White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels
I dropped Cooper off at preschool yesterday and immediately headed to the post office to mail packages & pick up stamps for the holiday cards I have yet to send out. The line at the post office went smoothly and the lady who helped me was an absolute dream. Hooray for excellent customer service! Then I went to pick up a few groceries and just when I was ready to tackle another item on my TO-DO list, my car wouldn't start! For the first time in my life, I ran out of gas. I KNEW I should have stopped at the gas station before I got groceries but I felt like I've been pushing EVERYTHING in my life to the limit lately, I assumed my car would push too. Thank God for husbands who come to the rescue!
Emails piled up in my inbox, clean laundry overflowed in baskets on my living room floor and then one of my cats puked on my stairs (which I stepped in!). To combat the stress, I took a break and went out to lunch with Casey. We went to get fancy sandwiches and fresh air but after THREE attempts at making my sandwich without mayo and over an hour of my limited time wasted, I felt like throwing in the towel. It just wasn't my day!
Instead of tackling my TO-DO lists when I got back from the sandwich fail, I made these white chocolate peppermint pretzels instead. Getting lost in dipping pretzels into creamy melted white chocolate, studding them with cracked candy canes and lining the rods (haha, rods!) up into organized rows, made me happy. And then... I got a call from preschool telling me that Cooper needed to be picked up ASAP because he contracted pinkeye. It's a good thing I got at least one solid thing done that day...
What's my point? There's no doubt that the holidays can be stressful. These little obstacles in life are only as big as we make them.The pressure we put on ourselves this time of year has the power to erase the holiday spirit we're supposed to give & receive. Relax!
If you're stressing out because the clock is ticking and you haven't figured out what to make for the holidays, just make these easy white chocolate peppermint dipped pretzels. They're therapeutic and they pose as little reminders of how sweet, savory & crunchy life can be.
Remember: Make things simple and give yourself permission to slow down!
Fleur De Sel Caramels
Did I mention to you that I am dieting? Yeah well I am. I made these the other night and my neighbor was like "Aren't you on a diet? I can't believe you made those."
I really don't know what came over me.... Jenny over at Frecklewonder posted a link to the recipe on Facebook and all of sudden I am putting HEAVY CREAM on my shopping list.
Let me start off by saying that these are TOTALLY worth cheating on your diet for. I also want to tell you that I have been soooooooo good and I've only had one. Aren't you proud?! There's a bunch of them sitting in my fridge now and I am not doing it. I AM NOT DOING IT. I am actually in a zone right now and have lost all the baby weight and then some- so I am not gonna let that caramel be my gateway drug...God knows I could seriously do some damage.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way.....Let me just tell you that you should stash this recipe for the future when it's the holidays and we all don't give a crap because we are sooo smitten with baggy holiday sweaters & loose fitting clothes that we MUST MUST MUST make some caramel. Not only is it fun to do, but it's a GREAT gift to give. I imagine wrapping them up all festive like....Maybe make them for Halloween? Hostess gift? A gift for your husband who had a rough day at work? A going away present for a friend? How about to celebrate the day your cat puked on your rug & your son had a blowout diaper that went up to his neck? (that would be today)
anywho...the salty sweet combo will make your knees weak....and the butter- OH MY GOD. crushworthy.
It is an Ina recipe after all...
look at that action!!!
Make sure you have a candy thermometer!!!!
And some parchment paper- because they looks so pretty all wrapped up!
These ones are for Jenny!!!
Btw- you can use other Salts. It's best if they are thick crystals! That's really the only requisite!
Sarah over at The Small Object made some awhile back! Look at how cute her loot was!
Fleur De Sel Caramels
(recipe Ina Garten)
-1 1/2 cup sugar
-1/4 cup light corn syrup
-1 cup heavy cream
-5 tablespoons unsalted butter (i really thought there would be more!)
-1 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling
-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan (or loaf pan) with parchment paper, then brush the paper lightly with oil (I sprayed it with PAM), allowing the paper to drape over 2 sides.
In a deep saucepan (6 inches diameter by 4 1/2 inches deep) combine the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until the caramel is a warm golden brown color. Don't stir - just swirl the pan to mix. Watch carefully, as it will burn quickly at the end!
In the meantime, bring the cream, butter, and 1 teaspoon fleur de sel to a simmer in a small pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat, set aside and keep warm.
When the caramelized sugar is the right color, slowly add the cream mixture to the caramel - it will boil up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer. Very carefully (it's hot!) pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate until firm.
When the caramels are cool, use the parchment paper to pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board. Starting at 1 end, roll the caramel up tightly until you've rolled up half of the sheet. Cut the sheet across and then roll the second half tightly. You will have 2 (1 by 8-inch) logs. Sprinkle both logs lightly with fleur de sel, cut each log in 8 pieces. Cut parchment papers in 6 by 4 1/2-inch squares and wrap each caramel in a paper, twisting the ends. Store in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
(I skipped the whole rolling it up thing. I just cut logs and made little rectangles! It produced well over 20 pieces! Also the ingredient list above was taken off the directions of her show. Apparently there is a discrepancy between the recipe on the Food Network site & the one she used for her show. The show one works and that's what I followed. The End. Did I mention MAKE THESE?!)
