Coffee Toffee

Here’s a recipe for toffee (and coffee) lovers!

Yield: 60 pieces

Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 30 min

If you really would the coffee flavor to shine through, I'd recommend brewing a strong cup of coffee (or use espresso).

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup brewed coffee (or espresso)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups slivered almonds, toasted & roughly chopped (divided)
8 ounces dark chocolate chips

Directions : 

1.) In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugars, coffee, corn syrup and salt. Heat to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Insert a candy thermometer into the syrup; boil- stirring only occasionally- until the mixture turns a caramel color and reached 280 degrees (or almost there!), about 30 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in 3/4 cup almonds. Spread mixture onto a rimmed, buttered baking pan, working quickly. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the warm toffee. Cover it with a 2nd inverted baking sheet for a few minutes to keep in the heat. Spread the melted chocolate over the toffee. Sprinkle the remaining almonds on top. Let cool completely. 2.) When the toffee is completely cooled, break it into pieces (you can use a knife to help speed up the process). Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Tips : To toast the nuts, heat a small skillet over medium heat, add the nuts and stir occasionally until lightly browned. Dump the toasted nuts onto a paper towel to cool. 

I love the old-time candy shops… you know, the ones where you can see them making the candy right in front of you… like taffy, caramel apples, fudge and toffee.  I’d like to own an old-time candy shop one of these days because it might finally, once-and-for-all cure my obsessive addiction with homemade toffee (assuming I’d have a tendency to get sick of the stuff).  Toffee is the best of all worlds for me.  The crispy caramel base holds a thin layer of chocolate, and there is usually a good dose of almonds added in there somewhere too.  This version is Coffee Toffee. There is a small amount of strong coffee added in there to intensify the flavor. 

This recipe begins with your typical toffee recipe.  The butter/sugar mixture is boiled until it reaches the right temperature (yes, you’ll need a candy thermometer), then it’s spread onto a buttered baking sheet. 

Chocolate chips are sprinkled onto the warm toffee.  They’ll melt quickly, and then you just spread the chocolate over the toffee. Toasted almonds are sprinkled on top.  Once completely cooled, you just pick up the toffee and begin breaking it into pieces.

And then it’s ready for munching!  This toffee is not heavy on the coffee flavor.  I’d say that the coffee just gives it all a flavor punch (chocolate and coffee always go well together, don’t they?)  If you wish for a more intense coffee flavor, my recommendation would be to brew a very strong cup of coffee, or use espresso instead.

Hope you had fun time reading this special recipe!! So all you toffee coffee lovers, run to your kitchen and start preparing this yummy dezzert snack! Leave your comments in below telling me what do you think about this recipe?

~xoxo~

Give me a name, Please!

  
vagabond | wanderer | tramp | rover | vagarant | epic | unique

old woman | katha stitch dress | from nowhere

Hi guys, I saw this old lady walking in my city (Lucknow) yesterday!! I don’t exactly know what to call her! But she had this unique dressing style, she wore a katha stitch cape/robe kinda thing, carried this huge axe on her back & smoked 'bidi' and it literally attracted me & I couldn’t resist clicking her! I went ahead asking her name, she stared at me for a while and didn't even mumble a word. I repeated, "aapka naam kya hai aunty?" and she kept on staring at me and finished smoking her 'bidi'. I don't know if she was acting stubborn or was surprised/shocked to have me asking her name, maybe no one else did that to her in the past? I thought the same, greeted "namaste" to her and walked off.

Isn't it strange, we have so many types of people living around us but we don't even have a clue about their culture or origin, basically it is a risk of abuse or neglect or in one word I should say 'vulnerable'! Have we become self-centred or too busy too learn new stuff? 

PS : If you get the right word for the lady (in the picture), do let me know! 

~xoxo~

Bloom where you are planted!

Happy 2015 guys! Its the 4th day of the year and I literally have no clue how and where did the past 3 days fly!

Anyways, I am really really excited to share some super lovely posts with you all, and I'm here to treat you with the first one for the year. Enjoy reading!

Dress : MANGO | Hat : Forever21 | Neckpiece & Ring : Myntra

Bracelets : Selfmade | Stilletos : Jabong | Earrings : Craft Exhibition (Lucknow)

Many of us, especially if you live on the east coast, are dreaming of spring. We want mild temperatures, abundant amounts of sunshine, and to see trees and flowers in bloom. Department stores tend to be way ahead of the season––tossing out all the winter gear and making way for the spring clothes. Prints are still looking hot every spring, which makes me really excited to know that among those popular prints are floral prints!

When you think of spring, you think of flowers. Or at least I do. What’s the best way to celebrate the coming of spring you can channel into your wardrobe? Toss on a floral print piece! Floral prints are ultra-feminine, pretty, and flirty. I like to consider it a traditional girly girl’s go-to item of the season. As a self-proclaimed super feminine girl, the floral print trend is right up my alley. I love anything representing the beauty of nature. The only way I feel like I can have a piece of that is by wearing anything with a floral print. Skirts, dresses, and blouses can turn just about any look into pure romance. So, My new outfit post (this one) is about true true florals and I really love this dress of mine (in the pictures).

Spring is the right season to have a sense of dreamy playfulness. There’s something about spring that makes me ten times happier than any other season and that is why i thought of sharing this post with you. Maybe it’s the promise of a new beginning or a sense of renewal after hibernating from winter’s icy chill. No matter how you look at it, spring invites you to come out and play. I like playing around with styles sometimes to convey a certain feel or tone I have for that day. My style is feminine, but I like to give off a vibe of fun and playfulness with what I wear.

Tips :

1. Pairing a solid top with a floral print skirt makes the skirt more eye catching. (The dress I'm wearing in the pictures gives a hint of me wearing a top and a rap-around skirt but that's a one piece, & you do get tops and skirts of the same kinds to pair up too).

2. Add funky accessories with the matching flower patterns on your dress but do not make it look over the top. Keep it simple for the day time and you can add a tinch of glitter/shimmer in the night (for a party look).

Prints are especially good for mixing pieces up. Personally, if I wear any sort of floral print or pattern, I don’t match it with what I’m wearing. I’ve read a few fashion articles that say never match prints or patterns together. Those looks tend to be really busy and overly done. I agree with that assessment. You don’t want to stick out in the crowd by having a floral print shirt matching with a floral print skinny jeans, for instance. You pick a floral print blouse and wear it with a solid color pair of jeans. That way, the focus of your outfit will be solely on the top and not everything else.

Give floral prints a try this spring if you want a touch of beauty and romance in your wardrobe. You can add a funky summer hat to your dress when you go out for a beach party or in the day around casually (like the one I added in the pictures above) or can frolic in a field of flowers, while wearing a floral dress as you do. Also, do tell me what do you think of this look in the comments below and don't forget to follow me on instagram & add pictures using #PickerAtPace to win giveaways from koovs fashion.

Photographed by : Lavita Malik

~xoxo~