Just J.Faye

Hiking & Other Adventures

Banana Pudding Cookie Bars

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Pudding cookies. As in, pudding mix mixed into the cookie dough. Brilliant.

banana pudding cookie bars #recipe #cookies I have been reading a lot about this pudding mix cookie thing for a while now and have been itching to try my own.

While perusing the grocery store aisles (AKA wandering around aimlessly and staring at every single product for at least 1 full minute trying to decide what I wanted to buy and eat for the week) I found myself in front of the pudding mixes.

Let me tell you, there are a lot of different types of pudding mixes, but the banana pudding mix caught my eye almost immediately and I thought, “umm, yes. Banana pudding cookies. Those would be amazing.”

banana pudding cookie bars #recipe #cookies And, of course, when you have banana pudding you need to have vanilla wafers. You have to. I’m pretty sure it’s some sort of rule somewhere in the world and I always (for the most part) abide by the rules.

banana pudding cookie bars #recipe #cookies So vanilla wafers are in and white chocolate chips are in too. Just for fun.

Also just for fun, I decided to take these cookies to the next level: I turned them into bars.

Literally. They have more than one level: vanilla wafer crust + white chocolate + banana pudding cookie dough.

banana pudding cookie bars #recipe #cookies So soft. So crumbly. So flavorful. So delicious. Thank you, pudding mix.

If you have never baked cookies/cookie bars with pudding mix try them now pleaseeeeee. They are so good.

banana pudding cookie bars #recipe #cookies Bake up a batch and bring them to a picnic this weekend.

Banana Pudding Cookie Bars
 
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Soft and flavorful banana pudding cookie bars. A layer of vanilla wafer crust, topped with a layer of white chocolate, and finally the banana pudding cookie dough.
Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
For the crust:
  • 3 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
  • ¾ cup butter, melted
For the cookies:
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 (3.4 oz) package banana pudding mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup vanilla wafers, coarsely chopped
  • 2 cups white chocolate chips (divided)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together the vanilla wafers crumbs and melted butter until well combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 7-9 minutes. After removing the pan from the oven sprinkle 1 cup of white chocolate chips over the crust. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together sugars and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add in the flour mixture. Stir until combined. Fold in the vanilla wafers and white chocolate chips (1 cup).
  5. Place the cookie dough on parchment paper and form into a 9x13” rectangle (give or take ½”).
  6. By this time the white chocolate chips on top of the vanilla wafer crust should be slightly melted. Use a spatula to spread the melted chocolate across the entire crust, similar to frosting a cake. Then top this with the cookie dough rectangle. Use your fingers to press the cookie dough in and adjust the shape as needed.
  7. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let bars cool completely before cutting and eating.

banana pudding cookie bars #recipe #cookies Work is kind enough to offer half-day Fridays in the summer, so I am done with work and heading to the family cabin. YAY WEEKEND.

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Rhubarb Cake

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People. Rhubarb. It’s happening. Get on it. Because with rhubarb comes rhubarb desserts. And you don’t want to miss out on that.

rhubarb cake No, no, no, no, no, no you don’t.

When I was home for Mother’s Day I went and harvested a bunch of rhubarb.

rhubarb

Isn’t that a gorgeous bouquet?! All the bright green with vibrant pink stems. Do people ever have rhubarb bouquets for their weddings? If not, they should. Maybe I will.

I washed it and chopped it up and froze it because I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with this tart and precious vegetable yet. Muffins? Pie? Cake?! So many possibilities!

rhubarb cake I grew up on long summers of rhubarb desserts. It was like mayo cake’s counterpart. I can recall many-a lunch where we would grill brats and/or burgers, accompany it with fresh fruit, potato chips, and salad, and wash it all down with big glasses of milk.

Then there was dessert. Always, always dessert. If it didn’t happen right after lunch, it happened at about 2:00 – Prime time for my dad’s break from fieldwork and chores.

Afternoon coffee and rhubarb cake. No one ever says no to that.

Sometimes my grandparents would come over to join. Sometimes my dad had other relatives helping him in the field, so they would come in. Sometimes my siblings and I would have friends over. Looking back it seems that we just had an open house all summer long. Everyone was always welcome. Everyone still is.

So, come on over for some coffee and cake!

rhubarb cake Cleary I decided to make cake with my rhubarb. The cake starts out as a classic yellow cake. Then we top it with chopped up rhubarb. Then with sugar. Then pour heavy whipping cream all over everything. Because all of these things are good.

(I hope you did this workout…)

The tartness of the rhubarb is balanced by the sweetness of the cake. Perfect harmony. The cream makes it all really moist and delicious. Top it off with a dollop of whipped cream, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and enjoy your summer afternoon with friends and/or family.

rhubarb cake

Rhubarb Cake
 
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A moist yellow cake speckled with fresh, tart rhubarb. Perfect for a summer day with friends, family, and coffee.
Serves: 9-12
Ingredients
  • 2 cups rhubarb, chopped
  • 1 cup sugar, divided
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 1 ¼ cup flour
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 5 tbsp butter, softened
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 baking dish.
  2. In a small bowl mix the rhubarb with ¼ cup sugar. Set aside.
  3. In another small bowl combine the egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl add the dry ingredients (only use ½ cup sugar) and mix for 30 seconds with an electric mixer.
  5. Add the butter to the dry ingredients. Mix on low until butter is incorporated, then mix on medium high for 90 seconds. This helps develop the cake’s structure.
  6. Add the milk mixture in 3 rounds, mixing 20 seconds after each addition and scraping the sides as needed.
  7. Pour cake batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the rhubarb over the top, then the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Finally pour the cream over the cake.
  8. Bake for 40 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

I still have a little bit left in my freezer, but I think I need more. There are more rhubarb recipes I want to try. I’ll have to pay another little visit to the parents to gather another bouquet. See you soon mom and dad!

rhubarb cake

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Sunflower Seed Cheddar Beer Bread

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Two things that get better in the summer: beer and country music. sunflower seed cheddar beer bread Not that I don’t enjoy either of these things during the rest of the year, but seriously, this song, this song, and this song. And of course there is this classic – can you even have summer without it?!  All country music makes me want to do is be outside, drink a cold beer, run around with friends, and fall in love. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.

All those things. That is precisely what I am planning on doing this summer (except for the whole fall in love thing, but I guess we’ll see what’s in the cards for me). Oh, and also bike rides, Twins games, an outdoor concert or two, and trips to the cabins.

CABINS! Cabins.Are.The.Best. My parents bought a cabin at the end of last summer. After years and years of Sunday evening drives around the various Minnesota lakes looking at cabins, my parents finally took the plunge and did it. Not without tons of encouragement and pushing from my siblings and me, of course. We have dubbed it “The Jabin” since it is basically their new child and all their other children have J names. It’s a charming little place located in northern Minnesota with a lot of… opportunity. And potential. A work in progress, we shall say.

This weekend marked the first time that we would all be there together as a family… or, at least, it was supposed to be. My dad wasn’t able to come because he had to get fieldwork done. Due to the less-than-ideal weather situation over the past few months he wasn’t able to get into the field at all and couldn’t pass up the time to finally get some work done. Farmers, I tell you. #dedication. We obviously missed him, but will (hopefully) all be back together for the July 4th weekend. sunflower seed cheddar beer bread I wanted to make a fun little treat to bring to The Jabin to share with my family. My mom was already bringing a cake that she made to celebrate my little brother’s (21st!!!) birthday, so I didn’t want to bring any more sweets. Also I was a tad short on time.

Then this wonderful idea popped into my head: BEER BREAD. sunflower seed cheddar beer bread It was perfect. Everybody loves beer. Everybody loves bread. Everybody loves beer bread. So, duh.

And then I decided to add cheese. Because… CHEESE. I used sharp cheddar and must warn you to be careful… don’t cut yourself. sunflower seed cheddar beer bread Get it?! Sharp cheddar.

And it’s suuuuper simple to make. All you need is a bowl, a spoon, and a couple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. Because who isn’t continually stocked with flour, beer, and cheese?

You can pretty much use any type of beer. I used Fat Tire. sunflower seed cheddar beer bread Added everything to a bowl and stirred it up. sunflower seed cheddar beer bread Then I poured melted butter over the top of it. The butter makes it extra delicious, as butter does to most things. sunflower seed cheddar beer bread Pop it in the oven for 50-55 minutes and you’ll get this beautiful loaf of bread. And let me tell you, it is gooood. sunflower seed cheddar beer bread

Sunflower Seed Cheddar Beer Bread
 
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Super quick beer bread studded with cheddar cheese and sunflower seeds. This breads works great as a delicious summer picnic side or used in a tasty breakfast sandwich.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds
  • 12 ounces beer
  • 5 tbsp melted butter
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Add the cheddar and sunflower seeds, saving a little bit of each to sprinkle on the top, stir to combine.
  4. Add the beer (I used Fat Tire) and stir to combine. The batter will be thick.
  5. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan.
  6. Pour the melted butter on top and add the remaining cheese and sunflower seeds.
  7. Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes or until the middle is set.
  8. Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. Then enjoy!

Saturday morning at The Jabin rolled around, and we didn’t just toast up the beer bread and eat it with some butter. No, no, no, no, no. We used it to make these delicious cheesy, egg, and bacon open-faced breakfast sandwiches. We fried up some bacon. We fried up some eggs (my brother and sister-in-law brought eggs from their chickens – look at those huge and perfect yolks!). We buttered and broiled the bread with some black pepper cheese. Then we assembled the sandwiches. Brewed some dark coffee. Mixed up some mimosas. And ate it with some fresh strawberries. This is what cabin life and summer is all about. sunflower seed cheddar beer bread That breakfast was the perfect way to start our Saturday. We spent the rest of the time exploring local junk markets (where I bought a truly awesome clock), laying out in the sun, reading, grilling, and checking out a local brewery, which is something our family loves to do together. Family bonding at its finest. cabin life A HUGE thank you to everyone who has, is, and will serve for this country. You are all truly heros. My heart goes out to all the families that have lost loved ones over the years.

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

 

 

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Kale Salad with Roasted Beets and Spicy Granola

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kale salad with roasted beets and spicy granola FACT: Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

Sometimes (63ish% of the time) when I think of beets, I think of The Office, then bears and Battlestar Galactica. Gosh, I miss that show.

The Office, not Battlestar Galactica.

roasted beets

On a different, but somewhat similar note: I have never roasted beets before. It always seemed kind of intimidating: the long greens, the tough skin, the intense color. It’s just… a lot.

About a month ago I met some girlfriends for dinner and wine. We ate some delicious roasted beets (among other things) and began talking about how much we all loved beets… and Brussels spouts and wine.

Ever since that night I’ve just had beets on my mind. Beets. Beets. Beets. I must try to roast them myself. What do I have to lose? It can’t be that hard, right?!

Right. It’s not. It’s not hard at all.

roasted beets Scrub them. Foil them. Roast them. Peel them. Chop them. Eat them. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Last night I hosted the same girlfriends from the earlier beet discussion over for dinner. When trying to figure out what I was going to make for dinner I knew I had to do something with beets. I then recalled this gorgeous Strawberry Kale Salad that I came across last week during my nightly blog reading and knew it would be perfect.

image

I mean, savory granola?! Why the heck did I not know about this earlier? And then putting in salad?! Brilliant. And don’t even get me started on radishes.

kale salad with roasted beets and spicy granola

I swapped the beets for the strawberries and made some other minor tweaks. I served it with some baguette bread and a bottle of Trapiche that one of the girls brought over. It was a delicious time full of excellent conversation.

kale salad with roasted beets and spicy granola

kale salad with roasted beets and spicy granola

Kale Salad with Roasted Beets and Spicy Granola
 
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A raw kale salad with radishes, asparagus, and roasted beets. It's tossed with spicy granola and a lemon tahini dressing and topped with goat cheese. A delicious light and healthy dinner for a beautiful spring evening.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the salad:
  • 8 oz kale, chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cups radishes, chopped
  • 2 cups roasted beets, chopped
  • 1 cup asparagus, chopped
  • 1 oz goat cheese, crumbled
For the spicy granola:
  • 1 ¼ cup old-fashioned oats
  • ½ cup shelled pistachios
  • ½ cup almonds
  • ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 egg white, beaten
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp honey
For the lemon tahini dressing:
  • 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp honey
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
Instructions
  1. To roast the beets: Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Trim the beet greens and scrub the beets with a brush. Drizzle them with olive oil (or water), sprinkle with salt and pepper, and wrap in tin foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 50-60 minutes. Unwrap the beets from the foil and let them sit until they are cool enough to handle. Use a paper towel to gently peel away the skin. Chop and store in the refrigerated until needed.
  2. To make the spicy granola: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine the oats, pistachios, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. In a small bowl mix together the egg white, olive oil, tahini, and honey. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until combined, making sure that all the dry ingredients are moistened. Spread the mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 17 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let the granola cool, then break it apart, and store in a container.
  3. To make the lemon tahini dressing: Whisk all the ingredients together until combined or put all the ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously.
  4. To assemble the salad: Put the kale in a large salad bowl. Add the olive oil and some salt and pepper; massage it into the kale (this helps it become more tender). Let sit for 15 minutes then toss in the dressing and remaining vegetables. Top with a cup of the granola and the crumbled goat cheese. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
-The roasted beets can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerated for up to one week.
-Cooking time for the bests will vary depending on the size. My smaller beets took 50 minutes, whereas the larger took 60 minutes. They are done when you can easily pierce them with a fork.
-The spicy granola can also be made in advance and stored in an air tight container.
-Raw, unsalted nuts and seeds will work best for this granola. However, I did used salted sunflower seeds because I happened to have them on hand.

Slightly adapted from Cookie and Kate’s Strawberry Kale Salad With Nutty Granola Croutons.

kale salad with roasted beets and spicy granola

Reading a variety of wonderful blogs such as Cookie and Kate is such a great source of inspiration to me. This salad was inspired by something of Kate’s, which was inspired by something of Deb’s from Smitten Kitchen. People inspiring people inspiring people. It’s a beautiful and continuous cycle that leads to a lot of delicious things.

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Vanilla bean cake with salted caramel buttercream

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Vanilla bean cake with salted caramel buttercream. Doesn’t that sound delicious?

And doesn’t it look delicious:

vanilla bean cake with salted caramel buttercream frosting

Well let me tell you, it tastes delicious too.

One of my favorite things to do with my mom is bake. Bake and then eat our baked goods. Sip on some black coffee or wine (depending on the time of day). And chat. All while not caring that there is flour everywhere and the counter is full of eggshells, used measuring cups, sugar, dirty bowls, and cooling racks.

There is always time to clean up. It is important to slow down and savor the treat that was pulled right out of the oven.

Unfortunately for a cake such as this, it first needs to be completely cooled and frosted before digging in.

It’s totally worth the wait.

vanilla bean cake with salted caramel buttercream frosting And as a bonus, this gives you time to clean up the kitchen first. I guess that’s a bonus…

Ok. As an actual bonus, this cake uses vanilla bean. If you have never baked with a vanilla bean before, try it out (like now, in this cake). It’s fun and makes you feel real fancy.

Look at all those gorgeous little specks!

vanilla bean cake with salted caramel buttercream frosting Also, look at this salted caramel buttercream frosting. Drool.

vanilla bean cake with salted caramel buttercream frosting I am a total frosting person. Few things in life are more amazing than a fresh homemade batch of buttercream frosting. Especially when it is paired with pretzels, champagne, and some girlfriends.

Anywho. Now we have two vanilla bean cakes, a jar of this salted caramel sauce, and a bowl of salted caramel buttercream frosting. Take one of the cakes, poke some holes in it with a fork, drizzle caramel sauce all over it, spread on a layer of frosting, stack on the next cake and repeat the caramel and frosting layers. Add another drizzle of caramel over the entire cake and some sprinkles of sea salt.

vanilla bean cake with salted caramel buttercream frosting Cut a slice. Eat a slice. Repeat.

I strongly suggest you enjoy this with a glass of milk, a scoop of ice cream, and a few loved ones.

vanilla bean cake with salted caramel buttercream frosting

Vanilla bean cake with salted caramel buttercream
 
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A simple vanilla bean cake with layers of salted caramel sauce and salted caramel buttercream.
Serves: 12
Ingredients
For the cake:
  • 2⅓ cups cake flour
  • 2 ¼ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 recipe salted caramel sauce
For the salted caramel buttercream:
  • 12 tbsp butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • ½ cup salted caramel sauce
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
For the cake:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease and lightly flour two 9-in cake pans, line the bottom with wax paper, and grease again.
  3. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
  4. In the large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  5. Scrape the vanilla bean into a small bowl, then add it to the butter and sugar mixture, beat for an additional minute.
  6. Add the eggs one at a time, beat well between each addition.
  7. Add the dry ingredients in three parts alternating with the milk. Beat well between each addition.
  8. Divide the batter between the cake pans.
  9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until you can press down in the cake center and it bounces back.
  10. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then on a rack until completely cool.
For the salted caramel buttercream:
  1. Place the butter in a bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 3 minutes.
  2. Add sugar one cup at a time, beating between each addition.
  3. Add the caramel sauce, vanilla, and milk. Beat until incorporated.
  4. Store on the counter in an airtight container.
For the cake assembly:
  1. Take one of the layers and turn upside down so that the flat part is on top. Use a fork to poke holes on the cake.
  2. Spread a thin layer of the salted caramel sauce followed by a thin layer of the salted caramel buttercream.
  3. Place the next layer on top of this (flat side down) and follow the same process.
  4. Drizzle the top with more caramel sauce and a few sprinkles of sea salt.
Notes
Place the emptied vanilla bean pod in the milk to get additional vanilla flavor, but be sure to discard it before adding the milk to the batter.

vanilla bean cake with salted caramel buttercream frosting PS – This cake was a group effort. My mom helped bake and frost, my little brother cracked the eggs, and my dad supervised and observed the photography. He will soon be starting a blog called “just b.lee”. Get excited.

 

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Salted Caramel Sauce & An Ode My Mom

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Moms are like this salted caramel sauce:

salted caramel sauce My mom is anyways: Very sweet. Beautiful. Perfect for when I’m bored or am having a bad day and need a boost. May be a tad overwhelming at times. I can get a little sick of it in extra-large doses.

moms. the best. Moms really are the best. I don’t know how they do it. I really don’t. I can’t even keep a plant alive, much less a human child.

And I know everyone supposedly has “the best” mom, but I really do. I could write pages and pages and pages (and pages!) worth of factual evidence to back up this statement, but I won’t. Instead I’ll just keep it to 10 bullet points:

  1. She is able to put up with my father and his antics. Some of his favorite things to yell to her are “Ma, the meatloaf!”, “Feed me woman!”, and “Watch out, old lady Duesterhoeft!” All of them are from movies or shows and are said quite lovingly. They will celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary in August.
  2. She managed to raise four kids, who all have J names (Jon, Jenna, Jaci, Jordan) and grew up into phenomenal and neat people.
  3. She is hilarious and says funny things like, “I like Candy Crush. It keeps my brain probably good.” and “When I was little I used to wish that Liberace was my dad.” She has an awesome habit of flipping her hair while saying “Seriously.” And she doesn’t mind being the butt of a lot of our jokes. She knows that the more we tease, the more we love. That’s just how our family works.
  4. She supports me in all my endeavors and helps me make all my dreams and ideas become a reality. (Example: this blog)
  5. She is probably one of the coolest teachers at Hutchinson High School. Students love “Ms. D” and her classes. She makes talking about teen issues and learning to sew really interesting. A lot of my friends still use the quilts they made in her class.
  6. She always planned the best birthday parties when I was growing up, like scavenger hunts around the farm and jewelry making parties. Most of these were executed after only getting a few hours of sleep because she stayed up late the night before to make perfectly delicious homemade cakes in various shapes like Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck. She is still great at party planning and threw my sister-in-law the most beautiful bridal shower last summer.
  7. She never embarrasses me. She may embarrass herself (see #3), but I’ve never been even remotely ashamed to call her my mother.
  8. She is my role model. She helped me understand the importance of chocolate, a positive attitude, creativity, a wrinkle-free shirt, and cleaning the house before leaving for vacation. She taught me how to bake cookies, sew a quilt, separate my laundry, be involved in too many things, procrastinate, raise a family, and enjoy life. She helped make me into the person I am today.
  9. She forced me to try (and stick with) things that I didn’t particularly enjoy at the time and claimed “you’ll thank me when you’re older.” Things like being in 4-H, piano lessons, and marching band. Now, of course, I do thank her for those things.
  10. She is one of my best friends. I can’t imagine keeping secrets from her. I can’t imagine not talking to her multiple times a week. I love hanging out with her and being around her and planning fun things to do with her.

Those 10 bullet points were probably even too much information, but she is just an amazing human being. Plain and simple. She is perfect. Just like this salted caramel sauce.

salted caramel sauce Some sugar, butter, cream, and sea salt is all it takes.

salted caramel sauce This caramel is great for drizzling on ice cream and/or eating straight from the jar. However, it is also delicious in frosting, which I will talk about later this week.

Salted Caramel Sauce
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 12 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
Instructions
  1. Place the sugar into a 2 or 3-quart sauce pan. Heat on a medium-high heat and whisk until the sugar is melted. While the sugar is melting it will turn a little bit clumpy, but it is ok – just keep whisking.
  2. After all the sugar has melted stop whisking, swirl the pan, and continue to cook until it reaches 350 degrees. It will be a dark amber color and will smell delicious. This process can escalate quickly, so be careful and closely watch the temperature so that the sugar doesn’t burn.
  3. Add the butter and stir until melted. The mixture will bubble up during this time.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly add in the cream. The mixture will bubble up again. Continue to whisk until everything is combined.
  5. Stir in the sea salt.
  6. Let the caramel cool for 10-15 minutes before pouring into a jar.
  7. It will yield about 2 cups. Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
Notes
This process goes surprisingly fast. Make sure to have all the ingredients measured and nearby so that they are ready to use when needed.
I was able to make this alone, but an extra set of hands would have been helpful and appreciated.

Inspired by this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker.

I know this ode-to-mothers post is a day late, but I was hanging out with my mom (along with my dad and brother) yesterday. We baked, brunched, laughed, and had a grand time. Therefore, there was no time to post this until right now.

Here are my favorite mother/daughter pictures from the last year:

moms. the best. Happy (late) Mother’s Day to my mom and to all the other fabulous mom’s out there!! You are all so amazing. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO <3

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