WORLD'S MOST SCRUMPTIOUS ENGLISH TOFFEE WITH MILK CHOCOLATE & TOASTED PECANS!!!!

Ingredients
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (8 minutes at 350º)
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons light corn syrup
                
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
                
8-12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (I used the huge Hershey bars, closer to 8 ounces)

Instructions

Cover baking sheet with silpat or lightly grease with Pam. (I used silpat to be safe)
Cut butter into pieces and mix with sugar, corn syrup and water. Bring to boil over medium high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Insert candy thermometer and allow to boil, stirring occasionally, until liquid turns amber and temperature reaches 290º. Remove from heat immediately and add vanilla. Stir to combine and pour onto prepared sheet. Spread a bit.
Allow to cool about a minute, then sprinkle with chocolate. Allow heat to melt chocolate, then smooth out with spatula. Sprinkle with nuts and gently pat down so nuts adhere to chocolate. Chill for 2 hours, then break into small pieces. Store in refrigerator.


Adapted from my wonderful friend Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake via Gourmet  Check out her blog-you'll love it!!!

GLUTEN FREE CARAMEL APPLE TOFFEE CHEESECAKE

THIS IS MY 4 LAYER CARAMEL APPLE TOFFEE CHEESECAKE CREATION. IT WAS SERVED WITH WARM CARAMEL SAUCE POURED ON TOP! IT WAS A LOT OF WORK BUT WELL WORTH IT! LET ME KNOW IF YOU TRY IT!

STEP 1: CARAMEL APPLE CAKE LAYERS:

*NOTE: (I MADE THIS GF BY USING 2CUPS OF 'CUP 4 CUP" FLOUR)

• 2/3 cup soft butter
• 2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup peeled, chopped tart apple (1 large apple)
• 1/2 cup toffee bits (Heath)

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line 2 8-inch round pans with parchment paper.
3. Cream butter and brown sugar in mixer until smooth.
4. Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium until combined.
5. On low, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mixing until just combined.
6. Stir in the chopped apples and toffee bits until evenly distributed.
7. Spread in prepared pans and bake for approx 30 minutes until the center is set. Let cool and then freeze the layers until firm.

Step 2: Make 2 crustless cheesecake layers:

Crustless Cheesecake portion:

2 sticks softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4- 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1- 3 oz. package cook and serve vanilla pudding
4 eggs
2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 8" pans with shortening, line the pans with parchment and then grease the parchment. Lightly flour the pans and tap out excess over the sink. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add cream cheese a little at a time until smooth. Scrape bowl down and beat again on medium speed, adding eggs one at a time. Add remaining ingredients. Mix again until smooth. Divide batter evenly between pans. Leave a little extra out of pans or they will be too full as this recipe is really meant for 9 inch pans. Smooth batter with offset spatula and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour. Cheesecake will puff up during baking, then deflate when taken out.

Do not turn out cheesecakes when they are finished baking. Put them directly in the freezer, and leave until frozen solid. Turn out frozen cheesecake layers and peel parchment from the bottoms. Line the pan they were in with enough parchment or wax paper to hang over the sides of the pan. Place the cheesecakes back in the pans. Keep in fridge until ready to layer.

Step 3: make caramel to pour on layers: (DOUBLE THIS IF MAKING MY FROSTING BELOW, TOO AS U WILL NEED 1/2c. CARAMEL FOR IT)

1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter1/2 teaspoon salt, kosher or sea

1. Combine the sugar, water, and the corn syrup in a large saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
2. Cover the saucepan and let it cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.
3. After 3 minutes, remove the lid, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil.
4. Do not stir from this point on, but instead swirl the liquid around the pan so that the caramel doesn’t burn.
5. Continue to cook until the caramel turns an even amber color then remove from the heat and let stand for about 30 seconds.
6. *** Be careful here *** Pour the heavy cream into the mixture. The mixture will bubble up significantly and is very hot.
7. Stir the mixture, again being careful. Add the butter, and salt. Stir until combined.

8. Stirring occasionally, allow to cool until thick like molasses. Once cool, pour some on top of each of your 4 cake layers and place in freezer or fridge until firm.

Step 4: layering

layer your 4 cakes on top of each other-I started with apple toffee cake on the bottom. Sprinkle heath on the top layer. Chill while preparing the frosting.

STEP 5: PREPARE CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM-if you like a LOT of frosting, double this! Otherwise, this should be fine.

Electric mix 1 stick softened butter and 4 ounces cream cheese. Slowly add 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2c. homemade caramel. Whip on high till fluffy. Spread on cake. Sprinkle more heath on sides of cake. 

LINKING AT CHEF IN TRAINING

PRETZEL TOFFEE CRUNCH

Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark
makes 1 sheet of bark

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
bag of mini pretzels
12-oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
sea salt

Preparation:
1. LINE SHEET PAN WITH NONSTICK FOIL. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. As it melts, cover the baking sheet in an even layer of mini pretzels. (You may not use the entire bag.)
3. Once the butter is melted, add the sugar and stir to incorporate. Allow the sugar and butter to softly simmer and bubble, but don’t let it boil, so adjust the heat accordingly. Stir occasionally. The browning process should take about three minutes from when it starts to bubble.
4. Once the sugar and butter have caramelized, pour the mixture evenly over the pretzels on the baking sheet. The caramel hardens pretty quickly so it’s important to pour it as evenly as possible from the start. Bake the pretzel-caramel mixture in the oven for 5-7 minutes.
5. MELT THE CHOCOLATE IN THE MICROWAVE AND POUR over the pretzel-caramel mixture evenly.
6. Sprinkle sea salt evenly over the bark. Place it in the fridge to cool and harden for about an hour.
RECIPE ADAPTED FROM LEGUME LOYALIST!

HEAVENLY CARAMEL APPLE TOFFEE BARS

ON A SCALE OF 1-10, THESE ARE AN 11! JUST SAYIN! YOU MUST MAKE THESE!!!BARS:

• 1/3 cup soft butter
• 1 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup peeled, chopped tart apple (1/2 large apple)
• 1/4 cup toffee bits (Heath)

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line 8x8 baking pan with nonstick foil.
3. Cream butter and brown sugar in mixer until smooth.
4. Add egg and vanilla and beat on medium until combined.
5. On low, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mixing until just combined.
6. Stir in the chopped apples and toffee bits until evenly distributed.
7. Spread in prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes until the center is set. Bar recipe adapted from cookies & cups

Caramel Buttercream Frosting:

First Make Salted Caramel for Buttercream ....Recipe: (You will have extra-try dipping some apples!)
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt, kosher or sea
1. Combine the sugar, water, and the corn syrup in a large saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
2. Cover the saucepan and let it cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.
3. After 3 minutes, remove the lid, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil.
4. Do not stir from this point on, but instead swirl the liquid around the pan so that the caramel doesn’t burn.
5. Continue to cook until the caramel turns an even amber color then remove from the heat and let stand for about 30 seconds.
6. *** Be careful here *** Pour the heavy cream into the mixture. The mixture will bubble up significantly and is very hot.
7. Stir the mixture, again being careful. Add the butter, and salt. Stir until combined.

8. Measure 1/2 cup into a Pyrex measuring cup. Stirring occasionally, allow to cool until thick like molasses and warm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Save the extra in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Perfect for dipping apples, too!!!!

For the Buttercream: (you will have extra)

Electric mix 1 stick softened butter and 4 ounces cream cheese. Slowly add 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2c. homemade caramel. Whip on high till fluffy. Spread on bars. Top with more toffee bits if you like and save extra frosting for another use! Chill bars before cutting!

caramel buttercream recipe adapted from

AROUND THE TABLE AT BLACKBERRY FARM

SECRET RECIPE CLUB...CHOCOLATE DIPPED OATMEAL COOKIES

AS PART OF THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB, EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE TO HAVE THEIR BLOG FEATURED WITH A RECIPE. THIS WEEK, HOWEVER, SOMEONE'S BLOG WAS LEFT OUT. WHEN ASKED TO VOLUNTEER AND MAKE SOMETHING FROM THIS BLOG, I JUMPED AT THE CHANCE! THE BLOG THAT YOU'LL WANT TO VISIT IS CONNORSCOOKING! I WAS IMMEDIATELY DRAWN TO THE BIG DIPPER OATMEAL COOKIES! I FOLLOWED THE RECIPE AS WRITTEN. MY ONLY CHANGE WAS I SNUCK ON SOME TOFFEE BITS AFTER I DIPPED THEM IN CHOCOLATE! YUM!

Big Dipper Oatmeal Cookies-From Connor's Cooking

Cookies:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups oatmeal, uncooked
1 cup raisins or 1 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels

Glaze:
2 cups semi sweet chocolate morsels
3/4 cups chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350. For cookies, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl, mix well. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in oats and if desired, raisins or morsels, mix well. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute, remove to wire rack to cool completely.

For glaze, melt morsels according to package directions. Dip half of one cookie in chocolate, gently shake to remove excess. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Place on waxed paper until set. Repeat with remaining cookies. If chocolate thickens, microwave at 15 second intervals until fluid.

SINFUL TOFFEE TURTLES

SINFUL TOFFEE TURTLES
1 stick butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 T. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Caramel Bits, 4 ounces (or regular caramels)
1 1/2 T. heavy cream

1 bag Heath toffee bits or chocolate toffee bits (both work great)
Pecan Halves-one per cookie
Small amount of melted chocolate disks or chips for drizzling!

Preheat oven to 350 and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Beat butter and sugar till creamy. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Once combined well, gradually add flour, salt and cocoa. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in fridge at least 2 hours. You need this dough to be very cold!

Once chilled, break off large Tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Roll each ball into the toffee bits. Place on cookie sheet and use back of a small measuring spoon to press an indent in the center. This step is like making a thumbprint cookie. Bake in the oven for approx 10-12 minutes. (Don't worry if they spread at this point because you will fix centers!) Remove and press the centers down with the measuring spoon again to fix the indent.

While cookies cool, melt caramels and cream in microwave and stir smooth. Let cool a few minutes and carefully spoon some into the center of each cookie. Top each caramel center with a pecan halve. Once set, melt chocolate in microwave and drizzle over the tops!