Heart Eyes, Vol. 137: Lovely Things and Pretzel Toffee Crackle
Friends! Happy Friday, and Happy Hanukkah if you’re celebrating! I hope it’s warm and full of light and presents and delicious food and as many of your loved ones as you can safely see. Where I am, we’re looking at the first locked-down weekend since the spring, which I think is a good and wise choice for public health, but also strangely discombobulating even after all the practice we’ve had at staying in this year. I suppose I’ll…bake? Read? Knit? Shouldn’t I have a plan for this by now? In any case, whatever you’re doing with these days, I hope you’re safe and healthy and that the time passes exactly as quickly or slowly as you need it to. I think you’re doing great.
What To Enjoy: A Few Lovely Things
Whether or not you’re a fan of Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache mysteries—I aspire to be, but there are just so many books on my library holds list—the recent interview with Penny on Forever 35 is one of the best they’ve ever done. What a delight! Now I want to read all her novels AND be her friend AND eat some French-Canadian food, all at the same time.
Thanks to my Advent activity calendar, I recently found myself rewatching the Schitt’s Creek Christmas episode, “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose,” and was pleased to find it a perfect 22-minute shot of gentle and heartwarming holiday fun. I would also note that if you’ve ever found yourself uncertain about whether Schitt’s Creek is for you, this episode might be a good indicator: it’s true to the mature state of the show and none of its storylines require any prior knowledge. It’s also beautiful and might make you cry a little, but in a nice way! “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose” is episode 13 of season 4, and you can find it on Netflix.
It’s been out in the world for—*checks clock*—approximately fifteen hours now, but I already feel entirely comfortable looking deep into your eyes and telling you to listen to the new Taylor Swift album, evermore, the sister piece to her excellent summertime quarantine release, folklore. It’s very good, both soothing and pointed in that extremely Taylor Swift way, and I’m only mad that it’s out in December and I cannot listen to it and my collection of weird holiday music at the same time. (I mean, I could, but my neighbors probably wouldn’t like it.)
This is a thing that hasn’t happened yet, but it’s something I plan to attend; maybe you’d like to, too? This Sunday, December 13, at 4 p.m. PST, Andrew Bird’s annual series of Gezelligheid concerts, typically at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, is going online. Tickets start at $20; gezelligheid is the Dutch word for cozy, à la the Danish hygge, and I look forward to turning down the lights, turning on the Christmas tree, pouring myself a drink, and settling in for some “live” violin music as the sun goes down. Maybe I’ll see you there.
What To Bake, Briefly: Pretzel Toffee Crackle
So, here’s a thing you may not know about me: I’m a toffee obsessive. Always have been. Give me all your Skor bars; keep an eye on your Almond Roca and that square of California Brittle in the corner of the See’s box, because I’ll make off with them every time.
Which is why, while I so far cannot be bothered with the idea of rolling out any kind of holiday cookie this December, I took one look at Friend of Heart Eyes Glenna’s photos of a pan of pretzel chocolate toffee with nuts and immediately threw two sticks of butter into a pan. I’m not even big on pretzels, but they’re so great here; they add a lightness and crispness to the rich toffee that really sets it apart, I think. I have mild regrets in the sense that I can’t keep my hands off it, but also…I can’t keep my hands off it. Perhaps you won’t be able to, either?
The good/bad news here is that toffee in general is wonderfully/dangerously quick and easy to make; in this case, I prepped it briefly before making dinner, cooked and ate while it was in the oven and then the fridge, and had finished toffee for dessert. You’ll boil butter and sugar and a little light corn syrup and vanilla together for a few minutes, pour the hot mixture over a layer of pretzels you’ve spread out on a rimmed cookie sheet, and bake it for 12 minutes. When the toffee is hot and bubbling, you’ll take it out and pour chocolate chips on top, spread them around, and add a sprinkling of whatever you want—I did chopped almonds and dried apricots and skipped the white chocolate drizzle—and slip it into the fridge to cool. You can definitely do this, and I think perhaps you should.