14 days…

It is my summer vacation and it has been raining for 1/4 of it. Normally, I love the rain. It is the perfect environment for snuggling with a pup, reading a book, napping with the hubs, or taking on a Harry Potter movie marathon. But now I am over it. OVER IT I SAY.

So I decided to do something about it.

Last week, the hubs was in the mood for a burger, so we took a trip to Red Robin. While he was drooling over which burger to order, I was ogling the drink menu. To be honest, I didn’t make it past the first page. Right there in front of me in glossy card-stock, was a photo of two of my favorite beverages together, intermingled in a tall glass, topped with whipped cream and an orange slice.

I am talking about a beer milkshake here, people. Belgian-style Blue Moon Ale paired with a citrus inspired-vanilla milkshake.

I know what you are thinking….but stop right there.

This milkshake was absolutely delightful and refreshing and I just knew I had to recreate it at home to cure my rainy day blues.

Thanks to the ad, I already knew that the Red Robin milkshake not only had Blue Moon and vanilla ice cream, but orange liquor as well. So I decided to play up on the orange flavor and add Triple Sec to mine. I also decided to add a little orange juice and orange extract to take some of the bitter taste away from the Blue Moon. And to top off my milkshake, I whipped up a batch of orange flavored whip cream and added an orange slice. {Because every frothy alcoholic milkshake needs a fruit slice.} Am I right? Or am I right?

This was the perfect remedy for my rainy summer blues. It is like bright, shiny summertime in a cup. It totally makes me forget about the  soggy atmosphere outside my window.

The fact of the matter is, nerds rule the world…

It’s true. Ask anybody…

Natalie Portman, Ben Stein, Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, and Emma Watson are just a few famous nerds in existence.

…the list goes on and on and for thousands of years.

Wil Wheaton was recently asked by a new mom to explain to her newborn daughter why it is awesome to be a nerd…

His response was the stuff of legend…life changing for not only the newborn and her mom, but to every other nerd in the room…

Check it out..

So in honor all all things geekery, I made toffee. But not just any ordinary toffee though…

I made you Salted Chocolate Toffee…

Which then turned into Salted Chocolate Toffee Shortbread Cookies…

And then Salted Chocolate Toffee Milkshakes…

Oh yeah…I went there…and so should you.

Let’s start with the toffee. Shall we?

Combining your sugars, butter, corn syrup, and water, you want to make sure all your sugars dissolve and that it reaches 285 degrees. This is called the soft-crack stage. Soft-crack stage has been reached when the syrup forms firm but is still pliable. It is typically referenced for your toffees, brittles, and even butterscotch.

After you have poured your toffee onto a rimmed cookie sheet, gently sprinkle your chopped chocolate and let the hot toffee melt it until it is spreadable, then sprinkle your sea salt.

If your using your toffee in another recipe like me, wait until it is completely cooled before a coarse chop. Or if it is by itself, just crack it a few times with a knife and dig in.

Now let’s talk cookies. I found these way cool cookie cutters at World Market. They have a unique, almost rectangular cut out right in the middle so that you can slip one of these bad boys on a tall glass of milk…or even better, milkshake.

This is the star shape, but they also have hearts and flowers. I couldn’t help but buy all three.

And to tie it all together….Salted Chocolate Toffee Milkshake with our cookies as garnish.

We had a few friends over the night that I made these. Not only did we each have our own milkshake and cookies, but we manage to finish them…complete with our spoons scraping the bottom for more.