Grandma’s Homemade Caramels

11:06 AM ByFiled Underholiday craft along, holidays

The Holiday Bake, Craft, Sew Along is BACK!

HolidayBakeCraftSewAlong

The amazingly talented Cindy and Kelly and I have teamed up again to bring you 30 days of Handmade Christmas gift ideas!

Do you want some Sewing Inspiration for Holiday Gift Ideas? Skip To My Lou has those!

How about some new Craft Ideas for handmade Holiday Gifts? According to Kelly has those!

Need ideas for Homemade Food Gift ideas for the Holidays? I’ll have those here!

You can visit each of our blogs every day in September for great inspiration for all your Handmade Holiday Ideas!!

Hey y’all!  Give a BIG Southern Fairytale Welcome to today’s spectacular guest foodie!  Kyla, from Funky PolkaDot Giraffe!!

Hi! My name is Kyla and I’m visiting you from Funky PolkaDot Giraffe!
I come from a baking heritage that I have always appreciated
and I’m excited to share a little piece of it with you today!

This is my recipe box.
Given to me by my mother.

One of the most precious recipes it holds inside of it is this -

my Grandma Meyer’s homemade caramels recipe,
handwritten in her gorgeous handwriting.

They are a must have in my holiday treat plates.


{Holiday Treat Plates 2009}

I love my Grandma’s caramel recipe,
because it really easy and they turn out perfectly every time.
My one piece of advice -
Buy a candy thermometer.
It just makes the process go a little bit smoother.

Let’s get started!

You’ll need:
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup
2 cubes butter = 2 sticks (1 cube = 1/2 C)
1 pint half & half

Combine all the above and cook over medium heat
stirring constantly (and I mean constantly) – to a hard ball state.

Add vanilla.
My Grandma doesn’t give a measurement.
I add a couple of teaspoons.
You can add nuts.
I don’t.
Why ruin something so delicious?

Now pour into a BUTTERED 9×13 pan.
Let cool.
Cut & wrap piece in waxed paper.

Now you have the perfect recipe for adding
yummy caramels to your holiday treat plates for friends this year!
Even my dentist begs for more!

Thank you, Rachel, for having me here today to share
a recipe that is near and dear to my heart.
I hope you’ll stop by Funky PolkaDot Giraffe
for more delicious recipes,
fun craft tutorials, awesome printables,
and check out how to host a Cookie Exchange!

10 Comments

North Pole Cupcakes

12:01 AM ByFiled Underholiday craft along, holidays

The Holiday Bake, Craft, Sew Along is BACK!

HolidayBakeCraftSewAlong

The amazingly talented Cindy and Kelly and I have teamed up again to bring you 30 days of Handmade Christmas gift ideas!

Do you want some Sewing Inspiration for Holiday Gift Ideas? Skip To My Lou has those!

How about some new Craft Ideas for handmade Holiday Gifts? According to Kelly has those!

Need ideas for Homemade Food Gift ideas for the Holidays? I’ll have those here!

You can visit each of our blogs every day in September for great inspiration for all your Handmade Holiday Ideas!!

Happy Monday, y’all!  I’m tickled pink to introduce y’all to today’s special guest, Kristan.  I met Kristan at BlissDom this past February and I completely fell into utter adoration.  While some might call her pocket-sized, there’s nothing small about her personality or her talent.  I’m not sure whether I should apologize to your waistlines and wait for y’all to Thank me ;-) .  Well, enough chatterin’ from me.  Welcome, Kristan!

Hi Southern Fairytale readers!! I’m Kristan from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen and I’m so excited to be here sharing a fun Christmas cupcake with you today. Christmas and cupcakes are two of my most favorite things in all the land, so combining the two is like magic with sugar on top.

 

Also, I don’t know if you can tell by looking at him, but Santa likes stuff with butter and sugar in it. Like…a lot. So….there’s a good chance that making these will seal the deal on those $300 boots on your Christmas list.

 

(Yes, $300 boots are a perfectly normal thing to ask for. Or a life size cut out of Gerard Butler. Whatevs)

 

 

These cupcakes are so cute and impressive looking, but are actually very, very easy to put together.

 

You’ll need:

 

Cupcakes, obviously. Baked in festive liners (I used red foil liners) and frosted with a big ol’ pile of frosting. You can use canned frosting, or make your own. I have a Buttercream tutorial on my site, if you need a good recipe. I sprinkled mine with white sugar sprinkles too, to give them that snowy look.

 

Graham crackers. One little rectangle (fourth of a sheet) per cupcake. Cinnamon sugar graham crackers were all I had at home, and that’s just fine. You cover them anyways.

 

Fondant. I know some people make their own, but for a project this small, it’s probably easier to buy it at your local craft store or Walmart. Spread the flat side of each graham cracker with a thin coat of frosting, and cover with a rectangle of fondant.

 

 

Peppermint sticks and red gumballs. Again, one per cupcake. I bought the gumballs at Michaels craft store (they sell bags of individual colors) and you can buy bags of Bob’s Soft Peppermint sticks at Walmart for $1.00 around Christmas time.

 

 

White almond bark or candy melts. Melt your almond bark or candy melts (you won’t need much, so just melt a little) and attach a gumball to the top of each peppermint stick. Spread a bit of melted candy on the uncovered side of your graham cracker rectangles and attach to the sticks, near the top. Allow to set until the melted candy is firm.

 

Black frosting or a black food marker. Using a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (I used #2) OR a black food marker, write North Pole on each sign. I also colored some frosting red and piped a border around the edges of the sign. You can do this too, or even make a border from small candies or sprinkles.

 

Insert the poles in the cupcakes.

 

 

I found these at Michaels also, right by the cash register. They are paper thin and entirely edible. SO cool!! Once my cupcakes were finished, I placed a few here and there on the frosting. But if you can’t find these, any snowflake sprinkles would work, or just leave off the snowflakes all together.

 

Keep in mind that these cupcakes are very flexible. You could use regular candy canes for the poles or substitute red M&Ms for the gumballs. Santa will still love them, I promise.

 

If you’re in need of more Christmas inspiration, I have more cupcake ideas on my site, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.

 

Like these….

 

Or these.

 

I hope that whatever you decide to make, you find tons of inspiration during the Handmade Holiday Bake, Craft, and Sew Along. Thanks so much for letting you share my creations with you and Merry (early) Christmas!!

Happy Mouthwatering Monday, y’all!!! This linky is one of my favorite parts of Monday – I love seeing what y’all are sharing.
I get inspired and I often drool over what y’all are feeding your friends and family.

Link up one recipe that you’ve posted over the past week.
Only link up a recipe that you’ve made yourself, do not link a photo to someone else’s blog, please.
Leave a comment after you’ve linked up your recipe
Link back to Mouthwatering Monday in your linked post
Share the love
Visit 3 or more other MWM participants



21 Comments

Turtle Bars

6:00 AM ByFiled Underholiday craft along, holidays

The Holiday Bake, Craft, Sew Along is BACK!

HolidayBakeCraftSewAlong

The amazingly talented Cindy and Kelly and I have teamed up again to bring you 30 days of Handmade Christmas gift ideas!

Do you want some Sewing Inspiration for Holiday Gift Ideas? Skip To My Lou has those!

How about some new Craft Ideas for handmade Holiday Gifts? According to Kelly has those!

Need ideas for Homemade Food Gift ideas for the Holidays? I’ll have those here!

You can visit each of our blogs every day in September for great inspiration for all your Handmade Holiday Ideas!!

Hey y’all!  I’m so excited to introduce y’all to one of my new favorite bloggers, Rebecca, from simple as that.  She’s sharing her sinfully delicious turtle bars with y’all today, Thank YOU, Rebecca!

Hello everyone! My name’s Rebecca and I blog over at simple as that. I’m so thrilled to be a part of this years holiday bake, craft and sew along and I can’t wait to share one of my favorite holiday recipes with you today.
This recipe for turtle bars is one I got from my mother in law and from the first time I tried them I was love. Carmel + pecans + chocolate = heaven in a 9X13 pan. No. Really. It’s true.:)
These simple and delicious squares are the perfect holiday treat and definately need to be shared, so come  follow along as we make some delicious turtle bars and then package them up to give this holiday season.
Ingredients you’re going to need:
crust:
2 cups flour + 1 cup brown sugar + 3/4 butter softened
carmel: 
1 cup butter + 1 ½ cups brown sugar + 3 tbsp corn syrup
plus:
2 cups of chopped pecans + 2 cups of milk chocolate chips
You’ll begin by buttering a 9X13 inch pan. These squares tend to stick so butter it up good. Now we’re going to mix up the crust. Grab 3/4 cups of softened butter, 1 cup of brown sugar and 2 cups of flour and mix well. Pour the mixture into your 9X13 pan and press down evenly to form the crust.
Next take 2 cups of chopped pecans and sprinkle over the top of the crust and press them in a bit. Set aside. In a saucepan we can start preparing the carmel. Bring1 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 3 tbsp corn syrup to a boil and boil for one minute. Pour over the crust + pecans in the 9X13 pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and sprinkle 2 cups of milk chocolate chips over the top. Let sit about 5 minutes and then spread softened chips to cover. Allow ample cooling time before you enjoy!
And that is how you make turtle bars.
Pretty simple and believe me when I tell you, they are so yummy!
To share some of these yummy treats you can package them up in a small jar with some simple trimmings. Using a brown paper bag I cut out a circle big enough to cover my jar lid and hang over the sides a little bit. I centered the circle on the jar lid, folded it down and began folding pleats all around the edge. Tie with a small scrap of lace or ribbon and attach a tag to the top of your jar and all done.
Simple, delicous and homemade. Definitely my idea of the perfect holiday gift. If you’d like to download gift tags like the ones I used to package my turtle bars you can download them here. This is a 8.5X11 sheet of 20 tags in four different colors.
I hope you enjoyed this favorite holiday recipe of mine and if you get a chance I’d love it if you stopped by simple as that for more simple recipes, craft ideas and photography inspiration.
Thank you so much for having me Rachel, Kelly and Cindy!
Rebecca

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Turtle Bars

Turtle Bars

Delicious Turtle Bar recipe courtesy of Rebecca Cooper

Ingredients

    crust:
  • 2 cups flour + 1 cup brown sugar + 3/4 butter softened
    • caramel:
  • 1 cup butter + 1 ½ cups brown sugar + 3 tbsp corn syrup
    • plus:
  • 2 cups of chopped pecans + 2 cups of milk chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Begin by buttering a 9X13 inch pan.
    2. These squares tend to stick so butter it up good.
  2. Now we’re going to mix up the crust. Grab 3/4 cups of softened butter, 1 cup of brown sugar and 2 cups of flour and mix well. Pour the mixture into your 9X13 pan and press down evenly to form the crust.
  3. Next take 2 cups of chopped pecans and sprinkle over the top of the crust and press them in a bit. Set aside. In a saucepan we can start preparing the carmel. Bring1 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 3 tbsp corn syrup to a boil and boil for one minute. Pour over the crust + pecans in the 9X13 pan.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and sprinkle 2 cups of milk chocolate chips over the top. Let sit about 5 minutes and then spread softened chips to cover. Allow ample cooling time before you enjoy!
http://asouthernfairytale.com/2011/09/25/turtle-bars/

3 Comments
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