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Succulant sensational sweet treats from the kitchens of  dunstanmarshall

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So I made all of this in like an hour yesterday to get ready for Christmas and this is only half of what I ended up making.
The top is baked meringue. (so simple and really good)
The sheet pans in the middle, left: chocolate covered caramel, the right: bombom de nozes , and just some peanuts covered in the leftover chocolate at the top.
the bottom one is a close up of the bombom de nozes (made them because of  sarki) they're my new favorite candy! XP
they look rough because i made them really quick, just tempering the chocolate and making the caramel took most of the time!
But hey, they tasted good.

Merry Christmas everyone!
Dunstan M.

Bombom de Nozes

INGREDIENTS:
1 can condensed milk
2 Tbsp whole butter
1 egg yolk + 1 tsp cornstarch
about 1/4 Cup nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc) ground fine or chopped as fine as possible

METHOD:
HAVE ALL INGREDIENTS READY!
1. in a small stainless pot bring the condensed milk to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Keep stirring or it WILL burn, and it is miserable to clean!
2. add the butter and stir to combine.
3. Temper the egg and starch mixture before adding it to the pan or it will curdle.*
4. simmer, stirring constantly, until it thickens and pulls away from the bottom of the pan (you will know it when you see it)
5. transfer to a bowl greased with butter and chill until cold (approx 1-2 hours)
6. melt chocolate, if you are really careful heating it, you may get out of tempering it. but you better just do it.
7. using either a small scoop or a metal spoon, scoop the filling and roll between greased hands.
9. then coat in tempered chocolate and lay on parchment paper to set

notes: you can omit the egg if you like, but it just isnt the same. this makes a good many so make this amount first and go from there.
*you can also hard boil an egg and use just the yolk if you push it thru a sieve.
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Caramel

INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups white sugar
about 1 oz water
1 oz butter (optional)
1 oz heavy cream (optional)
2 tsp instant espresso powder (optional)
- have a bowl big enough to put the bottom of your pan in full of cold water -

METHOD:
1. in a stainless (or copper) pan, combine the sugar and water
2. melt the sugar over medium heat, and cook until it caramelizes, it will take a while. when it just starts to color watch it closely, burnt and caramel are almost the same thing. if you need a temp the goal is about 320- 350 degrees F
3. when the temp is reached, plunge the bottom of the pan into the water and stir until it cools slightly.
4. if you would like a slightly softer caramel, carefully stir in the butter and cream. If you want a coffee flavored caramel, add the espresso powder.
5. pour onto a greased sheetpan and cool in the fridge.
6. cut with a greased knife and coat in tempered chocolate

Notes: you will burn the caramel if this is your first time. unless you're really lucky. But thats Okay, it happens, and 2 cups of sugar is cheap. honestly, it is just easier, if you live by a baking supply place, to just buy a block of caramel. it would just save you heartache.

SAFETY CONCERNS:

the caramel stage of sugar is very, VERY hot, and when you add the cream or butter, the water in it can flash to steam and burn you or splatter you with the hottest substance you can imagine. be careful, only add these when the caramel has cooled slightly and starts to thicken.

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Allergy warning – recipe contains dairy & egg products