Pumpkin Seed Toffee

My boss said there's a saying that every good recipe starts with the words: "Take a stick of butter..." Isn't that that truth!

The same evening that I made Cleta Bailey's Toffee Squares, I also decided to try this recipe for Pumpkin Seed Toffee that I found on the Taste of Home website.

This required that I go out and buy a candy thermometer.

There are folks who say you can tell when a liquid has gotten to the hard-crack stage—something about dropping some of the liquid into cold water, and it will form hard threads. However, I personally thought using a candy thermometer seemed more fool proof.

I will say it seemed like it took FOREVER for that thermometer to hit 300° i.e. the hard-crack stage, but I can be a very impatient person, especially when standing over a liquid that requires constant stirring/whisking. I probably pushed it a little too. I think my gooey delight was really only at 298°, when I decided it was done! (As my former teacher Colonel Woods used to say, "It's close enough for government work," and that is often how I approach cooking. I follow the directions just not always to a tee.)

Maybe that is why my toffee was a wee bit chewy, in my opinion. It was very tasty, in spite of that, though. Also, pumpkin seeds are a good source of Protein, Magnesium, and Zinc—so I would consider this a healthy snack, in spite of the 2+ cups of butter also called for in the recipe. :-)

Toffee Squares

I haven't posted for awhile. I've still been cooking and baking up a storm. I just haven't taken the time to write about it.

At work, we do an auction every year where the proceeds go to a charitable organization Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless. One of the things my unit offers to be auctioned off is two dozen cookies, once a month, for a year. Everyone is my unit takes turns making the monthly cookies. This month was my turn again. Instead of cookies, though, I made bars from this recipe I got from the Pioneer Woman Cooks. Have I mentioned I love her?

The recipe was called Cleta Bailey's Toffee Squares. I guess I must have cut my bars small, because the recipe made more than the two dozen I needed for my auction obligation, so I shared the extras with my co-workers. They were a big hit.

One thing I will say is that personally I'm not a huge fan of pecans. I only like them in certain items, such as in delectably delicious southern pralines. Actually, until recently, I didn't think I even liked pralines, but I traveled with my cousins to Savannah, Georgia, and, well, when in Rome. I decided to give the praline a try. Oh my. It was delicious! The ones I tried were from Savannah's Candy Kitchen. No, they are not paying me to advertise their confections. Their pralines are just that good.

But all that aside, I'm still not a huge fan of pecans, for the most part. However, I decided to stay true to the recipe and use pecans. That said, I think the recipes would be just as delicious with peanuts. I'll let you know when I try it!