A Minnesota Blizzard, Panic Attack Indused Baking, and Caramel Corn

I'm sure a lot of people have heard of our fun blizzard here in Minnesota. On the whole it's not that bad, except the plows have not been on our street so we're snowed in here. A good time to get stuff done and cozy in.

The blizzard brings to mind how soft humans are now. Minnesota pioneers lived in log cabins or in wigwams or in sod houses and still made it. I imagine my European immigrant ancestors and my Potawatomi ancestors had to deal with the same weather but in much harsher conditions.

My only concern is my fence. Not exactly sure how much more snow it can hold. It's a six foot + fence, and as you all can see the snow is quite near the top. I'm not sure where I can shovel more snow. Any suggestions?

I'm sure you all have seen the footage of the Metrodome roof collapsing from the snow. Pretty cool video. The Vikes have been asking for an outdoor stadium and now they've got one. I just hope my roof holds up better than the Dome.

I've been super busy baking these days. I usually give baked goods for Christmas because I never know what to get people. I just don't really know anyone well enough, I guess. I also bake to relieve stress. Holidays are stressful for everyone, but since I've got my next court date soon, my stress is kind of amped up. It probably didn't help I saw one of my former co-workers in Target the other day and they acted like I haven't been unemployed for almost a year and haven't been able to get unemployment money. Yeah, I have to wear five layers, slippers, a jacket and mittens in my house because the house is so cold, can't pay my bills, have to skip a meal a day, have to take a shower every other day to cut down the water bill, and I only have about $20 to spend on Christmas - I'm just fabulous, thanks for asking! (If you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic). So I had a panic attack after that right in the middle of Target. Yuck! So I went home and went on a mad baking spree: Chocolate Crinkles, Gingerbread Cookies, Sweet Minglers, Sugar Cookies, and Caramel Corn.

The Chocolate Crinkles are from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book originally published in1963. It is my cookie bible and almost all the cookies from my childhood are in this goody.

Chocolate Crinkles

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 squares unsweetened chocolate; melted

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup confectioners sugar

Mix oil, melted chocolate, and granulated sugar. Blend in one egg at a time and mix well. Add vanilla.

Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together. Gradually add to oil mix. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F (moderate oven)

Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and roll in a boll of confectioners sugar. This works best while the dough is still cold.

Place about 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. They burn pretty easy, so you've got to watch them.

One of my all-time favorites as a kid. Easily can eat a dozen of these before realizing it. Yummy!

Caramel Corn Puffcorn
1 Bag of Old Dutch Puffcorn
1 Cup of Butter (Not Margarine)
1 1/4 Cups of Brown Sugar
2/3 Cup of Light Corn Syrup
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

Preheat oven to 250°F.
Combine butter, brown sugar, and light corn syrup in a 2 quart sauce pan.
Cook on medium heat until mixture has melted.
Once mixture has melted add the baking soda. (Note: This will cause the mixture to foam)
In a large roaster pan pour Old Dutch Puffcorn and pour caramel mixture over the Old Dutch Puffcorn and stir until mixed.
Place in oven for 45 minutes, stirring at least every 10-15 minutes.
Remove from oven, pour on wax paper and break apart.

http://www.olddutchfoods.com/recipes/category/3/view/15

I adore Old Dutch Puffcorn! If you don't have any in your area, it's that popcorn looking stuff that has no kernels or hulls. Super salty goodness when plain, but completely addictive when covered in sugar. One of my best memories is taking a tour of the Old Dutch factory in 3rd grade (I think) with my elementary school class. Way cool field trip and free samples. Twenty years later and I still think those warm, fresh, off the belt potato chips are one of the best things I've ever eaten. To bad you can't tour the factory anymore.

Ginger Boys
3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

1 large egg

2/3 cup unsulphured molasses

In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined.

In separate bowl stir together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap, and refrigerate over night.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Grease cookie sheets or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

On floured surface, roll out the dough about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out gingerbread cutter and cut out cookies. Place on baking sheet about 1 inch apart.

Bake about 8 - 12 minutes until firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.

Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheets about 1 minute or more.

When the cookies are firm enough to move, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

I tend to use shortening in my recipes instead of butter. It's kind of my trademark. It makes the cookies fluffier. I would definitely use shortening instead of butter for the Ginger Boys. So have fun building your own Ginger Boy army!

Project Notes - I have 6,106 items cataloged. Yeah!