You know guys, I’m pretty sure this is the first time that I’m really actually sitting down for more than a 5 minute breather in the past two weeks.
Besides doing all of the usual normal-person holiday things like buying endless amounts of gifts, online shopping for the stuff I can’t haul home on the T in my granny-esque shopping cart, and baking cute little cookies, I’ve been working like a maniac!
Try working your typical 8 hour day (more like 9-11 hours for me, depending on whats’s going on), add on the extra special bonus of standing 99% of those hours, and include the final touch of hauling 4-tiered wedding cakes, massive mixing bowls of frosting, and sheet trays full of candy all around your workspace (while you are simultaneously getting covered in buttercream, powdered sugar, and food coloring… my nails NEVER look cute friends…).
For me, that’s just a typical “day at the office”. And I wouldn’t have it any other way!For those of you who don’t know, by day I am a cake decorator in one of Boston’s cake institutions. We do everything from your cake and cupcakes, to your matching cookies, plates, napkins, cups, and invitations, too! It’s pretty cool. Needless to say, we are pretty busy on the average day, so you can IMAGINE how insane it is during the holiday season! That adorable Yule Log that you think looks so cute? Yeah, just made 80 OF THOSE. That cute little penguin on your winter scene cake? We can do those in our sleep. All in a day’s work. So after all that insanity at work, what does my crazy self do?Oh yeah. I go home and BAKE MORE!
Many bakers, cake decorators, and pastry chefs do private orders outside of work, therefore causing them to go home and do more work! Sometimes, I do this, however, since I’ve moved to Boston, my side business has been put on the back burner (mainly due to lack of space, and lack of customers that know me!). So instead, after baking all day (to make a living), I go home and bake for fun! I just can’t get enough of it!
Sometimes I’m experimenting with things for the Let Her Bake Cake Blog. Most of the time though, I’m just craving chocolate chip cookies, or pumpkin muffins (surprisingly this still happens to me, even though I’m surrounded by the stuff daily… I try not to give into temptation).
So, in the midst of all of this Holiday craziness, I realize that I seriously don’t have time to go grab presents for my friends. It was that “OMG it’s two weeks until the end of December what am I going to do” type of panic (and yes, 2 weeks is not enough planning time for this super planner!).
And then there it was. *ding* Lightbulb!
I’ll bake everyone things. Lots of things. It will be great, and so easy. Great idea, Blayre!
As I mentioned in my previous post, I don’t live near my immediate family, so the holidays are spent with my friend, and beloved adopted Filipino family/friends. After inquiring about Filipino cookies, the general response was that Filipino Moms don’t really do the whole cookie thing (!!!!??????!?!?!?). Obviously this had to be remedied. Pronto.So, out went a looonngggg list of different types of cookies and snacks to all of my friends. They were tasked to choose their top four flavors, and I would tally the votes and gift them with the general consensus, being sure to make extra to share with the rest of the “fam”. Those 4 oh-so-easy types of cookies that I decided to gift? Well, they turned into 3 types of cookies, two types of candy, and a special Filipino cheese brioche, just because. Basically I’m exhausted, but I’m super thrilled to be gifting something from my heart (collective “awwww” <3). I won’t give away the final cookie choices, since they might read this and discover their gift, BUT there was one choice that was pretty much unanimous. Maybe it was the name, maybe I described it superbly well, or maybe it was the addictive nature of the whole thing, but they all had something to say about it.What’s sweet, salty, chocolatey, crispy, crunchy, melty, pink, white, green, and red all over?Yeah, no surprise. It’s Holiday Crack.Prepare yourself.This is one of those desserts that you don’t eat when you are on a diet (although why are you EVEN thinking about that, it’s the Holidays, YOLO!).This is not one of those desserts that you can only eat “just a little piece” of.And this is NOT a dessert that you want to make with your kids (hello molten hot caramel…but you DO want to feed this to your evil co-worker’s kids at that company Eid party, and then watch them run around like crazy sugar-high maniacs. Muahahahaha!). This IS a super quick, addictive dessert that you could whip up, sayyyy, the 24th of December when you realize that you never made anything to take to Grandmas (!). It is pretty simple, very versatile, and is only 5 (COUNT EM, 5!!) ingredients! Holiday came early this year ;)Yield: About 30-40 piecesIngredients:30 to 40 saltine crackers 1 cup unsalted butter1 cup packed brown sugar1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (or a chocolate of your choice)- I used Ghirardelli1 12 ounce bag white chocolate chips OR colored candy melts of your choiceMethod:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil, and spray liberally with cooking spray (I used a half-sheet pan, you can use anything that will fit your crackers, or divide the recipe into two pans!)
Line saltines across the sheet pan. Try to only overlap them if you are really pressed for space- you will want the caramel to stick to the entire surface of the cracker!
Place the butter and brown sugar in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, STIRRING CONSTANTLY with a rubber spatula, to ensure that the mixture doesn’t burn. Once a boil is reached, turn the heat to low and simmer until the mixture is thick (it will look like a thick bubbly pudding), about 3-5 minutes. Add the vanilla extract.
Pour the caramel over the saltines evenly- be VERY careful, it is extremely hot and WILL burn you! If the caramel doesn’t cover all of the saltines, use an offset spatula to spread it over top of all of the crackers. It’s ok if the caramel looks a bit separated when you spread it. It will come together nicely in the oven.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until the entire surface of the sheet pan is bubbling. Be sure to watch carefully, and take it out once it bubbles. It WILL burn if you leave it in too long, and burnt sugar is no fun!
Allow the pan to cool to room temperature. You can place the tray in your freezer to expedite the process, but be aware that it will be extremely hot! Don’t melt your ice cream!
Once the saltine toffee is cool, it’s time to melt your chocolate. First, melt the dark/milk/semi-sweet/chocolate of your choice in 30-45 second intervals, stirring in between. Once your chocolate is melted, add a few splashes of vegetable oil to thin the chocolate to a spreadable consistency. This also quick “tempers” your chocolate so it doesn’t form that nasty white bloom once it cools.
Next, melt your white chocolate. This will be drizzled over the dark chocolate and then marbled for an awesome effect! You can choose to use plain white chocolate and color it yourself, OR purchase pre-colored candy melts from your local craft store. Either way, melt your chocolate and divide it into separate containers for each color (I divided up my melted chocolate into 4- one for white, green, pink, and red). Color each as you desire, and thin with oil so it is spreadable and not thick. *BE AWARE that you CANNOT use a water-based food coloring to color chocolate! The color MUST be oil based. The best product to use is a candy or chocolate food coloring, such as this one. *
Once your chocolate is all melted, you can marble! First, pour all of your dark chocolate over the toffee, spreading so it evenly covers the entire surface. While this is still wet, use a spoon to drizzle and dollop your colored chocolate all over the toffee- this doesn’t need to be exact, but try to get each color drizzled over most of the sheet of toffee.
Next, drag a skewer, toothpick, or the back of a paintbrush through the chocolate, circling in all directions, creating your own unique marbling. Have fun with it! Feel free to add sprinkles, chopped nuts, dried fruit, or any toppings of your choosing.
Allow the chocolate to cool. Carefully flip the sheet over and remove the foil, and then either brake or cut the Eid Crack into pieces.
Keep the Crack wrapped tightly in plastic wrap until serving. Be aware that candy such as this is very susceptible to humidity, so keep it wrapped up tight to keep it fresh!May God bless you and your loved ones! Happy feasting!
