Almond Roca Bark

Another treat I made during Christmas was this Almond Roca Bark. If you like those Heath bars, you'll LOVE this recipe. I promise it tastes just like it, but with almonds. I went to add a white chocolate drizzle on top by my bag busted open spilling all over so I turned it into a marbled bark.This stuff is SO good, it probably won't wait until Christmas time to be made again.


Almond Roca Bark
from Barefoot and Baking

3/4 cup toasted, chopped almonds*
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 oz (about 1 cup) milk chocolate chips

Butter a 7x11 inch pan. Sprinkle half of the almonds on the bottom of the pan.

In a heavy sauce pan, over medium high heat, melt the butter and then add the brown sugar. Stir gently until boiling. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling until the temperature reaches 300 degrees (hard crack stage). The best is to use a candy thermometer, doing it with timing can be tricky, especially if this is your first time making this. If it gets higher than 320 it will NOT remain solid.

Pour the hot mixture over the almonds in the buttered pan. Pour the chocolate chips over the top and let them sit for a minute or two to melt. Once they are melty, use a spatula to spread them evenly over the top. Sprinkle the remaining chopped almonds over the melted chocolate. Let the whole thing cool until the chocolate has set. Use a sharp knife to break the almond roca into pieces. Store in an air tight container.

*to toast almonds spread them in a dry skillet and cook them over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to lightly brown and you can smell them. Let them cool completely. Toasting nuts gives them a much crunchier texture and a richer flavor.



waiting and waiting for the candy mixture to come to temp.(I lost the clip so I have to hold it!)

oops, my white chocolate drizzle bag busted, turned it into marble bark


christmas treats ready for gift giving


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Candied Nuts

 

This year I made various candies/treats to send out as gifts. These candied nuts were included. These were soo good and almost didn't make it into the goodie bags, that I decided I needed to make ourselves a batch! Well I sort of forgot with all the Christmas rush, that I made them for New Year's. I especially liked how light and crunchy the pecans came out. These will be a keeper all year round, try them I bet you'll enjoy them as well.

Candied Nuts

 from My Baking Addiction

1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water
1 pound unsalted almonds or pecans (I do 1/2 pd of each)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons fine grain sea salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
In a large bowl, combine egg white, vanilla extract and water. Beat mixture until frothy. Stir in nuts and mix to coat.
Gently combine sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt and stir into almond mixture, thoroughly coating all nuts.
Evenly spread nuts onto prepared baking sheet and place into oven.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
When cool, enjoy!


ready to bake

 
our new year's treats 


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Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

I made this recipe last year but I totally goofed it up. I forgot to add the yeast. I meant to make them again this year for Christmas because I didn't want to miss out on having cinnamon rolls but time got away from me so I decided I'd wait to make them when I wasn't rushed. I really wanted this recipe to turn out, since their glutened cinnamon rolls came out a little flat I wanted mine to turn out, haha.I am happy to say these came out WONDERFUL! I think they came out more moist that my regular rolls do. I thought I'd whip them out before the New Year because I plan to make this a better year eating wise, I do love my treats but I think I'm good for a while now that I had a couple of these (yes I shared with my family so I wouldn't eat the whole pan!). I topped these with a little (leftover) cream cheese frosting. With The Baking Beauties' recipe these are supposed to be sticky buns, with the gooey caramel glaze, but I skipped that part to have regular rolls.

If you've ever made gluten free baked goods, you know how sticky the dough can be, so keep your hands a little wet and I found using the silpat and dough scraper to roll these helped wonderfully.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
recipe adapted from The Baking Beauties, updated 12/2013

Dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, I use my fave GF pie crust blend
1 TBL rapid rise yeast
3 TBL white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBL xanthan gum
1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix (dry) OR dry milk powder
1 tsp baking powder
4 TBL butter
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp cider vinegar
2 TBL oil (I used Canola)
1 tsp vanilla

Sticky Topping:  
Over low heat, in a small saucepan, heat 4 Tbsp. butter (or margarine), 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. corn syrup, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 2 Tbsp. whipping cream and a pinch of salt. Stir to incorporate. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of a greased pan with high sides (I used an 8" round cake pan).

Filling: 
Combine:
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, very soft
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp. cinnamon

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix all dry dough ingredients until combined. Set aside.

Put water and margarine in a glass measuring cup and microwave just until the margarine has melted. Remove from microwave and stir. Add milk, stir. Add other wet ingredients and whisk to combine.

With the stand mixer running (using the paddle attachment), pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Scrap down the bowl if you have to. Allow to mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it out on a slightly damp counter top, so it covers an area bigger than 8″ x 16″. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of sugar on the wrap. Lay ball of dough on top of that. Gently lay another piece of plastic wrap over the top of the dough. Pat the dough down into a roughly squarish shape. Lift and reposition the top plastic wrap whenever you need to. Roll the dough out (with the plastic wrap on top) to a square approximately 8″ x 16″. (I rolled mine onto a sugared silpat, covered in plastic wrap)

Remove plastic wrap. Spread filling mixture evenly across dough’s surface. Leave 1 1/2″ along one long end without any filling, this is where your cinnamon rolls will be sealed.

Starting along the long end, use the bottom sheet of plastic wrap to lift the edge of the dough and roll it up, forming a long cylinder. Start with the edge that has filling on it, that will be the center of your finished rolls.

Cut the long “cinnamon bun log” into 8 pieces, about 1 1/2″ wide. Place rolls in prepared pan, with cut side up.

Allow the cinnamon rolls/buns to rise in a warm, draft free place for about 30 minutes, or until nearly double in size (I let mine rise, covered with a clean dish towel, in a slightly warm oven for about 1 hr).

Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops are a nice golden brown. Cool.

For sticky buns, allow to cool for about 5 minutes before inverting on a serving tray, and let the sticky topping syrup run down over the roll.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 ounce cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 tablespoon milk

tricky gluten free dough is easier to work with, with wet hands, a silpat and dough scraper oh, and patience


so happy they kept their height!


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