TBSP vinegar
pinch of salt (since I use unsalted butter)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda (save until last)

Directions:
1.  Cover a large area with parchment (or waxed) paper.  This will be where you spread out the popcorn to cool.
2.  Pop the popcorn.  Remove any un-popped seeds or husks.  I use an air popper, but you can pop it in a pan on the stove.  Don't add butter or salt.  Reserve the popped corn in the aluminum pan in the oven to keep warm.  Set oven to warm or 125-degrees.
3.  Add all remaining ingredients except the baking soda to a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir constantly but gently until sugar is dissolves and mixture starts to boil.  About 10 minutes.

4.  Make sure your thermometer is attached and submerged in the sugar mixture.  Leave it alone until it reaches hard ball stage 260-degrees.  About 15 minutes.  Make sure you have everything prepared for when the caramel is done; you'll have to move quickly.

5.  Now is the time for speed and care.  Take the popcorn out of the oven.  Remove pan from stove and take out the thermometer.  Dump in the baking soda and stir it in.  The mixture should start to foam (reaction of the baking soda and vinegar). 

6.  After incorporating the baking soda, pour the caramel over the warm popcorn.  Scrape out as much as you can. 

7.  Stir the popcorn to get it evenly coated - be careful, its hot, hot, hot.

8.  Once the popcorn is covered, dump it onto the surface that you covered with parchment paper and spread it out with your spoon (it's still hot).  Use the spoon to separate it into smaller chunks.

7.  Let it cool then store it in an airtight container.  Humidity is your enemy!

For a Halloween treat I put the caramel corn into treat bags with a few candy corns or pumpkin candies.

Pull-Apart Italian Herb and Cheese Bread

I'm living up to  the promise I made when I got my order of mixes from The Baker's Catalogue.  I baked the Pull-Apart Italian Herb and Cheese Bread and here's how it came out:

It was simple to make:  I put the mix, egg, butter, and water in my mixer with a dough hook.  It made a very soft dough.  The majority of the work is after the dough rises.  It gets rolled out, cut into 4 strips, then the strips are cut into pieces.  The pieces are rolled into balls then dipped into a seasoning mix before being placed in the baking dish.  After a second rise the whole thing goes in the oven for about 25 minutes.

Bottom Line:  Bread has a nice cheesy  flavor and is super tasty.  Along with the Italian herbs, the bread is full of sun-dried tomatoes.  We stuffed ourselves on it.  Great for an appetizer or to serve with dinner.  You can serve with marinara sauce or butter for dipping.  The fun part is pulling off bits of the bread.  It comes apart in little chunks thanks to the work you did rolling all those little balls.

Baked Rice Crisps

Just so you know, I don't always go for the sweet snack.  I don't discriminate.  I love salty, crunchy snacks too.  My current favorite:  Sour Cream and Onion Crisps.

I found these a couple weeks ago at Trader Joe's.  They're made with rice.  They're baked.  They have 60% less fat then potato chips. They have 10 grams of whole grains per serving.  Despite all those things, they are delicious!  Super crunchy and addictive.  I seriously cannot stop eating them.  I am not alone.  Whenever I buy a bag, the cashier tells me how much they love them.  Trader Joe's also carries a Sea Salt and Pepper flavor that is quite tasty as well with a bit of kick from the pepper. 

For those of you without a Trader Joe's in your area.  I did some searching and I think I found a source!  Here's what I came up with:  Mr. Krisper's Baked Rice Krisps.  The nutrition information and ingredients are almost identical.  I haven't tried them, but my guess is they are identical or very close to the Trader Joe's Crisps.  Amazon sells Sour Cream & Onion, Sea Salt & Pepper, Barbecue , and Nacho.  They come in packs of 12, but the bags are quite small with 4 servings each.  Usually I buy 2-3 bags when I shop at Trader Joe's.  And that's just for 2 people.  I'm thinking about trying the barbecue.  I added them to the snacks and sweets page at Sweet Tooth Essentials.