Salted Caramel Bread Pudding with Bittersweet Chocolate ~ Topped with Homemade Whipped Cream

My daughter's mother-in-law gave me a fabulous jar of Williams-Sonoma Salted Caramel Sauce for the holidays and said she was anxious to see how I'd use it.  I knew immediately that I wanted to use it in a bread pudding!

Large morsels of bittersweet chocolate dot this decadent caramel pudding.  You may think that 1/2 c. of these morsels may not be enough for the recipe; but, believe me, it's just the right amount.  Homemade whipped cream perfectly mellows the rich pudding.

Serve this sinfully delicious caramel pudding for Valentine's Day, and you'll be sure to leave them swooning!

                                     
                                                  It's So Good...

                                       I Just Can't Stop Eating It!

Festive Caramel and Dark Chocolate Coated Apples Dipped In Honey Roasted Peanuts (Or Not)

After receiving a gift of some gorgeous honeycrisp apples from Harry and David recently, I stopped to think about how I could use them in a simple recipe.  Then I remembered that I'd always wanted to make some gourmet candy-dipped apples!

These apples would make a great project with age-appropriate children. They'd also make wonderful gifts for teachers, friends, neighbors, co-workers or as stocking stuffers.  

I really liked using the caramel bits...no unwrapping to do!  Since the caramel and chocolate set quickly, you'll want to get well organized before you start.  The impressive presentation of this little project is so deceptive, as these apples are actually very easy to make and wrap...you'll love them!

                                                     So Tempting...

                                      Hope They Make It To Packaging!

Approximately 3-4 large or 5 medium apples

Ingredients

• About 3-4 large or 5 medium fresh apples (I used honeycrisp apples...red delicious would be good also.)
• Fruit Fresh produce protector (a powder typically used for canning and made by Ball) or lemon juice
• 1/ea. 11 oz. bag caramel bits
• 2 TB water
• 2 TB vegetable shortening (I used butter-flavored shortening.)
• 1/ea. 10 oz. bag dark chocolate morsels
• 1 c. coarsely chopped honey roasted peanuts (Let your food processor chop the nuts!  Chopped toasted slivered almonds or chopped toasted pecans would be good also.)

Supplies

• Wax paper
• Butter-flavored cooking spray
• 6" Cookie Sticks (Wilton has a package of 20/ea. white sticks.)
• 3 3/8" round cardboard discs (Wilton includes these silver-covered boards in their 8/set Favor Kit...or you can cut your own from cardboard and cover with foil if you like.)
• Approx. 21"x27" sheet of craft cello wrap for each apple (I cut from a roll of cello wrap.)
• Silver or gold twist bag ties for securing wrap around apples (I just used the short strips of ribbon included in the Wilton Favor Kit.)
• 22" strips of 1/4" wide florist or satin decorative ribbon (I used two/ea. strips of this ribbon per apple.)

Directions

Coating The Apples

1. Line a baking pan with wax paper and spray with the cooking spray.  Set aside.
2. Place the chopped peanuts into a small bowl and set aside.
3. Clean the apples and remove the stems and bottoms, along with any bad spots...sprinkle these areas with the Fruit Fresh or lemon juice.
4. Insert the cookie sticks about 2" into the stem areas of the apples, twisting and pushing as necessary...taking care not to push too far.  (You might want to cover part of the sticks with foil or a piece of paper towel as you coat the apples in order to keep the stems clean.)
5. Pour the caramel bits into a medium-small saucepan.  Add the water and stir constantly over medium-low heat until the bits are completely melted--about 3 minutes.
6. One at a time, set the apples into the melted caramel and spoon the caramel over the apples, leaving about an inch of each apple exposed around the sticks.  Allow the excess caramel to drip off the apples.  Scrape the bottom of the apples and place into the prepared baking pan, keeping the apples separated.  (If the caramel sets up before you finish coating the apples, simply add a tiny bit more of water and reheat over medium-low heat.)  Refrigerate the apples for about 1 hour, then remove from the refrigerator and set aside.
7. Line another baking pan with wax paper and spray with the cooking spray. Set aside.
8. Melt the chocolate morsels with the shortening in a medium-small saucepan over the lowest heat possible.  When the morsels begin to melt, remove from the heat and stir.  Return to the heat a few seconds at a time, stirring just until the morsels are melted.  Once the morsels are completely melted, immediately remove from the heat.
9. Liberally coat the apples with the chocolate in the same manner as with the caramel.  (Work quickly with the chocolate and try to avoid reheating it, as it tends to overcook.  If you have to melt the chocolate a little more, do it very quickly over the lowest possible heat and stir constantly.)
10. Immediately, while the chocolate is still warm, coat the apples with the chopped peanuts:  One at a time, hold the apples horizontally over the bowl of peanuts; and, while turning the apples, spoon the nuts over them, leaving about an inch of the chocolate coating exposed at the top of each apple.  Place the apples into the new wax paper-lined baking pan and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour or until well set. 
    

                                                Happy Holidays!                   
              

                                                From Me To You!

Packaging The Apples

For each apple:  Center a cardboard disc on a piece of the craft cello wrap.  (I left the silver side of the disc down.)  Bring the wrap up over the apple, covering all exposed sides of the apple and secure with a twist tie or short strip of ribbon.  Tie one strip of the decorative ribbon around the secured area and tie another decorative strip of ribbon over that.  Fan the cello wrap a little at the top of the apple.  Keep the apples in the refrigerator for up to one week.

                                                       Ta-Da...                                     
                                            

                                    Your Very Own Hand Creation!


Printable Recipe

Fried Tortillas with Cinnamon and Sugar Coating

This is my version of Fried Tortillas which are a great, easy treat for a special gathering; but most important, it's a fried treat which makes it perfect for Chanukah.

Serves 10

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 5 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 pkg. of 10 each 6" quality flour tortillas
• About 6 cups of vegetable or peanut oil

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon. Cut the tortillas into quarters.
2. Line a cookie pan or sheet with paper towels.
3. If you don't have a deep fryer:  In an approximate 3 qt. heavy pan, using a frying or steaming basket and a deep-frying or candy thermometer, heat the oil to a temperature of 365º.*
4. Drop two or three tortilla quarters very carefully and one at a time into the hot oil.  If the oil is the right temperature, the tortillas will cook in about one minute to a golden brown.  With a slotted spoon or spider, flip them very carefully half way through cooking.  Remove with a slotted spoon or spider as they brown and place one layer deep on the paper-towel lined pan to drain.  Add a new layer of paper towels each time the pan is full.
5. While still warm, with a spoon carefully and thoroughly coat the tortillas, one at a time, in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  You can strain through a sieve and save any leftover cinnamon/sugar mixture for later use, such as on cinnamon toast.

 *Tip 
Be prepared to devote your full attention to this task. You'll need to be ready to work quickly and uninterrupted.  Also, be very careful as you are working with hot oil - no small children under feet!

The tortillas are best served warm.  I have found that my vintage, electric bread-warming basket, lined with paper doilies, is perfect for this - see photo above.  (Okay, I bought the basket new and now it's old, very old.)  You could put them on a pretty plate which would be usable on a warming tray, or just keep warm until ready to serve in a 200º oven.  I doubt you'll have any leftovers; but if you do, they would keep well in a tin can for about a week.

The tortillas are great by themselves or served with a good vanilla ice cream, maybe topped with a fantastic caramel spread like the Brazilian doce de leite used on the ice cream in the below photo.  I found this amazing spread at a local Brazilian market to which my friend Cassi introduced me.  The spread is so rich, a little goes a long way! 

At our Chanukah party this year, I think I'll also serve the sweet guava paste, which I got at the Brazilian market, with cream cheese on some nice crackers.  Oh, we're going to have some fun this year!  Happy Holidays!

Printable Recipe