Next up was a tablecloth for my gargantuan table. I knew I wouldn’t be able to easily (and cheaply) find fabric that would span the width of the tablecloth, so I decided to choose two different fabrics – one for a built-in runner and one for each side. The tablecloth was 9′ x 5′. I purchased 6 yards of muslin for the sides and 1 yard of the runner fabric. I split the runner fabric into thirds so they’d run the length of the tablecloth and sewed the ends together. I appended 3 yards of muslin to each side of the runner, and voila! Gargantuan table cloth with a built-in runner.

I always keep a solid stock of candy and chocolate in my apartment. I’ve used a cookie jar for the chocolate for years, but I’ve never found a good way to keep the candy looking organized. I went with mason jars and removable/restickable chalkboard labels (though they’re really just there for decoration, you obviously know what Sour Patch Kids look like!).

For more mason jar fun, I decided to update my bathroom and replace the existing generic soap dispenser with a mason jar. This took more elbow grease than anything else. I purchased the dispenser parts at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $3.99 (I couldn’t find any at Home Depot and stores online were less than helpful, this definitely took a lot of hunting!). Drill a hole in the top of the jar with a pair of scissors – it’ll take a while to get the size right for the dispenser. The hole was just right so I didn’t need to glue the dispenser parts to the lid. I purchased a really pretty soap refill (ginger!) and that’s it!

In the future, I may paint the top of the mason jar – but though it’s not clear in the picture, there’s a small decoration on the top of the lid that matches the color of the dispenser. I liked it enough that I decided to leave it. I might also try this again with a blue ball jar or paint the inside of the jar so it looks more like milk glass.

Last but not least, I finally moved my desk into my bedroom. I have been aching for natural light while I work since I moved into this apartment, but my office has no windows. The office will be turned into a guest bedroom and better storage. I’ve been reluctant to keep my computer in the same place as I sleep (much like I don’t want to have a TV in my bedroom) but already I feel so much better while I work. The natural light makes SUCH a big difference!

Ingredients (makes 6-8)

1 Baguette
1 Tomato
1 Peach
1 Mozzarella ball
Balsamic vinegar

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil to catch any balsamic vinegar.

Slice the baguette into thin (about 1/4 inch) slices. Do the same with the tomato, peach and mozzarella.

Slice each tomato, peach and mozzarella slice in half again, so you have half-moon shapes of each.

Layer a tomato slice on top of the baguette. Drizzle it with balsamic vinegar. Then add the peach slice, and top with the mozzarella slice. Add salt and pepper and repeat!

Line up all the stacks on the baking sheet (they don’t need to be far apart; a half-inch is fine). Pop them in the oven til the mozzarella starts to move down the sides of each stack. Mine took 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!

I worked in libraries for a few years and my mother is a librarian, so I grew up with a love for browsing through the shelves and pulling out whatever caught my eye. I found myself drawn to the cookbooks every time I worked. In the last 5 minutes when I had finished my work, I would wander over and browse through the oldest volumes, intrigued by how much food has changed in 100 years. One of the oldest volumes was on candy-making, and I was immediately drawn in. I’d love to master it eventually. This was my first attempt!

One of Judicialpeach’s tips was to drip the sugar as it began to caramelize on a white plate in order to more accurately gauge the color, so I tested it 6 times. Watching it change was a valuable experience in candy-making. The initial drip was still soft, even after cooling, whereas the others had all hardened. There isn’t much of a color difference in the first four, but the sheen changed as well as how it settled. After that you could see the sugar quickly caramelized. It’s important to watch it carefully (even though you aren’t stirring) to make sure that it doesn’t burn.

The combination of the cream with the caramelized sugar bubbled up violently and quickly heated up to the 248 degrees F that was required for these caramels. It took between 5-10 minutes after the sugar caramelized for it to effectively get up to temperature. This recipe is very easy but requires a lot of attention in order to prevent burning or hard toffee in place of these chewy caramels.

The caramelized sugar stuck to everything, but the caramel itself actually pulled right away from the pan it was made in due to its butter content, so the parchment paper wasn’t necessary.  Immediately upon setting it in the glass pan it bubbled away, but quickly settled to an irresistible pan of lava. It was torture to keep out of this until it cooled, but little bits of the caramel on the end of a fork cooled quickly enough to enjoy!

HOMEMADE SEA SALT CARAMELS

PREP TIME: Requires a few hours of cooling
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
YIELD: 16 to 20 Caramels

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly brush the paper with the vegetable oil.

2. In a small pot, bring the cream, butter, and one teaspoon of the sea salt to a simmer, over medium heat. Do not let it boil. Once it has reached a simmer, turn off the heat, and set it aside.

3. In a deep saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar. Over medium-high heat, stir only until the sugar has dissolved. Then allow the mixture to boil, without stirring, until the mixture is a warm, golden brown. Watch very carefully, as the caramel can burn quickly toward the end. (It can be helpful to use a wooden spoon and drip some of the caramel onto a white plate to gauge the exact color).

4. When the sugar mixture is done, remove it from the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful because it will bubble up violently. Stir in the vanilla.

5. Return the mixture to the heat and cook over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball), about 10 minutes. Pour the caramel into the prepared pan. (Don’t scrape the pot). Refrigerate for a few hours, until firm.

6. Remove the caramel from the refrigerator and allow it to come close to room temperature. Pry the caramel from the pan. On a cutting board, cut the square in half. Using parchment paper, roll each piece of caramel into a tight 8- to 10-inch log. Sprinkle the logs with sea salt. Cut each log into 3/4-inch or 1-inch pieces. Individually wrap each caramel in glassine or parchment paper, twisting the ends. Store in the refrigerator or in an air-tight container.

I work with an amazing group of people, and I really enjoy baking things for particular coworkers as a token of my appreciation when they go above and beyond. Recently, two coworkers have demonstrated an amazing amount of patience and humor while helping me with a project, and I realized that my normal sugary baked goods weren’t going to cut it. These are two healthy guys who generally avoid sweets, so I decided to try my hand at energy bars!

The granola bars could not have come out better. They were actually really easy to bake and cut, though I would recommend doubling the recipe if you don’t think 16 bars will last long in your house. The only trouble I had was blender space – we had to chop things up in batches in the food processor. These are a lot of ingredients to blend!

Ingredients

1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup bran cereal
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup walnut pieces
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped stemmed dried figs
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Place the oats, cereal, flour, walnuts, figs, dry milk, cinnamon and ginger in a food processor; coarsely chop.
3. Add the honey and eggs; pulse until well combined.
4. Transfer the mixture to the pan; spread evenly with your fingers.
5. Bake until lightly browned around the edges, about 20 minutes.
6. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then cut into 16 bars.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or wrap individually and freeze for up to 3 months.

I decided to substitute the lemon extract with orange extract and skip over making my own filling entirely and instead use one of my favorite flavors of all time, Nutella. The result tastes like the most delicious fortune cookie you’ve ever had with filling!

The main tip I have is to make sure your powdered sugar and butter have completely dissolved into one another. I had a few lumps of powdered sugar left in the batter and, though tasty, they make the cookies look a little lumpy. Be patient as you’re piping them onto your parchment and make sure they’re spaced at least two inches apart!

Ingredients

12 tablespoons butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange extract
1 1/2 cups flour
Nutella

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream the butter with a paddle attachment then mix in the sugar.
3. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the extracts.
4. Add the flour and mix until just incorporated.
5. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
7. Spread a thin amount of the Nutella onto the flat side of a cookie and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
8. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

This recipe was the first one that blew my mind. You’ll wrap a crescent roll around one of Lydia’s marshmallows (we used her vanilla ones, but you could use any of the flavors she offers) and bake it. As it notes in the recipe below, the marshmallow will expand and then dissolve into the dough, leaving an air pocket of sweetness.

Please please please go and check out Lydia’s book and purchase it with some marshmallows today – you’ll be supporting a woman-owned small business and I know anyone who tries the marshmallows will be blown away. (This is not a sponsored post; I genuinely love her marshmallows!) Unlike store-bought marshmallows, these are made from scratch without preservatives or other gross things and are super soft and tasty (not stale and empty-tasting). My favorites are the raspberry marshmallows, but I what I love the most are her Peanut Butter S’Mores. She puts so much heart into these marshmallow creations; I’ll be so thankful if you go and support her!

Crescent Sticky Buns

3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 bag 8 Sweet Lydia’s Vanilla Marshmallows
1 package crescent roll dough

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a muffin pan with non-stick spray. Melt butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon until combined. Dip one vanilla marshmallow in butter-sugar mixture and turn to coat. Wrap the marshmallow in one triangle of crescent dough, pinching corners together, and place in muffin cup with the edges on the bottom. Repeat for the other marshmallows and crescent dough.

Brush the tops of the dough with the rest of the butter-sugar mixture and bake for 20 minutes. The marshmallow will expand and then dissolve into the dough, leaving an air pocket of sweetness. Serve with a glass of cold milk.

For the rest of the recipes, check out Sweet Lydia’s Marshmallow Guide!

This is another of the amazing recipes from Sweet Lydia’s Marshmallow Guide. Lydia is a friend of mine, and I was lucky enough to do the pictures and taste test all of the recipes for it! All of the recipes in the cookbooklet use a bag of her homemade marshmallows. This one is easily one of my favorites, because holy moly, when you cut into the brownie you’ll be greeted with your choice of peanut butter, Nutella, or caramel!

Best Brownies Ever

1 recipe brownies
Peanut butter, Nutella, caramel or all three
1 bag of 8 Sweet Lydia’s Vanilla Marshmallows (or your favorite flavor)

Bake your favorite brownie recipe in a 9 x 9-inch pan until toothpick comes out clean. Cut brownies into 9 3 x 3-inch brownies. Scoop out about 1 teaspoon of brownie from the center of each and reserve centers for eating.

Spoon 1 tbsp of peanut butter, Nutella or caramel into the center crater and cover with 1 Vanilla Marshmallow.

Place marshmallow-topped brownie under broiler on high for 30-60 seconds or until golden and toasted. Keep a close eye on brownies, the magic happens quickly.

Remove and serve warm.

For more recipes, check out Sweet Lydia’s Marshmallow Guide!

Lydia and I cooked up tons of recipes for this book over the course of two weekends. We’d intended to do it in one, but made the mistake of trying everything as we went, resulting in a sugar coma that left us unable to complete the book. But we learned our lesson, and finished everything up before eating everything in sight the second time!

This recipe is from the book, and was my personal favorite to photograph. The result is buttery sweet potato and juicy cranberries in a mason jar or ramekin, with a beautifully-toasted marshmallow on top. You can use any size jar, but I really liked half pints with a marshmallow baked inside in addition to the one on top!

Sweet Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup fresh cranberries
1 bag of 8 Sweet Lydia’s Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350. Place sweet potato cubes in an aluminum foil pocket. Dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and salt and roast for 50 minutes or until fork tender.

Transfer sweet potatoes into a bowl and mash until they are still a little chunky but mostly smooth. Add the cranberries and stir to incorporate.

Distribute mashed sweet potatoes evenly amongst eight one-cup ramekins. Return ramekins to the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cranberries start to burst.

Top each dish with one Pumpkin Spice Marshmallow and place under broiler for 30-60 seconds until marshmallows are golden and toasted.

You can get Lydia’s book here or get the book and three bags of your choice of marshmallows here!

The recipe originally came for half the size of the batch, but I doubled the original below and it made nine cupcakes. It strangely has most measurements in tablespoons instead of cups, but this recipe totally worked for me. The cupcake itself is very moist and not overly sweet. If I were to make it again, I’d fill the center of the cupcakes with frosting too. It’s just SO GOOD.

Pumpkin cupcakes with Earl Grey buttercream frosting

For the cupcakes:

14 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the Earl Grey buttercream:

2 ²/₃ cups powdered sugar
8 tablespoons softened butter
2 tea bags + 4 tablespoons boiling water

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with 9 cupcake liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

In a stand mixer or medium bowl, whisk together the egg, pumpkin puree, sugars and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined. Be careful not to overmix, or you could get domed muffins that have cracks in the top.

Divide between the cupcake liners and bake for 28-32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

While the cupcakes cool, pour the boiling water over the tea bag and let steep for 10-20 minutes. Meanwhile, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add the brewed tea and mix well. Frost the cupcakes when they are completely cool and serve.

The cayenne pepper gives a kick right after you finish your cookie – it hangs out in the back of your throat and is a really awesome surprise. These particular chocolate cookies are super soft and moist, and are the perfectly chocolatey compliment to the spicy chips!

From the 6oz of hot chocolate chips and chocolate cookie recipe below, we got 18 cookies. Each recipe is easily doubled for a larger batch. Just be sure to warn anyone who you give a cookie to – these are particularly unsuspecting!

Hot and Spicy Mexican Chocolate Chips

6oz semisweet chocolate (half a bag of chocolate chips works fine)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or your choice of spicy flavoring, to taste)
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Prepare for piping your chips by wrapping a piece of tinfoil around a flat surface – cookie sheets work great. Also get your piping or sandwich bag ready (I like to use a tall glass when I’m filling my piping bags; stick the bag inside the glass and wrap the top of the bag around the glass lip).

Melt the chocolate (I use a microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between). Stir in the cayenne pepper and cinnamon gradually and routinely taste to make sure you don’t go overboard; make sure it’s distributed well throughout. If you accidentally stir in more seasoning than you wanted to, just stir in some more chocolate chips to balance it out.

Put the chocolate mixture into a piping bag (a sturdy ziploc bag also works!) and cut off a very small opening to pipe the chips out of. I find that sometimes, if my chocolate is still too hot, the chips come out looking funny. I take the bag and hold it in front of my open freezer for a few minutes til it sets up a little more, then try to pipe again.

After you’ve run out of chocolate, set them aside to harden (or give them a few in the fridge). They’ll set up quickly! When they’re hard, use a spatula to scrape the chips from the foil.

Soft Chocolate Cookies

(Adapted from AllRecipes.com)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven at 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar (I used a stand mixer). Beat the egg in to the mixture, then add the vanilla.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Lastly, add your spicy chocolate chips and gently stir until they’re spread throughout the mixture.

Scoop one-inch balls and place them two inches apart on baking sheets. Flatten with a fork or the back of a spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are firm. Move to wire racks.