1 fail + 1 mess = 1 sinfully delicious success

I hate when my attempts go wrong.
And I love when my fails go right.

A few days ago I decided that I would make Molasses Toffee for the first time. So I pulled out the brand new candy thermometer that I bought a year ago, and put on my game face. I. AM. PREPARED.

Sugar and molasses. Check.
Cream and butter. Check.
Cocoa powder and a pinch of salt. Check.
Boil. Whisk. Boil come more. Whisk some more. Pour. Wait. Score. Wait. Cut.

Sounds easy enough, right? WRONG! One day and a half went by, it still didn't harden. I even put it in the fridge and still nothing. WTF?

And then, at the most perfect moment, the occasional light bulb lit up above my head. And just like that, I made turtles.

Now, I'm not saying this is the best way or easiest way to make turtles, but the result will have you wanting to make it. It takes a little bit of effort but you will definitely taste the love afterward.

Cocoa Molasses Toffee
(recipe from The Kitchn)

• 1 cup molasses
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Line a 9x13" pan with aluminum paper that hangs over the sides (for easy lifting later) and butter bottom and sides.
In a big pot, clip you thermometer, heat the molasses and sugar over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Then boil for another 8 minutes without stirring. When the sugar starts to smoke or reaches 350*F, take it off the heat.
Meanwhile, warm the cream over medium heat but not boiling. Once the sugar caramelizes, whisk in the cream and butter. Put back to low heat, bring to a simmer and watch the temperature. Boil this for about 45 minutes to an hour, you won't have to stand next to the pot. When it hits 250 degrees F (the lower end of the hardball stage) remove from heat and immediately whisk in the cocoa and salt. Pour into the buttered pan.
Let cool completely over night, then place in the fridge until ready to use.

Buttery Crunchy Base:
(taken from the Rice Krispies recipe)

• 2 cups Rice Krispies
• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup butter, soften or room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Heat oven to 350*F
In a mixing bowl, stir together Rice Krispies, flour, baking soda and salt.
In another mixing bowl, blend together butter and sugar. Then stir in the cereal mix until well blended and crumbly. Press into the bottom of a 9x13" pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes

Now comes the messy part... Take the toffee out of the fridge & lift it out of the pan. Carefully invert it onto the Buttery Crunchy Base so that it fit directly over it.

Layer pecan halves over the toffee. Bake again for another 10-15 minutes or so. Let cool completely. Place in the fridge again before cutting.

You should have about 100 pieces, depending on how you big you cut them. At this point, you can eat it as in if you'd like, but why stop there, right? Melt dark chocolate (or semi-sweet if you prefer) in a bain-marie, and dip each piece bottom first. Let dry on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Place in the fridge for a few minutes if need be. Then dip the top again.

My colleagues will tell you "C'est cochon!!!!" and "Hhhhhmmmmm!!!" and "OH. MY. GOD. Damn girl, them turtles be good!" so seriously, make them. You can have such a big batch, and make a lot of people happy. Bring them to work, wrap them up as Christmas presents and eat some while doing so.

Enjoy! And spread the love!!!!

A society of gingerbread people

I have been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to figure out how am I going to write the intro to this blog, and all I can come up with, is how long I've been sitting here thinking about it....

So when this happens, the best thing to do is to keep things short and sweet. Hhmmm... sweeeeet.... Actually, we'll keep things spice and sweet today.

I present you, my society of gingerbread people:

The traditional guy (and his Christmas tree) He's old-school, but he's just as flavorful as any other. He is simple, what you see is what you get.

The fashionable crowd. These chicks know how to dress it up! They don't go anywhere without the dazzle of the color sugar

The gym nuts... Ya... Them wacky outfits... But watch out, they've got bites these sillies

Then there is the shy guy who doesn't really talk much. He seems nice, but no one knows much about him. Apparently, he is really sweet!

And last but not least, the party dude, who is always happy to funk & dunk

I found the recipe here on Joy of Baking, one of my favorite recipe sites for a lot of things. The batch yield 15 big cookies, but it all depends on the size of your cutter and how thick you roll them, you might get more than I did :)

You can use this recipe for the icing (use 1/2 cup cold water instead of half cold water and half lemon juice) Or you can also use melted white chocolate for a different taste.

Enjoy! And bring on the holiday cookies!!!!!!