Pecan Brittle

IMG_1066 Tis the season for joy, decorations, lots of food, family and giving.  Most people these days have a good sized Christmas shopping list to take care of. You’ve got your immediate family, significant other, siblings, nieces, nephews, co-workers, friends, neighbors, acquaintances….it’s likely quite a list! Then, there is always that person who got you something and you didn’t get them something but now you have to think quick because they’re handing you a present and you have no idea how to dig out of this one gracefully.

Well, what if I told you that there is an awesome one-size fits all option that will knock out a solid half of your Christmas list and it comes with a homemade touch? It can even be make last minute or say, Christmas eve day before you head to that evening party you don’t have a hostess gift for! What to get the guy who has everything? Food. Stocking stuffers for the kids? Food. Co-workers, neighbors, that person who got you a gift and you didn’t get them one? Food. Food is a universally accepted amazing gift that, when homemade, has a perfect thoughtful holiday gifting touch! 

I count my blessings this time of  year because I truly enjoy cooking and being in the kitchen and homemade goodies are always well received! I’ve always tried to make as many of my gifts as I can. Homemade notecards, scarves, loaves of bread, cookies in a jar. Well, this year mum and I decided to try a new recipe from a friend of hers that has used it the past few years. We made pecan brittle, or candied pecans, or whatever it is you’d like to officially call it. It’s a buttload of butter and sugar mixed together with pecans. It’s Christmas crack. It’s sugary, crunchy, melty, yummy, addictive and down right deviously delicious.  And yes, I did say a buttload. It was pretty fun actually, we spent a weekend making these addictive morsels, Cranberry Grand Marnier Cake Muffins and Canned 48 jars of Cranberry Jelly. It was a gift making extravaganza!

IMG_1063These little guys hit it out of the park. They were THE perfect gift that had the thoughtful, homemade touch but could be made in larger quantities to check multiple people off the list. It’s actually a pretty easy recipe, when you start getting into candy thermometers it’s out of my league and attention span. The only thing to note about this recipe, which we learned the hard way, was that you can’t just double it or make batch after batch without cleaning the pan. Because you’re basically making caramel if you try to make a new batch with residue from the previous recipe it just messes everything up. Don’t ask me how or why… I didn’t major in science but just take it from us and quickly wash the pan after each batch, okay?!

Candied Pecans// Pecan Brittle 

8 tablespoons butter (one stick)
1 cup sugar
3 cups of pecan halves

Directions
Line a baking skeet with parchment paper and set the baking sheet to the side of stove top.

 

We used a stainless stele copper-clad bottom 10-inch skillet but a cast iron skillet would have worked better. Heat your pan over medium low heat. A fork works best to stir the butter and sugar mixture, and fold in pecans.

Once pan is fully heated, add 3 tablespoons of the butter and stir until melted. Add the full 1 cup of sugar to the melted butter and continue to stir until the mixture is pale and thoroughly mixed (no butter chunks or large chunks of sugar). Constantly stir the mixture, which should be thickening, so you don’t burn the butter or the sugar.

IMG_1064

Add the 3 cups of pecan halves and fold into the mixture. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.

IMG_1067

Watch for the mixture to bubble, and at that point it should start to turn a golden-brown color similar to toffee.

IMG_1065

This process takes about 6-9 minutes to see the toffee color. Be patient and make sure you cook the long enough so you don’t have clumps or sugar or butter.

You will start to see clarified butter separating from the mixture and this indicates that they’re done.

IMG_1068

Remove skillet from heat. Tilt the pan and spoon out the clarified butter (or tilt the pan and scoop out the mixture to the prepared parchment lined baking sheet. Using two forks, quickly separate the pecan halves and make sure they are all laying flat.   

Let the candied pecans cool completely. Break pecan mixture into small pieces and package or store in an airtight container.

IMG_1070

These are a nice snack but are also amazing to sprinkle in salads, add to roasted beets, used when baking seasonal bread or as part of a cheese plate. You could use them as a pancake, waffle or ice cream topping or even crush a few on top of cheese cake. Are there other ways that you use candied pecans or could think of to enjoy pecan brittle?

DIY Holiday Decorations (Christmas & Chanukah)

DIY Christmas Tree
DIY Christmas Tree

Do-It-Yourself Holiday Decorations

It’s that time of year: the lights are sparkling, holiday music is playing everywhere you turn, and gingerbread lattes are readily available! I get so excited to decorate for the holidays, but I do dread the credit card bill at the end of the month. This year, I decided that there has to be some holiday decorating ideas that are chic, classy and personalized without busting my budget.

After sleuthing around on Pinterest and exploring the blogosphere, I was amazed at a multitude of great and incredibly inexpensive holiday decorating ideas. Decking the halls shouldn’t put you in the poor house, so let’s get started!

Set the Mood

You don’t have to purchase holiday music to feel that holiday cheer or set the tone for your gift wrapping, decorating or dinner party. Try making a Pandora station or Spotify playlist and include a few of your favorite artists. You might even find a few new festive songs to enjoy.

When decorating, candles are my go-to, as candlelight always creates such a lovely ambiance. Use various heights of candles in different colors and arrange them in glass mason jars with cranberries around the base of the candle. You can even make a menorah using craft boxes and candles from the dollar store. One fun project is to use old tin cans and make a holiday luminary to decorate the inside and outside of your home, which can be reused year after year.

Snow Men!
Snow Men!

Use What You’ve Got

When it comes to decoration, natural elements give a very classy touch. It’s amazing how many uses there are for tree branches and pine cones. Pick up a few extra boughs when you select your Christmas tree and take them home to decorate with metallic or colored spray paint. Make your own wreath or place them on the table with a candle in a glass jar for a festive centerpiece. You can also do the same spray-paint treatment to fruit to use as centerpieces, accent colors in glass bowls or jars, or as place settings for dinner party guests. I just love these little decorative pieces using Christmas tree sprigs and wine corks.

Want to be even more frugal? Use pine cones from your own backyard to decorate your home. You can also spray-paint them like this with metallic or sparkled paint for an extra pinch of pizzaz! The options are endless.

Meanwhile, make holiday cards multitask by hanging a ribbon and getting wooden clothespins to hang the cards as they come. Check out this roundup of festive ways to display your holiday cards.

Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments
Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments

Scour the Kitchen

There are quite a few things that are probably already in your house and kitchen that can be used to make amazing holiday decorations. For example, you could make a popcorn and cranberry garland for your tree or banister. For snacking and decoration, try these marshmallow dreidels. You can also float cranberries in water for an unconventional decoration piece like this. Use up festive paper and make paper Christmas trees or felt trees in various sizes. The paper trees also make great table top décor or name cards for dinner parties.

Some of my favorite holiday memories are around baking for the holidays and decorating the house. Mom brought both of them together and had us make our own ornaments one year. It was so much fun and my little angel still hangs on her tree each Christmas! Make your own cinnamon or salt dough ornaments and bring some personalized holiday cheer to your tree. They also make great gifts or even gift tags. You can also use model magic and create some lovely ornaments like these snowflake ornaments.

I love the smells of Christmas as much as the sights and sounds. One of the most common decorations that’s most readily available for any budget is to decorate oranges with cloves, called pomanders, like this. Use a large needle to poke holes and insert the cloves. You can even spell out festive words. Hang them around your house or on your tree or mantle and enjoy the fresh smell of citrus and spice!

Wine Bottle Advent Calendar
Wine Bottle Advent Calendar

D.I.Y.

The anticipation that comes with counting down to the holidays might be one of my favorite parts to incorporate into holiday décor. Try making your own advent calendar using paper bags and string. You could also paint a piece of wood and adhere number painted clothespins and dangle little presents like this advent calendar. If you are feeling festive as a wino, check out my favorite advent calendar of all time.

To make you own tree adornment, get clear glass ball ornaments at a craft store and paint them with festive and metallic paint like this or this. For Chanukah, these felt dreidel pouches can easily be stitched together to stash some goodies.

That should be enough to get your house somewhere near as festive as the Macy’s window in New York! For more décor, baking and holiday entertaining ideas visit my Christmas and Chanukah Pinterest boards.

(Original Publication, feature on Levo League here)

What are some of your tips and tricks for decorating on a budget? Share them in the comments section!