Crackling Toffee S'mores with Ancho Morita Marshmallow

The FeedFeed is hosting its 2nd annual s'more contest and we invite you to compete! All you have to do is follow @TheFeedFeed and @Ghiradelli on Instagram, then add the hashtags #Ghirardelli, #feedfeed & #contest to your post (not in the comments). The contest ends on September 3rd, 2018 at exactly 10:59 PM EST. Multiple entries are encouraged!

It came to me when I was researching English cracker toffee with saltines. What if I made a s'more with softer graham cracker toffee? It sounded like too much at once. Should I add nuts? How could I balance so much sugar? The answer: HOT SAUCE! My first iteration used a large, Jet Puff marshmallow. Then I tried mini mallows. But to get an exact square, I would have to do something different. I melted it down with butter as if I were making Rice Crispy Treats. Then I poured it into a sheet pan to cool off in the fridge. The result was a sheet of marshmallow that I could fold.

Things you'll need:
1 sleeve graham crackers 12 Ghiradelli chocolate squares 1 cup light brown sugar	1/4 cup unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon divided 1 bag of mini marshmallows 1 tablespoon Humble House Ancho Morita hot sauce a pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a saucepan, melt two sticks of the butter and the brown sugar. Stir to combine.

Line a quarter sheet pan with silpat or oiled parchment. Arrange the graham crackers in a single layer.

Once the sugar is bubbling, turn off the heat.

Pour the mixture over the crackers and put the sheet pan in the oven for 8 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and place the chocolate squares over the hot candy to melt it.

While you wait for the toffee to cool, melt the rest of the butter in a pot.

Add the marshmallows and stir on low heat until they melt completely into a smooth sauce.

Prepare another pan with silpat or oiled parchment paper. Pour the marshmallow into the center and spread it around evenly. Squirt the hot sauce in lines over the marshmallow.

Let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes before moving both pans to the fridge for another 15 minutes.

As best you can, break the toffee into squares. Save any broken bits for ice cream topping or snacks.

Pull up the edge of the marshmallow and fold it like an envelope over itself 3 times. Trim the edges and cut squares smaller than the toffee squares.

With a chocolate-side up, lay a piece of toffee on a heat-safe surface. Put a marshmallow in the center of the toffee.

Torch the marshmallow until it bubbles on all sides. Finish by placing another piece of toffee, chocolate-side down, onto the marshmallow.

Have you tried it? Let me know!

St. Patrick's Day Brunch: Green Gradient Cookies

I love me a dang rainbow cookie. But who says you have to use all of the colors? My favorite color happens to be a light, muted shade of green, so it was perfect that my friend Sam wanted to come over and bake! We used this Bon Appetit recipe for ombre rainbow cookies as a jump off point.

Firstly, Sam made the batter with almond paste. Then she divided into two. One bowl got more green food coloring than the other and then they were transfer to lined baking sheets.

Our cakes were baked and turned out onto a cutting board. Sam slathered the light green layer with apricot jam and then carefully placed the dark green layer on top. We let it cool before slicing up into small cubes.

Aren't they cute? Let them sit out at room temperature for a couple hours if you don't like them so cakey and more like a cookie. Fun fact: you can toast them until they are crunchy to make biscotti!

I'm terrible at baking! If you want to trade meats for baked good, I'm happy to shoot photos of your delicious treats in my kitchen.

St. Patrick's Day Brunch: DIY Shamrock Shakes

The business of actually making these is very easy. 4 ingredients. But the morning I decided to try it had a lot more going on. Perhaps 45 minutes before my guests Mo and Ramsey were to arrive at my house, I decided to surprise them with shamrock shakes. It couldn’t be hard! I googled around and found that I had everything except ice cream. So, still in my pajamas, I threw on a coat and went down to the store. French Vanilla. The register. 

I get back to the door and reach into my pocket for the keys. Hoo boy. No keys. It’s freezing and I’m holding a cold package of ice cream. I make futile attempts at buzzing my own apartment. Futile because my roommate Dylan is notoriously difficult to wake. Jeff was out of town. I buzz my neighbors and thankfully, they let me in. However, I still had to get into my own apartment. I survey my wallet for a card that I wouldn’t mind ruining (the insurance one) and Ocean 11’d my way back into the house. I did a little dance and rushed to get the shakes pre-made.

Do not, I repeat, do not put all 48 ounces of vanilla ice cream into the blender at once. I had put in a cup of milk and 6 drops of green food coloring. It exploded. All over the counter and floor. And it was GREEN. Don’t be like me. Overall, I used a cup and half of milk with half a teaspoon of mint extract. 

My guests arrived right when I was washing the blender. Two hours into brunch, I asked, “Do we want another beer or do we want the surprise?” All smiles, I went to the freezer and revealed the pitcher of shamrock shake. There were jigs.

Modern Mezze Menu: Easy Chocolate Bark with Candied Lemon

Guided by Martha Stewart's Bark  | Shot by Riley Ziesig

Chocolate bark is the impressive dessert that pastry luddites like me can pull off. I get so flustered when I try to bake things and I don't have the time to experiment with it (because I'm busy making stuff like this, duh).

To fill a quarter sheet baking pan, you need two bags of any chip chocolate. Before you get started, prepare the pan with a quick swipe of a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil and then a layer of plastic wrap with extra hanging over the edges. 

If the bark will be one color, melt it all in a double boiler. If you're going for two tone like the one pictured above, melt the white chocolate first. Pour it into the pan and use a spatula to spread it flat. Make sure to tap the pan against the counter to make sure and get rid of any air bubbles. Place it in the fridge to set while you melt the second batch of chocolate.

Chop up your toppings. I used a mix of dried fruit and pink Himalayan salt. Pour your second batch of melted chocolate into your now cold pan and spread it flat quickly. While the chocolate is still hot, sprinkle the chopped toppings over it and place the bigger pieces like candied lemon firmly, making sure they don't stick up.

Refrigerate for an hour or until the whole pan is firm and not warm anymore.

This photo is a lie. We initially thought you could bash it with a meat tenderizer to make jaunty shapes but it was far too thick. We were better off cutting funky angles with a chef knife.

And look! Fancy looking dessert! Cut them as big or as small as you need to. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

What will you put on your bark? I wanna see! Tag @Randwiches on Instagram.