Caramel Popcorn with Dark and White Chocolate and Nuts - Oh My!

Hey friends, how are you?  Are you as happy as I am that October is here?  That means beautiful fall weather, colorful leaves, Halloween, The World Series, football, bonfires, sweaters, and all kinds of fall celebrations.  Don't know about you, but I am more than ready for it all!

Do you like popcorn?  I'm really not a big fan, but if you decorate it up enough I will eat it.  I found a recipe on Pinterest that looked SO good, so I gave it a whirl.  It was the consummate Pinterst fail.  If you have never had one, count yourself lucky.  I HATE wasting ingredients.  Even more, I hate taking the time to make something AND wasting ingredients.  Grrrrrrr.

I made the caramel recipe for the popcorn and followed the rest of the instructions.  The caramel never set - it was so gooey that you could not eat it.  I tried putting it in the freezer and it was okay as soon as you took it out, but within 10 minutes it was back to a total goo ball.  It was completely inedible.  I tossed it.  Insert sad face here.

So, I went to my tried and true caramel popcorn recipe from a Gooseberry Patch recipe book that I have had for years and started over.  I added the white chocolate and dark chocolate and nuts called for in the Pinterest recipe.  The original recipe calls for cashews (yum), but the person I was making this for doesn't care for cashews so I added peanuts.  You could add any nut of your choice because they are all good in my book.  Here is what you need:

2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
20 cups popped popcorn


3/4 cup white melting chocolate
3/4 cup dark melting chocolate
nuts of your choice

Pop your corn however you like.  I use an air popper.  Measure 20 cups and set aside in a large bowl.

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a saucepan (I use nonstick) and bring to a boil; boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly so it doesn't scorch.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour over popcorn, stirring until thoroughly blended.  Spoon on a baking sheet (I use a roasting pan cause I like the deeper sides when stirring) and bake at 250 degrees for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Remove from oven.  

Melt the white and dark chocolate according to directions.  I used about 3/4 cup of each and melted it in the microwave.  Drizzle over the popcorn while still in the pan.

Sprinkle the nuts over the popcorn.  Let sit until the chocolate hardens.

Now, dive in.  This is so good.  Oh my goodness.  This would be a great treat to eat during a football game, while watching the world series, or for a Halloween party.  You could pass this around a bonfire and it wouldn't last 10 minutes.  Better make a double batch.  Don't even put it in front of kids.  It's gone in nothing flat.

I know this recipe works as I have made it for years.  I make the plain caramel corn at Christmas time and give it as gifts.  Everyone always loves it and asks for more.  It is also gluten free for all of you who have to watch your gluten intake.

Give this recipe a try.  You are going to love it.  Actually, I like just the plain caramel corn.  It's a real sweet treat.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

"Fresh popcorn is near impossible to resist, second only to fresh doughnuts."
Shannon Wiersbitzky, What Flowers Remember

Cinnamon Sugared Nuts - Oh My!

Hey, do you know what will be here in just a few weeks?  Two big events.  The first is the Super Bowl and the second is Valentine's Day.  It's time to start thinking about that Super Bowl party and what you will serve or take to share.  And what about that special someone, your Valentine?  Or in our case, many Valentines?  What will you do for them?  Well, I have an answer for you that is soooooo good and easy to make.

First, lets talk about nuts.  Do you like them?  We happen to LOVE them (maybe a little too much).  Did you know that eating a handful of nuts every day can help you live longer?  It's true!  Really.  Check this link - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/20/foods-that-help-you-live-longer_n_4612048.html.  Studies show that eating 1/4 to 1/3 cup of nuts a day can increase your longevity.  I am not sure they are talking about THESE nuts in particular, but they are so good and surely they count a little.  Never mind the sugar and cinnamon coating.  Cinnamon is good for you at least.

I made these nuts at Christmastime for stocking stuffers and I almost forgot to take a picture of them.  This is what I had left when I remembered, so use your imagination just a bit.  I always make candies, cookies, carmel corn, and nuts to put in decorative bags to give as extras for everyone.  These are SO dangerously good and are always such a hit.

You know when you are walking through a shopping mall and smell those German roasted nuts that they sell at kiosks?  The ones that smell like heaven?  That's what these are like.  Oh Em Gee.  Delicious.  And, slightly dangerous because it is impossible to control the consumption of said nuts.  But, they would be perfect for a Super Bowl party and for Valentine gift giving.  Here is what you need:

5 cups pecan halves
1 cup almonds or cashews (I used cashews - delish)
2 egg whites
2 TBSP water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit

Line 2 large baking sheets (with sides) with parchment paper and spray with non stick cooking spray.  (You will understand why this is necessary after making them.  Don't skip this step.)

Mix nuts in a large bowl and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and water on medium high until stiff peaks form - about 4/5 minutes.  Add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt, stirring until well combined.  Put the nuts in the egg white mixture and stir to coat completely.  Spread nuts over the baking sheets and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Allow to cool completely and enjoy - that translates to try not to eat them all at once.  Seriously.

You can store these at room temperature for a few weeks covered.  Like there will be any left in a few weeks.  That's funny.

You might want to make a test batch before the Super Bowl or Valentine's Day just so you will know how good they are.  Next blog post, I will show you a perfectly beautiful container you can make to put these in for gift giving.  Everyone will be so impressed and grateful for all your culinary and craft skills.  Y'all come back now.  You won't want to miss the tutorial.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

I always loved Christmas time when we would have a bowl full of mixed nuts in the shell and we would spend time around the table with a nutcracker, eating the nuts.  I liked them all, especially filberts better known as hazel nuts.  donna

Apple Praline Bread - Double Yum!

 Monday, Monday.....you know what the song says. (Bet you are singing it right now.)   I looked up the top 10 songs about Monday and not one of them has a positive title.  The closest one is Manic Monday.  The rest are pretty much downers.  On top of that, it is the last day of September.  Where did that month go?  Wow. Welcome October!

We are tired today.  We spent Sunday helping our best friends from our home town move into their new place right down the street from us.  (Yay!)  Thankfully, it did not pour down rain all day as predicted.  There were a couple of light showers off and on and that was it!  There was plenty of good help and things went fast and smooth.  Awesome.

In order to make their day easier, I fixed brunch for everyone.  We had Chinese Eggs, fruit salad, sausage gravy and biscuits, hash brown potatoes fried with onions, Amish cinnamon bread and this wonderful apple praline bread.  (You can find several of these recipes on my blog.)  I had never made this recipe before, but had pinned it to my Pinterest board for a future "must try." Apples are starting to come in now and I had some fresh from the Farmer's Market so I gave the recipe a try.  Yes, it is a keeper.

It is soooooooo good.  The only thing I would add to the recipe is some cinnamon - mainly because I like the taste of cinnamon and it goes quite nicely with apples, but it is not necessary.  Here is what you need to make this super yummy bread:

1 cup sour cream
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups peeled apples, finely chopped
1 cup nuts - walnuts or pecans, chopped
*Optional, 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

Praline Sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.  Set aside.

Use an electric mixer to mix sour cream and brown sugar until well blended.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix.  Add flour and baking powder.  Add apples* and nuts.  Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour until brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  (My oven bakes right to temp and it took 1.5 hours for this bread to bake.  Just a little FYI so you don't panic if it's not done at 1 hour.)

After the bread cools, remove from pan and make the praline sauce by putting the butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan.  Cook over medium heat until it bubbles for about 1 minute.  Remove from stove and add nuts.  Pour over cooled loaf of apple bread.  Try not to eat it all at once.

* Be sure and drain any liquid from the chopped apples before adding to the bread.

Yum, yum, yum, yum, YUM!  So good.  This recipe was from a site called Ziplist.com.  You really might want to give this recipe a try, especially while apples are so good and plentiful.  Dan loves apples but doesn't like cooked apples.  He did like this bread a lot.  (He called it cake.)   Whatever you want to call it, I call it delicious!  This is one more recipe that will go in the fall/winter rotation of breads that are delicious for breakfast, brunch, or anytime - especially with a good cup of coffee.  Come on October!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

I can't tell you enough about cinnamon.  Cinnamon is an awesome spice to use and it goes great with something like apples in the morning, or in a mixture of fruit, or in your oatmeal, or even in your cereal.  Emeril Lagasse  

- or in your apple praline bread!  It would kick it up a notch for sure.  donna

Banana Nut Bread

What do you do with bananas when they are about to go south?  I hope you don't throw them out because that is when they are perfect to use in baked goods!  Ooey gooey bananas are the best for baking banana nut bread or banana muffins.  I also have a fabulous recipe for banana nut bars that are  great to eat as a snack, dessert or even for breakfast.  I used to bake them for my daughter when she was in college because she loved them.  I am sure it was nice to get a little care package from home containing goodies made with love.

My first remembrance of eating banana nut bread was at our neighbor's Christmas party when I was about 6 or 7.   Banana nut bread with cream cheese spread on it will forever be associated with Christmas for me and the fact that it was totally delicious.  My mom had never made banana nut bread. Thanks Dorothy and Eva for that lovely memory.

Last week we had our first real cool down after a long hot summer.  What was the first thing I baked?  You guessed it - banana nut bread.  There were three bananas on the counter that were heading for extinction if something wasn't done with them quickly, so I got out all the ingredients and went to work.

I have been making this recipe since the 1960's.  Could not tell you where it came from if my life depended on it.  It is in my handwritten recipe book and the page is smudged and smeared from years of use.  You think I would know it by heart, but I don't.  I have to look it up every time I make it just to be sure I use all the proper proportions.  That is extremely important in baking or you may end up with a banana hockey puck instead of bread.

If you can stand to let the bread sit for a day or two before eating it (it is a major challenge), banana breads are something that get better with a few days "ripening" (no pun intended).  The flavors meld together and the texture gets nice and dense and flavorful.  There is nothing like cutting that first slice, spreading on some cream cheese and enjoying it with a lovely cup of fresh, hot coffee.  Yum.  Yum.  Yum.

Here is what you need to make one large or two small loaves of banana bread.

1 stick butter
3 large bananas
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup nuts, chopped (I use pecans)
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar together.  Mash the bananas and add the vanilla to them.  Beat the eggs with a fork until foamy and add to the mashed bananas.  Add the banana mixture to the creamed butter and sugar.  Mix well.

Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the wet mixture.  Grease and flour your loaf pan.  Add the  mixture to the loaf pan.  Tap the bottom of the pan on the counter several times to remove any air bubbles.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes - until a tooth pick placed in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let cool before removing the bread from the pan.

Now the real challenge.  Try to let the bread sit for several days before eating.  If you can't wait, slice and enjoy!

I have given this bread and my pumpkin bread (recipe on the blog) as Christmas gifts for years and years.  Everyone looks forward to receiving them.  One year I didn't make them and there was disappointment all around, so I have continued the tradition.  They do make nice treats at holiday time and gifts made with love are so appreciated.

Just remember, DON'T THROW THOSE BROWN BANANAS AWAY!!!  EVER!!!  You will be missing out on a fantastically delicious treat!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“when life gives you bananas you can't make juice ” ― Yang Mushu, aka Isabel Truax

So I say, make banana bread instead!  donna

I Know You Want One Of These German Chocolate Cake Bars!

Yesterday we did healthy, today not so much.  This has been a two dessert recipe week.  Why?  Because it just seems like that kind of week and Labor Day Weekend is coming up.  You may be celebrating that last big hurrah of summer with family and friends and you need dessert for a celebration.  Right?  If you don't want to try the Apple Pie Bars from earlier in the week, try these over the top fabulous German Chocolate Cake Bars.

This dessert is going to knock your socks off if you've never made it.  It's got all the good stuff like chocolate, coconut, nuts, chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate.  Did I mention chocolate?  Just in case I forgot, it's got chocolate and is it ever good.

Blame Pinterest, friends, it's all their fault.  I start looking through all the posts late at night and there is one good recipe after another and I am just happily pinning away.  What's the use of pinning if you don't make some of these delectable treats.   It just becomes a past time.  Me, I am all about jumping in with both feet and giving these recipes a try.

There have been a couple that were not keepers, but for the most part they have all been really good.  These German Chocolate Cake Bars are the bomb.  Seriously, the bomb.  The only flaw I can find is that the recipe uses a Devil's Food Cake Mix and next time I might use a German Chocolate Cake mix just to get a more German chocolate taste.  Don't get me wrong, the Devil's food is really, really good.  It was just not really German chocolate.  If you don't know, it's really not German chocolate, but German's chocolate which is a brand name.  Through the years, it has come to be known as German chocolate.  Just a bit of trivia for you.  You can buy German's chocolate at the grocery in the baking aisle of you want real German's chocolate.

This recipe originally came from your friend and mine, Paula Deen.  Now we all know Miss Paula knows a knockout dessert and they are always worth a try.  Try it I did and it is definitely a keeper.

Here is what you need:

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix (or German Chocolate Cake Mix)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 large egg

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips  (I used 1 cup, cause why not?)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan.

Mix cake mix, butter and egg.  Press in bottom of pan.  Do not press up the sides of the pan.  Bake 7 minutes.

While the base is baking, mix the filling.  Mix sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, egg and nuts.  Pour evenly over warm crust .  Sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Use 1 cup if you really like chocolate (and we do)!

Bake 24-30 minutes until light golden brown.

Cool completely before cutting into squares.

I mean, look at all those chocolate chips!  Who wouldn't want that many?  If you only want 1/2 as many, that's your choice, but the full cup made it really awesome.  Of course, we all had a little scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on ours just in case you want to give that a try.

Thank you Paula Deen.  You did not fail to deliver one more decadent, totally unhealthy dessert for our enjoyment.  Give these a try, you will be glad you did.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” 
― Charles M. Schulz

Pumpkin Bread From Scratch = Deliciousness!

Fall has truly arrived.  The leaves are finally showing their beautiful colors, the sun is lower in the sky each day and tonight a cold front is passing through with a high temperature of 54 degrees tomorrow and rain.  Now, that will be a real autumn day.  This weekend, we will be helping our best friends move their daughter into her cute little house and she will be living in our neighborhood.  Yay!  She is moving to middle Tennessee from Arkansas and we are looking forward to them all being here.

Sometimes, I just get a wild hare to bake.  I love baking.  It is very therapeutic for me - the mixing and measuring and having something scrumptious to eat when it is all done.  What works for you?  Since I knew the weather was going to be changing and we are having guests this weekend, my first thought was pumpkin bread.  Yummmm!   It is one of our favorites and is so good with a nice hot cup of coffee for breakfast or in the evening as a snack.  Heat it up, spread some cream cheese or butter on it and tada!  you have a delicious treat.  Pumpkin isn't just for pies!

This recipe is from a book I have had since 1976, the year of the United States' Bi-Centennial.  It is a collection of recipes from women belonging to the medical auxiliary in our home town.  I have been making this recipe for family and friends all of these years.  I make small loaves at Christmas time and give them as gifts.  Why?  Because it is so good and freezes very well.  During cold weather, I try to keep a few loaves in the freezer for that moment when you think - mmmm, pumpkin bread, I want some.  The recipe is so easy, you don't even need to get the mixer out.  You can mix it by hand.  The recipe doubles easily for when you want to make more loaves at a time.  This recipe is so good, our daughter's boxer ate an entire loaf with the aluminum foil still on it.  What can I say?

Pumpkin Bread Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon each:  salt, nutmeg, ground cloves, cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans)

Put eggs in mixing bowl and beat with a fork.  Add pumpkin, sugar, water, oil, and vanilla.  Stir.  Sift flour, baking powder, soda, spices and salt.  Add raisins and nuts to the mixture. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.  Stir well to mix all ingredients thoroughly.  Bake in greased, flour-dusted 9 x 5 inch loaf pan at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until done (toothpick comes out clean).  Serves 12-16.  Will keep indefinitely if frozen.  Nice to serve with coffee.

Sometimes, I double the recipe and bake two big loaves, or 4 medium loaves or 8 small loaves in disposable pans.  They look so cute wrapped in cellophane tied with a pretty bow - great for gift giving.

This morning, Dan and I enjoyed this moist, not too sweet spicy bread for breakfast and it was such an autumn treat.  I hope you will give this recipe a try.  It will become one of your favorites.  Time to go bake some more to send home with our friends this weekend and a couple for the freezer.   You never know when the craving will strike and it makes the house smell divine!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Every day, God gives us the sun - and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything....   Paulo Coelho

Tyler's Favorite Cookies

 Today is our youngest son's 24th birthday.  Where has the time gone?  I really don't know.  He came into our life as a very big surprise, but he has been a joy and a blessing to us.  We had two daughters aged 15 and 13, and a son aged 10 when Tyler was born.  He always thought he was grown up because he spent so much of his time with his siblings and their friends.  He was only one year old the summer of our hometown's first all city summer musical, Music Man.  Dress rehearsal week, he sat in my lap ever so still.  Watching, listening, learning. The next summer when he was 2,  he could sing tidbits of the songs from Hello Dolly by the end of that first week.  He was totally absorbed in all the acting, dancing and music that he was surrounded by.  He was in his first show at age 3 as a child in a burning house in The Outsiders.  That same year, he danced with the villagers from Anatevka in Fiddler on the Roof.  He looked like a cricket up on the stage, dancing in a circle with everyone, but he knew the choreography!  He was hooked.  

Tyler played basketball, baseball and football.  His grandpa took him to play golf and saw that he had lessons.  He is blessed with natural athletic ability, but when it came time to decide which sport to play in high school, he chose acting, singing and dancing.  What a surprise!  He also is blessed with a beautiful voice and participated in the school choir.  His athletic abilities give him a natural grace on stage.  

Now, he is all grown up, working in Nashville, writing songs, singing when the opportunity arises, others are singing his songs.  We went to lunch today, taking Tyler and his girlfriend to a terrific barbecue restaurant of his choosing.  I watched his easy smile, listened to his wicked sense of humor and admired his good looks.  How could it have possibly been 24 years ago.  Where is that sweet little boy with the curly hair, standing on the hearth of the fireplace singing into the poker from the fireplace tools?  

He is all grown up and his mother could not love him any more.

Because we were always on a limited budget, I did not buy many prepared foods - especially snack foods . Everything was baked from scratch.  Not only was it cheaper, it was healthier if that is possible when it comes to sweets.  At least there were no preservatives or corn syrup in what they ate.  I did sometimes cheat on frosting because of time constraints.  Tyler's favorite cookies are a from a recipe I found many, many years ago in a magazine.  Could not tell you what magazine any more.  The recipe is written in my book I started 41 years ago when we were first married.  It is tattered, stuffed full of cut out magazine recipes, and pieces of paper.  There are no empty pages to write on any more and haven't been for years.  I keep a rubber band around it to keep it from exploding. Whenever it was Tyler's turn to choose what I was going to bake, he always chose these cookies.  

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 pkg large marshmallows, cut in half with kitchen scissors, approximately 18 whole marshmallows for 36 1/2 marshmallows.

1 can fudge frosting mix.

To make:

Sift dry ingredients together.  Beat well by hand vegetable oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, milk and add to dry ingredients. Do not use a mixer.  Add nuts.  Drop by spoonsful onto greased cookie sheet.  After baking 8 minutes at 350, remove from oven and press 1/2 marshmallow into each cookie.  Return to oven 2 minutes longer.  Cool and frost.  This recipe makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

You can frost with homemade chocolate buttercream frosting, which I have done.  I  often use Duncan Hines fudge frosting.  It's quicker and easier.   This recipe doubles easily.   These cookies were always requested by our friends at get togethers.  They are really, really good!   The cookie has a brownie like texture and there is the hidden surprise of the marshmallow when you bite into them.  

Thanks for letting me walk down memory lane today.  I hope you will give Tyler's favorite cookies a try, especially if you have a birthday celebration anytime soon.   I know you will love them!!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

There is nothing better than cookies and milk, unless it's cookies and a cup of hot coffee!  Yum!!  And, they will always make you think of someone you love.