Sweet Melissa Sunday - Double-Crusted Caramel Apple Pie

(Forgive the 45 minute early post...I worked all day today and have to work 8 1/2 hours tomorrow. If I don't post now, it will be 9:30 or later tomorrow night before I will be able to post this.)

I'm so excited and nervous! My pick is being showcased this week. I have been anxiously watching the days tick by, getting closer and closer to the 21st. And, here it is! And, here you are! Welcome!!

It seemed like it was going to be forever until I got to pick a recipe for our SMS group, and yet, just 6 short months later, here we are with my pick, Double-Crusted Caramel Apple Pie.  I am so excited to be hosting this week(I know I said that already) and I sincerely hope that my choice didn't cause anyone too much trouble. I know there were a few out there with pie crust anxiety.  Hopefully those concerns were for naught. :)

I really gave a lot of thought to my choice. Last time I got to pick a recipe-in another group-it was a choice between an apple tart and a chocolate cake. I chose the chocolate cake and then wished I had chosen the apple tart. (I made it later and it was wonderful!) This time while looking through Melissa's cookbook I spied this recipe and knew I had to try it. I love apple pie and I love caramel and couldn't wait to try the two together.

I chose to use Melissa's All-Butter Pie Dough for my pie. She gives you a choice between that and her Flaky Pie Dough. I had not tried the All-Butter and that's why I picked it. It was super easy to put together. I made it in a bowl with a pastry cutter, but you can also make it in a food processor. How great is that?!

I recently made some vanilla sugar and decided to use it in the caramel. I followed the directions to a "t" and my first batch of caramel seized up and became a pan of hard, lumpy sugar. Not caramel at all. It was like all the water cooked out leaving just sugar. Not good. I was thinking "Of course, the recipe I pick is going to give me the most trouble!". I dumped the clumpy sugar and started again. The second time it stayed liquid. However, after 15-20 minutes, it was still not amber in color. I was afraid if I left it on the burner much longer the water would cook out again and I would have another pan of sugar. So, I pulled the pan off the stove, added the cream, butter and vanilla and let it cool. Not very dark or amber in color, but it tasted great!

The next little kink in the recipe was the apples. My hubby had brought home a 3 lb. bag of apples that someone at work gave him. They were Galas (I think) and I couldn't see buying Granny Smith apples (even though I know they are tarter than Galas) when I had so many apples here at the house. What I did was up the lemon zest some and added the juice from the lemon. I debated long and hard about whether to add cinnamon to the apples. The recipe doesn't call for any, but all my apple pies have cinnamon in them. It's what makes it an apple pie, at least in my opinion (and we all know what opinions are like :D) However, at the last minute I decided to stick with the recipe like it was written.

One thing I did do that was not in the recipe was add about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of pecans. The hubby asked if I could do that. Other than that (and the vanilla sugar) I made no other changes.


So, what did I think? I commented in the P&Q that I liked it, but  have to say that I wasn't overly impressed. Maybe it was the lack of cinnamon. Perhaps it was the vanilla sugar or the fact that the caramel never really got caramel-y. Could have been the apples. I liked it okay, but not as much as some other apple pies I have made.  Not much flavor at all. The crust was sensational! Flaky, buttery, perfect in every way. The caramel tasted good in the pan, but seemed to lose something when mixed with the apples. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being awesome, I would give this a 4.  The pie itself was kind of a let down for me. I was even disappointed with the pictures I took of it. Such a bummer. To finally get to pick a recipe and then have it not live up to the expectations I had. Maybe I will have better luck next time I get to pick. :} But, don't take my review as gospel. Head over to SMS and see what the other bakers thought. Perhaps someone else had better luck than I did with this recipe.

Double-Crusted Caramel Apple Pie

This double-crusted apple pie has a creamy caramel sauce that is mixed into the apples right before baking. The addition of lemon zest keeps the rich caramel in check.

For the Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons water

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Pie crust

All-Butter Pie Dough

All-butter Pie Dough bakes up more crisp than the Flaky Pie Dough and is great for pumpkin pie, pecan pie, as well as fruit pies. It has a rich buttery flavor.

Makes enough dough for 1 double-crusted pie or 2 single-crust 10-inch pies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

6 to 8 Tablespoons ice water

To Make the Dough by Hand
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to combine.
2. Add the butter pieces, tossing with your fingers to coat each cube in the flour. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it is the size of large peas.
3. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of the water over the mixture and toss with a fork. The dough should hold together when you squeeze it in your hand. If it is too dry, add the rest of the water (or more if absolutely necessary).

To Make the Dough Using a Food Processor
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to combine.
2. Add the butter pieces, carefully tossing with your fingers to coat each one in flour. Pulse briefly, until the butter is the size of large peas.
3. Add 6 tablespoons of the water and pulse to combine. The dough should just hold together when you squeeze it in your hand. If it is too dry, add the rest of the water (or more if absolutely necessary).

To Rest the Dough
1. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat it together into one piece. Divide the dough into two equal parts, flatten each into a round disk, and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

To Roll the Dough
1. When the dough is chilled through, lightly flour a work surface. Unwrap the dough disk, lightly flour the top, and , using a rolling pin, press gently on the dough, from the middle upward, and then the middle downeard. Turn the dough disk a quarter turn and repeat the light pressing process. Add more flour if needed to prevent sticking.
2. The dough should now be a round, flatter version of the original dough disk. Sprinkle lightly with more flour if necessary, then gently roll the dough so that it is an inch wider all around than it was. Make a quarter turn, lifting the dough if it is sticking and lightly flouring the work surface below. Repeat this process until the round is roughly 12 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. Slide it onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper and chill it in the fridge until you are ready to prebake or assemble your pie.
3. When you are ready to bake the dough, transfer it to a pie plate by sliding both palms under the dough and gently lifting it and placing it down over the center of the pie plate. Gently press the dough into the pie plate, being careful not to stretch it. Patch any rips or tears by pressing the dough together with your fingers.
4. Using clean scissors, trim off any dough in excess of 1 1/2 inches around the edges. Then gently roll the dough's edge under itself, creating a nice uniform edge to crimp. Lightly flour a fork and press the times along the top of the folded edge all around, or pinch the dough all around between your index finger and your thumb.
5. Put the pie crust in the refrigerator to rest and chill for at least 30 minutes.

For the Apple Filling

8 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1.2-inch slices

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons sugar, for sprinkling

For the Egg Wash

1 large egg

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

Pinch kosher salt

To Make the Sauce

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the heavy cream to hot, but not boiling, 3 to 4 minutes

2. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, and water and heat until amber in color (live clover honey), about 10 minutes. Immediately remove the caramelized sugar from the heat. (Please be careful when caramelizing sugar-no kids in the room. Hot sugar is a very bad burn.)

3. Slowly pour the cream into the caramel, stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Let cool to warm.

To Prepare the Pie Crust

Roll out the dough into two rounds 14 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. Gently fit one into a 10-inch pie plate and lay the other flat on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to assemble, at least 30 minutes.

Before you make the Filling

Position a rack in the bottom third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum.

To Make the Filling

1. In a large bowl, stir together the apples, zest, flour, sugar, and salt to combine.

2. Stir the caramel sauce (which should be warm but not hot) into the apples.

To Complete the Pie

1. For the egg wash: Whisk together the egg, heavy cream, and salt with a fork.

2. Pour the caramel apple filling into the unbaked pie shell. Brush the edges of the crust with some of the egg wash.

3. Place the second dough round on top of the filled pie shell. Fold under the edges and crimp.

4. Brush the top crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons sugar. Cut 4 steam vents in the top crust.

5. Place the pie plate on the freshly lined cookie sheet. Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until the juices are bubbling and thick and the apples are tender. Remove to a wire rack to cool before serving.

This pie is best served warm or at room temperature. As with all fruit pies, it is best eaten the day it is baked.

(Next time I am choosing a recipe that doesn't require as much typing! Whew!)

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Easy Chocolate Mousse and (at the end) the TAQ award.

Ahhh, Valentine's Day. Love is in the air. The stores are filled with hearts and flowers. It's the most wonderful time of the year. No, wait, that's Christmas! Anyway,  even my hubby, who is normally not a very romantic kind of guy got into the swing of things this morning. He woke me and said "Come on, I'm taking you out to breakfast". And, he took me to the most romantic breakfast a girl could ask for, wait for it,...at Hardee's! :D That's my guy. Gotta' love him. And, I have for for the past 23 years, almost 20 of them that we have been married. But, I am getting all teary eyed now and I need to concentrate on my post. Which isn't about how romantic my hubby is, but about this week's SMS which is Easy Chocolate Mousse.  Spike of Spike Bakes chose the recipe for SMS this week, and you can find it, along with pictures of her results over at her blog. Thanks Spike for a great pick!

This was just as the recipe stated...easy. My only complaint, if it's even a complaint, is that my chocolate didn't completely blend with the egg white/sugar mix and I have tiny pieces of chocolate throughout the mousse. I personally don't mind it...I like finding the little morsels. I had thought about adding mini chocolate chips or chopped toasted almonds, but decided to leave well enough alone and serve it just as it was.

What a wonderful dessert. Light yet rich, creamy, chocolate-y. I dusted mine with a hint of dark cocoa powder, just to give it a little something. I was going to save out a tiny bit of the whipped cream for on top, but forgot. :( That's okay. It's perfect just the way it is.  Head over to SMS to see what everyone else thought of this one.

Now, I want to give a big thanks to Chaya of Sweet and Savory for the second award I won last week. Last Thursday night I came home after a long day (cleaned one church, three houses, had a doctor's appointment and met my kids for dinner all before getting home at 8:00 at night) and found a comment from Chaya directing me to come get an award that she left me, one I didn't even have to lie for! :) It's the TAQ award and it's for photography! She loves the photo on my header of the path between the trees. That's actually my driveway. I had one up I took in the fall, but have changed it to a snowy one. I am not sure which one Chaya liked, but it's an honor to be recognized for my photography. I consider myself a bit of a photographer. I have won several ribbons at the country fair, and one year took the grand champion ribbon with a b&w photo of my son taken when he was about 4 or 5 years old. So, to have someone in the blogging world pass me a photography award...well, it's pretty special to me.

I am supposed to pick 6 people to pass this award onto, as well as post some pictures I have taken. I have posted 4 that I personally think are  good. I know photography is objective so some may not think these are anything special, but they are to me.

As for picking the 6 bloggers whose photography I admire, two women came to mind right off the bat...
Mimi of Mimi's Kitchen. She takes the most amazing pictures of everything she bakes. I love seeing what she's done each week.
Holly of Phe/MOM/enon is another blogger whose food pictures look so beautiful you feel as though you could just reach out and touch them. Fabulous.
Susan of She's becoming Doughmesstic is another fabulous photographer. Her artistic eye is just amazing.

Karen of Karen's Cookies,cakes and more. Each Sunday I am always amazed at the photos she posts of her latest recipes.
Tracey of Tracy's Culinary Adventure's also has a great eye when it comes to photography.
And, lastly, Steph of a Whisk and a spoon. Great lighting, sharp, delicious looking photos!
As with the last award I passed on, I am sure that there are many, many others out there deserving of the TAQ award. But, these are the bloggers who first came to mind. To those of you I nominated to receive this award, please post a picture or pictures that you particularly like. And, of course, pass the award on to 6 others. :)

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Classic Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Welcome to another addition of Sweet Melissa Sunday. This weeks recipe is Classic Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Rosy, of Rosy Lips and Lavender is this weeks hostess and she picked a winner! Be sure to stop by her blog and check out the recipe for this cake. Look around while you are there...she takes great photos! And, be sure to head over to SMS to see what all the other bakers thought of Rosy's choice!

My daughter's birthday is today and I made this cake for her. She loves red velvet cake (though I think she likes Funfetti cake more!) and I figured I would kill two birds with one stone by making this. We are getting together with her and her hubby on Tuesday to have dinner at Fuddrucker's. We have been going there for her birthday dinner for quite a few years now. I will bring several of the heart cakes with me that night. For the birthday girl's dessert,  you know. :)

This was a really simple cake to put together. I didn't read about switching out baking powder for the baking soda, to get a truer red cake, until after my cake was done. But, I think it's pretty red. Other than cutting back on the cinnamon by about 1/2 teaspoon, I made this one just like in the book. I ended up using some of the batter in my mini heart cake pan, getting 6 hearts, and there was still enough batter to bake 2 6-inch rounds!

I did stray from the recipe when it came to the icing. Shocking I know! Coming from someone who seldom if every varies from how the recipe is written. Seeing 3 sticks of butter and only 12 ounces of cream cheese...I just couldn't do it. I have a favorite cream cheese icing that I make. It calls for 1 stick of butter, 1 package of cream cheese, some confectioners' sugar and a little vanilla. It's smooth, creamy and delicious. I decided to use my icing on this cake instead of Melissa's.

The end result? What a great cake! I found it to be moist and tender. I could detect the cinnamon and I am glad I cut back on it a little. I think it would have been overpowering for my tastes if I had used the full 2 teaspoons. The chocolate flavor is there, but very subtle. I think my color turned out pretty nice. Maybe it could have been redder, but I think it looks good. And the icing? Well, I already knew it would be good!

I think my daughter will be very happy with her mini heart shaped Red Velvet cake with Cream Cheese Icing. Happy Birthday Beth!! (if you are reading this!) <3<3<3
This is also a post for Have the Cake, a new group I have joined. Bake once a month for a type of recipe someone chooses. Last month was Rugelach and this month is Red Velvet cake. Can't wait for next month. 

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Melissa's Butterscotch Pudding

I just noticed that this will be my 66th post! Won't be long and I will hit 100. And, just a few short months ago, I didn't know anything about having a blog. Excuse me while I wipe away a tear. :)

Pudding. My usual experience with pudding is to open one of those boxes and pour some milk into a pan with the contents of the box, stir, heat and eat. I don't usually make pudding from scratch. The last time I made a pudding, I had to put it in the freezer so I could eat it with something other than a straw. (I went back and tried the same recipe a second time with better results). So, I was a bit nervous about trying this week's recipe, which Jennifer of Maple n' Cornbread (such a great name for a blog and such a pretty blog!) picked for us. You can find the recipe on her blog.  I thought about passing, but I did have everything on hand I needed to try it and decided to give it a go.

I halved the recipe. I happen to like butterscotch and pudding, but the hubby is a fan of neither. He's a cake/cookie/brownie kind of guy. Pudding? He would use it on top of a piece of cake or brownie in place of whipped cream, but never eat just pudding on it's own. So, knowing all of this, I figured half the recipe would be more than enough. Thought about making a quarter of the recipe, but it made my brain hurt trying to cut it in half and then cut it in half again. :D

Followed the recipe to a "T". I was a bit startled and concerned with I added the amber colored sugar to the cream mixture and it (the sugar) became this mass of solid rock in my cream! I didn't panic (too much). I just kept stirring and stirring and finally the rock melted into the cream and all was well again.

Filled the bowls I was using for the pudding, placed them in an 9x9 inch baking pan and filled the pan half way up the bowls with hot water. Covered with foil and into the oven it went.

I checked after 45 minutes and my pudding was still very liquid-y. I recovered the pan and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Checked again and it seemed more solid, but I decided to check the temperature as Melissa suggests in the recipe. I got 157 degrees and pulled the puddings from the oven. Set them on the counter, still in the pan and let them cool to room temperature. The very centers still seemed a bit jiggle-y, but I figured it would firm up in the fridge.

Well, the outer edges of each pudding firmed up, but the very center, about a 1/2 circle stayed liquid. The flavor is wonderful. It's warm, rich, not too sweet. Silky on the tongue. It's a delicious pudding and I could see making it again. What a wonderful pie filling it would make. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I am sure the problem with the still liquid center is my fault. Either I under-baked them, or didn't have the thermometer placed in the center, or who knows. I won't call this a true "Fail" because some of the pudding is, well, pudding. Had the center thickened up, it would have been perfect.

If you would like to see what the other SMS bakers (or pudding makers!) thought, please head over and check them out! Can you believe next week's recipe will the be first one in February?!?!

One last thing I would like to leave you with. We received about 9-10 inches of snow yesterday. Living in the country, we see a lot of deer and turkey in our back yard. This morning, while at the kitchen sink looking out into the yard, I spotted this small button buck foraging for something to eat. I ran, grabbed my camera and took a couple of pictures. After he wandered off, I cut up some apples and put them out there for when he returns.

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Black Bottom Brownies

This weeks recipe , which was chosen by Cynthia of Bakingtherapist's blog, was Black Bottom Brownies. I am sure she will have the recipe up on her blog soon, just in case you don't own The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. And, if you are reading this and you don't own the book, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It's full of wonderful, yummy recipes.

I am going to keep this short and sweet. A very wonderful, kind, funny, caring woman I knew, who was in fact a neighbor of mine, passed away this morning from lung cancer. I was fortunate enough to have spent some time with her last Sunday and was able to tell her how grateful I was to have known her. A friend of the family just called here a little bit ago to relay the news. I am going to miss Corinne very much. She was spunky and a fighter and never let the terrible disease she had get her down. She was smiling the last time I saw her and that is how I will always remember her.

Anyway, back to this weeks recipe. These brownies were pretty easy to put together. I had really high hope for them as I have a favorite brownie cheesecake I make and I thought that these would be like that.

I may have over baked them a tad. My top looked more brown than golden. I cut them into small bars and hubby and I gave them a try.

The first night we had them, we weren't impressed. The brownie part was kind of dry and the cheesecake part kind of blah. The best part was the middle where the chocolate chips had settled and melted. But, the next night we tried these, we couldn't believe they were the same bars. The brownie part was chewy and chocolate-y, the cheesecake moist and creamy and the combination of all three layers was rich and satisfying. Go figure. I found that the bars kept getting better as more time passed. I am glad we gave them a second try because it changed my opinion of these completely. I still think my brownie cheesecake is better, but, these bars are a good "eat with your hands" substitution.

Want to know what the other bakers thought? Head over to SMS and see.

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Lemon Walnut Sour Cream Pound Cake

This weeks recipe, chosen by Raeann of Basically, Baby Boots, is Lemon Walnut Sour Cream Pound Cake. I had this one marked as a possible choice for my pick in March, but wasn't at all unhappy to make it ahead of time. :) While the hubby isn't a big fan of lemon, I love it in all kinds of baked goods...muffins, breads, pies, cookies. It always lends such a crisp, fresh flavor to everything. I don't normally bake anything lemon flavored because he won't eat it, but since it was for the group... :}

I have a pretty yellow bundt cake pan that is usually too small for most bundt cake recipes. I decided to bake this pound cake in it instead of using a loaf pan.

In no time I had the batter mixed up and in the oven baking. It's pretty basic; flour, butter, sugar, lemon zest and juice, along with a few other simple ingredients.

I baked mine in the bundt pan for the full hour and 15 minutes. It smelled wonderful as it was baking, and I couldn't wait to try it.

I skipped the glaze listed in the recipe and instead made a simple powdered sugar and lemon juice glaze that I drizzled over the top after the pound cake cooled.

I found this cake to be fabulous! Moist, with a nice crust on the outside. The lemon flavor was strong, but not too strong, and delicious. The walnuts added just the right amount of texture to the crumb of the cake. I would definitely make this one again. I noticed one of the SMS bakers used orange and pecans. That also sounds delicious and I may have to try that combination in the future. If you would like to see what the rest of the gang thought, head over to SMS and check it out! 

Sorry, no SMS today.

I hate to disappoint, but I did not do this weeks yummy Chocolate Creme Caramels, which was chosen by Jeanette of The Whimsical Cupcake. Like another of our group, Cristine, I am going to chose two recipes from SMS and TWD, just enough to fulfill my commitment to each group. Baking two different recipes every week was taking a toll not only on my wallet, buying all the ingredients, but on my waistline (and the hubby's). We don't need all those yummy treats and I really don't have anyone close by to give them to. So, I will be reading the month's recipes and choosing two.  So, my apologizes to you Jeanette. I am sure the caramels were wonderful and I will drop by your blog to see what you thought. I will also drop by SMS to see what all the other bakers who tried this one thought. Until we meet again....

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake with Blackberry Glaze

I write this post with mixed emotions. It is the our last SMS post for 2009. We will start again in January. While I am grateful for the "free" time it will give me, I will really miss my Sunday evenings which are spent reading posts from the other bakers. I am new to this whole experience, blogging and baking with groups on-line. I have to say I really enjoy it. All the new friends I have met. All the wonderful recipes I have tried, many I might not have tried were it not for the groups I bake with. I guess I am just a bit melancholy at this time of year and it is bleeding through to my blog.

But, back to business. Shandy of Pastry Heaven picked this recipe. Any time the word cheesecake, chocolate and espresso are in the same sentence I am hooked. I actually looked at this recipe and had it earmarked to pick if it was still available in April when it's my turn to choose a recipe.  I am not at all upset that Shandy picked it now.

This was (is) a delicious cheesecake! I believe it will be a bit boozy for my hubby. Not that he doesn't drink, but he's funny about alcohol in his foods and if he can taste it he usually doesn't like the dish. While I could taste the dark rum (it's more of a warmth in the mouth and throat than an actual taste) I still liked the cheesecake every much.

As cheesecakes go, it's pretty typical to pull together. A bit more work cooking the cream, cocoa powder, espresso powder and salt, and melting the bittersweet chocolate, but it's really just making a crust, mixing the cream cheese with other ingredients and baking it. It bakes in a water bath and from all the cheesecakes I have made, water baths = creamy filling. This was no exception to that rule. The filling turned out silky, creamy, smooth,and intensely chocolaty.

The crust was a wonderful surprise. A good many crusts get soft and  almost cookie like. This crust stayed crispy, crunchy. It was a nice contrast to the smooth, silky texture of the filling. Perhaps the hazelnuts help to make it crunchy. Not sure, but I really liked it.

The glaze on top, pretty and shiny, is overwhelmed by the chocolate of the filling. I made extra glaze and drizzled it on the plate and that little bit extra added just a hint of the blackberry flavor to each bite. I really can't say I tasted the espresso. I think it serves to intensify the chocolate rather than add a coffee flavor to the dessert.

All and all, this is a fabulous dessert. Rich, creamy, crunchy, tons of chocolate flavor, beautiful on a plate with a bit of the glaze drizzled over each slice. I think you could easily omit the rum and still have a delicious cheesecake. I don't think I would omit it completely next time, but might knock it back to 1/8 of a cup rather than 1/4 of a cup.  I didn't have any fresh blackberries on hand, but think some chocolate curls might dress the plate up nicely, along with the extra glaze. I love how Shandy decorated hers. Stop by her blog to check it out! And, stop by SMS to see what the other bakers thought of this one, and if anyone is as melancholy as I am about not baking with Melissa again till January.

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Butter Toffee Crunch

This week's SMS recipe was chosen by Kaitlin  of Kait's Plate, and it's a great choice for this time of year. I personally make or bake something for all 27 of my cleaning customers. Sometimes its mini pumpkin chocolate chip loaves, sometimes I make cake truffles. Last year I made peanut butter balls. It usually takes some time and I spread it out over the month of December, baking or making something almost every night for the next day's customers. But, it's a labor of love and my way of saying thank you for their continued business. I can see using this recipe for Christmas gifts this year.

This was not too difficult to put together. You do need a thermometer for checking the temperature of the toffee as it cooks, but other than that it was pretty simple. I cut the recipe in half, and a good thing I did as I was almost a 1/2 of a cup short of light brown sugar. I subbed dark brown for that little bit, and it may have made a difference. The toffee seemed very dark, even though so little dark brown sugar was used.

But, it turned out great. I have only tried a tiny piece but it was crunchy and chocolaty and delicious. Oh, I also used bitter sweet chocolate chips as that is all I had on hand (need to make a run to the store to restock) but I think the bitter sweet is actually a nice contrast to the sweetness of the toffee. And, the chopped almond give just the right nuttiness to the candy.

So, thanks Kaitlin for choosing such a great recipe. This will not only make great gifts, but I can see using it in recipes (thinking cakes) to add a little something extra, a little something special. If you would like to see what the other bakers thought, head over to SMS.

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Sweet Almond Bread Pudding with Raspberry Sauce

This week's recipe, Sweet Almond Bread Pudding with Raspberry Sauce was chosen by Candace of Candy Girl. This was one that I was very happy to try.

I love bread pudding. I have never passed up a chance to order it when I see it on a  menu, or try it at a party. However, I have never made it myself. My hubby doesn't care for it (he doesn't think bread and dessert belong in the same sentence) and I could never justify making it just for myself. Until now. :)

Though the recipe sounded fabulous just like it was, I made some changes. First of all, earlier this week I baked some Pumpkin Pie Brioche. The recipe is posted on a friend's blog. When I made the brioche I didn't realize I needed brioche for this recipe. When I read this recipe and saw brioche listed in the ingredients, I decided to make my bread pudding with that Pumpkin Pie Brioche.

Using Pumpkin Pie brioche steered me to another change. Instead of using almonds, I decided pecans would be better with the flavor of the brioche. I also decided to cut the recipe in half. Figured I didn't need to eat the full recipe all by myself. :) My hubby may decide to try it, but odds are he won't care for it and I will have to eat it all. Oh the sacrifices we bakers must make.

I love how simple this was to put together. I may be in trouble now. I always thought bread pudding was difficult to make, but this was pretty easy. I made one more small change...I added some granulated brown sugar to the top rather than use white sugar. I thought the brown sugar and pecans would work better with the Pumpkin Pie brioche.

It smelled wonderful while baking. The pecans toasted up beautifully and the brown sugar added a nice color to the bread cubes on top.

I did not have any raspberries in the house, but I did have some seedless raspberry jam and I melted a little of that and drizzled it over the finished pudding.

The verdict? Fabulous! I loved the flavor of the pumpkin and the raspberry. The crunch of the pecans and bread cubes on top contrasted with the creamy, almost pudding like consistancy of the bread pudding. This is definitely what comes to mind when you think "comfort food".  I am hoping the hubby hates this so I can have all of it for myself!

Please go to SMS to see what the other members thought. I will be making this recipe again and will try it the way it is in the book next time. Thanks Candace! Loved this one!

Sweet Melissa Sundays - Apple Orchard Pecan Crumble

This weeks recipe, chosen by Cristine of Cooking with Cristine, is Apple Orchard Pecan Crumble. Thank you so much for choosing this recipe Cristine!

I knew when I saw the name of this one that it would be a winner. Apple-Pecan-Crumble. Winner-winner-winner! I am a nut for apples. If I see a recipe with apples it goes into my "have to try" pile. In fact, I had marked this recipe as a "have to" when I first got my cookbook and flipped though it. This and several others that have apples in them. And, at this time of year, what could be better? (Well, maybe something with pumpkin, my other love, but I digress!)

I had some Granny Smith apples leftover from another apple dish I did recently, so I only had to buy the other apples. McIntosh and Golden Delicious. I didn't see any Macouns around. I don't think I have ever seen those in any of the stores around here. My Golden Delicious were actually Golden Ginger apples. Never had them but hoped they would be close enough.

I think I sliced my apples a bit on the thin side. The recipe calls for 1/4" slices, but I think mine ended up being about 1/8" or even thinner. Because of that, they cooked down quite a bit. I didn't have a problem with that, but others might. You could still see that there were slices in the dish, but they were very soft.There was also a lot of juice, but not sure if that was from thin slices or just plain juicy apples. :)

Another thing I did was kick up the cinnamon. Recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon, but I love cinnamon in apples and I used close to a full teaspoon in my dish. I didn't have any ground allspice on hand either, but did have some whole allspice that I grated on a micro-grater.

I baked mine in my 2 3/4 quart Le Creuset casserole pan. It was the only dish that was close to the right size without being way too big or way too small. Sliced the apples, mixed in the spices, spread it in the Le Creuset., I then  mixed up the pecan crumble, which was incredibly easy to put together. I love the fact that you melt the butter and make a dough-like topping with the flour, sugar and pecans. I spead that on top of the apples, and stuck the dish in the oven.

For the next hour and 20 minutes I had to wear a bib to keep the drool off my clothes! That's a bit of an exaggeration, but the aroma of this dish baking was maddening. For me, the sense of smell is very important in cooking. Smelling good while being prepared is the first hurdle a recipe must pass in order to be good. This one passed with flying colors!

I took it out of the oven and it was just beautiful to look at. The crust was a nice golden brown, with bits of pecans peaking out here and there. You could see the juice from the apples bubbling up around the edges of the crumble topping. I gave it about 5 minutes and then cut into it with a big spoon. I put some in a dish and added a dollop of whipped topping to it and dug in.

Oh! My! Goodness! I loved it! There was just the right tartness to the apples and the extra cinnamon I added blended with the sugar and apples perfectly. I think, for me anyway, that less cinnamon wouldn't have been as good. The crumble was crunchy, sweet, nutty all at once, It was the perfect foil to the soft, tart apples that were underneath. I loved it warm from the oven (ate it twice that night) and it was just about as good cold from the fridge the next afternoon. This is definitly a keeper in my book. I am already thinking about different fruit and nut combinations that I can try...apples, pears, peaches, berries...walnuts, pecans, peanuts, almonds...I could go on and on. Why don't you go on to SMS and see what the other bakers thought. :)