Salted Caramel Brownies

Salted Caramel Brownies

I used my standard approach to salted caramel, but I dialed back the heavy cream so that it would be less soft, and therefore better able to hold up in the batter. The brownie is my one-bowl favorite, with less salt and sugar to compensate for the sweetness and extra salt in the caramel. The result is a soft, messy brownie that it much, much, much easier to cut neatly if placed in the freezer until semi-firm.

Makes 1 8×8 pan of brownies which you can cut into 16 2-inch squares, 25 smaller squares, or even 32 2×1-inch bites.

Caramel
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (or salted, but then ease up on the sea salt)
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt (or 1/8 teaspoon table salt, more to taste)
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Brownie
3 ounces (85 grams) unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 stick (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt or 1/8 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup (85 grams) all-purpose flour

Make caramel: Set a square of parchment paper over a medium-sized plate. Lightly butter or coat the parchment with a spray oil, just as an added security measure.

In a medium, dry saucepan over medium-high heat, melt your sugar; this will take about 5 minutes, stirring if necessary to break up large chunks. By the time it is all melted, if should be a nice copper color; if not, cook until it is. Remove from heat and stir in butter. It may not incorporate entirely but do your best. Stir in cream and salt and return saucepan to the stove over medium-high heat, bringing it back to a simmer and melted again any sugar that solidified. Cook bubbling caramel for a few minutes more, until it is a shade darker.

Pour out onto parchment-covered plate and transfer plate to your freezer. Freeze until solidified, which can take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes in a decent freezer to 40 minutes in my terrible one.

Meanwhile, or when your caramel is almost firm, make your brownies: Heat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment, extending it up two sides. Butter the parchment or spray it with a nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium heatproof bowl over gently simmering water, melt chocolate and butter together until only a couple unmelted bits remain. Off the heat, stir until smooth and fully melted. You can also do this in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each. Whisk in sugar, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and salt. Stir in flour with a spoon or flexible spatula.

Assemble brownies: When caramel is firm, remove it from the freezer and chop it into rough 1-inch squares. Gently fold all but a small amount of caramel bits into batter. Scrape batter into prepared pan, spreading until mostly even. Scatter remaining caramel bits on top. Bake in heated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*Cool thoroughly — a process that can be hastened in the freezer, which will also produce cleaner cuts — and cut into squares or other desired shapes.

Leftover Ham? Make Ham Soup

1 pkg bacon, cut into small squares (cutting while frozen works best)

1 large onion (softball size), chopped

2 bay leaves

3 cloves of garlic, minced

4-5 lb of leftover ham still on the bone

12 c water

4 chicken bouillon cubes

16 oz frozen turnips

2 c mixed vegetables, frozen

1 can(s) cream of chicken soup

1 can(s) cream of potato soup

1 can(s) cream of mushroom of soup

Step-by-Step

1

 In a large (deep) pot, cook the bacon till crispy. Remove bacon and set aside in a paper towel lined bowl, leave the bacon drippings in the pot. Add chopped onion to the bacon drippings and cook until tender and transparent, about 15-20 minutes.

2

 Add bay leaves and garlic, sauté for about 3 minutes. Add leftover ham, water and chicken bouillon cubes…bring to a boil. Once at a boil reduce heat to low and cook until the ham starts to release from the bone, about two hours.

3

 Once the ham has started to release from the bone, remove the bone from the pot...you may need to cut some of the ham off the bone. Any large pieces of ham will need to be cut into smaller chunks.

Add any ham that you had removed from the bone back into the pot along with the remaining ingredients.

Cook for another 15-20 minutes until veggies are tender.

Add soup to bowls and sprinkle with reserved bacon pieces.

Caramel Cheesecake Bites

MINI CHEESECAKE VANILLE- ALMOND BUTTER SALTED CARAMEL

The basic crust :

About 1 cup of Graham crackers crumbled 

Melted butter 70g

40g blanched almonds crushed 

Cheese Cake :

800g Philadelphia cream cheese

100g sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

The salted butter caramel :

80 g of powdered sugar

10 cl cream

40g salted butter

3 pinches of sea salt

Directions:

Chop the blanched almonds . Cut with cookie crumbs in a blender and add the chopped almonds biscuits . Add the melted butter and mix again.

Cover pan mini hinges with parchment paper , place cookie crumbs and pack the bottom of the pan and the edges. Freeze time to prepare the cream.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a bowl , mix the Philadelphia using a wooden spoon , then add sugar and vanilla. Mix everything . Add eggs one at a time . Mix after each egg briefly. Avoid mixing too much, the cream should not be too liquid.

Pour this mixture over crust and bake biscuit 1 hour and then cool off in the oven. Then place in the fridge for 24 hours.

For the caramel :

Put the sugar in a saucepan and heat over low heat ultra .

Melt ; without stirring; sugar to obtain a light amber caramel.

Meanwhile , heat the cream so that it is just simmering .

When sugar is liquid, add the cream off the heat . Mix well (if caramel pieces are formed, dissolve by delivering the pan on ultra low heat , stirring ) . Then add still off the heat the butter , mix and add the salt. Stir and put in a jar. Close and store at room temperature.

To serve , unmold the cheesecake onto a serving platter.

3 Lessons a Working Mom Learned from Working Men

3 Work Life Balance Lessons Learned from Men 

As the holidays intensify this working mom's already hectic life, this author looks for help across the gender line. Check out this great article by Rikki Rogers who writes for The Muse. CLICK HERE

Roasted Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 head garlic, separated into whole cloves, papery skin removed (about 20 cloves)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning 

1 teaspoon flour

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 lemon, juiced

Bread, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Salt and pepper liberally and allow to temper on a cutting board while you prepare the garlic. In a large ovenproof saute pan over medium heat, cook the whole garlic cloves in olive oil and butter, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan and set aside. Increase the heat to medium high and brown the chicken skin-side down until the skin is golden and crispy, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over, sprinkle on herbes de Provence or poultry seasoning. Add the garlic back to the pan and place hot pan in oven. Bake the chicken until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Once the chicken is done, remove chicken thighs and garlic to a platter. Place the pan over medium-high heat and sprinkle the drippings with flour and stir to incorporate. Deglaze the pan with the stock and lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the chicken on the platter and serve with bread for sauce-mopping and garlic-spreading.

Spinach Muffins- for the veggie hating kids!

Moms' Day Out!!