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Pinch and Swirl

☕️ Bite-Sized Sundays: 5 Better-Than-Store-bought Treats (20-minute Date Caramel included)

Published 10 days ago • 1 min read

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Happy Sunday, Friends.

This week: The homemade treats that taste better than anything you'll find in a store, and they're easier to make than you think.

"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." — Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts

🌟 Recipe of the Week:

​Date Caramel (4 ingredients, naturally vegan and gluten-free, ready in 20 minutes)

  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Active time: 20 minutes
  • Perfect for: Drizzling over ice cream, filling thumbprint cookies, gift-giving, or straight off the spoon when no one's looking

🎯 Quick Hits:

  • Pro-Tip: Wrap homemade caramels individually and store in an airtight container. Most will keep at room temperature for 2-3 weeks, but marshmallows are best within the first week before they start to dry out.
  • Back to Basics: Real caramel gets its flavor from the Maillard reaction—when sugars and amino acids break down under heat. Date Caramel gets that same deep, complex flavor because dates are already packed with natural sugars and have changed during ripening and drying.
  • Did You Know?: Medjool dates have over 60% natural sugar by weight, which is why they work so perfectly in place of refined sweeteners. They also have fiber, potassium, and magnesium—something you won't find in a jar of commercial caramel sauce.

Better-Than-Store-Bought Treats:

Easy Wins:

  • ​Date Caramel (4 ingredients, 20 minutes, tastes like the real thing)
  • ​Praline Pecans (sweet, buttery, and impossibly crunchy)

Classic Candies (Easier Than You Think):

For the recipes below, you'll need a candy thermometer. I replaced mine in the past couple months with one I love: affordable, digital readout, and very simple to adjust on the pan.

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All my best,

Date Caramel

Praline Pecans

Salted Honey Caramels

Homemade Marshmallows

Salty Black Licorice

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600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246
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Pinch and Swirl

The best food happens at home.

The best meals don’t come from restaurant kitchens. They come from home cooks like you who take simple ingredients and turn them into something worth sharing. My specialty is making global cooking approachable, from beloved American classics to exciting international flavors. I create recipes that make it simple to cook memorable, restaurant-quality dishes, so you can feel confident and inspired in your own kitchen.

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