Summer Basket + Caramel Corn-on-the-Cob

Welcome to Summer! I made another seasonal basket for the occasion. It was filled with orange 'n' cream cake pops, watermelon shaped sugar cookies, and my favorite: caramel corn-on-the-cob baggies.

Once you've made the caramel popcorn (recipe to follow), to package them, I had some small narrow bags that I filled a little bit of popcorn into, then twist-tied off at the top. I then took a strip of yellow tissue paper and another, larger strip of green tissue paper and wrapped them around the baggies, covering the backs, but leaving the fronts exposed, and twisting them at the top to look like little ears of corn. I tied them off with a little bow, but there might be a more elegant solution to keep the corn look about them. 

Caramel Popcorn with Sea Salt

Taken from Martha Stewart

- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels

- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

- 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

- 1/2 cup light corn syrup

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- Vegetable-oil cooking spray

- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add popcorn, and cover. Cook, shaking pot frequently, until corn has finished popping. Transfer to a large bowl. (Or use a whirly pop. Amazing!)

Heat butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved and butter has melted. Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan, and cook until mixture reaches 290˚. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla and baking soda.

Drizzle syrup evenly over popcorn, and toss to coat (this is harder than it sounds as you have to race the clock before the candy hardens. I found it was great to have a friend help me - I poured and she tossed with 2 large spoons. Be careful not to touch the molten liquid candy, too). Spread popcorn on prepared baking sheet, and sprinkle with sea salt. Let cool completely, then separate popcorn into pieces. Popcorn can be stored in airtight containers for up to 3 days (how could it even last 3 days? The stuff is so addicting!).

Holiday Treat Tins Now Available

It's that time of year again! This year we're doing things a little differently, too, as I've collaborated with my friend Rebecca Fouquette who is starting her own baking business, From Pie to Infinity. She makes some amazing treats, and has opened up the ordering to allow for shipping, so we're hoping to be very busy in the next 3 weeks.

Without further ado, check out our fancy order website to view these options:

Holiday Cookie Combo Tin
- Pignola Cookies
- Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies
- Peppermint Pinwheels
- Molasses Chews
- Vanilla Bean Shortbread
- Butterscotch Biscotti

Fruity Cookie Combo Tin

- Raspberry Linzers

- Fig Swirls

- Angel Whispers

Brittle & Toffee Tin
- Almond Roca Toffee
- Pumpkin Seed and Cocoa Nib Brittle
- Butter Pecan Bark
- Thai Cashew Brittle

Holiday Candy Combo Tin

- Butterscotch Chews

- Coconut Rum Marshmallows

- Chocolate Cherry Fudge

- Eggnog Fudge

Caramel Popcorn Tin
- made with fleur de sel

Spiced Nuts Tin

- Chili Lime Cashews

- Honey Chipotle Almonds

A lot of these items are also available a la carte.
To order, you can email me at kathleen@kathleensconfections.com or go to the From Pie to Infinity website to place an online order (this is where you should go if you want to have the items shipped).
Please place orders by Dec 7, and choose to have them available on either December 12 or December 19 (both Rebecca and I work full time jobs still, so can only do our mass baking on the weekends).

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and maybe decide to share some of these tasty treats with your loved ones, too!

Holiday Treat Tins Available for Order

I know, it's a little scary: it's already mid-November.

It hurts every fiber in my being to talk about December holidays before it's their turn, but sometimes you just need a couple extra weeks to plan ahead. Specifically, I mean to entice you with some of my holiday offerings, now available to order. You can check out my Holiday Treat tins at www.kathleensconfections.com/tins.html. This year's line up:

Holiday Cookie Collection

A balanced variety of flavors including spiced, chocolatey, fruity, and nutty; great for pleasing a crowd. Flavors include:

• Molasses Chews - Warm spices with a hefty ginger zing are the striking flavors of these chewy cookies.
• Black Forest Biscotti - Rich dark chocolate biscotti studded with chocolate chunks & sweet dried cherries.
• Spritz - A simple, buttery flavor is the hallmark of this classic cookie.
• Buttered Rum Meltaways - Delicate, shortbread cookies flavored with rum that gently melt in your mouth.
• Pignola - A classic Italian cookie made with almond paste and covered in the warm flavor of toasted pine nuts.
• Fig Swirls - A figfilling flavored with orange, honey and spice is elegantly enrobed by a warm butter cookie.
• Chocolate Hazelnut Crinkles - Rich, chewy cookies made with hazelnuts and chocolate, and coated in powdered sugar.
• Raspberry Linzer - A nutty, spicy, crispy cookie sandwiching a tart raspberry jam filling, then sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Toffee & Brittle Tin

Crunchy, sugary bits of brittle, packed with tasty nuts and/or seeds. The toffee is not my own doing, but the mother/daughter team who makes this English Toffee holds their family recipe close, and there really is nothing like it.

• English Toffee (by Mütti's Munchies) - buttery toffee filled with almonds, and topped with milk chocolate and chopped almonds
• Maple, Chipotle, Pecan Brittle
• Pumpkin Seed & Cocoa Nib Brittle
• Vanilla Cashew Brittle

Caramel Popcorn
Enlisting the assistance of Mütti's Munchies once again, I have included this family's special recipe for homemade caramel popcorn into the gift tin options for this year. Sweet and salty, with a buttery crunch, this caramel popcorn is difficult to put down once you've started.

Spiced Nuts

2 unique varieties of nuts fill this tin.

• Spanish Spiced Almonds - very savory, roasted, almost smokey in flavor, these crunchy almonds are a perfect pre-feast snack.
• Chili Lime Cashews - an amazing combo of zesty lime, sweet brown sugar and sea salt completed with a little finishing kick.

And of course, you can order each tin individually, or go all out and get the 3 tier "Treat Tower" which includes the cookies, toffee/brittle, and your choice of the caramel popcorn or the spiced nuts.

Photography for these is by my friend Carol @ www.clickedbycarol.com

Thanks!