Homemade Caramel Corn

 

Ah, the magic of Blogger. It allows you to write posts in advance and schedule them to post later, all by themselves. That's mighty convenient for this weekend, since neither Becky nor I are anywhere near a computer. Beck's off leading 25 college students on a service project, which includes driving a 15-passenger van. I repeat: My tiny little sister is driving a 15-passenger van. Oh how I wish I was a fly on that windshield!

Me? I'm taking my much needed annual retreat, where I get to chill with these guys:

It's all about quality at this retreat. Quality reflection time. Quality scenery. Twenty other quality young people. Wacky priests who know a high quality wine when they see one. And quality homemade caramel corn.

(Does anyone else think that "quality" is a funny word now that they've said it so many times?!)

I always try to make this caramel corn before going on retreat, because it's great for munching between meals, and as anyone who's ever been on a retreat knows, the one thing you do more than any other is eat. One batch of caramel corn fills up three large tupperware containers. That's one container of caramel corn per day of retreat, if we ration it well. Which we usually don't.  :-)

I post this recipe today also because I know many of you will make your own retreats this evening - retreats to the couch, that is, in honor of that golden dude, Oscar. What better way to celebrate this year's grandest films than with popcorn, all fancied up?

For those of you who've never popped popcorn on the stove, it's way easier than it sounds. Same goes for making caramel. If you can measure sugar and water into a pot and exercise a little patience, you're golden (and we may start calling you Oscar).

Whether you're chillin' with 25 college students, Bambi & friends, or Oscar this weekend, consider making this caramel corn. It's quality stuff.

- Katie

Homemade Caramel Corn
Adapted from foodnetwork.com via Joy the Baker
Makes about 6 cups

For the popcorn
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1 cup roasted nuts (any variety you like)

For the caramel
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sea salt (or other salt to taste)
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water

Make popcorn
1. Place oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add one kernel of corn and cover pan. When the single kernel pops, add unpopped popcorn and cover. Use pot holders to lightly shake the pan as the corn pops.

2. When the popping stops, turn of the heat, remove the pot from the burner and shake the popcorn into two large bowls (or one giant bowl). Sprinkle with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Add nuts to bowls and set popped popcorn aside.

Make caramel
****Make sure you have a bowl of ice water or a cold water faucet very nearby in case you get any hot sugar on your body.***

3. Measure out butter and vanilla extract and set aside. Have salt ready near the popcorn, as well as a greased spatula or two.  Line a baking sheet with foil or a silpat, or simply cover a large, flat surface with foil or parchment.

4.  Measure sugar into a medium to large saucepan.  Pour water into pan, pouring down sides of pan, not directly on top of sugar.  Mark an X with your finger through the sugar and water.

5. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and let cook. Every three to four minutes, pick up pan and swirl (don't stir), Toffee Almond Crunch style. Sugar and water will begin to bubble and caramelize. You are looking for an amber color, which should take 20-30 minutes.

6. When you get an amber caramel color, remove sugar from heat, quickly add butter and vanilla extract. Mixture will bubble up. Swirl pan a few times until butter melts.

7.  Working quickly and carefully, pour hot caramel mixture over popcorn and stir with greased spatula to coat popcorn. Be especially careful of hot sugar at this stage. Carefully pour popcorn out onto parchment or foil. Break up large clumps with spatula.  Sprinkle with salt to taste.  Let come to room temperature.

Caramel Turtle Bars

Our good friend Buzz is getting married today!!! At a winery! In California! (We're a tad excited. Can you tell?)

I think it's safe to say that Buzz is our oldest friend, considering that we've known each other since before we even existed. Our moms were roommates in college all the way in Illinois, and somehow both of them managed to end up in the Bay Area after school. Then Buzz's dad introduced his friend (Daddy)Bob to Mama B, and the rest is history.

We obviously share a lot of memories with Buzz, but when looking for inspiration for a Buzz-themed treat, one memory stood out:

For mine and Becky's thirteenth birthday, Buzz's mom (our "Aunt" Jan) took us skiing. The trip required that we start our drive to the lodge in the middle of the night so we could make the most of our day on the slopes. When Aunt Jan woke us up for breakfast at some diner off the highway, we stumbled into a booth, still half asleep.

Maybe it was the turtleneck, maybe it was Buzz's sleep-heavy eyes - we don't really remember details. But at some point before our pancakes arrived, Becky glanced at Buzz and announced that she looked like a turtle. 

Yes - we all agreed. Buzz most definitely looked like a turtle.

And then we started laughing. And laughing. And laughing.

I honestly hadn't thought of that moment in years until Becky brought it up and said we should make Turtle Bars in Buzz's honor. But now that I think about it, it is a perfect example of our friendship with Buzz - we see each other at our worst and best, we can speak frankly when we need to, and most of all, we're silly and we laugh a whole lot.

The recipe for these bars may look as long as our friendship with Buzz, but each individual step is not all that complicated. The hardest part is waiting for them to set up properly before digging in.

Buzz and Doug - we love you and we wish you all the happiness two turtles...er...people, can have!

- Katie & Becky

Caramel Turtle Bars
Adapted from Fine Cooking
Makes about 4 dozen 1-1/2-inch-square bars

For the crust:
Non-stick cooking spray, vegetable oil, or melted butter for the pan
7 oz. (14 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to just warm
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. table salt
9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all purpose flour

For the caramel topping:
2 cups pecan halves, toasted and coarsely chopped (we used 1 cup each pecans and walnuts)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. table salt

For the ganache:
6 Tbs. heavy cream
2 oz. good-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

Make the shortbread crust:
1. Line a straight-sided 13x9-inch metal baking pan with foil, letting the ends create an overhanging edge for easy removal. Lightly coat the sides of the foil (not the bottom) with nonstick cooking spray, oil, or melted butter to prevent the caramel from sticking.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar, and salt. Stir in the flour to make a stiff dough. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork.

3. Refrigerate the pan for 30 minutes (or freeze for 5 to 7 minutes), until the dough is firm. Meanwhile, position a rack near the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F.  You can also toast the pecans at this time if you have not already.

4. Bake the dough for 20 minutes, and then decrease the oven temperature to 300°F and bake until the crust is golden all over and completely set, about 15 more minutes.

Make the topping:
5. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the crust.

6. In a heavy medium saucepan, bring the brown sugar, cream, butter, corn syrup, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until all the ingredients are melted and smooth. Let the mixture continue to boil, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240°F, about 6 more minutes. Turn off the heat and immediately (but carefully) pour the caramel evenly over the prepared crust. Let the bars cool completely, about 2 hours, before garnishing with the ganache.

Make the ganache:
7. Put the chocolate in a small heat proof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 3 minutes. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until combined and smooth.

8. Fill a plastic zip-top baggie with the ganache, snip the tip off a corner, and drizzle the ganache decoratively over the caramel bars (you don’t have to use all the ganache - [but why wouldn't you?!]; keep the extra in the fridge for 5 days). Let the ganache set for 30 minutes to an hour.

9. Carefully lift the bars from the pan using the foil sides and transfer them to a cutting board. Separate the foil from the bars by sliding a spatula between them. Cut the bars into 1-1/2-inch squares. They will keep at room temperature for 1 week. (Note: we found it easier to slice these bars after refrigerating them for a few hours.)

Caramel Sticky Buns

These buns are not light.  They do not involve strawberries or blueberries or raspberries or cherries, or any other fruit, for that matter.  They require you to heat your oven to 400 degrees.  If you eat half the pan, I guarantee you will not look better in your swimsuit than you did before.

In short, there is nothing summery about these rolls.

But Beck and I figured that if they were good enough for the King Arthur Flour people to post in the middle of June, they were good enough for us.

These were very simple to whip up, though the cleanup was a bit involved, what with the pastry mat, several measuring spoons and cups, and a sugary baking pan and sheet.  But in the end, I'd say it was definitely worth it.

Although he will deny ever uttering the words, Music Man described these as having a "nice, soft, delicate texture."  Who knew he was such a food critic?

Caramel Sticky Buns
Adapted from Baking Banter
Makes 12 buns

Topping

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup dark corn syrup or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Dough

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups lukewarm buttermilk*
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• *Substitute 1/4 cup buttermilk powder + 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water, if desired.

Filling

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 2" round cake pan.

2) To make the topping: Combine the melted butter and brown sugar, stirring to combine.

3) Stir in the syrup.

4) Pour the topping into the prepared pan, spreading it to the edges. Sprinkle the nuts (if you're using them) atop the topping. Set the pan aside.

5) To make the dough: Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Note: If you're using buttermilk powder in place of buttermilk, add it here.

6) Pour the lukewarm buttermilk (or lukewarm water, if you're using buttermilk powder) and melted butter into the bowl with the dry ingredients

7) Stir to combine. The dough will look very shaggy.

8) Transfer the dough to a floured surface, and knead very briefly, just to smooth it out a bit.

9) Roll the dough into a 9" x 12" rectangle.

10) Brush the dough with water, and sprinkle with brown sugar, leaving a bare edge on one of the longer sides.

11) Roll the dough into a log, starting with the longer edge that's covered with filling. Pinch the seam closed as well as you can; it'll be a bit messy, with filling spilling out. That's OK.

12) Using dental floss or a serrated knife, cut the log into 12 slices.

13) Lay the slices in the prepared pan, atop the topping.

14) Place the cake pan on a baking sheet (to catch any sugar that bubbles over), and bake for 23 to 25 minutes, until they're golden brown.

15) Remove from the oven, and immediately invert the pan onto a serving plate. Let it sit for about 15 seconds, then remove the pan, scraping out any nuts or syrup that's stuck in the pan, and spreading it back onto the buns.

16) Serve warm (but not hot!).

Oatmeal Carmelitas

The universe wants you to make this treat.  Really.  You see, every so often, a specific recipe overwhelms the blogosphere.  Usually it's a viral thing - one popular blog posts something and suddenly everyone's making it. But this recipe was different because last fall, a few of us heard the carmelita call individually.  First, I got the recipe in my Martha Stewart "Cookie of the Day" email.  A week later, Framed posted the recipe after seeing it in Everyday Food.  A couple months later, Kelli tasted a version in a bakery on Cape Cod and loved the bar so much that she recreated the recipe from scratch. But this isn't a new recipe; versions of Oatmeal Carmelitas have been around since Erlyce Larson's recipe won the Pillsbury Bakeoff in 1967. So why the sudden resurgence last fall?  The only thing I can think of is this: the universe wanted us to know how awesome these are.  And who am I to argue with the universe?  I made one batch and knew they'd become a staple. A couple words of warning though: 1) With a buttery brown sugar crust similar to that of Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars and a rich caramel filling textured with chocolate chips, these bars pack a sugary punch. If you've been wondering if that aching tooth has a cavity, bite into one of these - you'll know right away whether or not a trip to the dentist is in your future. 2) When I took these to the office, we ended up with trails of oatmeal crumbs between the snack table and each person's cubicle.  So unless you're wearing lederhosen and hoping to find your way out of the forest without getting eaten by a witch, make sure you have a napkin handy to catch those buttery crumbs! On behalf of all the other bloggers who heard the carmelita call last fall, I'd like to thank the universe. We appreciate your help in finding crowd-pleasing, self-indulgent recipes.  Keep 'em coming, please. -Katie


Oatmeal Carmelitasadapted from Martha Stewart

• 48 soft caramel-candy cubes
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13" pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each short side.

2. Put caramels and cream in a small saucepan; melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until caramels are melted, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

3. Stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal; press half of mixture onto bottom of lined pan.

4. Bake until just set and starting to color around edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes.

5. Sprinkle crust with chocolate chips; drizzle with caramel mixture. Top with remaining crumb mixture. Bake until pale golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan before lifting bars out onto cutting board and cutting into squares.  For easier cutting, after bars have cooled, place in refrigerator until firm, then cut into bars.  Let come to room temperature before serving.