Gourmet Spiced Turtles with Vanilla Bean Caramel, Dark Chocolate, & Sprinkled with Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel + Toffee Chips

Gourmet Spiced Turtles with Vanilla Bean Caramel, Dark Chocolate, & Sprinkled with 

Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel + Toffee Chips

Back when I lived in Savannah, there were candy kitchens pretty much at every block. Pralines were their number one seller by far, so much so that if you just walked in the store, a hot, freshly-made praline sample was handed to you. Naturally, that just meant we walked in and out about 5-10 times. Of course, who wouldn't? Most of their treats were quite tasty, but I could never get on board with store-bought turtles. I'm not quite sure why, but they just weren't my gig, ya'know? Well, a couple weeks ago, I had a custom order request from an Haute + Heirloom Etsy buyer, asking me if I could whip up some gourmet turtles for her. I had never made them, but I knew how to make all the components and I was sure I could spice them up some to make them extra special. The first component are the pecans. A lot of the time, no one does anything to them. Some people might toast them or salt them slightly, but I went with the extravagant route by "spicing them". After being toasted in butter, I added in some fleur de sel, cinnamon, ground ginger, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, chili powder, & cardamom. They are all perfect, comforting fall spices. I also sweetened them up a bit with sugar to give them a crackly crust (um yumm). Now onto the caramel... the gooey, sticky, chewy caramel that is speckled + scented with vanilla beans and flavored with a dash of fleur de sel. If that doesn't make your mouth water... then I don't know what would. The caramel will harden & solidify, which means they are ready to be covered in chocolate. Tempering chocolate may seem like a daunting task, but really it is all scientific. You just gotta be aware of the temperature and keep it even throughout the entire process. Once you pour the tempered chocolate over the caramel, it will quickly begin to settle, so while it is still soft, sprinkle the tops with some vanilla bean fleur de sel and toffee chips (just for presentation & extra flavor). Even though these candies are a little more labor-intensive than the ones you can buy in a store, the quality alone speaks for itself. And that's coming from a girl who hated turtles prior to making this recipe!! Enjoy :)

clustering the spiced pecans...

making the vanilla bean caramel...

pouring the vanilla bean caramel over the spiced pecan clusters

a little extra salt neva hurt no'body

ready for the chocolate...

I experimented a little bit by adding on some chocolate stour marshmallows--yumm!

now it's time for the tempered chocolate, fleur de sel, & toffee bits

READY TO EAT!!

For the Spiced Pecans:

16oz Pecan Halves

3T Unsalted Butter, Melted

½t Salt, Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Pumpkin Pie Spice

¼t Freshly Grated Nutmeg, Chili Powder, & Cardamom

1-2T Sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

For the Vanilla Bean Caramel:

¾C Heavy Whipping Cream

½C Sugar

1/3C Dark Brown Sugar

3T Light Corn Syrup

2T Unsalted Butter, Cubed

1t Vanilla

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

½-1t Salt (depending on your taste)

For the Dark Chocolate Coating:

12oz High Quality Bittersweet or Semisweet Chocolate, Roughly Chopped

Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling

Toffee Chips, For Sprinkling

Directions:

1. For the Spiced Pecans: For the pecans, preheat oven to 350°F. Toss pecan halves with melted butter and kosher salt and spread onto a large sheet pan. Toast the pecans, stirring halfway through cooking, until fragrant and golden, about 10 minutes; set aside until cool enough to handle. Once you can handle them, toss them with the spices and sugar until it adheres. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper and arrange cooled pecans into X-shaped clusters or feel free to place the pecan pieces into small mounds to yield a more rustic-shaped cluster.

2. For the Vanilla Bean Caramel: For the caramel, combine the cream, sugars, and corn syrup in a medium-sized, heavy saucepan and whisk until incorporated. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Please do NOT stir the mixture after it comes to a boil; if necessary, dip a pastry brush in water and brush down the sides of the pot to remove any sugar stuck to the sides. Continue boiling the mixture until it reaches 250°F on an instant read thermometer, about 10 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in butter, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds.

3. Working quickly, spoon a generous teaspoon or so over each cluster of pecans. Allow clusters to set, uncovered and undisturbed, for at least two hours but preferably overnight.

4. Tempering the Chocolate:To melt and temper the chocolate coating, prepare a double boiler or set a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water. Add approximately 3/4 of the chocolate (the remainder will get added in after the initial heating) to the top of the boiler. Melt the chocolate, stirring often, until it reaches the following temperature(s) on an instant read thermometer: 116 to 120°F for semisweet; 110 to 112°F for milk chocolate, and immediately remove from the heat. Add the reserved chocolate and continue stirring until the temperature drops to the following: 82 to 86°F for semisweet;80 to 84°F for milk chocolate. Return the chocolate to the boiler and heat on low until the temperature rises back up to 90°F, watching carefully to make sure the chocolate does not exceed the temperature.

5. Finishing the Turtles: Drizzle the tempered chocolate over the caramel-covered pecan clusters. Sprinkle the top with some vanilla bean fleur de sel and some toffee chips. Set aside in a cool place to set. Turtles will keep for up to two weeks, stored between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container at room temperature.

source: homemade turtles.

Revamped : Christmas Pretzel Toffee with Milk Chocolate, Bittersweet Chocolate, Crunchy Toffee Chips, + Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel

Christmas Pretzel Toffee with Milk Chocolate, Bittersweet Chocolate,
Crunchy Toffee Chips, + Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel

A couple years ago, I made Salted Pretzel Toffee, and it was great. It had the slightest twist on the original classic, but I missed the texture of the crackers. While strolling through the grocery store yesterday, I saw Ritz Pretzel Crackers and my mind was blownnnnnn. And I feel like Christmas Toffee is a tradition in almost every household during the holidays. Everywhere I go, someone is making toffee. So I figured why not make another batch, but with these new crackers. Well, I took this version to a whole new level. It reaches a gratifying level of salty + sweet. The crackers are buttery, flaky, and have the slightest hint of salt. After I layer those into a pan, I boiled dark brown sugar, butter, and two vanilla beans to make my butterscotch sauce that covered the crackers and baked them just for a little bit, to make sure that it all set properly. On top of everything, I used one bag of high quality bittersweet chocolate + one bag of high quality milk chocolate. Once it melted, I spread it into a thin layer and generously topped it with crushed toffee bits and homemade vanilla bean fleur de sel!! This is what (Christmas) dreams are made of, people! It's so addicting that the whole bag will be gone within an hour. So why eat that boring old recipe, when you can have the gourmet edition. Oh and P.S. MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!! Enjoy :)

look at those toffee crunchy bits :)

For the Christmas Pretzel Toffee:

1 ½ Boxes of Ritz Pretzel Crackers (¾ of the crackers whole, ¼ of the crackers crushed)

4 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

2C Dark Brown Sugar

2 Vanilla Beans, Split & Scraped for Seeds

½t Sea Salt

1 Bag of Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

1 Bag of Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips

1 Bag of Toffee Bits

Homemade Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. For the Toffee: Line a baking sheet with a Silpat and arrange the whole crackers in an even layer, and then sprinkle the remaining crushed crackers into any cracks or holes, so that the whole tray is filled.

3. For the Butterscotch Caramel Sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, dark brown sugar, vanilla bean seeds, and salt together and boil until it turns a caramel color and is smooth in texture (whisking the entire time). This will take about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately pour the caramel over the crackers, covering them evenly.

4. Baking the Toffee: Put the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes or until just bubbly, making sure to watch it very carefully. Remove from the oven and sprinkle both types of chocolate chips over the crackers. The chocolate should start to melt, but if isn’t melting fast enough, you can pop it back in the oven for another minute or two, and that should make it spreadable enough. When the chips have melted, spread them in an even layer over the top with a rubber spatula. Immediately sprinkle the bag of toffee bits and fleur de sel over the melted chocolate and just slightly press the bits into the chocolate, making sure that they will stick to the chocolate once everything has cooled & hardened.

5. Transfer the pan to the freezer for 20-30 minutes or until completely cold. Once cold, break them or cut them up into small squares or pieces and enjoy!

Homemade Funfetti Cake Batter Marshmallows

Homemade Funfetti Cake Batter Marshmallows

Y'all, Summer is leaving us... Let's all take a collective sigh of sadness. But there's good news still because I have a recipe for homemade funfetti cake batter marshmallows. I mean, that screams Summer, don't it? These literally taste like a slice of cake, it'll blow your mind. So what do you do with these... well you make cake batter s'mores (YES SUMMER) and really-super-awesome toasted marshmallow cake batter milkshakes (to be posted next, yipee). I'm sure they would make pretty bomb-ass rice krispies treats, #amirite. Now, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. How do these taste like cake batter WITHOUT any cake mix? Epic (mind-blowing happening again). Well it starts with a special concoction of clear vanilla extract, butter extract, and almond extract... and one special SECRET ingredient. Iced Cake Vodka, y'all. Liquor in homemade marshmallows is amazing. Bourbon rocks, so does beer, but this takes the cake (quite literally). You have to have this vodka to make them what they are, so find it and keep it close to ya heart. Next on tha list, you gotta load it up with sprinkles, rainbow sprinkles. I made sure to say a HEAPING cup because I like a little extra on the side, and by a little I mean a lot. Get that straight. After the marshmallows are made, I tossed them in a mixture of sifted confectioners' sugar & white cake mix to dust 'em off. Then just devour. Immediately. Before Summer is over. GO HURRY. NOW!! Enjoy y'all :)

whipping 'em up + sprinkles are ready

Oh, they are gonna be so good!!

For the Marshmallows:

3 ½ Envelopes of Unflavored Gelatin

½C Cold Water

2C Sugar

¼t Salt

½C Iced Cake Vodka  

½C Light Corn Syrup

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

2 Large Egg Whites

1T Clear Vanilla Extract

1t Butter Extract & 1t Almond Extract

1C Rainbow Sprinkles (heaping)

For the Dusting:

1C Confectioners’ Sugar

½C White Cake Mix

Directions:

1. For the Marshmallows: Oil bottom and sides of a 13x9 rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar. In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over ½C cold water, and let stand to soften. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, ½C of cold iced cake vodka, vanilla bean seeds, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes.

2. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until fluffy, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and clear vanilla extract, butter extract, and almond extract into sugar mixture until just combined. Add in the rainbow sprinkles until mixed evenly throughout. Pour mixture into baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out (learning from my mess of a first round).

3. For Dusting: Sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cake mix evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours.

4. Finishing the Marshmallows: Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (An oiled pizza cutter works well here too.) Sift remaining cake mix-confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

Goo Goo Cluster Pie with a Coca Cola Reduction Drizzle

Goo Goo Cluster Pie with a Coca Cola Reduction Drizzle + Brown Butter Ice Cream

This is pretty much a glorified candy bar pie. With a twist of pecan pie on the side. And add in a large soda + a scoop of ice cream to boot. For all I care, you could just sub out the Goo Goo Cluster chunks with another candy treat. Do as you please, my friends. Y'all ever had a Goo Goo Cluster? Well, if you haven't, I sure feel bad for you. It comes from the South (Nashville to be exact) and contains caramel, roasted peanuts, marshmallow, and milk chocolate. Like a Snickers, but only way better. It starts off with my favorite peanut butter shortbread cookie crust. What's not to love about that? Candy. Cookies. Pie. Ice Cream. All in one bite? Whambamthankyama'am. Then, it's studded with fried, salted peanuts and candy pieces before it's filled to the brim with bourbon-flavored custard (similar to a pecan pie). After it's all said + done, and by that, I mean baking & chilling, you must drizzle the top of a slice with the homemade Coca Cola reduction... ya'know, to make it extra-southern. This pie is insane by itself, but make sure to make it super indulgent by adding a scoop of homemade ice cream. It was perfection with brown butter, but vanilla bean or bourbon would be amazing as well. It's the ultimate sweet treat indeed!! Enjoy :)

For the Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookie Crust:

1C Peanuts, Unsalted & Dry-Roasted

½C AP Flour

¼t Salt

¼t Baking Soda

¼C Light Brown Sugar, Packed

¼C Sugar

2T Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

1 Large Egg Yolk

¼t Vanilla

For the Goo Goo Cluster Pie:

2 8oz boxes of Goo Goo Clusters or Cream-Nuts, Chopped into Chunks

3 Eggs

1C sugar + 2T Light Brown Sugar

½C Light Corn Syrup

2T Bourbon

1t Vanilla

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

½t Salt

2C Fried Salted Peanuts, Roughly Chopped (roasted peanuts may be substituted)

Prepared Goo Goo Cluster Chunks

For the Coca Cola Reduction:

2C Coca Cola (or any other soda substitute: Cheerwine would be my second choice)

Directions:

1. Spray a pie pan with Baking Pam and set it aside.

2. For Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookie Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse the peanuts into the food processor and blend until a peanut butter forms, about 2 minutes (add a little oil or honey to loosen it up if it is too thick). In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda until incorporated. Using an electric mixer, beat together both sugars, peanut butter, and butter until well combined and mixture resembles wet sand, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until well blended, about 3 minutes (the mixture will be clumpy). Gradually add in the dry ingredients with your hands and beat until just combined (it will be crumbly, but do not over-mix). Gather dough with your hands, place into the prepared pan, and press evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Set this aside to let it cool completely before adding the filling.

3. For the Goo Goo Cluster Pie: In the bowl of a standing mixer, add in the butter and both sugars and beat until light & fluffy, about 1 minute. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup, bourbon, vanilla, and salt until smooth and incorporated. Add this wet mixture into the bowl of the butter mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until you have a smooth filling, and then add in your chopped peanuts and mix until just incorporated evenly throughout. Set your filling aside and place the Goo Goo Cluster chunks evenly into the bottom of your cooled, pre-baked peanut butter crust. Slowly pour the filling over the clusters until the whole pie has been filled to the rim. Sprinkle the top with fleur de sel. Place the pie onto a baking dish, so that it will catch any drippings or filling that has flooded over. Bake this pie at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 300 degrees. Lightly cover the pie with some tin foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until the pie has set around the edges, but slightly jiggles in the center. Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack to room temperature.

4. Place the cooled pie into the freezer (you might want to cover with tin foil) and let it sit, undisturbed, overnight. The pie filling should be super gooey and runny, this is a good thing, don’t worry.

5. For the Coca Cola Reduction: Pour the coke into a pot and cook over low (just barely medium heat) until it reduces into thick soda syrup. This process took a long time for me almost an hour.

6. Serving the Pie: The next day, remove from the freezer and cut into slices. Place onto a plate and let it warm for 5-10 minutes. This gives the pie time to defrost and makes the caramel-y filling begin to ooze out. Drizzle the top of the pie with some of the Coca Cola Reduction and enjoy the gooey goodness. We added a scoop of ice cream on top of ours, and it was perfection (we had three homemade ice creams in our freezer: brown butter-bourbon, southern buttermilk, + malted vanilla bean).

"Movie Theatre Cookies" or Buttered Popcorn and M&M Cookies with Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel

"Movie Theatre Cookies" or Buttered Popcorn and M&M Cookies with
Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel

I think what I love about food most, is its ability to evoke childhood memories and the comfort it supplies to the people eating it. Every recipe is carefully planned and executed, and then enjoyed in the presence of your closest friends + family around a dinner table or at party. Hey, it ain't too shabby either if you decide to snuggle up in your PJ's in bed with a big bowl of hot soup during a cold winter day. Even more importantly, as kids, our brains were racing and creativity flowed out of us, and that's when we mashed things together, plopped about 20 things into a bowl, or came up with some crazy concoction that sometimes made us gag. I remember when I had just become old enough to be left at home, without a babysitter, for the afternoon or night. Those were the days I looked forward to, not because I liked being alone, but because I had the kitchen all to myself. One creation that I have never forgotten was mini M&M's on top of pizza. Like what was I thinking? That does not sound like a promising culinary future, my friends. But by far, one of my favorite flavor combinations involved a Sunday afternoon at the movie theatre. Alongside a frozen slushie, I had to have a big 'ole bag of extra buttered popcorn and a bag of M&M's. Once we all got situated in our seats, that bag of rainbow colored chocolate candies were then dumped into the popcorn bag, shaken lightly until it was completely tossed, and then devoured. The hot, buttered, + salty popcorn melted the candies ever-so-slightly, so that every little kernel had a light chocolate covering. Yum... double yum actually. Fast forward like 10 years, and now I'm developing recipes for my very own blog. Well, recently I purchased Smitten Kitchen's cookbook. If y'all don't have it, I encourage you to go out tomorrow and buy it! I love the simplicity of her recipes, as well as the culinary range she showcases. While looking through the book, I came across cookies that were loaded with popped popcorn. So friggin' brilliant. And from there, I immediately I knew I wanted to create my own inspired adaptation. I used the base of my go-to gourmet chocolate chunk cookie recipe (just slightly dumbed down and simplified) and substituted the chopped gourmet chocolates with colorful M&M's. I found Easter M&M's at the grocery store and couldn't resist the idea of girly pastel colored cookies. Deb's recipe went the all natural buttered popcorn route, where as I had (yes, had to) have the fake, over-the-top, decadently rich "movie theatre flavored" buttered popcorn. Yeah, go grab one of the microwavable bags that tells you that it contains more fake butter flavoring than the actual kernels themselves. This is the only way for me to truly bring travel back in time for the ultimate "picture show"(it's a southern saying, don't make fun) snack. I sprinkled on some of my fancy vanilla bean fleur de sel and it was sweet-and-salty cookie perfection. So, make a warm batch of these for a movie marathon at home or tuck away some of them into a plastic bag and sneak 'em into the movie theatre. I promise I won't tattle, if you don't. Deal? Deal. I loved the nostalgia of the cookies and will make them over + over again!! Enjoy :)

crispy cookie edges. extra buttery popcorn. colorful chocolate candies. fancy salt. 

For the Movie Theatre Cookies:

2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Softened

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Melted

½C Granulated Sugar (I used vanilla bean sugar, but it’s up to you)

1 ¾C Light Brown Sugar, Packed

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

2 Eggs + 1 Egg Yolk

1t Vanilla

¼t Butter Extract

1t Sea Salt

2C AP Flour

1 ½C Bread Flour (or you can substitute it for all AP Flour)

1 ½t Baking Soda

4C M&M Candies (I crushed up 1C of the candies with a rolling pin for candy bits)

6-8C Movie Theatre Buttered Popcorn (already popped, kernels removed)

Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with Pam, then set aside.

2. In a small saute pan, melt the butter, and then set it aside to cool slightly before adding it to the mixing bowl. Cream the 2 sticks of butter & chilled melted butter with the sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla bean until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the mixer then add the two eggs and egg yolk one at a time, incorporating each one completely before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl. Mix in the vanilla, butter extract, and sea salt.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the bread flour, AP Flour, and baking soda.

4. With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just incorporated (don’t over mix).

5. Beat in the M&M candies until it’s completely incorporated and the chocolate is evenly dispersed throughout the dough. Lastly, lightly fold in the popped, buttered popcorn (this will take some time since the dough is quite thick and there are so many ingredients, but just keep working it in until it’s distributed throughout; it is alright if the popcorn breaks up some, but try to maintain most of its texture). Scoop the dough into medium-large balls (or I used an ice cream scoop), and then using your fingers, crimp the tops to make them more jagged (this will help them look more homemade and rustic). Because the cookies are quite large, I only put 6 cookies per sheet tray, so that when they cook & spread, they will not touch each other.

6. Sprinkle the vanilla bean fleur de sel on top of the cookie dough balls, then bake the for 10-12 minutes (cook them for 5-6 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees, and cook for another 5-6 minutes), until it is slightly golden brown on the edges, but still soft (slightly undercooked) on the inside. Leave the cookies on the sheet tray for 10 minutes, so that the cookies will finish baking.

7. Once the cookies have rested on the sheet tray, move the finished cookies to a cooling rack, and let them completely cool completely before eating.