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The five most popular posts on Coleen's Recipes in 2013 were:
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my recipe blog this year!!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
FIVE STAR CARAMEL CORN
If you are looking for a last minute gift idea that is super easy to make and even more easy to "consume mass quantities" (as the Coneheads would say); you have to try this caramel corn recipe from the cooks over at Table for Seven. I've tried a lot of caramel corn recipes over the years, and this is BY FAR the best one EVER!! As a matter of fact, picky-picky husband and I ate the entire batch in one evening, we just couldn't leave it alone!!
1 bag of microwave popcorn (see note)
NOTE: I used one bag of lightly salted microwave popcorn. Personally, I don't think I would use the heavy butter flavored variety, although I'm sure it would work.
NOTE: Keep a cut of hot water that you can put the candy coated spoons in....makes clean up a lot easier.
1 cup brown sugar (I used dark brown)
1/4 cup Karo corn syrup (the clear kind)
2 teaspoons molasses
1/2 cup butter cut into cubes
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat your oven to 250° and lightly spray a large baking sheet (with sides) with vegetable spray, set aside.
In a sauce pan, bring the brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, butter and salt to a simmer. Cook and stir until this mixture reaches 250° on a candy thermometer (it takes about 5 minutes).
While the mixture is simmering, pop the bag of popcorn in the microwave then spread it out on the prepared baking sheet and let it sit in the preheated oven to stay warm.
When the caramel mixture reaches 250°, remove it from the heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. Stir until very well mixed (it will get just a little foamy).
Pour over the popped corn and stir to coat. Bake coated popcorn in the 250° oven for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so.
After it has baked one hour, turn it out onto some waxed paper and let it cool (doesn't take long). Once it is completely cool, break apart any larger pieces and store in an airtight container (or Ziploc bag).
NOTE: Keep a cut of hot water that you can put the candy coated spoons in....makes clean up a lot easier.
NOTE: Make sure the baking sheet that you use has sides. I used my roaster pan and it worked well. You just want the sides to be tall enough that, when you stir the caramel corn you won't lose any over the edge.
NOTE: Be careful while you are stirring this caramel sauce so you don't get it on your skin (it is dangerously hot). Once you turn the finished caramel corn out onto waxed paper, it cools down very quickly.
NOTE: The final caramel corn is lightly crunchy and not at all sticky as long as you keep it in an airtight container.
NOTE: The final caramel corn is lightly crunchy and not at all sticky as long as you keep it in an airtight container.
Monday, December 16, 2013
SUPER EASY CREAM PUFFS
If you are looking for something super simple, yet impressive enough to WOW your dinner guests over the holidays, I suggest you make these cream puffs. They are SUPER easy to make, SUPER economical and SUPER fun to serve.
1/2 cup butter (cubed)(no substitutions)
1 cup water
Bring the water and cubed butter to a boil (just until the butter melts). While it's still boiling, add one cup of flour (all at once) and stir with a sturdy spoon until the mixture turns into a thick "glob" (it just takes a few seconds).
Mix on high for a couple of minutes or so, just to cool off the dough a little.
With the mixer still running, add four eggs, ONE AT A TIME, beating well in between each egg. The final dough will be quite sticky.
Either grease your cookie sheet or line with parchment paper (I like to use parchment paper) and place spoonfuls of this mixture (about the size of a golf ball?) on the prepared cookie sheet, making sure they are about 3-4 inches apart since, as they bake, they will puff up a lot.
Put in a PRE-HEATED 400°F oven and immediately turn the oven DOWN TO 350°F. Bake for one hour.
When you take them out of the oven, poke a small hole in the side of the baked cream puff to let steam escape. I have forgotten to poke that hole before and it didn't seem to make a lot of difference.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
To serve, cut in half and fill with sweetened whipped cream or berries and whipped cream or pudding, or ice cream or anything your family likes.
Dust the tops with powdered sugar or drizzle with chocolate sauce.
VARIATION: If you leave out the sugar and vanilla, these puffs are delicious filled with chicken salad, seafood salad, etc.
1/2 cup butter (cubed)(no substitutions)
1 cup water
Bring the water and cubed butter to a boil (just until the butter melts). While it's still boiling, add one cup of flour (all at once) and stir with a sturdy spoon until the mixture turns into a thick "glob" (it just takes a few seconds).
Remove from heat and put "the glob" in your stand mixer. Mix on medium speed while you add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
With the mixer still running, add four eggs, ONE AT A TIME, beating well in between each egg. The final dough will be quite sticky.
Either grease your cookie sheet or line with parchment paper (I like to use parchment paper) and place spoonfuls of this mixture (about the size of a golf ball?) on the prepared cookie sheet, making sure they are about 3-4 inches apart since, as they bake, they will puff up a lot.
Put in a PRE-HEATED 400°F oven and immediately turn the oven DOWN TO 350°F. Bake for one hour.
When you take them out of the oven, poke a small hole in the side of the baked cream puff to let steam escape. I have forgotten to poke that hole before and it didn't seem to make a lot of difference.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
They come out of the oven
LIGHTER THAN AIR!!
To serve, cut in half and fill with sweetened whipped cream or berries and whipped cream or pudding, or ice cream or anything your family likes.
Dust the tops with powdered sugar or drizzle with chocolate sauce.
VARIATION: If you leave out the sugar and vanilla, these puffs are delicious filled with chicken salad, seafood salad, etc.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
MELT IN YOUR MOUTH SHORTBREAD COOKIES
'Tis the season for Christmas cookies, and this is one of our favorites. Simple ingredients, simple instructions; you can make them as festive (or simple) as you want and they are still "melt in your mouth" delicious. Try these classic shortbread cookies for the holidays.
SHORTBREAD COOKIES
1 cup room temperature butter (no substitutions)
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed tight into measuring cup)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
In a large stand mixer (using paddle beater), beat the butter, vanilla and brown sugar (on high) for five minutes (scrape down the bowl sides half way through).
After 5 minutes, add the flour (one cup at a time) and beat until very well mixed and the cookie dough comes away from the sides of
the bowl.
Roll the dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least a couple hours (I like to chill overnight).
When you are ready to bake these cookies, roll the log in sprinkles or finely chopped nuts, pressing them in with your hands just a little.
Using a thin bladed knife, slice the cookie log into 1/4" slices and place on an UNGREASED cookie sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 325° oven for 20-25 minutes or until edges of the cookies JUST START to change color. My electric oven takes 23 minutes.
Remove from cookie sheet and cool on bakers rack. These cookies do NOT spread out when you bake them, so you can really place them close together on the baking sheet.
SPRINKLES?
NO SPRINKLES?
Just make sure you have a
tall glass of milk!!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
BRANDY SNAPS
If you want to impress your holiday guests, make some of these Brandy Snaps for them. They look so elegant and they are definitely not something you see on every holiday table.
A hard candy shell filled with sweetened whipped cream...do I have your attention yet? Pretty fool proof if you follow my extra tips below printed in RED, AND you can make them days in advance and fill them just before your guests arrive.
Brandy Snaps are basically a crisp, sweet, lacy, candy shell that you can fill with sweetened whipped cream or your favorite mousse.
They look very hard to make, but it is an illusion; they are pretty easy if you pay attention to the tips below in RED.
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white corn syrup
1/4 cup butter (I used only 3 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons brandy (or) 1 teaspoon vanilla (I used rum extract)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Since this whole process goes VERY fast, it is best to have everything ready before you start cooking the above ingredients.
Preheat your oven to 350° and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (important). These candy shells REALLY spread as they cook, so only plan on making six of them on each cookie sheet.
Mix the sugar, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. STIR over medium heat until the mixture is good and bubbling, then remove from heat and stir in the flour and flavoring.
Drop one measuring teaspoon (per candy shell) of the cooked mixture onto the parchment paper. This will spread out into a circle about 4" in diameter as it bakes for about 6 to 7 minutes, but watch them very carefully after six minutes, as they can go from caramel colored to DARK very fast. It sounds tricky, but it isn't.
My candy circles were fairly pale in color until they hit the 6 minute mark in my electric oven, but they were a beautiful light caramel color at 6 1/2 minutes.
When they have turned a nice light caramel color, remove from the oven and let them sit on the cookie sheet for about 30 seconds. If they look a little oily, LIGHTLY dab them with a paper towel.
Use a pointed knife and lift the edge of the candy circle up a little so that you can grab it with your fingers (be careful, this is VERY hot). One at a time, quickly roll the candy circle around the handle of a wooden spoon (they will cool almost immediately and hold their shape).
Once you form it around the spoon handle, it will instantly be cool enough to slide the candy tube off of the handle, and it's done!!
If the other candies get too "hard" to roll, put them back in the oven for 30 seconds or so (but that shouldn't be a problem, as they stay fairly pliable as long as they are on the hot cookie sheet), they only become rigid once they cool off.
I didn't use a spoon handle, I used some metal cannoli tubes I have and they worked perfectly (no need to grease the spoon handle).
Keep the cooled candy tubes in an air tight container until you are ready to serve them. Fill them with sweetened whipped cream (the candy tubes can be filled up to about an hour before serving).
Don't be scared off by any of my "warnings' about this recipe, it may sound complicated, but it really is pretty easy and I hope you try it.
NOTE: I substituted rum extract for the vanilla, the candy tasted like butterscotch. I think ANY extract would work.
NOTE: You don't have to fill these with whipped cream. Almost any mousse like whipped filling would work wonderfully.
A hard candy shell filled with sweetened whipped cream...do I have your attention yet? Pretty fool proof if you follow my extra tips below printed in RED, AND you can make them days in advance and fill them just before your guests arrive.
Brandy Snaps are basically a crisp, sweet, lacy, candy shell that you can fill with sweetened whipped cream or your favorite mousse.
They look very hard to make, but it is an illusion; they are pretty easy if you pay attention to the tips below in RED.
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white corn syrup
1/4 cup butter (I used only 3 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons brandy (or) 1 teaspoon vanilla (I used rum extract)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Since this whole process goes VERY fast, it is best to have everything ready before you start cooking the above ingredients.
Preheat your oven to 350° and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (important). These candy shells REALLY spread as they cook, so only plan on making six of them on each cookie sheet.
Mix the sugar, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. STIR over medium heat until the mixture is good and bubbling, then remove from heat and stir in the flour and flavoring.
Drop one measuring teaspoon (per candy shell) of the cooked mixture onto the parchment paper. This will spread out into a circle about 4" in diameter as it bakes for about 6 to 7 minutes, but watch them very carefully after six minutes, as they can go from caramel colored to DARK very fast. It sounds tricky, but it isn't.
My candy circles were fairly pale in color until they hit the 6 minute mark in my electric oven, but they were a beautiful light caramel color at 6 1/2 minutes.
When they have turned a nice light caramel color, remove from the oven and let them sit on the cookie sheet for about 30 seconds. If they look a little oily, LIGHTLY dab them with a paper towel.
Use a pointed knife and lift the edge of the candy circle up a little so that you can grab it with your fingers (be careful, this is VERY hot). One at a time, quickly roll the candy circle around the handle of a wooden spoon (they will cool almost immediately and hold their shape).
Once you form it around the spoon handle, it will instantly be cool enough to slide the candy tube off of the handle, and it's done!!
If the other candies get too "hard" to roll, put them back in the oven for 30 seconds or so (but that shouldn't be a problem, as they stay fairly pliable as long as they are on the hot cookie sheet), they only become rigid once they cool off.
I didn't use a spoon handle, I used some metal cannoli tubes I have and they worked perfectly (no need to grease the spoon handle).
Keep the cooled candy tubes in an air tight container until you are ready to serve them. Fill them with sweetened whipped cream (the candy tubes can be filled up to about an hour before serving).
Don't be scared off by any of my "warnings' about this recipe, it may sound complicated, but it really is pretty easy and I hope you try it.
NOTE: I substituted rum extract for the vanilla, the candy tasted like butterscotch. I think ANY extract would work.
NOTE: You don't have to fill these with whipped cream. Almost any mousse like whipped filling would work wonderfully.
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