Soft Caramel Popcorn with Hot Tamales

Soft Caramel Popcorn with Hot Tamales

2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup Karo syrup (light corn syrup w/vanilla)

1 cube salted butter

one can sweetened condensed milk

3-4 packages hot tamales or to taste, opened and ready to go 

5 2.9-ounce bags microwave popcorn, popped and placed in a giant bowl (7 to 7 1/2 quarts popped popcorn)

Use a medium (not large) heavy saucepan deep enough for an accurate candy thermometer reading.

In a medium heavy saucepan, bring brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 3 minutes. Add butter and sweetened condensed milk and return to a boil, stirring. Check texture after just a minute or two then remove from heat. Check drop of caramel in cold water, if desired. Not too gooey but still stretchy. Caramel will firm up significantly as it cools. Caramel should be soft and pliable. (Maybe add a nice big pinch of salt here.) Remove from heat and pour over prepared bowl of popcorn. Stir until caramel is evenly distributed. Add hot tamales. Stir in evenly. 

Chocolate Malt Milkshake (Two Versions)

 Classic Chocolate Malt 
source: Mom
1/2 cup of whatever milk is in the fridge

4 tablespoons Chocolate Malt flavored Ovaltine (or to taste)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 Oreo cookies (if you're feeling really crazy)
2 cups good vanilla ice cream (even the cheap stuff is good though)

Blend all ingredients. 

Deluxe Chocolate Malt
1/2 cup whole milk (or mostly 1% with a splash of cream)
4 tablespoons chocolate sauce (Robynn's recipe here is delish!)
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoon malted milk powder
2 cups good vanilla ice cream

Blend all ingredients. Enjoy! Don't even think about symptoms of lactose intolerance.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am cookie challenged. I don't know if it's high-altitude issues or what, but I never seemed to have a problem with cookie textures before moving to Utah. I had basically given up on ever getting a moist, chewy cookie that held its structure instead of falling flat until one day in fall 2004.  I was at a soccer game (Ya was a budding superstar!), and it was another mom's day for team treats. She brought milk and these oversized cookies. I was immediately struck by the size and structure, then the cookie's tender chewiness. I begged for the recipe, and she was sweet enough to share. Success at last! 

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
(source: Christy Nemelka)

This recipe is exactly as she gave it to me. I've had to make it my own with a little experimentation. Pull these out of the oven before you think they're done--just barely starting to brown. Test with one or two cookies first. Size-wise I make these a little bigger than normal (using 2- to 2.5-ounce scoops) but not as big as the originals, which were huge. I think the best cookies are made with room temperature dough. These are great the next day!

2 cups butter (4 cubes), at room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
6 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 to 1 1/2 12-ounce bags chocolate chips (I use closer to 1 bag)

Preheat oven to 375˚.* Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture slowly to creamed mixture. It will be a very thick dough. If necessary, add a little milk to adjust dough consistency. (I've never had to do this.) Cookie dough should be somewhat dry to the touch. Add chocolate chips. 

Using an ice cream scoop to form these fun, oversized cookies. Drop onto cookie sheet. Bake 2-ounce scoops about 8 minutes; bake 2.5-ounce scoops about 10 minues. Pull cookie sheet out of the oven when barely starting to brown. Place sheet on cooking rack. Leave cookies on the hot sheet for a minute or two to set, then transfer to cooling rack. If they spread too much, add up to 1/4 cup additional flour. 

*I once read that baking cookies at a higher temperature (375˚ vs 350˚) speeds up the cooking process so that water doesn't evaporate and concentrate the sugars, which results in leaving the cookies hard. 

Katie's Marshmallow Brownies

Originally called Connie's Marshmallow Brownies (after mom's friend Connie Simmons), these brownies have earned a new name in our family. Katie makes these at least twice a month, and they're always delicious--especially the next day. Cousin Cindy Glad told me just the other day that Grandma LaPriel Walter made these too! I was sooo happy to learn that, but three names are just too many. I'm calling these Katie's.

Katie's Marshmallow Brownies

1 1/2 cup margarine or butter

1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp of cocoa

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 cup nuts, optional

1 bag of mini marshmallows

Cream butter, cocoa and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Then gradually add flour, vanilla and nuts. Pour into greased sheet cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-23 minutes. Remove from oven and add marshmallows over top of baked crust. Return to oven and bake an additional 4-5 minutes until marshmallows are puffy and barely turning gold. They should not turn brown. Cool and frost.

Frosting:

1/3 cup margarine or butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla

Mix well and spread evenly over cooled brownies.