Pretzels and chocolate and brown sugar caramel and sea salt and are you drooling yet? Here’s an awesome treat you can whip up in minutes and is just as addictive as the name dictates. Perfect for a snow day treat or something wonderful to crumble on top of vanilla ice cream.

—

Crack Bark

Courtesy of Ezra Pound Cake.

Ingredients 

• Thin pretzels, broken into smaller pieces
• 1 cup (8 oz) unsalted buter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups (one 12oz bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 11? x 17? jelly roll pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Cover the pan in a layer of broken mini pretzels.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and brown sugar. When the mixture starts to gently simmer and bubble, let it cook that way for 3 minutes. (Don’t stir.)
4. Pour the butter and sugar mixture over the pretzels.
5. Bake for 5 minutes.
6. Place the pan on a cooling rack, and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Wait for about 2 minutes, until the chocolate melts. Grab a spatula, and spread the chocolate over the toffee. Sprinkle with sea salt.
7. Let the toffee cool completely, and break it into pieces. (To speed up the cooling process, you can place the pan of toffee in the refrigerator or freezer.)

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate, indulge, salty, sweet

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

For Christmas eve we always try to take things a little easy in my family. Simple dinner, simple fun. Hopefully no tantrums (from the adults, not the kids) and just sitting around enjoying each others presence. Dinner is also a more simple affair, in preparation for the feast that will ensue the next day.

French onion soup is one of those deceptive dishes. It sounds so simple and light – just onions and broth, right? Ohhhh nooo it has to be smothered in bread and cheese and toasted to bubbly, ooey-gooey awesome richness. Served with a nice salad and crusty bread, this is the perfect meal to get you ready for a Christmas day feast.

—

French Onion Soup

Based on the recipe from the late, great Gourmet.

Makes 4 dinner-sized servings.

Ingredients 

• 2lb medium onions, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced lengthwise
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2  bay leaves
• ¾ tsp. salt
• ½ stick (¼ cup) unsalted butter
• 2 tsp. all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
• 32 oz. (4 cups) reduced-sodium beef stock
• 1½ cups water
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• Six ½-inch-thick diagonal slices of baguette
• 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
• 2 Tbsp. finely grated Parmesan

Directions

1.) Cook onions, thyme, bay leaves, and salt in butter in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring frequently, until onions are very soft and deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in wine and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in broth, water, and pepper and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.

2.) While soup simmers, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange bread in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and toast, turning over once, until completely dry, about 15 minutes.

3.) Remove bread from oven and preheat broiler. Put crocks in a shallow baking pan. Discard bay leaves and thyme from soup and divide soup among crocks, then float a piece of bread in each

4.) Combine gruyere and parmesan in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over prepared crocks. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until cheese is melted and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: salty, soup, vegetables

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Tomatillos are one of those fascinating and underused ingredients in your everyday kitchen. I can understand why. They have an odd papery husk, they’re sticky as all get out, and are almost inedibly sour when served raw (confession: for many years I believed that raw tomatillos were poisonous – don’t ask me where or how I gleaned this “knowledge”.) They’re just, well, weird. But also incredibly delicious, tart, and a staple in Mexican cuisine.

I baked these up on a Sunday afternoon and have been eating them off and on all week. Like any good casserole it reheats beautifully (even with the sour cream on top) and the whole thing comes together pretty easily. The flavor is tangy and refreshing, but still hearty with the chicken and tortillas melting together in one awesome layer. It’s a light casserole, perfect for an 80 degree fall day.

—

Tomatillo Enchiladas 

Serves 6

Based on the recipe from Everyday Food.

Ingredients 

• 2 lbs. tomatillos, husks removed, washed, and chopped
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 12 6-inch yellow corn tortillas
• 2½ cups cooked, shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken is great here)
• 3 Tbsp. sour cream mixed with 2 Tbsp. water
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 400 F, coat a 9×13″ baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2.) Puree tomatillos in a food processor until smooth. Sauté onion and garlic in oil until softened. Add tomatillo mixture to onions and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3.) Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave 30 seconds. Fill each tortilla with some chicken, fold in half, and arrange in baking dish. Top with tomatillo mixture, cover with foil, and bake 25 minutes.

4.) Cool 5 minutes. Drizzle with sour cream mixture and sprinkle with cilantro.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chicken, mexican, salty, vegetables

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Sometimes you just have to bake cookies at 11pm on a Saturday night. And sometimes they just have to be chocolate-oat-pretzel cookies.

I got the Baked Explorations book for Christmas and this is the first thing I made out of it. I love the writing style of the Baked duo and their absolutely meticulous borderline OCD/Rose Levy Beranbaum way of explaining how to bake something as simple as cookies. Use cool (but not cold) butter, use a scoop this exact size, press down on the cookies but don’t smush them, etc. As much as I love to cook on the fly, sometimes it’s more relaxing to just follow instructions to the T. And this T stands for Totally awesome cookies.

Everyone knows I’m a sucker for salty sweets and so the pretzels are of course a fabulous element I love in these. Still, I wish they were even more salty. So in the ingredients listed below I’ve added a bit more salt and say you should use bittersweet chocolate. I think the cookies would just really benefit from it. They would go from totally awesome to super totally awesome. If there is such a thing.

—

Cowboy Cookies

Based on the recipe from Baked Explorations.

For the “cool but not cold” butter, the Baked boys detail it by saying you should take the butter out of your fridge, cut it into 1″ cubes, and let it sit out for 20 minutes.

Makes 36 cookies.

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¾ tsp. table salt
• 2 cups rolled old-fashioned oats
• 14 Tbsp. butter ( 1¾ sticks), cool but not cold
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. espresso powder dissolved in ¼ cup hot water
• 12 oz.  bittersweet chocolate chunks
• ¾ cup crumbled pretzels, divided

Directions

1.) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the oats and stir to combine.

2.) In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and egg yolk, beating until the mixture looks light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the vanilla, and beat for 5 seconds. Add dissolved espresso and mix until combined.

3.) Add half of the dry ingredients and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and fold in the chocolate chunks and ½ cup of the pretzel pieces.

4.) Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours.

5.) Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

6.) Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to scoop out dough in 2-tablespoon-size balls and place the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the remaining pretzel pieces over the dough balls. Use the palm of your hand to press the dough down lightly; don’t smash the cookie–you just want to slightly flatten the ball and push the pretzel pieces into the dough.

7.) Bake for 11-13 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown or just start to darken.

8.) Set the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: baking, chocolate, cookies, indulge, oats, salty, sweet

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Few things excite me more than my friends getting enthusiastic about cooking, so when my friend Sara mentioned she tried (and succeded!) making caramel for the first time recently, I definitely got candy making on the brain.

Naturally that led me to something salty-sweet and although salted caramels are featured in the latest Saveur, I’ve had this recipe bookmarked in Christie Matheson’s Salty Sweets for ages. I’ve loved every single thing I’ve made from her book so far and this is just another treat on the list of winners. I added a bit of salt at the end (sprinkled on top for visuals more than anything) but it turned out to be the best decision ever since the caramel itself is just barely salty. Those few extra grains on top make all the difference.

Making caramel can be pretty intimidating since it’s a temperature-sensitive thing, but my best piece of advice to beginners is this: go to your local kitchen store and drop $10 on a candy thermometer. It’s such a small investment for perfect peace of mind when you approach projects like this. You don’t have to guess if the color is right – the temperature will tell you if it’s time to move on to the next step. Plus you can use it for deep fat frying which I’m always going to encourage.

—

Salted Caramels

From Salty Sweets.

Makes about 50 caramels.

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1½ tsp. fine sea salt, divided
• 1½ cups sugar
• 2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tsp. fleur de sel or similar flaky sea salt
• Special tools needed: a candy thermometer (must-have), pastry brush, and wax paper (for wrapping).

Directions

1.) Butter a 8×8 baking dish (glass or metal), line with parchment, and brush with butter again. In a small saucepan, combine cream, butter, vanilla, and 1 tsp. fine sea salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

2.) In a larger saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, and water (I actually like to use a small stock pot or something with very high sides because the caramel with boil up like crazy when you add the cream). Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved. If sugar crystals form on the side of the pan just use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush them down. Once the sugar has dissolved, boil until it’s a medium amber color and a candy thermometer reads 340° F. This will take anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes. Don’t stir the caramel with any kind of tool – swirl the pan with both hands to move the sugar around.

3.) Turn the heat down to medium-low and carefully stir in the cream mixture (it will boil like crazy). Simmer, stirring often, until caramel reaches 246° F on the candy thermometer. This should take about 5 minutes so don’t walk away – keep your eye on the temperature because it will go over your goal temp super fast.

4.) Kill the heat, stir in the 1 tsp. fleur de sel and pour into the prepared baking dish. Let cool at least 3 hours. After about an hour, sprinkle the top with the remaining ½ tsp. fine sea salt (so you can actually see the granules on top).

5.) Once set, remove the entire block of caramel from the dish. Spray a large kitchen knife with non-stick cooking spray and cut the caramels into about 1-inch pieces. Wrap each caramel in wax paper and twist the sides.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: candy, dessert, indulge, salty, sweet

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh