Peppermint Salt Water Taffy

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You know, my blog posts are usually fully of witty (or not so witty) repartee, but today, I just don't have any.  Nothing.  Nada. Zip.  Between my 1 year old's hour and 15 minute long well check appointment this morning, along with like 7 shots for him (poor guy...), and my three year old's desire to contradict and flout every thing I tell him to do, I just have nothing to say.

 I am doing a lil' peanut circus theme birthday party for my son's first birthday, so I thought this would be something you would see at a circus.  I have never made it, it looked like fun, so I thought, what the heck, why not.  So, that's all the talking I have, on to the recipe.

Oh yea, and they taste pretty stinking good.  They worked out well for me.

I got this recipe from a blog called Boiling Sugar.

They have an excellent step by step picture tutorial for doing this, so please check it out in the link above before trying it.  I only changed one thing, and that was the addition of some baking soda, otherwise, the credit goes to them.

PEPPERMINT SALT WATER TAFFY
(Adapted slightly from Boiling Sugar's Salt Water Taffy)

Ingredients

•  2 cups sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• flavoring (extracts, oils, gourmet liquid flavorings)
• coloring (optional)

Equipment

• Pastry brush
• 3-4 quart heavy saucepan
• buttered, chilled cookie sheet
• candy thermometer
• wooden spoon or plastic spatula
• moderate upper body strength, or a stretching partner

 Directions

1. Mix together sugar, salt, and cornstarch in the saucepan.
2. Use a wooden spoon or plastic heat safe spatula to stir in the corn syrup, water, and butter. Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
3. Continue stirring until mixture begins to boil, then let cook, undisturbed, until it reaches about 265° F, no hotter. Wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in warm water while the syrup cooks to dissolve any sugar crystals.  When it first starts to boil really well, it will boil up very high, so watch for that and remove from heat for a second to prevent boil over (like what happened to me).
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat, let it cool down  and add baking soda, food coloring, and flavoring (I used 1/4 tsp peppermint extract and it had a nice light peppermint flavor).  The baking soda will cause it to form tiny bubbles, this will add to the chewy texture, this is in place of glycerine, which some recipes use, but I opt not to.  Stir gently, then pour onto a shallow greased cookie sheet to cool.  (Don't line it with foil like me unless you are going to butter it first, unlike me.)
4. When the taffy is cool enough to handle, grease your hands with butter and pull the taffy until it's light in color and has a satiny gloss. You can have a friend help with this step, which should take about 10 minutes.  Add additional butter to your hands as needed.  I went through about a tablespoon or two.  Once you start seeing parallel ridges in the rope, you are getting close.  The candy should be almost room temperature when its done being pulled, and it will be a fairly good workout to pull it by the end as compared to the beginning.
5. Roll or pull the pulled taffy into a long rope, about 1/2 inch in diameter, and cut it with greased scissors or a butter knife into 1-inch-long pieces. Let the pieces sit for about half an hour before wrapping them in wax paper or plastic wrap and twisting the ends of the wrapper. This is what they look like after I cut them.  A beautiful soft but bright blue color.

Powdered Sugar Toast: Ode to My Childhood

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This is my child hood memories on a plate when it comes to special food.  Ok, this, and a special birthday cake that my mom has made me every year since I was like five, but that is another post.

Powdered. Sugar. Toast.  Yep, that is what I said.  It may be hard to conceived of putting powdered sugar on toast and feeding it to your kids (or eating it yourself), but believe me, it is one of the most wonderful, addictive, simple, special breakfasts you could make.  I have such fond memories of my mom making this for my siblings and I on our birthdays, or school days off, or holidays.  Waking up to the smell of cinnamon and sugar wafting through the house and up to my bedroom--fantastic way to wake up.  It was our "special day" breakfast. I remember that if she was making it when we were already up, I would stand at the oven staring at it just waiting impatiently for it to be done (it only bakes for like five minutes, but it seemed like forever!).  Who would have thought that sandwich bread, sugar, and cinnamon could be transformed into something so memorable and just screaming love.  Maybe it screams love because you really do have to love your kids to give them a piece of bread with a bunch of sugar on it for breakfast because you know your kids will be bouncing off the walls after and it is all your fault...I don't know, just saying. This is one of those foods where you give it to your kids and just watch them.  They will develop their own quarky way to eat it, and it will be something you will cherish, and they will cherish.  I know I do.

When I talked to my mom and told her I was going to do a post on this, she told me that I should credit her mom, my grandma, for the recipe, since she made it for my mom and her siblings when they grew up.  It is a family tradition, one that today, I am starting with my kids, and it is bringing me such joy!  So I would like to give thanks and credit to both my mom and my grandma for loving us enough to give us this blissfully delicious treat on those special days.

As I sit here and type this up, my 1 year old has already devoured his piece that I so painstakingly cut into tiny pieces, and my three year old (who is a pretty picky eater) has been carefully picking up the powdered sugar with his fingers and licking it off for the last 15 minutes.  He did however decide that the whole thing was tasty and has eaten the toast part as well.  He just finished his first piece, and came up begging for another.  As I am writing this I look over to see him licking the sugar right off his second piece of toast.  I think we have a winner.  Whatever I can do to get him to eat whole wheat toast, right? I will pay for this in an hour when he is running around like a mad man worse than usual. 

I know you may still be trying to wrap your head around dumping sugar on toast and calling it breakfast, so for clarity, and fun, I have included step by step pictures in this post.  There are no measurements, just to taste, and how ever many pieces you want to make.  I guarantee you, it will be more than you think.  I always had to be cut off, this stuff is like breakfast crack I tell you!  Without any more delays, here is the recipe for my beloved powdered sugar toast.

POWDERED SUGAR TOAST

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat sandwich bread (or white), seriously, just the plain old sliced sandwich bread, nothing fancy
• powdered sugar
• cinnamon
• butter spread (I used smart balance butter)

Directions:

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toast the bread in the toaster and lay toasted sliced on a foil lined sheet. 

 Butter the toasted slices.  If you butter it while it is hot (top slices) you will get more loose powdered sugar after baking then if you butter it when the toast cools (bottom slices), so pick whichever you prefer.  I like lots of loose powdered sugar after baking.  I used to dump the extra powdered sugar from all my slices onto one slice, save that for last, and have one happy powdered sugar pile on my last slice (I'm telling you, this is my childhood, children do funny things!)

After buttering, take about a dinner spoon size spoonful of powdered sugar and sprinkle it over the toast until it is all covered.  Do not smooth down or spread out.
 

  Sprinkle the toast with cinnamon, however much you like to taste.  I love cinnamon, so I give it a pretty good dose.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about five minutes.  The edges of the toast will get a bit more crispy, the powdered sugar will start to melt with the butter, and the rest of the powdered sugar will get a bit crystalized. 

The piece below is a slice that the butter was NOT melted when I put the powdered sugar on.  See how more of the powdered sugar has melted into sugary happiness?

This slice below was when the powdered sugar was put on when butter DID melt into the bread before adding the powdered sugar.  This yields a more messy toast slice, with lots of loose powdered sugar to lick, dump, just make a mess with in general.  This is my style choice for this toast, but it is all personal preference and they both taste the same.

And here is the finished product.  A slice of heaven, and it was so deceptively simple....

I hope you will take a morning (or afternoon or evening) and make this for your kids, make some memories, and have some fun.  Thanks for joining my journey through my childhood memories.

Microwave Sweet Potato Chips

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My favorite way to eat a sweet potato is just baked, with a little butter, and a sprinkle of salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  My son likes it that way too, he calls it "pie." (Hey, who am I to correct that one, hehehe).  He really loves sweet potato chips too.  Unfortunately, even with sweet potatoes, those chips don't seem too much better for you and are usually expensive, so we don't get them.  A few weeks ago I saw a recipe for microwave potato chips on yahoo, well, actually my husband did, and he sent the article to me.  I thought it was interesting, so I tried it right then and there, but we didn't have white potatoes, so I tried it with our sweet potatoes.  They took a bit longer to cook, but my son and my husband liked them so much that I had nothing left to shoot for a post picture.  Oh well.  Today however, my husband is at school, kids are up for naps, and I was actually able to make some and get a picture before they were devoured.

I seasoned these with salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Slightly reminiscent of my baked sweet potato I dearly love, but not over whelming.  I have also done just salt, as well as Lawry's Seasoning Salt.  All of them were delicious, so season with whatever you like.  The nutmeg and cinnamon scream fall though, and I so desperately want it to be fall.

I haven't perfected these, but it is because I don't have a mandolin, I am too lazy to pull out my food processor, and my knife skills leave something to be desired.  If you have one of the first two items, I highly recommend using them if you plan to make a bunch, it will be easier, and they will come out more uniformly.  Otherwise, cut them as thin as possible.  The thinner they are, the quicker they cook, the crunchier they will be.

**Microwave times will vary, depending on the strength of your microwave and how thick they are cut, so keep that in mind, try for the lesser time, and add 30 second increments.  The ingredient amounts are based on how many you want to make, so use what you need, and season to your liking.

MICROWAVE SWEET POTATO CHIPS

Ingredients:

• sweet potatoes, washed and scrubbed, skin on
• ground cinnamon
• salt
• nutmeg
• olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Slice the washed sweet potatoes using a mandolin, food processor slicing attachment, or a sharp knife.  Cut as thinly as possible, 1-2 mm thick.
2. Place slices in a bowl of cool water for 5 minutes.
3. Remove slices and dry well with a paper towel.
4. Spray a microwave safe plate with the cooking spray and place a single layer of sweet potato slices on the plate.  
5. Spray the slices with the olive oil cooking spray lightly and sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
6. Place in microwave for 2-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of your slices and the strength of your microwave.  Mine took about 3 min and 30 seconds, but my microwave sucks and I cut them with a knife, so they were kind of thick.
7. They will curl around the edges and feel fairly dry when done.  The one in the center will probably start to brown, be careful not to over cook, they do actually burn (found out the hard way).
8. The sweet potatoes will continue to get a bit more crispy as they cool, so take that in to consideration.  Repeat with remaining slices until the desired amount is reached.

Monster Cookie Dough Truffles

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Big confession: I am a closeted (or maybe not so much if you know me) germaphobe.  Sending my toddler to preschool, when I had worked so hard to keep him healthy for the first 2 1/2 years of his life, almost sent me into major panic and anxiety attacks.  It felt like I was essentially putting him in a situation where he was going to get sick, for sure, all the time.  I won't say I was wrong, but it could have been worse I am sure.  I also dislike working with raw meats, hand sanitizer probably pulses through my veins (as well as my children's), and I wash my hands so many times when cooking and baking I could pass FDA inspection.

Given all this, I am sure you can guess that I would not be one eat raw cookie dough, in fact, I can't even watch someone else do it.  Then, I saw the most wonderful thing...EGG-LESS cookie dough dips and truffles!  The heavens opened up and sang.  All though I can't usually justify making cookie dough to just eat, this week is my youngest son's birthday party and I need another dessert (Ok, maybe I don't NEED another dessert for it, but really, you can never have too many).  Perfect time to make some monster cookie dough truffles ( I LOOOOVE monster cookies!).

MONSTER COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES

Makes approximately 50 truffles

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened slightly
• 8 oz. peanut butter (I used Skippy Naturals)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 oz M&M candies
• 12 to 16 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together peanut butter and butter until it is smooth and lightens in color slightly.
2. Add in brown sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
3. Add oats and mix well to combine.
4. Place M&M's in a small bag and use a rolling pin or heavy pan to break them into smaller pieces.  Add this and the 6 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the the dough and mix well.
5. Using a 2 tsp. cookie dough scoop, scoop out truffle centers onto a parchment or foil lined cookie sheet.
6. Roll the centers in your hands to make smooth balls.
7. Place in freezer for 1 hour to chill and firm up.
8. Melt the 12 to 16 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted and smooth.
9. Using a fork, roll the chilled truffle centers in the melted chocolate.  Remove using a fork or a tooth pick and return to lined cookie sheet.  
10. Chill in fridge until the chocolate has set, or store in freezer.

Sweet Confessions Sunday Link Party #5

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Sweet Confessions Sunday Link Party #5

Hi everyone!  This week for the Sweet Links Spotlight I let you guys determine the feature posts.  Well, your clicks did.  This weeks features are the most clicked links of the week.  Congratulations to everyone, they were all fantastic and I can't wait to see what you have this week to share!

Sunday's Sweet Links Spotlight

Our most clicked link this week was from Treat & Trick, with these amazing looking Baked Banana Doughnuts.  So excited to have another great use for those ripe bananas! 

 

Next was these sinful looking Pecan Pie Bars by The Recipe Critic.  Pecans are my favorite kind of nut and I am dieing to try these!

Here is a phenomenal way to use the great looking blueberries some of you lucky people are finding right now.  This is Moore or Less Cooking's Blueberry Skillet Cake.  'Nuff
 said!  This looks like tomorrow's breakfast.

It is almost fall, and what better way to ring in the season than this DIY Shabby Pumpkin from Sarah Dawn Designs?  Such a wonderful departure from the typical fall pumpkin decorations.

NEW!!  For A Bonus Feature of Your Blog, Check This Out:

1) Spread the word about the Sunday's Sweet   Confessions Link Party.

2) Have your friends link up some of their great ideas.

3) Make sure to ask them to leave a comment at the party saying what blog sent them.

At the end of the party I will total everything up and feature the blog that has the most referrals.  It will have a Facebook post, a Twitter post, and a spotlight feature blog post on Mommy's Sweet Confessions. 
 

Thank you so much for being such a great help in growing this party!  Lots of love to you all!