There's a certain beauty about the baking process. The way sifted flour creates a thin white powdery layer along the bottom of a shiny metal bowl, or watching chocolate slowly morph into liquid, or the feel of dough in your hands, kneading and shaping. I like how simple ingredients, when combined and mixed and swirled, create something totally different.



Salted caramel is one of my favorite combinations. (my favorite thing at starbucks is the salted caramel mocha. mmm.) The sweet, slightly nutty taste balanced out by sea salt gets me every time. But when this mixture is folded into brownies...hello, heaven just got a little bit closer. The flavors meld together so well, I just close my eyes and savor.



While you could use store-bought caramel, the taste that comes with making your own is so much better. While it may seem daunting, it's really not that difficult at all -- it just takes a watchful eye and a steady arm to stir. It helps to have everything you need already laid out, as once you have the sugar in the pan, everything happens pretty quickly afterwards.



These brownies are pretty dang heavenly, guys. And here's how to make them.

salted caramel brownies

for the brownies:

* 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

* 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter

* 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

* 3 eggs

* 1 cup granulated sugar

* 2 tsp vanilla extract

* 1 cup all-purpose white flour

* 1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter an 8-inch square baking pan. In a double boiler (or bowl set over boiling pot of water), melt together the chocolate chips and butter, stirring until smooth. Stir in the cocoa powder and set aside. Whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and sugar until combined. Stir in the melted chocolate, then gently add the flour and stir just until combined. Pour half of the brownie batter in the pan and spoon the caramel sauce until surface is covered. Add the rest of the brownie batter and spread some more sauce until everything is covered. Run a butter knife through the batter to create swirls. Bake until slightly puffed and a inserted toothpick in the center comes out with a few sticky crumbs, about 25 minutes. Cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, and drizzle with extra caramel sauce and sea salt.

For the salted caramel sauce:

(note: this recipe makes enough for two batches of brownies)

* 1 cup granulated sugar

* 6 tsp unsalted butter, room temperature

* 2/3 cup heavy cream

* 1 tsp fine sea salt

Heat the sugar over medium heat in a sauté pan. Whisk as the sugar melts, about five minutes. This burns very quickly -- don't stop stirring! Some sugar will harden into clumps; this is normal. Keep on whisking until the sugar turns a dark amber color. Whisk in the salt and butter all at once and stir until incorporated. Remove pan from heat and add heavy cream (it will foam up when first added). Continue to whisk until you have a smooth sauce.

Enjoy! xo

I built a fort today. With sheets, pillows, blankets, and binder clips to hold everything together. It's been years since I've created a little lair for myself, but I like the idea of having a tiny, cozy space away from everything to read, write, and dream in. And now I'm curled up in my nest, relaxing at the end of a busy, productive day.







Yesterday we finally got our Christmas tree. We're always a bit late with these kind of things -- December ninth is actually fairly early for us. We used to live right next to a Christmas tree farm and one of my favorite traditions every year was piling in the truck for the two minute drive to hunt and search for the perfect tree. And afterwards we'd warm up with hot cocoa in the little red house and crunch on peppermint candy canes.






We live in the city now and Home Depot is just that much more convenient and cheaper and closer...but there's something so lovely about going outside in the cold to pick and chop down the tree yourself.

What's your Christmas tree tradition?

I'm giving myself exactly one hour tonight to put together a post. Including formatting and editing photos. Usually my posts are formulated gradually throughout the day; I'm so hyperactive on the internet, jumping from site to site. I'm working on learning the virtue of staying on task, ahem. We'll see how well this goes.

Ready, set, go.






On Wednesdays, I step out of the library exactly at twilight. The colors blend and fade together seamlessly, forming hues I can't even begin to describe and creating a background for a sliver of moon.  I just stand there and take it all in, feeling impossibly small against the vastness. The sky is one of those things that's taken for granted far too often. The sun rises in flaming brilliancy each day, swirling and blending crimson and sherbet and magenta and slips below the horizon at dusk only to repeat its cycle the next day. It's a comforting thought, that it's ever-constant, rising and setting even if no one watches.

Inspired by the book 14,000 Things To Be Happy About, I'm starting a whenever-I-feel-like-it series called none other than Things To Be Happy About. Just a list of things to be happy about, big or small. Here's the first one.

the sun streaming through the windows, settling in warm pools of light and seeping through cracks and crevices // comforting a sobbing little girl until her crying slows to hiccups // the way your breath swirls around your head like smoke on a cold day // listening to your favorite song on repeat and not getting tired of it // looking at pictures that bring back happy memories // the knowledge that the dawn of a new day brings a fresh slate // the sky, period 

What are some that you're happy about?

xo

ps i have now discovered that it's possible to write a post in forty minutes. awesome.

Last night, I sat with my brother in his room, armed with bowls of cookie dough and popcorn. We laughed ourselves to death (not literally, thankfully) and swapped stories and discussed silly things. I honestly don't know how I'd survive without Jeremiah. I mean, he thinks I'm funny! That alone already scores big points for him ;) He's my best friend and I can tell him things I wouldn't dare tell anyone else. And he takes dang good outfit pictures for me. I love you, J. So, so much.

[sweater: target / shorts: cut by me, originally from old navy / tights: f21 / shoes: gift]

This weekend was one of winter, friends, dancing around the kitchen, reading, and shopping, of relaxing, ignoring homework until Sunday evening, Christmas decorating and working on an exciting project. And there were lights, everywhere. I wrapped Christmas lights around my headboard, J covered the trees in pretty white lights, and the house is outlined in red bulbs. There was the annual Handel's Messiah Christmas production and cozy nights by the fire and staying up far too late to read "just one more page" (which always turns into five more chapters).

I think that's one of my favorite things about Christmas -- the traditions. With each passing year, the traditions are always repeated, the specials things that come with every frosty night, Christmas song, and steaming cup of cocoa.

As for work, it isn't so bad. Having the knowledge that there's a time of rest and celebrating ahead is reassuring...and everything is a hundred times more merry and bright if it can be done while listening to Christmas music.