Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which helps support Kitchen Concoctions via commissions made through customer purchases at no cost to you. I was gifted a review copy of Sally’s Candy Addiction, however, was not required to write this review or compensated to do so. All opinions are my own.
Sweet and spicy is a popular flavor combination! Try this Sweet Heat Caramel Corn recipe, a sweet, crunchy homemade caramel corn with peanuts and a pop of cayenne pepper. Plus check out my review of Sally’s Candy Addiction, a drool worthy cookbook for any candy lover!
I mentioned in my last cookbook review, that I shared a few months ago, that my cookbook review “process” has evolved quite a bit over the years. Cookbook reviews were one of the main things I wanted to share when I first started this blog, since I have long been an avid cookbook collector. That’s why I’m excited to share another cookbook review with you today and share a recipe for Sweet Heat Caramel Corn!
In the early days of the blog, I would feature one cookbook per month and highlight several recipes from that book over the course of the month. This was fun and really gave me the opportunity to fully explore the cookbook, but was rather time consuming and often stressful, trying to make sure I shared 4-5 recipes a month. Because of this I stopped sharing cookbook reviews. Recently I started doing them again, because I love cookbooks so much and have a vast collection. Instead of spreading out the recipes over the whole month, I started sharing pictures of the recipes I tried in one single cookbook review blog post. This way of doing cookbook reviews was easier to blog about, but cooking 3-4 recipes from a cookbook before sharing the big cookbook review, was still a bit time consuming.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark (page 65)
One book I have been cooking from for the past few months is the new Sally’s Candy Addiction: Tasty Truffles, Fudges & Treats for Your Sweet-Tooth Fix by Sally McKenney. I originally got a review copy of the cookbook last fall, and knew I wanted to share a cookbook review, but if you think cooking 3-4 recipes from a “traditional” cookbook, that has sweet and savory recipes is hard, cooking 3-4 recipes that are just sweets is very challenging.
I mean, I will be the first to admit that I have a major sweet tooth, but there is only so much candy I can or should eat! So I have carefully made several recipes from this sweet book for various special occasions the past few months and am ready to share with you all the delicious details of this cookbook!
Just like her blog, Sally’s Baking Addiction, Sally McKenney shares a collection of beautiful and delightful recipes in her newest cookbook. Many of these recipes are tasty twists to basic recipes on her blog. While some of the recipes are inventive new twists on classics (like the Sweet Heat Caramel Corn recipe I am sharing today), there are also classic candy recipes (like homemade marshmallows), and then there are other recipes that really aren’t “recipes” (like Chocolate Dipped Pretzels). Here are all the details:
Pictures: Yes, this cookbook is filled with beautiful photos taken by Sally and EVERY recipe has a photo!
Prep Time, Cooking Time, and Number of Servings listed: Yes!
Nutritional Information Provided: No
Clear, easy to follow directions and ease of preparation: This is a candy cookbook. Most of the recipes are for homemade candy and fudge, which can seem a bit intimidating if you have never made candy, and to be honest can be a tad time consuming. However, all of the directions are very lengthy and descriptive, and each recipe has a note to either how to make the recipe ahead of time or a recipe tip. The cookbook includes a variety of candy recipes, so there are several that are a lot easier to prepare than others. There is also a section of recipes (like brownies, cookies, cake, etc.) that are made using store bought candy.
Easily available ingredients and budget friendly: The ingredients are very common and easy to find. However, since this is a candy cookbook, there are some special tools required to make each recipe. The cookbook has a kitchen essentials section that explains the most common candy making tools needed, like a candy thermometer (needed for making this Sweet Heat Caramel Corn recipe), kitchen scale, and double broiler; and each recipe lists the tools you will need. Some of the recipes only require a handful of ingredients, including basic pantry staples like granulated sugar, butter, spices and extracts; however, if you had to buy these items out right, it could be costly.
Variety of recipes: This cookbook is all about “Truffles, Fudges & Treats for Your Sweet-Tooth” and it defiantly lives up to this name! One thing I really liked about this cookbook is that it has homemade candy recipes for any skill level, which is great if candy making intimidates you. There is also a section of recipes that are just baked goods made with store bought candy (like Snickers Cheesecake and Milky Way Cake).
Special feature: The first chapter of this cookbook covers all the special tools and ingredients needed to successfully create all the recipes in this book. Each chapter has a forward with specific tips for the recipes in that section (like chocolate tempering for the “The Chocolate Covered Chapter”).
Most recipes also have a “Make Ahead Tip” which gives tips on how to make all or part of the recipe ahead of time. And many recipes also include “Sally Says” a special note on how to adapt the recipe to your taste or why separating the eggs or adding baking soda is critical to the success of the recipe. I also like that each recipe has a “special equipment” list located under the ingredients; both of which are clearly identified in a box on the right hand side of the recipe directions.
Ultimate Peanut Butter Brownies (page 180)
So far I have made (all pictured):
Sweet Heat Caramel Corn (recipe below)
Ultimate Peanut Butter Brownies (click for recipe)
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark (click for recipe)
Other recipes I have bookmarked:
Strawberry Buttercreams
Chai Tea Latte Truffles
Sea-Salt Maple Cinnamon Almonds
Cookies ‘n’ Cream Swirl Cookies
Overload Cinnamon Spice Brittle
Do you have a sweet tooth? What is your favorite candy?
- 7-8 cups air-popped popcorn
- 2 cups roasted peanuts
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
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Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
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In a large bowl toss together the popcorn and peanuts. Set aside.
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Combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt in a heavy duty saucepan over a medium-high heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until butter is fully melted. Once butter is melted, increase heat and bring caramel mixture to a full boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove caramel mixture from the heat and quickly stir in the baking soda (this will cause the caramel to foam and bubble up). Stir in cayenne pepper and pour caramel over the popcorn. Stir gently, until all of the popcorn is coated.
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Pour caramel coated popcorn onto prepared baking sheets and bake at 200 degrees F for 1 hour, stirring popcorn every 20 minutes. Allow caramel corn to cool completely on baking sheets, then break apart into large clusters.
Store caramel corn in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe adapted from Sally's Candy Addiction: Tasty Truffles, Fudges & Treats for Your Sweet-Tooth Fix
Other Sally’s Candy Addiction Cookbook Reviews and Recipes:
Creamy Cranberry Pistachio Fudge {Taste and Tell}
Easy Pretzel Toffee {Eat Cake For Dinner}
Pumpkin Spice Toffee {Cooking Classy}
Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bark {Two Peas and Their Pod}
Whoppers Chocolate Chip Cookies {Cookies and Cups}
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