Pretzel Toffee (with chocolate, of course)

First things first: Did you see my guest post over at The Brunette One yesterday? It involves s'mores. Just sayin'

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Toffee is freaking delicious. If you don't like toffee, we can't be friends. Or..well, maybe we can be, because then I don't have to share any of my toffee with you. It's the perfect crunch and mix of salty & sweet.

Either way, after searching Pinterest/Google/Blogs high and low, I found a few different toffee recipes and combined/changed them to fit my taste. My two main inspirations were Katie and Erika - so if you'd like to try different toffee versions, check out their blogs!

What you'll need to make it happen:

- 1/3 bag small pretzel sticks (I think these work better because you'll get pretzel in every bite!)

- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

- 2 tablespoons water

- 3/4 cups white sugar

- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

- 1 1/2 tablespoons shortening (crisco)

- assortment of pecans, almonds, & mini marshmallows

- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

- Candy thermometer, baking sheet, large saucepan, parchment paper

How to make it happen:

Step 1: Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and loosely line up your pretzels on it. You should have the majority of your pan covered- but not completely full!

Step 2: Make sure your candy thermometer is reading correctly (learn how to do so from this post)

Step 3: Melt butter with water on med-low in saucepan, and once completely melted add granulated sugar, continually stirring to assure sugar doesn't stick to the sides of the pan.

Step 4: Once well mixed, insert your candy thermometer and bring to a boil (med-high) and let cook until it reaches soft crack stage (280-285 degrees). It should take about 10-12 minutes- but really keep an eye on it. It'll go from golden brown to a burned mess quickly! 

Step 5: Take the mixture off the heat and stir in the vanilla immediately. Once incorporated, pour the toffee mixture quickly over your pretzels, spreading to even out if necessary. Let sit for 15-20 minutes until toffee hardens.

Step 6: Melt your chocolate chips with the shortening (either in a double boiler or the microwave), and evenly spread over your toffee & pretzels.

Step 7: Add your toppings. I went with almond slices, sea salt, pecan bits, and mini marshmallows! I figure the more the merrier, right? Once you've finished garnishing your toffee, pop it into the fridge until hardened and break into snacking sized pieces. 

Bring to a boil

This is the color it should be! 

Coat your pretzels

Toppings galore!

The final product

Heaven on a plate

 The biggest tip I'll give on this is to really make sure you watch the toffee once it gets in the 270 degree range. It can jump up quickly and burn- then you'd be one sad baker. Trust. 

If you don't have a good candy thermometer- INVEST IN ONE! They can be used to make toffees, caramels, taffy, and so much more. I have this one from Pampered Chef  that Michael's mom Lorie gave me, and it is beyond awesome. I highly recommend it! 

What's your favorite salty sweet snack?

Do share, I'd love to make it! 

xo, lp

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Pssssst Thanks for all the love and kind words in response to yesterday's post. You all know how to make a girl feel great. Your comments/tweets/emails just added to my excitement for our decision!

Negativity & News

Happy Monday you incredibly attractive (I'm assuming) people.
I saw this the other day on Pinterest and realized I majorly needed to do this:

via

I'm a super sarcastic person- and I'm well aware that there's a fine line between heavy sarcasm and just downright negativity. As I mentioned in my "Things I'm Afraid to Tell You" post, I really am not a fan of living in the South. Richmond has a lot of historical and beautiful things about it- but we just don't...fit here. It's been that way since we got here- and after long enough of giving it the benefit of the doubt-


Michael and I have decided to move (again)!!

My day to day thoughts have become less and less sarcastic- and more just real unhappiness and annoyance with our current situation. Rather than whine- we've decided to be adults and make a change. We realize that at this point in our lives, the Midwest is where we're supposed to be.

I happen to work for an amazing company - and am moving to [hopefully!] attain a position at their headquarters. Where I'm at now just isn't fulfilling- and thus last week I put in my official two weeks notice. Michael has also decided to pursue grad school so he can become the studliest History teacher on the planet! #biased

We could not be more thrilled to get back to the energy and life in our favorite city back in Wisconsin- and are ready to move closer to the friends and family that have been such amazing supports while we've been out here. (Getting to see my adorable toddler niece grow up is a huge plus too!)

That being said- we'll be spending the next few weeks packing and doing all of our favorite RVA things...so sorry in advance for an Instagram overload. Before we go, we'll be taking a nice old New England road trip- hitting each and every state- so if any  DC/MD/NJ/DE/CT/RI/MA/ME/NH/VT/NY/PA bloggers have recommendations for great places to eat/see/stay- PLEASE. PLEASE send me an email [beautyandbeard@gmail.com]  or leave a comment. I would love your forever if you did. (Especially Boston or Providence Bloggers- we're hoping to be there for the 4th of July!!!)

We are beyond excited to see where this next chapter leads (cheeseball alert), and can't wait to take you all along with us!

Are you a New England Blogger?

Email me with suggestions of your favorite places to see/stay/eat/shop in your state!

[beautyandbeard@gmail.com]

XO,LP


pssssssssssst : If you're an RVA person and know anyone who wants to buy any furniture or home goods, contact me! We're selling everything- and it's all really new!

(linked with join the gossip)

Friday's Fancies #25: Outfit Crush

So here's the deal with me and maxi anything:

I'm 5'2" and had myself convinced that I was far too short to hop on the maxi trend bandwagon, but oh was I wrong. After some convincing from Lauren, I bought a maxi dress, and I ain't ever going back (yes, I said ain't...told you the South was rubbing off on me). Being able to have the comfort of a skirt/dress without having to worry about any wardrobe malfunctions because of a windy day or sitting down at a picnic? Sold. 

My thoughts when I first saw this look in Pinterest:

1. Flowy!

2. I could so not pull that off.

3. Orange + pink + plum + gold = genius.

Clearly I have a highly developed brain. Clearly.

Shop the look:     tank   /   blazer   /   skirt    /   necklace  /    bracelet   /   purse  /   belt    (image)

Are you madly in love with maxis too?

If not, it's not too late to jump on the bandwagon!

XO, LP 

psssssssssst: I'm super excited for some posts next week on the blog (mainly monday)- I have some exciting news to share!!!