okay...calm down...take a few breaths and repeat after me, " you can do this"!  say it a few times and pour a glass of wine or whiskey and really get cozy to the idea of making brittle.  i finally did it. so can you.  if you have a candy thermometer, it's go time.  guess what, i thrifted mine, brand new for 25 cents.  let's do this!

brittle is so good on it's own or crushed up on ice cream.  hello!  delish.  this recipe makes 2 pounds, so there is enough to go around. yu-umm.

i adapted this recipe from Ted Allen's cook book, In My Kitchen, which is one of my faves.  for reals... i have a huuuge crush on him and want to invite him over to my crib for a dinner party. making his brittle was kind of a way to...uh... ehem...err... have a reason to send him fan mail.  just kidding. but kind of not.   think i will.  

anyway, Ted's recipe calls for corn syrup, which i am totes not down with (the #1 reason i haven't made fancy cute time marshmallows yet, which are, in fact, why i purchased a candy thermometer in the first place) so i decided to go a bit cray cray and use brown rice syrup.  i was thinking i could try agave syrup and it might be a closer fit, as far as a substitute, but didn't have enough...you may try to sub agave...tell me how it goes.  i am going to try marshmallows with it. i will share.  obvz.   however, the brown rice syrup made such yummers brittle, i dunno if i would switch it up again.  

ingredients:

4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (plus more for baking sheets)
3 cups pecans (i did 2 cups pecans and 1 cup pumpkin seeds)
2 cups sugar (yup, i went white sugar on this one)
1 cup brown rice syrup (or agave syrup)
3 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (i used our homemade rum vanilla extract)
3/4 tsp  flaky salt (cyprus or maldon sea salt is the best here)

3.   measure out and have ready your butter, baking soda, and vanilla.

4.   butter 3 baking sheets and set aside. 

5.   combine brown rice syrup, sugar, and 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear'ish.  use a pastry brush dipped in water or silicon spatula to brush/wash any remaining sugar crystals down the sides of the sauce pan.  stick a candy thermometer into the pot, increase the heat to medium high and cook without stirring until mixture thickens and the thermometer reads 230F. 

6.   add the pecans, pumpkin seeds and butter, and stirring constantly, cook until the temp reaches 305F.  remove from heat, and quickly stir in baking soda and vanilla.  be super careful, as the mixture might sputter and foam.

7.   pour the mixture in 3 equal portions onto the buttered baking sheets.   butter the back of a wooden spoon or the spatula you are using, and use it to spread mixture out as thinly as possible. sprinkle the sea salt over the brittle.  allow to cool and then break into pieces.  store it in an air tight container for up to a month.  ha.  as if you will have it for that long.

alright, who doesn't want to trick their kids into eating "good for you" candy and thinking they are just as spoiled as can be?  alright, calm down moms in the back!  you can put your waving arms down now.  don't make me pull over the car!  

i made these orange juice lego gummies yesterday to bring in for Loi's valentines day party at school.  see, i used the lego molds after this to make chocolates for his valentines he's going to pass out today...post to follow... so, i figured they would tie into his "we click together" theme he (i) had going on.  i had found the molds online last year and went cray cray with them for the lego birthday party he had last year.  hmm, also...post to follow...  

anyhoo, the recipe i used yesterday for these is suuuper easy, fast and you probz have everything you need in your kitchen right now.   ingredients...orange juice and gelatin.  i used grass fed gelatin, but normal gelatin packets are easily found at any grocery store.  now, the recipe is from a super cute book from 1964 called Sugar Free Toddlers.  i only used this one, because, as i said, i had all the ingredients here.  had i not been sick as a dog all week, i would have gone to buy lemons and used the second recipe i will list down yonder.  they are my fave.  my son loved these oj ones...so, in a pinch, here yar:

prep time: 2 mins
cook time: 5 mins

ingredients

3 cups fruit juice 
5 packets unflavored gelatin powder

in a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of juice with the gelatin powder.  bring 1 cup of juice to a boil, then stir in the gelatin mixed juice. add remaining cup of juice and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.  pour into molds or into an 8 x 8 pan and chill until set.  if you use a pan, you can cut out shapes with a cookie cutter.

this one is the jam guys.  try this recipe.  kinda addictive.  did you know there is tons of protein in gelatin? who knew.  


one word of advice: pick a simple mold! these legos were hard to pop out perfectly. the dots at the top were giving me a run for my money (seriously, what does that even mean? c'mon quotes! make more sense sometimes!).  pick a solid form that'll pop out easy.

pink lemonade protein gummy candy
prep time: 5 minutes

total time: 5 minutes


ingredients

• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp lemon juice (not from concentrate)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 full dropper of berry stevia drops
• 1-2 drops lemon or orange doTerra essential oil or extract (optional)
• 1-2 drops natural food coloring (optional)
• 1/4 cup grass-fed gelatin

instructions

1. in a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together honey, lemon juice, stevia drops, lemon extract and food coloring(optional).
2. add in gelatin and continue to whisk constantly until smooth and there are no lumps.
3. transfer into a liquid measuring cup to easily pour into your molds.
4. place in fridge or freezer to let gelatin set for a a while before removing from molds.

Notes:

store in an airtight container, will stay firm at room temperature. if there's any left after a few days (nom nom), refrigerate for up to two weeks.

i know, some of you can't get down with stevia...but the flavored stevia drops (Sweetleaf Sweet Drops) they are making are seriously awesome. not a fan of the valencia orange, but all the others i've tried are totes the jam.  we have a soda stream and make "soda" all the time with bubbly water and a few drops of the falva'flave droplets.  i feel like i'm doing an infomercial here...but i do use these in recipes some times, so here's a link and the flavors they carry....  http://www.sweetleaf.com/products/sweet-drops-products

Coconut • Watermelon • Cola • Lemon Drop • Valencia Orange • Berry 
Chocolate Raspberry • English Toffee • Vanilla Crème • Hazelnut • Peppermint • Root Beer
Grape • Apricot Nectar • Chocolate • Cinnamon

make your own tootsie rolls at home using this easy recipe!  there's no cooking or baking required and it's made using simple pantry staples.  go on...try it out.  up..up...up...

i never liked them when i was a child.  gave them away or traded them when i'd get them in my bag of halloween loot.  but when i ran across this recipe a couple years ago, i thought i'd try it out.  in love.  you seriously will not believe how much (better) they taste like the real dealio. cray cray.

okay, so, this is the part, very much like the beginning of a dramatic movie when credits are binging forth artistically here and there and the music fades out and there's text across the screen informing you that this is a true story. gasp.  i always wonder how true and how big of liberties they took with the actual events and script. but, in any case, these cookies are a true story.  the recipe inspirado comes from the Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies recipe in the book Quinoa 365:  The Everyday Superfood.  check the book out, if you have not, it is my favourite cookbook for gluten free baking. hands down.  for any baking, actually. 

i am a full on anarchist when it comes to baking.  you always hear that, in the kitchen, baking is where you have to actually stick to a precise recipe.  feck that.  total anarchy baby. substitutions is my middle name.  could be sexier, but let's go with it.  

almond butter chocolat chip quinoa cookies

2 cups quinoa flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter

1/2 cup sucanat, stevia, xylitol, erythritol, date sugar, or plain old cane sugar*

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups organic almond butter

1/2-1 cup chocolate chips (how chocolatey do you want them baby? it's up to you)

Preheat oven to 375F.

combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

cream the butter with the two "sugars" until smooth.  Beat in the eggs and then add the almond butter and mix well.  slowly add the flour mixture and blend well.   fold in your chocolate chips and chill the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes.

i like rolling little balls at this point but you could also use a 1 inch cookie scoop to spoon dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  place them 2 inches apart.  Flatten the balls with a fork in a crisscross design.

place on the center rack and bake 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies brown slightly on the edges and puff up.

remove the cookies from the oven and cool for a few before transferring to a cooling rack.  Store in a sealed container for up to 1 week. 

*so awesome using alternative sweetners in this one because my fam never knows. i can pop them in Loji's lunch and feel great about it.

*also, for all of you with super legit sweet tooths, the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup each white sugar and brown sugar.  my fave is to use 1/2 cup hippy kind, 1/2 cup brown sugz.  you get sweet from the added chocolate chips too....enjoy!

major tradition in our house...behold, the chocolate dipped pretzels!  we make about 4 thousand 9 hundred and 52 of them. you like that? big numbers spelled out for dramatic purposes? thoughtchya might.  we give these out every year wrapped in cute cello bags with nifty bows or in mason jars with personalized labels. they are the perfect gift for peeps like teachers, dentists, neighbours, etc that you wanna give a little salty sweet tasty something to that says, "happy holly daze"  OR to give along side of a proper gift to someone you love.  i do them with the kids and listen to old jazzy christmas tunes. oh songza, how i love you and your clever mixes to match any moment.  i bet there's a mix titled "songs to dip pretzels in chocolate to".  

anyhoozles, these are soooo easy and fun.  buy Snyder's pretzel rods and carefully snap them in half.  the rough edge will be the one you dip in chocolate.  you'll need parchment paper to lay them on after you dip them in melted chocolate and also an assortment of garnishes to sprinkle on them.  the more the merrier.   i usually get red, white and green sprinkles just for some colour pops but love things like smoked sea salt, crushed or slivered toasted almonds, coconut, crushed candy canes, and applewood smoked bacon bits (wow, just thought of that one-i don't even really eat bacon-go nuts guys!).  melt chocolate (bakers, chips, fine, cheap, just use whatchyu want. i like semi sweet and white for these in different batches) down in a double broiler (aka one pot filled with a couple of inches of boiling water with a bowl that sits on top).  if you have it, add a spoon of coconut oil to the chocolate. do not substitute with a different oil.  i find it helps it coat easier and isn't as thick.  carefully dip each pretzel one by one about halfway and coat half of it.  try and let it drip as much off before you lay it down on the parchment paper.   sprinkle toppings before the chocolate drys and package just as cut as you can.