Caramel Apples Dipped in Chocolate

My friend and her husband are anticipating the birth of their second baby (a boy) in less than two months. To celebrate this sweet occasion I decided to make a sweet treat for their baby shower. I thought this would be a great opportunity to experiment making something new.

My mind's totally blank on ideas until last Friday when I was drooling over pictures of caramel apples. Suddenly, the light bulb in my head flashed...that's it! So I got busy browsing for a recipe with easy instruction. I found some that tell you to buy pre-made caramel candy and melt them, some show you how to make them from scratch using a candy thermometer (I need to buy one soon) and some gave tips but refused to share their secret, passed-down from generations caramel recipe

For sure, I didn't want to buy the pre-made caramels but I also wanted something easy to follow. Finally, a caramel apple recipe from bloom.acious intrigued me. The recipe calls for cream cheese and toffee bits, something I didn't see in any other recipes and never even thought they're ingredients in caramel apples. So I got totally excited to tackle my first attempt at making homemade caramel apples.

Since I was making these for a baby shower, I wanted to fancy them up a little by dipping the caramel apples in dark chocolate and drizzle with toppings. I chose chopped peanuts, chopped pistachios, and toffee bits as the toppings. I also got some cute striped blue ribbons at Michael's Craft store to tie on the sticks.

I'm happy to say the caramel recipe was so easy. The cream cheese definitely added some richness to the caramel. The combination of the caramel, bittersweet chocolate, salty toppings, and tartness of the apples in one bite is unbelievable - over the top delicious! And once all dressed up with the ribbons, they looked so adorable. My personal favorite is the one with pistachios topping but the toffee bits were the most popular and were gone first. Hmmm...I see many more homemade caramel apples in my future...

Source: Bloomacious

Ingredients

10 small Granny Smith apples
10 sticks (wooden or lollipop sticks)

Caramel
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (8-oz.) package toffee bits (I used Heath toffee bits/chunks)
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate and Toppings
4 C. Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips
1 C. chopped pistachio nuts
1 C. chopped peanuts
1 C. Heath toffee bits

Cooking instruction:

1. Wash apples in lukewarm water to remove some of the wax then dry. Place them in the refrigerator.

2. Stir caramel ingredients together in a saucepan over medium heat until blended and allow to cool a bit.

3. Dip apples that have been fitted with a stick and set aside until the dip sets up.

4. Place each topping in a separate plate.

5. Pour chocolate chips in a glass bowl and melt in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and heat in 15 seconds increments, if needed, until chocolate is all melted and smooth. Dip caramel coated apples in the melted chocolate. Sprinkle with toppings.

Note: Line a jelly roll pan with wax paper and grease lightly with cooking spray. This will allow you to easily peel off the wax paper from the bottom of the caramel apples.

Pandan Bread Pudding Topped with Bananas and Butter-Rum Sauce

They say when life gives you lemon, make lemonade. So, when a recent BBQ left me with a couple of dozens extra hot dog buns, I made bread pudding. Ideally, bread pudding is made from day-old french bread or brioche. But there was no way I could eat 24 buns in time before they start to mold.

Instead of making the typical "American" bread pudding, I adapted an "Indonesian" version that my oldest sister learned from her mother-in-law by using Pandan essence and coconut milk. My sister usually mixed banana slices into the bread pudding but I decided to use them as toppings with a Butter-Rum sauce. The result: Heavenly!

Makes (1) 9"x13" baking dish

Ingredients
8 large eggs
3 C. coconut milk
1 T. pandan essence
1/2 C. sugar
1 t. salt
15 hot dog buns (1 loaf cubed french bread/brioche)

Bananas with Butter-Rum Sauce
4 medium bananas (sliced 1/2" thick)
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter
1 egg
1/2 C. sugar
1/4 C. Rum

Cooking instruction:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut milk, pandan essence, sugar, and salt.

2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Add cubed bread into the mixture and let them soak through for at least 10 minutes.

3. Butter the inside of a 9"x13" baking dish. Transfer the bread pudding mixture into the dish and spread evenly. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stick a wooden skewer in the middle of the pan and if it comes out clean, it's done.

4. Whisk butter, sugar, and egg in a saucepan under medium heat until bubbly and sauce thickens. Add banana slices and Rum and cook for about 1 minute.

5. Place a slice of bread pudding on a small plate and spoon banana slices and Rum sauce on top. Serve warm.

Beet Konnyaku Jelly with Lychee

After making Pickled Beets I ended up with a few cups of beet water left and I just couldn't find the heart to throw them down the drain. They're full of nutrients and the color is just amazing. So I decided to experiment and made Konnyaku fruit Jelly out of them by adding a packet of Konnyaku jelly powder, sugar, lime juice, and Lychee juice. I placed Lychee fruit around a mold then poured the mixture. I also used my adorable fruit shaped ice cube trays to make some bite-size ones. Who knew beet can make a wonderful dessert? And I was so pleased with how sweet and pretty they came out.