Micah had a hankering for caramel popcorn the other night and, since I've never made it before, he found a recipe online and made some. It was SOOOOO yummy - and super easy!
What You Need:
1 bag microwave butter popcorn, popped
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
What You Do:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place popcorn in a big ol' bowl.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Keep stirring until it comes to a boil. Once it boils, let it go without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn and stir to coat.
3. Line a cookie sheet with foil and pour the popcorn out onto the cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool completely a little bit.
Caramel Popcorn by Micah
Caramel Pecan Pie
What You Need:
1 - 9” unbaked pie crust
36 individually-wrapped caramels, unwrapped
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups pecan halves
What You Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over low heat, combine caramels, butter, and milk. Cook, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Gradually mix in the melted caramel mixture. Stir in the pecans. Pour filling into the unbaked pie crust.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. Allow to cool until filling is firm.
Chocolate-Covered Toffee
My favorite nuts for this recipe are cashews. Pecans are also mighty tasty.
What You Need:
2 cups cold butter
2 cups white sugar
1 lb. unsalted nuts (optional)
1 bag chocolate chips
What You Do:
1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. If using nuts in the recipe, scatter them on the cookie sheet.
2. In a large saucepan, melt cold butter over high heat. Add the sugar and stir constantly. Bring to a boil and continue stirring until mixture bubbles up and then settles down. Never stop stirring! It will take a while (and it'll seem like forever) but will eventually come together and become a nice caramel color. Don’t let it get too dark or it will taste burnt.
3. Remove from heat and immediately pour onto the cookie sheet. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. When the chocolate is melted, use a small rubber spatula to spread the chocolate. When cooled, break into pieces.
Jenn's Strawberry Fruit Jello
Jenn made this at some kind of get-together and I fell in love with it. I detest bananas but don't mind them too much in this recipe.
What You Need:
6 oz. strawberry jello mix
2 cups boiling water
1 sm. can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, not drained
2 bananas, mashed
20 oz. sliced frozen strawberries, thawed
What You Do:
1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve the jello in the boiling water. Add the pineapple, bananas, and strawberries. Mix well.
2. Transfer to an 8”x8” baking dish and chill until firm.
Flipt Fruit Salsa & Cinnamon-Sugar Chips
This recipe won me first prize last year in Flipside's annual Salsa Rumble! Wahoo!
What You Need:
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, & diced
8 oz. raspberries
1 lb. strawberries, hulled & diced
2 tbsp. white sugar
1 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. strawberry preserves
3 tbsp. orange juice
10 (10-inch) flour tortillas
2 cups cinnamon-sugar
"I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray
What You Do:
1. In a large bowl, combine the kiwis, raspberries, strawberries, and apples. (If you're cutting as you're going along, do apples last so that you have something to mix them into so they won't brown.)
2. In a small bowl, combine the white & brown sugar, preserves, and orange juice. Add to the fruit mixture and mix gently until thoroughly combined. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. On a baking mat or cutting board, lay out a few tortillas. Spray with spray butter on both sides and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar on both sides. (This'll get messy but that's OK.) Using a pizza cutter (or a knife) slice each tortilla into 8 triangles.
5. On a cookie sheet covered in non-stick foil, place all your tortilla triangles. No overlapping allowed! Bake in the preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool about 10-15 minutes before serving.
