4th Day of Bloggy Christmas: Microwave Caramels

   

Deliciously Simple Microwave Caramels

My Grandmother made homemade candy every year when I was growing up.  I have delved into making fudge and a few other recipes, but as a busy Mom sometimes it's hard finding the time to make really good candy.  My friend Kerry shared her recipe with me for Microwave Caramels! You heard it right, homemade caramels made in the microwave.  Super easy, super delicious.  Try this recipe, I promise you won't be disappointed :) This is one I will be making again and again. And since this pan is already gone, I will have to make more to actually hand out...

Ingredients:

1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter

1 cup brown sugar (I used dark)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light Karo syrup

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Melt the butter in a 2 quart glass bowl.  Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, Karo syrup, and sweetened condensed milk.  Stir well, incorporating all ingredients until a smooth consistency.  

Place the glass bowl on a large plate, and cook for 7 minutes on high power.  Meanwhile butter a 9x13 pan.

Carefully remove caramel from the microwave and stir well again.  

Return to the microwave and cook on high for another 7 minutes.  It may boil over, which is why you want to put a plate underneath the bowl.  Just let it continue cooking anyway.

When done carefully remove from the microwave, add the vanilla extract and stir.  

Pour the caramel into the prepared pan.  Cool.  (I found that the caramel cuts easiest after about 2 hours) 

Cut the caramels with a sharp knife to your desired size. I cut 1x1.5-2" rectangles.  

Cut 3-4" strips of wax paper, stack together and then cut in half horizontally.  So you will get two rectangles out of every strip.  This size works perfectly for the 1x1.5-2" caramel rectangles.

Then wrap the caramels in wax paper.  Lay the caramel in the middle of the wax paper rectangle on the bottom horizontal edge and roll it up to cover completely.  Twist the ends to seal.

Voila! Who knew candy making could be so easy!

Merry Christmas!            

Krista @ A Handful of Everything

      

An InLinkz Link-up

 Follow A Handful of Everything's board Baker's Dozen Christmas Cookie Exchange 2014 on Pinterest. 

 Follow A Handful of Everything's board Bloggy Christmas 2014 on Pinterest.

3rd Day of Bloggy Christmas

On the 3rd Day of Bloggy Christmas Miss Heather gave to me   White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Cookies!

Hello, it's Heather from My Sweet Mission and today I'm bringing you a delicious and pretty recipe for my White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Cookies! I usually make these cookies with the white chocolate chips blended into the dough. But, the other day I thought I would dress them up for the holidays by dipping them in white chocolate and putting a dried cranberry on top - and they turned out great! These holiday cookies are buttery sweet with a little tartness - a perfectly dreamy flavor combination in my cookie world!

12 Days of Bloggy Christmas!

Brought to you by:

   

Make the cookie dough and shape into small balls using an one (1) ounce cookie scooper.

Place the dough balls on an un-greased nonstick baking sheet about 1" - 1 1/2" apart. Put the cookie sheet in a preheated 360 degrees F oven and bake for 7-9 minutes, or until the cookies are a pale golden color on top. You can actually eat these delicious little cranberry gems right like this, but dipping them in white chocolate takes them over the top!

Carefully melt the white chocolate after the cookies are cooled. Dip each cookie into the melted chocolate and place on wax or parchment paper. While the chocolate is still wet place a dried cranberry on top. Just look at those scrumptious little Christmas cookies all lined up and ready for dessert platters! My original Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies are our son-in-law, Kenny's favorite cookie but he said dipping them in white chocolate makes them even better and he loved them. As a matter of fact, everyone loved them this way!

If you love these cookies make sure you stop by My Sweet Mission and give Heather some love!

White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, large
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup ground oats
• 1 1/2 cups flour, unbleached or all-purpose
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Ingredients for dipping:

• 3/4 - 1 pound quality white chocolate

Instructions for the cookies: Preheat oven to 360 degrees F, I prefer this temperature for most gourmet cookies.

1. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter, sugar and salt. Mix on low speed for about 45 seconds, then medium for an additional 45 seconds.
2. Add the eggs & vanilla extract. Mix on low until the eggs are blended in, then mix on medium for 45 seconds and then on high for another 45 seconds. The mixture should be a pale yellow color and very fluffy.
3. Add the ground oats, the first cup of flour, along with the baking powder and baking soda and blend on low or stir speed. This will insure the baking powder and baking soda are incorporated well and eliminates sifting. Continuing on low or stir speed, add the remaining flour and blend until the flour is incorporated. Then stir in the chopped dried cranberries.
4. Using an one (1) ounce cookie scooper, place the dough on un-greased nonstick baking sheets about 1" - 1 1/2" apart. Place in a preheated 360 degrees F oven and bake for 7-9 minutes, or until the cookies are a pale golden color on top. Cool completely before dipping in chocolate.

Instructions for the white chocolate dipping:

1. Carefully melt the white chocolate in a microwavable safe bowl, cooking at one (1) minute intervals at 50% power and stirring after each minute.
2. Dip each cooled cookie in the melted chocolate, tap the excess off gently and place on wax or parchment paper. While the chocolate is still wet place a dried cranberry on top.

Makes approximately 32 (1 ounce) cookies Heather's Notes & Tips:

• TIP: For perfect cookies every time, check out my top 10 tips for perfect cookies.
• TIP: Easily chop the dried cranberries with a food processor.
• Note: If you want your cookies a little less sweet, decrease the sugar by 2 tablespoons.
• TIP: When melting the chocolate, check and stir often to avoid burning it. 
• Note: Allow the chocolate to set up before storing in an airtight container.

An InLinkz Link-up

 Follow A Handful of Everything's board Baker's Dozen Christmas Cookie Exchange 2014 on Pinterest. 

 Follow A Handful of Everything's board Bloggy Christmas 2014 on Pinterest.

2nd Day of Bloggy Christmas: Fickle's Shortbread

hey everyone!

it's that time of the year again for:

   
for the next 12 days +1 you will get a wonderful post about christmas goodies and such brought to you courtesy of all 4 blogs above thanks to the efforts of 
KRISTA from A Handful of Everything!

so hear we go with a christmas fave of mine...

do you collect christmas cookie cookbooks 

and magazines like i do?

do you read over them, dog leaf the recipe page, put a sticky tab on the page, tell yourself "oh my gosh i GOTTA make these!" 

and then forget all about them and just make the same ole recipes you've made for the past like, 100 years? 

yeah, me too.

here's a recipe i have in my ole recipe box that will stay with me for the next 100 years or so of christmas baking.

it's quick, delicious and pretty.

what more do you want?

click HERE to print the recipe

make sure you do the last part of step 4 

cuz that's the most important part.

happy baking!

follow me on:

google+   facebook   instagram   pinterest

and follow these boards for lots more fun!

An InLinkz Link-up

 Follow A Handful of Everything's board Baker's Dozen Christmas Cookie Exchange 2014 on Pinterest. 

 Follow A Handful of Everything's board Bloggy Christmas 2014 on Pinterest.

1st Day of Bloggy Christmas: DIY Reindeer Hat Tutorial

   

I am so excited for A Handful of Everything's 2nd Annual - 12 Days of Bloggy Christmas! This fun and festive event runs from December 1st through the 12th, and wraps up with the Baker's Dozen Christmas Cookie Exchange Link Party on Saturday, December 13th! So, make sure to stop by every day to see what delightful Christmas posts we're creating just for you! And you'll definitely want to come link up ALL your Christmas Cookie posts on December 13th!  

by Darcy @ The Ruffled Stitch.

With winter here I was on the look out for a warm hat for Kina. I love the animal hats and was going to buy one off Etsy, but then I decided I could make one! I couldn't resist making a reindeer one for the holidays!  Here is what I did so you can make one too!

What you will need:

1/2 yard of interior fleece and exterior fleece

Yarn or what I got was this fun sparkly yarn stuff called Sashay Boho

Antler and Ear pattern from The Ruffled Stitch

Poly-fil

Joyful Baby Hat pattern 

For the actual hat I followed the Joyful Baby Hat tutorial found here. The hat itself is for a 0-3 month which was perfect for me, but she explains how to make it bigger if you are wanting a bigger size. After getting the basic's down I strayed from the tutorial to create the ears antler and the braids. You can print out the antler and ear pattern by clicking on the image at the very bottom of the post.

First sew the antlers and ears right sides together.

Then flip inside out...

And stuff with poly-fil.

Then follow the Joyful baby hat pattern up until step 7. This is where I put the ears and antlers in. I placed the antlers about 1" away from the center seam with the tips pointing toward the middle of the front piece. Then follow immediately with the ears, right side facing the right side of the front. (I bent the ears in half, then turned the edges out before placing.) Pin in place and pin the rest of the hat in place before sewing the opening shut.  Precede with steps 9-11.

Before you move to step 12, you are going to want to make your braids. Since I used the Sashay boho for my braids I only used 4 strands. If you use yarn, you may want to use more strands to make it thicker. I initially tried 6 strands with the Sashay but it was way to thick since they are already thicker than normal yarn. 

I cut 4 strands measuring 12" long (do this a second time for the second braid), then sewed them together on the top. Then I began to braid. I put the center 2 strands together so I was only braiding with 3 like you would normally braid. The 4th strand was just to make it thicker. So if you use yarn and use more strands, just put the extra ones together so you only have 3 to braid with. I braided 4 1/2" before stopping and sewing the strands in place again. I then cut another strand that was 9 1/2" long and tied it around the bottom of the braid where I sewed. Then trim all the remaining strands so they are even.

Now onto step 12, insert the braids in-between the interior and exterior ear piece and pin in place. Then follow the rest of the steps!

As you can see Kina is rather excited about her new hat! I can't help myself but take pictures of her when she is in this hat, she is the cutest reindeer ever ;)

If you loved this post be sure to stop by The Ruffled Stitch and show Darcy some Social Love!

An InLinkz Link-up

Follow A Handful of Everything's board Baker's Dozen Christmas Cookie Exchange 2014 on Pinterest.

Follow A Handful of Everything's board Bloggy Christmas 2014 on Pinterest.

Great Idea Thursday - 76

Welcome to:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Welcome to Great Idea Thursday's! I hope you brought something fabulous to share, and I hope you have a marvelous weekend with friends and family :).

Link up and have some fun :)

If you haven't already, please give a big hello to my fabulous Co-Host Miss Joy!

Joybee What's for Diner?

See Great Idea Thursday's There too!
Follow Miss Joy Bee:

Come share what you have been doing every week! If you are interested in Co-Hosting this party with us, shoot me an e-mail me:  kristascookin {at} gmail {dot} com.

Great Idea Thursday #76

<div class="A Handful of Everything-button" style="width: 150px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://ahandfulofeverything.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> <img src=" http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag13/Krista_Low/2d59056e-a962-4a79-bbef-b7f05a43dea9_zps94a044c8.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2d59056e-a962-4a79-bbef-b7f05a43dea9_zps94a044c8.jpg " alt="A Handful of Everything" width="150" height="150" /> </a> </div>

      

• Please follow me
• Please link directly to your post not your home page.
• Share the love - please visit and comment on at least 2 other posts.  Everyone loves comments :)
• Grab a Button or text link back to A Handful of Everything
• Thank you for stopping by to Party! Have Fun!

What fun fall projects are you ready to share??

An InLinkz Link-up