Caramel Apples

This post should really be subtitled "a labor of love." Who knew making homemade caramel was such a process!

Ever since the cool breeze of autumn has made it's way through my windows, I've been wanting to get in the kitchen and try my hands at some fall-inspired foods. The first treat was some healthy-ish pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and they were super tasty! I wanted to make a "Happy Fall" gift basket for some loved ones, and I thought that caramel apples would make a great addition to the muffins. A quick search on Pinterest later, and I had an easy-looking recipe and a new resolve: I can totally do this!

This was my first time making caramel from scratch and it was, in a word, easy. It was not, however, a quick process! Be sure to attempt this when you've got some time on your hands :)

Homemade Caramel Apples
Makes approximately 24 apples

4 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2 cups light corn syrup
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Granny smith apples (makes enough for 24)
Assorted toppings:
     -Chocolate, white chocolate, nuts, coconut, cinnamon and sugar, cookie crumbs, etc.

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter, sugar, and corn syrup over medium heat. Heat until it reaches a rolling boil, stirring frequently. (This part took me about 20 minutes).

Once your mixture reaches a boil, slowly add both cans of milk. Stir constantly until mixture reaches 240-245 degrees, or what is called "firm ball stage." It is really important that you don't turn up the heat, but patiently wait for the caramel to come to temperature. (This is the really long part... I think it took me nearly 40 minutes!)

Once the caramel reaches firm ball stage, remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

While it's cooling, wash the apples and pop them in the fridge for a few minutes. This will help the caramel solidify once you dip the apples. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and lots of cooking spray.  Insert popsicle sticks into apples and dip into caramel. Swirl and shake the apples to remove excess and scrape the bottoms to prevent a large foot from forming.

If you would like nuts or other toppings directly on the caramel, now is the time to add it. I wanted to chocolate dip my apples. After the caramel has had some time to cool and solidify on the apples, dip in melted white, milk, or dark chocolate. Add toppings as desired.

Our favorite turned out to be the one in the middle: caramel dipped, then covered in white chocolate, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Enjoy your fantastic fall treats!

Original recipe found here

Another season, another wreath

Nearly a month and a half later, it seems I've finally come across something I've loved too much to not post on the blog. There have been plenty of times I've thought to share something, but life has gotten in the way... Work to be done. Doctor's appointments galore. A messy house that I swear produces more dust than any other house on the planet. Holidays. Growing a human in my belly. You know, those kinds of things.

Anyway, I find it all too funny that my last post was about a felt fall wreath. Why? Because though the autumn decor has since been taken down and replaced by Christmas trimmings, there is still a new wreath in my life. And this one you can eat! It's a cinnamon roll wreath, inspired by a photo on Pinterest I repinned months ago.

After visiting the original site (which, humorously, is a forum for people who like to cook while camping), I was inspired by the idea but wasn't sold on two things: the original recipe and the SIZE. It was made to feed about 20 people, and I just wanted to bring some treats to our staff meeting. So I went perusing allrecipes.com to find a recipe I was happier with.

I landed on this one, which did NOT disappoint. Be forewarned, the gooey cinnamon goodness does ooze out of the buns quite a bit (it dripped off my baking sheet and onto the bottom of the oven, which then had to be scrubbed and cleaned). If not for Christmas, I would definitely just make these in a muffin pan in the future, per recipe instructions... but for this special season, I had to go all out. I made a cream cheese frosting to top them, but let everyone frost to their heart's content after the wreath was broken into.

Cinnamon Roll Wreath

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup margarine, softened
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
3. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened margarine.
4. Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with margarine/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 12 lightly greased muffin cups.  (To make a wreath, score dough log into 12 portions that are still connected, about 3/4 of the way through. Shape log into a circle, connecting the ends, and fanning out the individual buns until you are happy with the shape) Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. If applicable, remove from muffin cups to cool. Serve warm.

NOTE: I wanted these for an early morning meeting, so I made the dough and filling and prepared up until Step 4 the night before. Then, I covered the entire pan with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. The next morning, I took the wreath out 30 minutes before I wanted to bake it so that it could come to room temperature and re-rise. I baked as per instructions. Still came out super fresh, without having to wake up at the crack of dawn.

Original recipe found at: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ninety-minute-cinnamon-rolls/detail.aspx

S'more bars...mmm!

It seems like Pinterest has been chock-full of s'more inspired recipes lately. While a number of them have caught my eye, I didn't really have the spare time to bake up something as intricate as this pie:

Or these cookies:

Or these insane s'more cups:

But these bar treats looked so quick to throw together and only had like 5 ingredients. Turns out they were a great choice! Despite the quick and simple recipe, they were totally delicious and were a huge hit at our staff meeting. I highly recommend you give them a try :)

Golden Grahams S'mores Bars

Makes approx. 24 bars

1 ten-ounce bag mini marshmallows (about 6 cups)

1 twelve-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

5 Tbsp. butter

8 cups Golden Graham cereal (about 1 small box)

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Place chocolate chips in the freezer for a couple hours to ensure they don't melt when you're assembling the bars.

2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add 5 cups of the marshmallows and stir until mostly melted. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

3. In a large bowl, pour marshmallow mixture over Golden Grahams. Stir with a wooden spoon until cereal is mostly coated. Add in chocolate chips and remaining 1 cup of marshmallows. Stir until everything is well incorporated. You will want to work as quickly as possible at this step, because the marshmallow mixture will stiffen and become less workable quite fast.

4. Spread mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. Press firmly. Cover and refrigerate until set. Then turn out onto a cutting board and cut into smaller bars. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator to prevent cereal from going stale.

Recipe found here.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies

There has to be a better name for these delightful cookies. Obviously, the title of this post is pretty indicative of what these guys are all about. What I wish it expressed is the perfect ratio of sweet and salty, soft and crunchy, and chocolate and peanut butter baked into one oh-so-good treat.

The first time I made these at Bryan's parents' house, they were gobbled up overnight with a request for another batch the following day. Making batches in pairs seems to be the trend, because when I made these last week for a Bible study (in my antique oven, of course), they were devoured...only to be requested a few short days later when my family came into town. The great thing is that when you purchase the ingredients, there's enough in each bag to make them more than once.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen


1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter at room temp.
1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup smashed pretzel pieces
Sea Salt

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl or stand-up mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy. Slowly add the egg and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

3. Add the sifted flour mixture and beat just until there are no big streaks of flour. You don't want to over-mix the dough. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips, as well as pretzel pieces.

4. The original recipe calls to refrigerate the dough at this point for an hour. In the four times I've made these, I've done it twice and just baked it then twice. I've never noticed a difference. Whether your dough is room temp or cold, scoop well rounded tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The dough will not spread much while baking, so you may want to smoosh them down a little bit. Sprinkle amount of sea salt on top of each dough ball. Trust me. You don't want to omit that step. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are slightly golden brown. Allow to cool on a baking sheet for a few minutes before removing them.


Recipe found here.

Happy Birthday, Bry.

It was my joy today to celebrate the first 25 years of life of this man.

Oh, how I love him. And to show him just a small token of my love, I invited some of our friends over to share a slice of birthday pie and just enjoy time together. 

Dear Bryan & brother, forgive me for posting a photo that you were clearly not ready to be in :)

Why pie? It's Bryan's favorite. Since we starting dating over 3 years ago, I've made him a pie for every birthday (and then some...). Cherry, strawberry, key lime. This year he wanted chocolate.

So I grabbed my trusty Pies and Tarts book (yaaay, Martha!) and found a recipe for Chocolate Cream Pie. And let me assure you, Martha did not disappoint. Seriously, this book is gold.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

For the Crust
25 Oreos
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. sugar
pinch of salt

For the Filling
2 1/2 cups milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
4 large egg yolks (I only had 3)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Topping
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
(I added 1 tsp. almond extract)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust by pulsing Oreos in the food processor until it becomes fine crumbs. Add the butter, sugar, and salt and pulse to combine. Press into 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Then make for 10 minutes and let cool completely on a wire rack.

2. Make the filling: In a medium saucepan, combine milk and chocolate. Heat over medium-high, whisking occasionally, until chocolate is melted. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together sugar, corn starch, and salt. Add a cup of the milk mixture to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Return mixture to saucepan and whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring continually, until bubbling and thick. (The book said 4-5 minutes, but it took me 10. Maybe my burner is weak?)

3. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks. Slowly temper eggs by adding a small amount of milk mixture at a time. Return to saucepan and continue cooking custard (while stirring constantly) until thick and bubbles form in the center, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla. Let cool about 10 minutes, stirring 2-3 times.

4. Pour custard into baked and cooled crust. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

5. Before you serve the pie, make the topping. With an electric mixer on med-high speed, whisk cream until soft peaks form. Add confectioners' sugar (and I highly recommend almond extract), and whisk until stiff peaks form. Spread over custard. We served it with fresh strawberries and raspberries. MMMM!

Roasted Vegetable Soup

We're still alive over here.

I could apologize and try to make excuses for the fact that the last time I updated was over 10 days ago, and for still not having posted pictures of the house yet. But honestly, I'm not that sorry. Because I just plain haven't had the energy to give WMH the lovin' I wish I could. And because all the busy-ness of our new job and the exhaustion that comes with big transition has been so worth our hectic lifestyle for the past 3 weeks.

I'm not going to lie... the house is in complete disarray. There are laundry piles everywhere. We have no food in the refrigerator. (Thursday night, I fed Bryan 2 hardboiled eggs for dinner. How's that for pathetic?) We currently have a 5-foot grill living in our dining room. And there are still probably 10 boxes that haven't been opened since move-in day.

It is what it is. And the truth is, I've come home at the end of each day too plum tired to try and hang art on the walls, vacuum the stairwell, clean the guest bathroom, or cook a 5-star meal. So a disaster we will remain, until slowly but surely I'm able to tackle small obstacles until it looks like humans live here again... Which hopefully isn't too far away because my family is coming in a week, and I would like to at least appear to be a responsible adult :)

Anyway... enough of all that. I did want to share at least one small victory with you: I did manage to cook something this week: roasted vegetable soup. It's one of my favorite fall meals, and though it's still very much like summer out here, my intention was to make it and freeze the soup in small batches for a quick dinner after an especially long day.

There isn't really a tried and true recipe for this soup, which is part of why I love it so much. You can make it with what you have, or change the ratio of vegetables to achieve a different flavor.  I got the idea/recipe from my friend Ann while we were serving together in the Middle East. She would make it for our whole team when we'd have "family dinners."


Roasted Vegetable Soup


(This time I used)
4 tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
3 carrots
1/2 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Chicken stock

Cut the vegetables into manageable sizes (1/4 the tomatoes, 1/3 the carrots...). Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Talk about easy!

Roast the vegetables in 425 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Stir every 10-15 minutes. You will end up with a beautifully caramelized, blistered, juicy pan of vegetables.

Allow to cool slightly (~10 minutes) and transfer to a large, tall sided pot. 

Then, get out your immersion blender. Add some broth to the vegetables (I used chicken because I had it on hand, but you could use veggie stock, or even vegetable juice if you wanted), about 1/2 cup at a time. Start blending down the chunks until you start to get a soupy consistency.

Then you keep slowly adding liquid and blending until you're left with a thick, creamy soup!

Like I said, I chose to freeze mine this time, but I love it served with some crunchy croutons (a la Panera's Creamy Tomato Soup) or fresh, crusty french bread. It's so healthy and SO easy. And you can go heavy on the flavors you love and leave out the ones you don't.

Cherry tomato, mozzarella, and zucchini pie

It seems that my little garden has been working overtime, and I've been building up a stockpile of cherry tomatoes too big to handle. I've also got cucumbers coming out my ears, but a few batches of cucumber salad have helped take care of that problem. As I was trying to think of a creative use for my cherry tomato overload, I remembered a recipe I'd seen in one of my new cookbooks, Matha Stewart's Pies & Tarts.

Let me first say how fantastic this cookbook is. It was kind of a lucky day when I picked this up for $15 at Sam's Club. The pretty pictures drew me in, and since pie is Bryan's absolute favorite thing ever, I decided to grab it. I'm SO glad I did. There are 150 recipes for all kinds of pies (sweet, savory,  fruity, holiday, mini...and so on), and there are 150 recipes that I legitimately want to try. How often does that happen? I usually find that when I get a new cookbook, it's got a handful of great ideas, and the rest just seem mediocre. This is totally not the case with Pies & Tarts.

But this post is not about the cookbook itself, it's about how Martha helped me use up my cherry tomatoes and make the most decadent vegetable pie for dinner. If you'll flip with me to page 287, you can ogle with me as we talk about this pie. Can I get a "yummm!" ?!

I hope you'll forgive me for the lack of my own pictures, I was in an insane rush to finish this and the idea of grabbing the camera totally slipped my mind.

Anyway, if you couldn't already tell, I highly recommend this recipe. Two thumbs way up. It's savory and juicy and cheesy and delicious in all the right ways. Bryan, who doesn't even like zucchini, was raving about this pie. It tastes like pizza and heaven and cheesy goodness all in one.

Cherry Tomato, Mozzerella, and Zucchini Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie


For the crust
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flous
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk, plus 1 large egg yolk for egg wash
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
1 tablespoon heavy cream for egg wash

For the filling
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch thick half-moons
1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 ounces bocconcini (fresh mozzarella balls)
3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper

Make the crust. Pulse flour, cheese, salt, and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk and pulse to combine. Drizzle in 1/4 cup water and pulse until dough just comes together. If necessary, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time (it took me one extra tablespoon). Make dough into a disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Make the filling. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots, cooking until softened. Add zucchini and cook until light golden liquid is released. Stir occasionally. After about 5 minutes of cooking, transfer to a large bowl.

Halve 1/3 of the cherry tomatoes, and add the whole and halved tomatoes to the large bowl. Add parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, basil, and flour and mix well.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 13-inch round, about 1/4 inch thick. Make seven 3-inch-long cuts around the outside of the round, evenly spaced (this will allow you to fold over the excess crust to form the top). Place crust in 9-inch pie plate and drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the filling. Fold over the edges, overlapping the areas you cut to form a top crust. (Crust will be open in the center). Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 30 minutes. (I'll be honest, I skipped that part and it came out totally fine.)

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk heavy cream and remaining egg yolk and brush onto the top of the crust. Bake pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet until the crust is golden brown, 70-80 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Serve warm.

Photos found here and here. Recipe from Martha Stewart's "Pies & Tarts."

Easy No-Bake Cookies

They say today is going to be a scorcher... there's a heatwave across the South bringing temperatures over 100 degrees. Whew! Yesterday was in the 90's, too, and with all this heat (and humidity) I haven't exactly been in the mood to crank up the oven. 

But let's not kid ourselves... no amount of insane summer weather can curb my insatiable sweet tooth, so something just had to be done! No bake cookies seemed like the perfect solution. I honestly can't remember the last time I've had them. Probably high school. But with an easy, quick recipe and only a handful of ingredients, these oven-free treats were just begging to be made (and more importantly, eaten). And yes, the chocolatey, peanut buttery, oatmealy goodness is just as fantastic as I remembered.

No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 2-3 dozen

1/2 cup butter

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup milk

4 Tbsp. cocoa powder

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter (I like creamy, but you could definitely use crunchy)

3 cups quick-cook oats

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder together, stirring consistently to avoid burning. Bring to a rolling boil, and allow to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla, peanut butter, and oats. Mix well. Drop onto wax paper and allow to cool completely. 

The whole process probably takes about 10 minutes from the time you start getting your ingredients out of the pantry until you're putting your saucepan in the sink. It's that easy!

Map found here, recipe found here.

Cucumber Salad

After 24 hours of watchful surveillance, I'm pretty confident that our garden-invading-caterpillars are gone. Fingers crossed. And the joy of that news had me in the mood to whip up something using my homegrown veggies. Unfortunately, at this point in time I only have about 10 ripe cherry tomatoes and a half-sized eggplant that's really not ready for picking... but I have more cucumbers than I know what to do with! So I decided to make a quick cucumber salad, the way my grandma used to when I was growing up.

You can, of course, make this with store bought cukes, or spice it up by adding some sliced tomatoes, thinly sliced onions, or even fresh dill. It's pretty versatile (and oh-so-easy). All you need is:

4 medium cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar (I used cider, but balsamic would be tasty, too)
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Just mix all the ingredients in a bowl, and toss to coat all the cucumbers with the dressing. Cover and let sit in refrigerator for at least an hour.

From Scratch: Taco Seasoning

Last night was taco night in Casa de Worrall. I love how quick and easy it is to throw together a taco dinner, and it's always a crowd pleaser. Taco night has become even easier since I started making the seasoning from scratch, instead of using the packets. (I hear you asking "Erin, how could it be easier to make something when you can just buy it in one packet?" ...but since I almost always forget to throw said packet into my cart at the grocery store, getting it would mean driving back to the store while dinner is already in the works = not easier.)

What I love about this recipe is that it's made with ingredients I always have on hand, it contains no preservatives, and I can make as much or as little as I need. I have plans to make a jumbo batch of this stuff when we move and just keep a pre-made jar in the pantry. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever purchase seasoning packets again.

Photo from allrecipes.com

Homemade Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Combine ingredients. Store in airtight container, or mix 3 tablespoons of the mixture into cooked, drained ground beef with 2/3 cup water. Cover and simmer until liquid is mostly absorbed, about 5 minutes.