Caramels

In the middle of cooking the caramel for this recipe my candy thermometer broke! I'm certain I didn't cook it long enough but it's not too bad for just guessing. It's softer than I'd like but still delicious wrapped around the marshmallows I made the other day!

2 cups white sugar

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
  Grease a 12x15 inch pan.
  In a medium-size pot, combine sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, evaporated milk, whipping cream, and butter. Monitor the heat of the mixture with a candy thermometer while stirring. When the thermometer reaches 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) remove the pot from the heat.
  Stir in vanilla. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and let the mixture cool completely. When cooled cut the Carmel into small squares and wrap them in wax paper for storage.

Granola Bars

I've always been afraid of the recipe lists involved in most granola bar recipes I've seen. It's hard to justify buying 4 huge packs of ingredients for 1 recipe of granola bars that you're not even completely sure you'll like. I figured my challenge might be a good reason to do just that. 
Then I found the recipe. I only had to buy 1 thing! Everything else I already had in the house. Perfect! I've only had them warm so far, but these granola bars are delicious! I'll make these again and maybe add some nuts or dried fruit next time. 

2 cups rolled oats

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
  
  In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
  
  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Marshmallows

I did it!! I finally made marshmallows all on my own. I have been wanting to do this for years... and have now finally gotten up the courage to try it. I used the recipe here because it had step-by-step directions, making me feel much more prepared about the whole thing. I'm not am not a candy maker. You can ask my husband. I fail more often than I succeed when cooking sugar in a pot, which is exactly why I put 2 things on my list of 30 that involved doing just that. The easier one is now done. Hopefully that'll help me feel more secure when trying the next one!

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup Confectioner's Sugar1 envelope unflavored gelatin1/3 cup water2/3 cup granulated sugar1/2 cup light corn syrupPinch of salt1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, sift together the cornstarch and Confectioner's sugar.

Lightly grease an 8"x8" baking dish.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch/sugar mixture into the baking dish, tilting it this way and that to cover the bottom and sides.  Leave the remaining cornstarch/sugar mixture in the baking dish.

In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin into the water, and let soak for 5 minutes.  Add the granulated sugar to the gelatin, stirring occasionally over medium low heat until the gelatin and the sugar dissolve completely.

Using a standing mixer, add to the bowl the gelatin mixture, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla, and beat on high speed for 15 minutes, until peaks form.

Spread the marshmallow mixture into your prepared pan (this is the sticky, sticky, sticky part, because I used my fingers to move the mixture in the pan).  Smooth the top as best as you can.  Now just let the mixture sit for 2 hours.

Using a wet knife, slide the knife around the edges to loosen, then cut into quarters.

Sprinkle the remaining cornstarch/sugar mixture onto a large baking sheet.  Put the marshmallow quarters, top side down onto the baking sheet.  Cut each quarter into nine pieces, then roll each of those pieces into the cornstarch/sugar mixture, making sure to cover all sides.  Place the marshmallows on a cake rack, then cover it all with paper towels to dry overnight (the surface of the marshmallows will be slightly dry at that time).  I also put a paper towel under the cake rack to catch any of the cornstarch/sugar mixture.

Store the marshmallows in an airtight container.  They'll keep for up to a month.....if they last that long!!!

Makes 36 marshmallows

Fruited Ice Cream

My friend from our time in Illinois had recommended a vanilla ice cream recipe I was really eager to try. I realized after reading through the recipe, though, that the eggs in it weren't cooked at all. For whatever reason I just can't bring myself to eat raw eggs intentionally (aside from a scoop of cookie dough or 2), so I ended up finding another recipe to try. We bought an ice cream maker last summer and used it several times so I figured we'd try a few new things this year. This recipe is not one that needs to be cooked before hand so it makes for a much shorter time of preparation. I used peaches in it that we had sitting around. I have a feeling I'll be using it with many other kinds of fruits before the summer is over, though!

2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
5 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped fruit (peaches, strawberries, blackberries, etc.)

• Combine condensed milk, milk, cream, vanilla, salt and fruit in freezer canister of ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

Banana Macaroon Trifle

This is another crowd pleaser recipe. I've never had a person not like this dessert, even if they're not big fans of coconut. The first time we had this was at a friends house for lunch while we were engaged. Phil liked it so much he asked me to get the recipe and I've been making it for him every so often ever since. We use different fruit each time but it's always delicious.

2 tablespoons butter, softened

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 3 to 4 small firm bananas, sliced (as well as whatever other fruit sounds like it might be good)
• 1 tablespoon pineapple juice
• 1 carton (16 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
  
  
  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, oats and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition (mixture will appear curdled). Stir in coconut.
  Spread in a well-greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool completely; crumble. Set aside 1/4 cup for topping.Just before serving, toss bananas with pineapple juice. In a 2-1/2-qt. serving bowl, layer a third of the macaroon crumbs, whipped topping and bananas. Repeat layers twice. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs. 

Rum Cake

I saw a recipe for this over the holidays but never had an occasion to try it. Phil has been gone for a couple weeks so I made this recipe to share with him when he gets home. There are easier recipes than this one, but I wanted to go as close to from scratch as possible. (I'll post a picture and whether or not we liked it later tonight).

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon rum flavored extract
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup rum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 or 10 inch tube pan.Cream 1 cup of the butter and 2 cups of the white sugar together. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each one.Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and add alternately with the buttermilk to the egg mixture. Stir in the vanilla and rum extracts. Pour batter into prepared pan.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Remove cake from oven and pour all of the Rum Butter glaze over cake while still warm. Leave cake in pan for 2 hours before removing to serving dish.To Make Butter Rum Glaze: Melt the remaining 1 cup of the butter and 1 cup of white sugar over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Use immediately to glaze cake.

Barbeque Sauce

 I used the Neely's recipe for BBQ sauce on the Food Network site because I thought it would be a guaranteed good recipe. I'm not a huge fan, honestly. I'm not won over to making it myself from scratch like I expected. I can say I've done it, though!

2 cups ketchup

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 5 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 
  
• In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.