Chocolate & Butterscotch Chip Bars

These babies are just as tasty as they sound & are much easier to make than chocolate chip cookies.  You gotta love a recipe that doesn't call for any planning like taking out the butter to soften.

Chocolate & Butterscotch Chip Bars, slightly adapted from King Arthur's Flour

Ingredients:

2/3 cup unsalted butter
2 cups + 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
2 3/4 cups flour
3 large eggs, room temp
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 
1/4 teaspoon vanilla butter & nut flavor
3 cups of any type of "chips" and/or nuts (I used butterscotch & semi-sweet)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan. 

Melt the butter in a large bowl & stir in the brown sugar. Add the vanilla & flavoring, stirring until well combined. Allow the mixture to cool slightly (so that the eggs do not cook once added).  While the butter mixture cools whisk together flour, baking powder, espresso powder, & salt in a medium bowl.  Once the butter mixture is cooled add the eggs one at a time.  Beat well after each addition & scrape down the sides as needed. Next add in the flour mixture stirring until just combined.  Stir in the chips or other additions of your choice. Pour the batter into your prepared pan, spreading it to the edges with a wet spatula (or your wet fingers) & smoothing out the top.

Bake the bars for 30 to 32 minutes, until they've risen, and their top is shiny and golden. Bake for the shorter amount of time in a darker pan; the longer time in a light/shiny pan. A cake tester inserted into the center won't come out clean; in fact, the center of the very middle of the pan may look quite molten when you dig into it. So long as no wet batter is showing farther out towards the edges the bars are done. (Do not over bake!) As the bars cool the center will solidify. 
Remove the bars from the oven, and use a heatproof spatula to press down the risen edges; this will make bars with flat, rather than humped tops. Let the bars cool completely before cutting; overnight is best. Once bars are cool, wrap airtight. Store wrapped bars @ room temperature for a couple of days.

Banana Caramel Crescents

For those of you that know me, know that my family and I have a serious love of bananas so we usually have some ripening on the counter.  While I went with bananas this quick and easy dessert doesn't require them or even caramel.  Just some crescent roll dough and whatever you fancy.  My one suggestion is to keep the ingredients cold.  It makes everything easier to handle.  You don't have to but giving the stuffed and rolled dough a quick stint in the freezer to firm up will give you neater and prettier crescents.  I topped some with the last of the caramel, others with powdered sugars, and one plain.  You could also whip up a glaze of powdered sugar and heavy cream.  Enjoy!

White Texas Sheet Cake

Have you visited the blog Mel's Kitchen Cafe?  If you haven't I highly suggest that you do.  Mel has a TON of delicious looking recipes, both savory and sweet.  I've yet to make a recipe of hers that wasn't a winner.  This White Texas Sheet Cake is her recipe as well and it's a keeper.  Because I trusted Mel's recipe I changed things up just the tiniest bit.  I like orange and almond together so I added some orange zest to brighten things up.  Turns out that wasn't a bad idea as we loved the cake.  There is one little change I'll make the next time I bake this and that's to cut back on the frosting.  I thought it overwhelmed the cake.  Shocking I know!  I'm also thinking I'd like to try adding a thin layer of raspberry (maybe strawberry?) jam between the cake and frosting.  Mel made a coconut one that she claims was equally delish so I'm thinking this recipe is pretty forgiving when it comes to changing up the flavor.  Give it try and let me know what you think!

No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls; Recipe Rewind

The first time I made this recipe was back in 2009.  At that time I was getting over my fear of working with yeast and rolling out dough.  Looking back I can see I've come a long way, with my photography (still a long way from where I want to be, but improved nonetheless) and especially in the kitchen.  I no longer pass over recipes for any other reason than I don't have the time to put into them.  And when time permits new ones are approached with a "can do" attitude.  It feels good.  

I've made the "normal" yeast cinnamon rolls, these no yeast ones, and a "biscuit" version.  This recipe really is a winner, especially if pressed for time. Cinnamon rolls in under an hour using a recipe that doesn't sacrifice taste or texture?  Yes, please!

Looking for the recipe?  Click here and while you're grabbing the recipe check out my photography progress. Better, right?  I hope you give these a try and if you do let me know what you think, good or bad!

Blackberry and Ricotta Parfaits

These may sound a little weird but they're actually quite good. I don't think ricotta cheese instantly comes to mind as a dessert ingredient for most people.  But it does for me.  I first feel in love with it way back as a cannoli loving teen.  I loved it so much I checked out an Italian dessert cookbook from the local library just to learn how to make the cannoli filling.

Unfortunately, I don't have a recipe for you. It's more of a "method" as these were born out of my children's complete love of sweetened ricotta cheese and the need to use up some blackberries that were on their last leg.  (See Monica we love other things besides bananas! :-)

Here's what I did.... I took ricotta cheese, drained it, and then whisked in some sugar.  I've also used honey and powdered sugar.  Depending what I'm layering with the cream I've also added lemon and orange zest, Fiori di Sicilia, vanilla, and almond extracts.  Use whatever works for you.  My children will eat the ricotta cream just sweetened with nothing else, but they love it best with berries.  In this case I had some blackberries that had seen better days.  I tossed most of the blackberries into a small pot and cooked them down with a little bit of sugar.  Once they had released their juices and the berries were sufficiently softened I took them off the stove and I stirred in the few berries I had reserved.  (I did this to add more texture.)  While the berries were cooking I crushed up some Maria cookies for a third layer.  Because I wanted the contradiction of hot and cold, I had the cream chilling in the freezer during the few minutes it took to cook the berries.  Layer up the cookies, cream, and berries and your done!  Easy and delicious!  

BTW, if you haven't ben able to tell I am having serious issues with formatting! ughhh

Cake Batter Popcorn

Here's a fun treat for you, cake batter popcorn.

Based on my children's eager consumption I'd say it get's their seal of approval.  I've actually made this twice.  The first time said children weren't waiting for photos.  This time I made it while they were out and shot away.

With the first batch of cake batter popcorn I followed the recipe exactly as written.  This time I went with what I had in my pantry. You gotta love those kinds of "recipes".  Here's the link to it.  Take a look and make it your own.  (Keep in mind.... cake mix + white chocolate + sprinkles = very sweet)

Swedish Visiting Cake

This is one of those don't judge a book by its cover moments.  Swedish Visiting Cake doesn't look like much but it has lots of almond flavor, a tender moist crumb, and a yummy bit of crunch from sliced almonds and turbinado sugar.  An added bonus, it's a cinch to make.  The toughest thing is zesting the lemon, but you can do that while your melted butter is cooling.  I intended to warm some raspberry jam to drizzle on the wedges but sadly I didn't have any.  It really is a lovely cake.  I hope you give it a try and if you do please let me know what you think.  FYI... Jalen one of my twin boys loved it so much he hid the last two pieces AND immediately requested it again! 

Swedish Visiting Cake (slightly adapted from In the Kitchen & On the Road with Dorie)

Serves 8 to 10

1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

About 1/4 cup sliced almonds (blanched or not)

1 tablespoon turbinado {or any coarse} sugar for sprinkling on top

jam of your choice, warmed to drizzle on individual wedges

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a seasoned 9-inch cast-iron skillet or other heavy ovenproof skillet, a 9-inch cake pan or even a pie pan. (I used two skillets.  One 6 inch & one for 4 inch, which is why my slices look a little thin. They were from the smaller skillet.)

Pour the sugar into a medium bowl.  Add the zest and blend the zest and sugar together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic.  Whisk in the eggs one at a time until well blended.  Whisk in the salt and the extracts.  Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the flour.  Finally, fold in the melted butter.

Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.  Scatter the sliced almonds over the top and sprinkle with a little sugar (I used turbinado sugar for a little added crunch).  If you're using a cake or pie pan, place the pan on a baking sheet.

Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it is golden and a little crisp on the outside; the inside will remain moist.  Remove the pan from the oven and let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then run a thin knife around the sides and bottom of the cake to loosen it.  You can serve the cake warm or cooled, directly from the skillet or turned out onto a serving plate. (Drizzle warmed jam on wedges.)

Carmelitas

If you're new here what I say next may change the way you look at me....I don't like chocolate.  Not when I'm emotionally distraught and not even when it's "that" time.  Chocolate just doesn't do it for me. Before blogging I thought I didn't like caramel either. In the years that I've been blogging I have learned a few things about myself.  I don't like milk chocolate, a piece of good dark chocolate isn't so bad, and that Smucker's caramel is NOT the same thing as homemade caramel! Who knew?! Well I know now and let me just tell you I love me some homemade caramel. 

I've drooled over photos of carmelitas for years but never made them because the recipes all called for caramel squares.  I still wouldn't have made them if I had not found a bag of caramels in the pantry this weekend.  Luckily I did as these bars are insanely good.  Not just good, insanely good and the only thing I would change, and remember this is coming from me, a non chocolate lover, is to cut back on the chocolate chips.  Other than that these are pure caramel perfection. Don't be like me and wait to find an expired bag of caramels.  Buy a bag and make them now! 

Carmelitas,Lulu the Baker

32 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda (I added)

1/2 teaspoon of coarse sea salt

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, sea salt and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.

*A stint in the fridge will help them cool off if you're pinched for time. They shouldn't be served cold, but all of that molten caramel takes a long time to cool down. They should be stored and served at room temperature.

**If you want to use homemade or store-bought caramel sauce in place of the caramel/cream mixture, use 1 1/4 cups of sauce. (I'm gonna give homemade a try & will update the recipe.)
***To make a 9x13" version, simply double the amounts. 

Cinnamon Crisps

Short & sweet!  That's pretty much how I like my recipes nowadays.  Quick and easy are another two words that come to mind when looking for recipes to try and this recipe falls right into that category.

In keeping with today's short and sweet theme here's the recipe.  I didn't have any ice cream so I added a glaze. Heavy cream plus powdered sugar equals heaven. Just saying! Enjoy!

Funfetti (not so) Gooey Bars

I'm sure most of you guys have made or eaten some form of a "gooey" bar, but have they actually been gooey?  Not one recipe that I've made has been "gooey".  I've made the traditional recipe, a s'mores, and now these funfetti ones.  None of them were truly gooey and that's the word that catches my attention and draws me in.  That being said I still recommend you give these bars a try.  While they weren't gooey they were delicious.  May I make one recommendation?  Make sure you have plenty of milk.  They're wonderfully sweet.

I'm not going to type out the recipe as I didn't make any changes to it other than cutting back on the bake time (27 mins).  Oh and I noticed as I was grabbing the web address Dorothy (Crazy for Crust) has another gooey bar recipe up.  Kinda looks gooey too!

Club Soda Waffles

My children love breakfast just not the kind that comes out of a box.  During the week they're forced to eat ready made ones so on the weekends they expect me to really do it up.  While most weekends I don't mind, there are some mornings I just don't feel like being in the kitchen.  That's when this recipe comes in handy.

It's so easy and yet so good. Let me ask you a question?  Wanna spend all morning in the kitchen or do you wanna whip up a quick and delicious breakfast that meets your kiddos' high standards?  I'm thinking the latter.  And you know what?  These waffles are totally weekday friendly, too.

Club Soda Waffles

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cup biscuit mix
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 10-ounce bottle club soda, (1 1/4 cup)
• *Waffle maker (mine makes 7" waffles & I got 6 waffles from the recipe.)

1. 1. Preheat  your waffle maker. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring until smooth. Slowly add club soda, stirring until smooth.
2. 2. Pour a portion of the batter into the waffle maker.  You'll want to follow the "general" instructions for making waffles that came with your waffle maker. 
3. 3. Serve with desired topping. (I topped mine with whipped cream & leftover bourbon butter sauce)
4. 
   
5. Note:  The batter will be thin. I found that it did not spread as much as other recipes that I've tried. 

Slightly adapted from, Myrecipes.com

1. 
   

S’mores Parfaits

When I was looking for the brown butter cinnamon spice rice krispy post on Let’s Dish I came across these yummy looking Individual S’mores Trifles.  I’m a sucker for toasted marshmallows so they were a no brainer. Danelle called hers trifles.  I called mine parfaits.  While I’m not sure what the difference is between a trifle and parfait, they both have layers of chocolate pudding, marshmallow fluff, and graham cracker pieces.  Either way call them delicious! My family did!  Oh, and besides being delicious the recipe is ridiculously easy.  You could, of course, complicate things by making all the layers from scratch but essentially all you need is probably sitting in your pantry.

Brown Butter Cinnamon Spice Rice Krispy

You know how people say they wish they had scratch and sniff monitors? Well this is one of those treats that makes me wish you did. They don’t look much but they smell and taste JUST.LIKE.FALL.

I thought Smitten Kitchen’s salted brown butter rice krispy treats were wonderful but the cinnamon spice takes these to a whole other level, a warm slightly spicy Fall level.  I’m not the only one who thought so.  Several of my co-workers said the same.

 

Monica  initially enticed me with her post but the recipe comes from another great blog, Let’s Dish.  I followed Monica’s adaption but made one change.  I whisked the spices into the browned butter instead of adding them to the marshmallows.  Having made them once there is one more change I’d make.  I’d add more marshmallows!  Just a handful, tiny bit more.  I LOVE rice krispy treats when they’re sticky and gooey with extra melty marshmallow goodness! 

---

For those of you that have been long time readers of 3Bs and may have links to the blog or blog posts those are no longer good.  I’m sorry for the inconvenience.  Someone decided that they liked my domain name so much they bought it out from underneath me but I can buy it back for only $8,800!! 

 

Flickr Tags: brown butter,bars,cinnamon,spice,rice krispy,treats

Keeping my fingers crossed

Several months ago I had the unpleasant surprise of finding that someone had snagged my domain name.  I didn't get a courtesy email reminding me to renew or a "Hey, we've sold your domain for more money so you need to move your posts!"  I've attempted to contact GoDaddy but it appears they now wants $8800!!  What in the world?

I'm hoping that this works (blogspot) which means some of my posts have not been lost.  Keep your fingers crossed!

Oh,and I've got a spicy treat lined up if this does work!
~ingrid

Cookies & Cream Brownies

Hi.  It’s been a long time, too long.  Before I tell you about this super easy &super yummy brownie I’d like to say thanks to everyone who left comments & sent emails asking how I was doing.  It meant a lot and made my day every time I got one.   The kids and I are doing well.  Hopefully this will be a “quieter” year for us.  I don’t know how much I’ll be blogging but I’m not going to let it get to this point again. The awkward, I don’t know where to begin one.  I’m thinking we start with brownies………

Cookies & cream brownies to be exact.  :)  I made them to give as a thank you to a few of the lunch ladies at Babygirl’s school.  I was in charge of planning the teacher’s Welcome Back Breakfast this year and they catered it.  I don’t know if they liked them, but I can tell you these were a big hit with my three.

I adapted the recipe from one I made before that I found on Karen’s blog Mignardise.  I’m not going to give you a recipe for the brownie base.  Just use your favorite one or a  box like I did.  Are you shocked by my craziness?  Don’t be.  I’ve yet to have someone ask me if my brownies were boxed and I haven’t found a homemade recipe that rocked my world so, boxed it is. 

Cookies & Cream Brownies

*One batch brownies with chopped up Oreos added.

*Cookies & Cream Frosting, doubled :)

2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp. heavy cream, plus a little extra
approx. 8 oreos, crushed well
Combine all frosting ingredients except the oreos and beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. You may need to add a bit more heavy cream to get a spreadable consistency. Mix in crushed oreos (more or less). Spread frosting evenly over cooled brownies.

You can fancy these up by topping each bar with an oreo cookie half like I did or you can top the whole thing with ganache thus smothering the “cream” between two layers of chocolate.

Enjoy!

Reaching Out

One of the first things I learned about food bloggers was, that they were a generous and compassionate group.  They banded tightly together in times of need and freely gave of themselves.  A recent example of this was when Monica blogged about a dear blogger friend that passed away.  Monica never meet Jeanette but still felt a strong less of loss at her passing. The supportive comments Monica received were amazing.  Going a little further back, another example was when  Ericka, a fellow blogger and her family were lucky to escape a fire that took her home and all her possessions.  The out pouring of support she was given was incredible.  I didn’t know her but soon felt like I did after reading about her and her story on many blogs.  Those are just two examples.  There are many others and I’m hoping that same supportive spirit will continue on and be bestowed on the family of another blogger. 

This afternoon I received an email from Michelle of One Ordinary Day.  Michelle’s sister Bea and her family lost their home on Saturday morning to a fire.  Thankfully everyone made it out alive.  However, Bea’s husband did not escape unscathed.  Given what could have been, they’re very thankful but it’s hard to ignore the fact that their home and all their possessions were lost.  Yes, they can be replaced but it’s so hard when it’s everything.  Michelle has a short post about it on her blog.  She doesn’t go into many details but does ask for your prayers and good thoughts.  I hope you’ll take a few minutes to visit Michelle and extend Bea’s family good wishes.  I know times are tough and I hate to ask but if you are able to, please consider making a small donation, every little bit helps. Thank you!

A Little Late

I know the holiday party season is long gone but if you don’t know or haven’t already tried Hickory Farms sausages and cheeses you might be missing out.

I was a lucky recipient of a small Hickory Farms gift pack through Food Buzz’s Tastemakers program.  I actually received it just before Thanksgiving though it wasn’t until New Year’s Eve that we sampled it.  We loved it especially the kids.  They gobbled  it up faster than I could cut it.  I’m not one to blog about savory foods (Kudos to you guys that do!  It’s tough getting good photos!) but I thought it worth mentioning.  And really you don’t have to wait for a party to serve it.  You can do like I do and feed it to the kiddos as an after school snack.

---

I want to thank you  for sticking with me these past few weeks.  I know I haven’t been around and my commenting has been sparse.  I’d like to say that I’ll be better but it may be a few more weeks before I’m back into the swing of things. 

Now for the reason I’ve been MIA.  As most of you know I got a dslr back in July, well I’ve been teaching myself how to use it.  In order to do that I have to read,read, read, and practice, practice,practice.  At the same time I’m trying to master my camera and the manual setting I still have to work fulltime, “keep house”, raise three children, and juggle all their activities.  It isn’t easy and I don’t know how the rest of you guys manage but it’s tough juggling act.  It’s a poor excuse for my neglect of our friendship but it’s the only one I’ve got.  :)  You know, it’s partially your fault too.  All your  lovely comments on my photos and how I’ve improved is what encouraged me to really dive in and learn more. 

I didn’t intend to share as I’m kinda nervous about what you’ll think but I’m participating in a Project 365 and post my daily photo here if you’re interested.  (Please, don’t feel like you need to visit or comment.)  Thanks!

Banana Roll w/Cinnamon Cream Cheese

It’s even better than it sounds and it sounds pretty darn good, doesn’t it?!  :) 

I stumbled across this recipe while looking for another recipe.  (Wanna hear something  funny? I don’t remember what recipe I was originally looking for.   Must not have been a good one. )  The blog I found this on is called Pinch My Salt and the title for the blog post was, “Tired of Banana Bread?  Try this recipe!”  And so I ask you the same thing?  Tired of banana bread?  Make banana roll with cinnamon cream cheese frosting! :)

I followed the recipe exactly.  My only change was to spice up the filling by adding some cinnamon.  I did have a problem flipping the cake out onto my powdered sugar towel and later trying to roll it up.  It was very tender.  I probably should have cooked it for a minute more. 

Banana Roll, from Pinch My Salt

Cake:
Powdered sugar
3/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3 eggs
1 C sugar
2/3 C. mashed banana (2 medium bananas)

Filling:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 C. powdered sugar, sifted
6 T. butter, softened
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 C. powdered sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 15×10 inch jelly-roll pan (also known as half sheet pan); line with parchment or waxed paper. Grease and flour paper; set aside. Spread out a clean, thin dish towel on the counter (make sure the towel is larger than your jelly roll pan); sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar (this can be done using a mesh strainer).

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda.

3. In a large bowl combine eggs and sugar; beat until thickened. Add banana; beat until well mixed.

4. Stir in flour mixture into egg mixture. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan, easing it carefully to the corners with a spatula.

5. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 13 to 15 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched.

6. Immediately loosen cake from edges of pan; invert cake onto the prepared towel. Remove pan; carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake in towel while hot, starting with 10-inch side. Cool completely on wire rack (will take at least an hour).

7. When the cake is almost completely cooled, make the filling: beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. (Add some cinnamon to taste to kick it up!)

8. When cake has cooled completely, unroll and spread with filling (or your favorite cream cheese frosting) then re-roll cake. Wrap rolled cake in plastic wrap then refrigerate at least one hour (overnight is best).

9. When ready to serve, unwrap cake and place on a platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired (sift the sugar through a small mesh strainer for a nice presentation). Cut into slices.

Anyone Interested In Cinnamon Roll Cake?

Yes? Anyone?  You are?  Well, follow me over to Jolts & Jollies where I share the recipe to this super easy yet so delicious cake in a guest blog post. 

Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut

Well, hello!  It’s been awhile.  I’ve missed you guys!  December turned out to be a lot crazier than I thought and unfortunately blogging to took a backseat to everything else. 

For most folks December is when they break out their cookie sheets, dust off their mixer, and stock up butter and sugar and it should have been no different for me.  As a food blogger and one who blogs about desserts I should have been baking up a storm.  Unfortunately it  didn’t happen.  I did though make these scrumptious addicting candied almonds.  Twice.  Both times I made them with the intention of sharing them with my neighbors but like my Christmas baking it didn’t happen.  I have Jonna to thank for sharing the recipe.  Jonna has a delicious blog and I have yet to be disappointed with any of her recipes.  As a matter of fact the only other recipe I made last month that was baked for Christmas Day was hers.  I’ll be sharing it with you at some point, too.

BURNT SUGAR ALMONDS

~ Gebrannte Mandeln~

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup Water, Plus 2 Tablespoons
• 1 cup & ⅓ cup Sugar, Divided
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, Ground
• 2 cups Raw Almonds (I also used pecans.)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (I used vanilla bean paste)

Directions:

Notes before beginning: Make sure that you DO NOT let the first sugar mixture evaporate until it’s dry.  You don’t want it soupy, but rather a very thick syrup that is adhering to the nuts.  This is when you will add your second addition of sugar (1/3 cup).  If your mixture does become too dry, and all the sugar has dried up – don’t throw everything away.  It’s o.k.!  Just add a couple tablespoons of warm water, and stir until you have a bit of shine, but also some lumps beginning to form.

Use a heavy saucepan (NOT the nonstick kind) and a wooden spoon.

First add the water, 1 cup of sugar and the cinnamon and stir. Bring it to a boil over medium heat. Add the almonds to the mix, raise the temperature to high heat and stir CONSTANTLY until the water is boiled away.

The sugar will dry out a little but start to stick to the almonds. Keep stirring them around, so that the almonds don’t burn on the bottom of the pan.

Turn the heat under the pan to medium-low, to keep the sugar from browning too fast. Keep stirring until the almonds start having an even shiny coat.

Now dump in the rest of your sugar. Keep stirring, and add your vanilla. At this point, I like to mention that if you have vanilla sugar or a powdered type of vanilla flavoring, do feel free to use that over the liquid kind. It tends to work better. If you do, mix it with the 1/3 of a cup of sugar you are using for the second lot of sugar.

At this point, there might be quite some noise ensuing from your pan. Some crackling and popping, but hopefully no snapping. It depends on how fresh your almonds were. Really fresh almonds will make a popping noise and the coat may start to crack. That’s the water in the almonds escaping. If the almonds are older, there won’t be as much of that!

Keep stirring until the almonds are fairly shiny, but still a bit lumpy. You don’t want them completely smooth. The best ones are the ones that are shiny in some areas with some delicious lumps of cinnamon sugar on other parts of the almond.

As soon as you see that happening, take them off the heat and transfer the almonds to a sheet of parchment paper. Spread them apart as much as you can, but don’t worry about some of them sticking together initially.  However, BE CAREFUL. These are extremely hot, so only use a spoon. These babies can really burn you!

While they are cooling down, keep on breaking them apart with your spoon(s) until they are all separated. Fair warning: these are totally divine when they are still ever-so-slightly warm. You’ve been warned!

Once they are cooled, hide them in a dry, closed container. Theoretically, they keep for several weeks.

Don’t be put off by the length of the directions!  They are just very detailed.

While we’re on the top of nuts, last month I won a contest Avril was having on her blog.  She was giving away several boxes of The True Nuts.  (Read about the company here.  Even if you don’t love almonds you have to love their social consciousness.) received five different flavors of roasted maple almonds.  Some of the flavors were expected and a few were a surprise.  My favorite was the the coconut.  As a matter of fact I’m last few that are left while I type this.  :) Thanks Avril!