Thursday Recipe - Butter Toffee

I said I would, so here it is - butter toffee. Crunchy and sweet with just a hint of salt, you decide what you want on top. I prefer mine with semisweet chocolate and no nuts. This is a candy so it cooks very hot. Not a recipe suitable for children to help. It can be a bit tricky to get it right, but the result is well worth the effort. Candy is surprisingly easy to make. A good candy thermometer can really help until you get a feel for the different stages of boiling sugar mixes.

Butter Toffee

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 T. water
1 t. vanilla
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts, optional

Butter or spray a large baking pan. I just use a heavy cookie sheet. Melt butter over low heat in 2 qt heavy-bottom saucepan. Add sugar and water, bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often. Cook and stir to soft crack stage, about 300 degrees. (Drop a tiny amount into a bowl of ice water. It should form brittle strands when it hits the water. If it's still chewy, not hard and cracking, cook it longer.) This will take about 15 minutes, keep stirring the whole time. The mixture will turn medium brown. This is the critical point. It will burn very quickly so watch it closely. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour onto the prepared cookie sheet. Tilt it back and forth to get the toffee to spread if you want it thinner. Let it cool for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Wait another five minutes. Spread chocolate to cover top of toffee. Sprinkle with chopped nuts if desired. Set the whole pan aside until candy is cool and chocolate is set. Pry candy off sheet; if you buttered it enough, it won't stick but you will have to break a little bit of suction. Break candy into bite-size pieces. Store in a loosely covered container, if you have any left over. Makes about 1 pound of toffee.

Author Interview Week Coming Up

I've got a great week of interviews coming up in two weeks. April 5 - 9, here on my blog, I'll be hosting some Broad Universe authors. Great people, great stories, and GREAT PRIZES! Stay tuned for details... There will definitely be books, there may even be chocolate.

Join me for my first blog tour. Details are coming.

Dark and Dangerously Decadent. Cookies, That Is.

One conversation lately turned to dark and dangerous heroes and sexy villains. Why are we so attracted to those things that will hurt us? Watch people around a fire. It's hot. It will burn you. But it's so pretty. Same thing with our stories. Why do we create such dark and dangerous men for our heroes? Because we like to play with fire, no matter how much we might get burnt.

Frances Pauli, an author friend, said about a character in my novel Nexus Point, "Tayvis is definitely dark and dangerous AND sexy as all hell." I should return the favor for her book Roarke. The title character is definitely dangerous and sexy. Maybe being a closet romance writer isn't a bad thing when it comes to speculative fiction. Dangerous? Definitely, but the kind of burn that feels so good. Most definitely a guilty pleasure.

Much like these cookies. My kids dubbed them Death by Chocolate Overload. Eat them warm, if you dare.

Decadent Chocolate Chunks

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 T. vanilla
2/3 c. cocoa
1/2 T. baking powder
1/2 t. soda
1/2 t. salt
1 2/3 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 bag semisweet choc. chips
1 bag M&M minis

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt. Beat well. Add flour, chips, and M&M’s. Drop by Tablespoon onto cookie sheet, bake at 375° for 9-10 minutes. makes about 6 dozen.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

This recipe is sure to get your creative juices flowing. Digestive juices for certain. How about picking up a copy of my book to read while you wait for it to cook? Several times over, since my novel will take more than 30 minutes to read? http://www.nexuspoint.info

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

1 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa
4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
2 1/2 c. really hot tap water

Heat oven to 350. Mix flours, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in mixing bowl. Add milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Spread in 9x13 cake pan. Sprinkle brown sugar and cocoa over the top. Pour water over everything. DO NOT MIX IN. It looks weird, but it will turn out. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Serve hot. Cake will be on top with hot fudge sauce underneath.

Really yummy with peppermint or strawberry ice cream.