December 10, 2008
After about six hours of making candies and such for orders this week, I started to get a little silly with the leftovers…
Heading for the sea...
Pecans, some leftover caramel bits (mixture of Fleur de Sel and Apple Cider Caramels – guess that would make these Sea Turtles, eh?), and leftover chocolate couverture.
Don’t they look like they’re headed somewhere?
Somewhere… tasty?
December 9, 2008
Lots and lots and lots of caramels:
Chocolate-covered caramels
Mostly apple cider, but you can see some fleur-de-sel peeking out in the rear.
Here’s a closer shot:
Fleur de Sel Caramel
Mmmmm.
Oh, the recipe, you say?
Essentially, I use the Fleur de Sel Caramel recipe from Epicurious. I kick the fleur de sel up to a Tablespoon, plus sprinkle some on the caramel after pouring it out, plus some on the finished chocolates, because, well, FLEUR DE SEL AND CHOCOLATE. yummy. For notes on technique, and all the lessons I’ve learned, check out the post on Apple Cider Caramels.
Also, there were pralines:
Pecan Pralines
And Buckeyes (apparantly, I forgot to snap a picture when I’d covered them in chocolate. So, here you have it: NAKED BUCKEYES. Hide the children, not for the sensitive or delicate, etc.):
Nekkid Buckeyes (definitely up to no good)
What are Buckeyes, you say? (What are you, Southern?)
Buckeyes are a tasty, crunchy peanut-butter and rice krispie treat dipped in a combination of milk and dark chocolate. They are addictive. You cannot eat just one. They are fluffy and crunchy and sweet and chocolatey, and it’s a darned good thing I took all of the leftovers to the office holiday party, let me tell you. The recipe came from a good friend, and is dead simple. There’s something similar here, but they don’t use the Rice Krispies, which I think really make it something awesomely special (my version calls for equivalent measurements of rice krispies and peanut butter, i.e. 3 cups).
So, that’s what’s been happening! Don’t forget, you have until Sunday the 13th to place your holiday orders from SugarPunk (so I have enough time to bake and ship/deliver before we leave on the 19th for lovely Arkansas and then Chicago).
Or, you could wait until the last minute and sign up for the Dessert of the Month club (details forthcoming)…
Sugarpunk Desserts 