Tag: caramel

alara and alegra’s ooey gooey joyful brownies

if you live in istanbul you are hopefully enjoying this snow day as much as we are!!! the city is quiet and beautiful and watching the snowflakes fall is actually meditative in its own way. 

the snow brought us a LOT of joy- we made a snowman, had snowball fights, made snow angels, drank hot chocolate and of course, baked brownies- yum!

our brownie baking actually happened on saturday, while we were waiting rather (im)patiently for the snow to start.  we knew we would want dessert that night so alara and alegra figured out a way to use up a batch of caramel we had made mid-week for apple dipping.  

the result some of the most indulgent joyful caramel brownies i have ever tasted!  

they humored me and made them gluten free but feel free to use regular flour if you prefer; and don’t worry if you have left over caramel sauce, it is just as delicious on its own and perfect for dipping fruit or making ice cream sundaes 🙂

easy caramel sauce:

ingredients:

  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 12 tablespoons butter- cut up into small pieces
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt flakes

instructions:

  • have all ingredients at room temperature 
  • heat sugar over medium high heat in bottom of a large saucepan-whisking continuously
  • once sugar is melted add butter and stir until melted
  • remove pan from heat and slowly add cream
  • whisk until cream is completely absorbed and caramel is smooth
  • add sea salt flakes and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes
  • store in a glass jar in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks

gluten free caramel brownies:

ingredients:

  • ½ cup dark chocolate- chopped into pieces
  • ½ cup milk chocolate- chopped into pieces
  • 1 cup butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup gluten free flour
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup salted caramel sauce

instructions:

  • preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (375f)
  • line a baking dish with parchment paper and set aside
  • in a large pot melt butter and chocolate together- allow to cool slightly
  • add in eggs, sugar and vanilla extract- mix well
  • sift gluten free flour on top and mix in until just combined
  • pour brownie batter into prepared dish and spread evenly
  • place large spoonfuls of caramel sauce on top of batter and use a knife to swirl into the batter
  • bake for 20-25 minutes for fudgy brownies; 30-35 minutes for more cakelike ones
  • the caramel will bubble, and the batter will seem to be shaky but don’t worry! once the brownies cool down the mixture will harden, and you will be able to cut and serve 
  • serve warm with ice cream if desired 

craving caramel…

as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and our recent self-isolation we have discovered that pretty much everyone in our house (with the exception of erim) absolutely ADORES popcorn!

we started out making it once or twice a week on movie nights as a treat.  at that time we were using a neat air popper i purchased a couple of years ago.  then we perfected making it with olive oil and sea salt on the stovetop- delicious. this caused our popcorn consumption to skyrocket and become a daily thing.

i frequently added copious amounts of ground curry, cumin and turmeric to my share; which i have to tell all you spice lovers, is a wonderful way to eat popcorn.

and then this week, as part of our “enjoy what we have challenge” we decided to attempt caramel popcorn. i have to admit i really thought this was going to be a major flop… i was WRONG!!

this recipe is super simple, it didn’t take us too much longer than our usual popcorn time, and we even ended up with a little leftover caramel for dipping apple slices the next afternoon.

so if you, like us, are craving caramel… we highly recommend this popcorn. but i will warn you, it is truly addictive!

ingredients-

a big bowl of air popped popcorn (made from about 1 cup unpopped kernels)

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups brown sugar

2/3 cups heavy cream

instructions-

preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius

line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper

pop popcorn and spread on baking sheet in an even layer

in a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat

add brown sugar and cream- whisking constantly until all ingredients are combined

bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes- stirring continually

remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes

pour over popcorn and mix well

place in oven for 10 minutes or longer depending on how crunchy you like your popcorn

remove from oven, mix well and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes

good movie, glass of wine… sit down and enjoy while fresh!