Cappuccino-Pecan Toffee

You should invest in a candy thermometer.  Trust me, you should.  I, however, decided that I couldn't stand to buy one more kitchen tool that I would only use once in a blue moon.  Let me tell you, trying to gauge hard ball stage from soft crack stage from every other stage is quite the challenge without a thermometer.  Especially since I'm not a professional candy maker.  Not even close.  So lets just call this an experiment.  It actually turned out pretty well despite my stubbornness.  But I won't go down this panic-stricken road again.  Learn from me!

By the way, this coffee toffee is really great.

Cappuccino-Pecan Toffee
adapted from Southern Living magazine


2 cups chopped pecans (use whatever you like here, the actual recipe calls for walnuts)
1 1/4 cups butter
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoons instant espresso
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate morsels
1 cup white chocolate morsels


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted, stirring halfway through.  Let cool 30 minutes.


Butter a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan.  Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; stir in sugar, next 5 ingredients and 1/2 cup water.  Cook, stirring constantly until a candy thermometer reads 290 degrees (soft crack stage), about 20 minutes.  Remove pan from heat, and stir in pecans.  Quickly pour mixture into prepared jelly roll pan and spread into an even layer.  Immediately sprinkle milk chocolate and white chocolate morsels over top.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Swirl chocolate using an off-set spatula.  


Cover and chill until firm, about 1 hour.  Break toffee into pieces.  Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 7 days.  Serve cold or at room temp.


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Thyme Roasted Carrots with Pecans and Goat Cheese

I'm guessing we all need a little vegetable in our lives. Here's a dish to give you just that. But reader beware - these are no ordinary vegetables. These carrots have been doused with love and flavor. Its really the only way to go if you want to eat your veggies and enjoy them too.

This recipe is a snap to make, and there's no measuring required. You can use as much or as little of each ingredient as you want. Here we go:

Thyme Roasted Carrots with Pecans and Goat Cheese

Carrots - chopped (I used baby carrots this time, but anything will work)
Olive oil
Salt
Dried thyme
Pecans - chopped
Goat cheese - crumbled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange carrots in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over carrots just to coat. Sprinkle thyme and salt, and using a rubber spatula, toss carrots to ensure oil, salt, and thyme are evenly distributed.

Roast carrots until just fork tender. The roasting time will depend on how big your carrots are. For my baby carrots, it was about 30 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven. Add pecans to carrots and stir to combine. Return sheet to oven and bake for 7-8 minutes, or until pecans are toasted.

Crumble with goat cheese just before serving. Then enjoy!

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