Last Minute Christmas Treats :: Toffee Crack

Hey there and Merry Christmas Eve, Eve.
Two more days, you guys!
It's pretty unbelievable to me that Christmas is really here already because it just doesn't look or feel like it outside
at all... Where is the snow?

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Just in case you are looking for a super easy last minute idea for Holiday candy/treats I thought I would share this today.
You totally have time for this, easiest thing ever.
I remember hearing about this recipe many different places several years ago and have actually had people tell me
they have made it themselves too and that I should try it.
Well Sunday was the day to finally try it.
Thank you Trisha Yearwood(that's the recipe I found first when I googled it).
It's good.
And addictive, hence the term "toffee crack" I have heard several people use.
Almost sickeningly addictive, I might add... you have been warned.

So, let's be honest here.
I needed a recipe for a simple holiday treat to deliver to a few family members and friends.
I didn't have the whole day to bake or cook and wanted something that would be relatively easy and stress-free because
we are down to the wire here, folks.
And this is super easy, just four ingredients.
I still have a little shopping to do and ain't nobody got time for multiple, complicated recipes.
Not to mention not a single present has been wrapped, the laundry is piled up, the house needs
a good scrubbing and I have to work the next couple of days.
Ugh.


Also.
I wanted something that wouldn't take forever so the kids could help without getting bored immediately and 
me getting annoyed with their boredom. 
We have been talking this week about thinking of others this time of year and what we could do for others this week to
maybe make the season a little brighter for those that may be having a difficult time during the Holidays.
The kids were a great help and did half of the work themselves... and enjoyed it.
Sunday night I packaged up all the treats and we went out to delivered them.

There you have it.
I am giving the rest away before I make myself sick... it's super richy, but yummy... the perfect treat to give away and not
have in my own house.
Next time I will sprinkle a little sea salt on top, I love sweet and salty together and  think just a tiny bit of
sea salt on top would be perfect.


Happy Baking!


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Ps- This post really makes me wish I could visit a big city around the holidays.
All the lights and decorations... the hustle and bustle.... Sigh.
Usually we at least get to Chicago once before Christmas... but not this year.
There's always next year....

New Holiday Traditions + Pie Crust

Today I am going to attempt a pumpkin pie.
A pumpkin pie and my grandma's homemade crust.
I'm nervous.
I'm pretty sure I'll fail... but I'm trying it anyway.


My grandma made the BEST pies and my mom does, too.
I want to learn how to make them with made-from-scratch crust, and for Charlotte to learn to make them one day as well.
I want to make this a new tradition, me and the kids making a pie the week of Thanksgiving...
Maybe getting good enough one day down the road to make a few and deliver them to some of our favorite people.
Maybe? Like way down the road?

This is what I will be attempting this afternoon...
Wish me luck! 

Do you have any favorite holiday traditions?
Or read about any neat ones you'd like to share?
Or just want to begin yourself?

Happy Monday, friends.

My View...

I have spent the last three days in the kitchen.
Baking and making and packaging...busy, busy, busy.
But it's a good busy for me this year.
Usually by this time every year I am in more of freak-out mode.
I am a little better organized and prepared than I normally am, which is a huge relief.
This whole getting my life semi-organized thing is good.
I said semi.

I made Ritz cracker thin mints, sugar cookies, covered pretzels and this pretzel crack.
Lots and lots of it.
I'm not sure if I should curse Shannan or thank her for this recipe.
I have to confess though,  I can't even look at it now.
Too much "testing" the finished product.
{ughhhhhh}
But it is stomach-ache-inducing-good and I love that you only need five ingredients for it.
Oh, and the thin mints are so easy and good, too. Love those.

I have been listening to Christmas music in the kitchen, trading off a new cute apron
every day, and the kids have been really helpful and cooperative.
Which is always a good thing.
The treats are all packaged up and ready to go.
Our first Christmas celebration is tomorrow with Eric's family.
At noon I might add. Yikes.
I still have lots of wrapping--wait, all of it actually-to do but tomorrow night Eric and I
will have a chance to finish the rest while the kids are at the annual Christmas Eve-Eve
sleep-over at my uncle's house.
I am looking so forward to tomorrow night, you  have no idea.

Hope you are not in complete freak-out mode yet, either.
Time to pick up this house that I let the kids pretty much have free reign with today.
A definite drawback of spending the day confined to the kitchen.
Oh well, it was worth it and I am so glad to be finished.
Have a great night, y'all.

Monday In The Kitchen...

Monday we made oatmeal muffins. Old-fashioned oatmeal muffins.

I was trying to think of something to bake, looked in the pantry and we had rolled oats. 

Then I opened this cookbook and turned right to a recipe for oatmeal muffins.

And it actually worked out that I had everything I needed for them. 

Don't you love that? That never happens around here.

So we cranked up the music and got to work. 

I let the kids pretty much to do everything this time.

I mean, normally I let them help out a lot but today time was not of the essence, not at all, so 

we took our time. I gave them the correct measuring cups and let them measure. 

And pour, and mix and test things out, of course.

And you know what I have decided makes baking even better? 

Cute cupcake liners, cute aprons and good music.

Oh, and good help.

And sunshine through our kitchen windows.

Too bad I couldn't be this enthusiastic about cooking, huh?

Ever since Shauna posted a link to this kitchen a few weeks ago I cannot stop fantasizing about it. 

Seriously?! I am so in love with this kitchen, y'all.

Go drool over it right now, then blame Shauna when your husband gets mad at you for wanting

 to re-do your whole kitchen...or you can blame me, or Joy, because it's actually her kitchen anyway.
And check out more of her fabulous home here.

***

Oh and today was kind of an alternative 80's kind of day in the kitchen. 

Which means some of this and this, and lots of this.

And yes, my kids might have been a little embarrassed of my singing and no, I don't care.

*Note to self: awesome 80's music always brings me out of a funk. And fast.

{Afternoon In The Kitchen}

 I couldn't think of a lovelier way to spend my afternoon today than in the kitchen making
 my grandma's oatmeal butterscotch cookies for Eric. Oh, and the kids.
While listening to James Carr.

And wearing a cute apron.

I love baking and listening to Pandora radio in the kitchen.
That's what I was doing today when I realized I was wearing an apron and baking cookies and
watching the clock so I wouldn't be late for school pick up and that I have
 a PTO meeting to go to tonight at school.
And all of the sudden it hit me...
I am the mom.
How in the hell did that happen, anyway?

Ever have one of those moments?

Kinda crazy.

Hope you all had a great Monday.
Be sure to join me here tomorrow for Virtual Coffee.

<

* If anyone is interested in the full recipe let me know and I will post it!

{will beg for peaches}

Oh, peaches.

I want peaches.

I have been craving and dreaming of my grandma's peach pie.

Today I am really wishing that I would have had the foresight to have her teach me how to
 make it along with her famous pie crust years ago.

But I didn't.  

I really hate that since it is too late now.

One of my aunt's makes a wonderful peach pie too and I'm thinking
of maybe asking her to teach me.

Anyway, in search of peaches we headed to an apple orchard about a half hour
away today that also sells peaches.

And they were gone.
Blah.

I called another aunt that has peach trees but their's are already gone, too.

A day late and a dollar short.

She did say she could spare enough frozen peaches for me to make a pie though.

So all was not lost because it was a beautiful day for  a drive through 

the country and a morning at the orchard.

It is still just a couple more weeks until the apples are ready to pick so in the mean
 time we had to pick up a jar of apple butter and apple donuts.

They said we could pick a few apples so we did and Charlotte picked some that had
 already fallen off the trees, too.
Next trip we will get enough for pies, muffins and all that good stuff.

And next time we go I hope to be wearing a little sweater and boots and to be drinking apple cider.
Okay, that might be pushing it but a girl can dream.

*     *     *

I'm hoping to attempt my peach pie next week after I get the peaches.

Wish me luck.

Pie making does not come natural to me by any means but I figure
 I've got to start somewhere...

Right? 

Why Don't You...

Bake something for a friend and deliver it to them.

Or do something unexpected for someone...just because.

*     *     *     *     *

I have a friend who just moved into a new house and is due to have her second child next month and another friend I was going over to hang out with last night and I decided to take them muffins.

I still have a freezer full of blueberries from Michigan that I need to do something with after all.

I also made a batch for Eric because he does love my super-easy blueberry muffins 

with the delicious crumb topping...if I do say so myself.

So yesterday Charlotte and I  spent the afternoon baking muffins for our friends while Wyatt
was with his grandma & grandpa shopping for school supplies.

We turned up the music, put on our aprons and got to work.

I stopped by the cake shop and picked up some cute liners and a few boxes.

Because cute liners, a box (as opposed to a ziploc bag) wrapped with twine and a little
 card add just a little something extra and really does make all the difference. 

Who doesn't love to receive something freshly baked...

Or something from your garden....

Or a bouquet of flowers... just because?
I know I do.

I think these little gestures, disguised simply as something fun for the kids and I to do,
is such an important lesson.

For my kids, for myself, for all of us.

It really is better to give than receive.

It feels good to make others happy.

I'm now flashing back to my mom saying this countless times throughout my childhood and me(sometimes) rolling my eyes at her....it stuck though.

I don't think we're going to change the world by baking muffins...but then again, maybe we will.

And do you know what I left my friend's house with last night?

A bag of roma tomatoes, cucumbers, cantaloupe, eggplant and mint from her garden.
Lucky me.

*      *      *      *      *
If someone was to surprise you with something today, anything...what would it be?
I'd love to know!
Hope everyone is having a great week...the first day of school is exactly one week from today!
Yikes!

eta: *{blueberry muffin recipe here}*

Baking With Edith & The Kids

Wednesday afternoon we spent in the kitchen. We were supposed to be out playing in the pool but it got cloudy and word on the street was that a storm was heading our way. So instead...we bake.

The kids have been wanting me to bake them some chocolate chip muffins because according to the little man,  "You never, ever make them anymore." In reality I just made some last month and if you are new around here you may not know that a few months ago we baked hundreds and hundreds (literally) of muffins and for that this recipe is forever burned into my brain. More on our muffin project here.

So I picked up these super-cute cupcake liners and we baked cupcakes. A double batch. We are going to have to find someone to deliver some to tomorrow, Lord knows we don't need all of these muffins.

So I am in my kitchen listening to Edith Piaf, wearing my new red apron I just got for fifty cents, baking chocolate chip muffins. The kids alternate between helping, eating way too many chocolate chips and dipping their hands in the flour, pretending they are magicians and clapping their hands to make smoke.

For some reason, for about a year now, I have had the urge to have some old French music to listen to. So I told Eric because he is good at finding stuff and he knows what I like, sometimes before I do.
Just a female singing in French, just old crackly music from the 30's, 40's.....something that sounds good while baking in the kitchen, something completely different than anything I ever listen to. That's what I wanted and he found it for me.

I feel like I should be wearing pearls, black pumps and deep red lipstick with my apron and smoking one of those really long cigarettes while in the kitchen listening to this music. Barefoot in yoga pants, with my hair pulled up wearing my red apron will just have to do for today though.

And if you're really craving a fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip muffin right now, my easy little recipe is here.

{Notes From The Kitchen}

After a busy weekend and a busy week last week we did not leave the house today. At all. As a matter of fact,  the kids stayed in their pajamas all day and I only got out of mine to shower and then put clean ones back on. We all need days of going nowhere and doing nothing and it was much needed today. It was another dreary day which gave me the perfect excuse to bake something. I really need to go to the store but I did have everything I needed for chocolate chip cookie bars so that's what we made. I really need a new cookie recipe though, something different...oatmeal cookies maybe. I don't think I have ever made them.

I would love to hear what your favorite cookies are, we really need to branch out over here, try something new. Do you bake? Cook? Love it? Hate it?

I do like to bake, actually I enjoy it. But cooking? Not so much. I think I might enjoy it a little bit more if the kids were more adventurous and didn't turn up their noses when I do try something new. It is so disappointing to go to the trouble to fix dinner just for them to claim how disgusting it is. It really makes me appreciate the fact that my mom cooked every night for us when I was growing up. Big meals, good meals. And now I should probably call and apologize to her for claiming some of her meals were disgusting.....well, I do still hate goulash, but the rest was good. Sorry mom!

Channeling My Inner Granny::

Check out my super adorable pink, rosey smock. A smock, you say? Yes, a smock and I don't care if I do look like a grandma in it, I love it. I have quite a few aprons and obviously I  just love anything vintagey but I have come to realize that aprons actually serve a very important purpose besides just being cute. And so do smocks. Whenever the kids and I bake we all wear our aprons, even Wyatt who has a blue denim one with a "W" on the front that my mom made for him. The other day when we were baking he said; "Mommy, since I have my apron on I don't even need a towel...look" and proceeded to wipe his hands on his apron. My boy is a genius and so is the person that made aprons so cute to begin with. Oh and this adorable pink smock of mine? $3 at my favorite antique store.

Lazy Mama's Dessert:

This is the kind of dessert you can literally make at the last minute, it is so quick and easy. I made this for a family get-together this week and everyone always loves it and it looks pretty so people always think it really took some effort, which isn't exactly true. I bet it only takes about twenty minutes to make, including bake time. Now that's what I'm talking about.

You Need:
1 Pillsbury pie crust
1 package cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
Fruit: strawberries, kiwi, bananas, pineapple
*Place pie crust on  pizza pan, poke holes all over it with a fork. Bake according to directions on box. Mix softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together. Let crust cool, spread mixture on top. Add fruit(this only has strawberries on it because that was all the kids wanted on their piece). There you go, Lazy (or Busy) Mama's Dessert. Yum.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Since I have this memorized now and I don't even have to look it up I thought I would share my super easy muffin recipe.  I'm sure there are better ones but this is what I'm using, it is forever burned into my brain so it's probably the only one I ever will use.

3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 Egg
1 cup Milk-more if needed
2 Cups Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar or to taste
3 teaspoons Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Chocolate Chips- 1 cup or more...I like a lot in mine.

Mix dry ingredients together.
Beat milk, eggs, butter together.
Make a well in the middle of dry ingredients, add liquid ingredients. Mix swiftly with large spoon.
Add Chocolate Chips, mix again.
Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes I think. I don't use a timer though...I just keep an eye on them.

Oh and this is what I'm listening to in the kitchen today...

Thank You, Tift Merritt,  for getting me through Muffin-Fest 2010.

Here We Go.....

So I sent out a mass email this morning letting everyone know about our little project; Muffins For Haiti. I am both nervous (what have I done?) and excited to see where this takes us. We decided that all of our profits will go to UNICEF. Initially I had a hard time deciding where to donate but after a little research I saw that UNICEF provides clean drinking water and much needed baby formula for babies, among many other things. Decision made. Within a matter of minutes of sending my email I received responses from people already placing their order for muffins. I am on my fourth batch so far today and have a LONG way to go....as I type Wyatt is working on his poster that we are going to hang in the kitchen recording our orders. Here we go...... Chocolate chip muffins, anyone? 

Happy (Bench) Monday!

Today is my Baking Day, The Baking Day of the year. I am making all of my Christmas goodies today with a little help from Wyatt. My plan is to be completely done by tonight and out delivering with the kids tomorrow morning. That's my plan anyway and I think I'm going to be able to do it because I have back-up this week. Eric is off work all week, what a difference that makes! Yesterday I  finished my shopping, I am completely done. This is by far the earliest I have ever been done and it feels so good. Seriously. I am looking forward to enjoying the next few days and not being stressed out over all I still have to do....well, shopping-wise anyway.

*Here's what we're making today:

Chocolate (and white chocolate) covered pretzel twists
Chocolate covered pretzel rods rolled in Christmas sprinkles
Peanut Butter Blossom cookies
Chocolate chip cookie bars
Peanut butter sandwiched between Ritz crackers, covered in chocolate (not sure what to call these?)

Time for me & my little helper to get our aprons back on and get the Christmas music cranked back up. Happy Baking! Happy Monday!