I’ve always disliked picky eaters because I feel like they are limiting themselves from enjoying so much good food out there. Is one bite of dried shrimp kettle corn reallllly going to kill you?  No, probably not, but you might need to chug water afterwards.

I’ve always considered myself a NON picky eater. I will literally eat anything at least once… even a live goldfish if it meant winning a scavenger hunt at church… however strange/pagan eating live animals may seem…

It took me a while to realize it, but I, myself, am a picky eater.

I decide on the restaurant a week before I make reservations, spend at least 30 minutes consulting a menu before I even go to the restaurant, and I typically never eat baked goods unless I’ve made them myself… So yes, some might consider these tendencies of mine to be ”picky eater” behavior and I must admit, I kind of agree.

Case in point, Madeleines. I think Madeleines are plain and boring… so I’ve never tried a Madeleine before. I decided to make Madeleines the other day because I envisioned a pretty piture for my blog, that’s it, not because I wanted to try something new and different or anything acceptable like that. Well, my friends, I got my picky eater karma. Here I am, picking at picky eaters for not trying adventurous food, when I’m not trying food because I don’t deem it adventurous, but all the while they are delicious little caramelized, soft, and crunchy bites of cookie-cake! Please, for the sake of picky eaters. Make these cookies. No one will be disappointed, picky and non-picky alike.

Madeleines recipe from Williams-Sonoma:

• Softened unsalted butter for brushed molds
• ½ cup all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for dusting
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Using a pastry brush, brush softened butter over each mold of the Madeleine Pan, carefully buttering every ridge. Dust the molds with flour, tilting the mold of the pan to coat surfaces evenly. Turn the pan upside down and gently tap out the excess flour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, granulated sugar, and salt. Using a wire whisk or a handled mixer on medium-high speed, beat vigorously until pale, thick, and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Sprinkle the sifted flour over the egg mixture and stir or beat on low speed until incorporated.
3. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in half of the melted butter until just blended, then fold in the remaining butter. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared molds, using a heaping 1 Tablespoon batter for each mold. Bake the madeleines until the tops spring back when lightly touched, 8 to 12 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and invert it over a wire rack, then rap the pan on the rack to release the madeleines. If any should stick, use your fingers to loosen the edges, being careful not to touch the hot pan, and invert and rap again.
5. Let the madeleines cool on the rack for 10 minutes. Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

Makes 16.

 I tend to be a dreamer and want to travel the world and Thailand is definitely on the top of my list…. How could I not want to visit a place where their coffee is served with sweetened condensed milk? Or is that just an American thing? Anyway, Tony and I also like to pretend that we’re really cultural and eat Thai Curry, Tom Kha Gai soup, Pananag Curry, Chicken Tikka Masala, and other dishes that I cannot pronounce on a weekly basis to pretend like we’re there… Although I think my Shrimp Thai Curry is pretty dang delightful, I can’t help but think it gives no justice to the real thing… Unfortunately, food is all I have for now, so I cook and I eat and I dream!

This recipe is so simple that I only needed to make it twice to perfect it and we all know my strength is in baking, not necessarily cooking. The first time I made this meal I used full-fat coconut milk and while it does give you a very rich and creamy consistency, it is… full of fat. However, the second time I made this dish I used light coconut milk, the good ole stuff from Trader Joe’s, and a touch of full-fat coconut milk to thicken the sauce up a bit and that was the perfect consistency. Also, if you are one of those unfortunate few who do not like coconut this dish is not for you.

After you’ve found the perfect consistency, you add a dollop of this and a dash of that, saute your veggies, pur your sauce, and mix it all together and then voilà! I’ve used pre-shredded carrots and frozen cooked shrimp in the past to speed up the process, but I would recommend cooking the shrimp yourself to give a deeper flavor profile and get rid of that fishy taste frozen fish sometimes tends to have. Overall, delicious and easy meal that everyone can make on a weeknight!

Shrimp Thai Curry by The Bite-Sized Baker:

1 (13.5 ounce) can light coconut milk

½ cup full-fat coconut milk (more or less depending on your desired consistency)

1 tablespoon red curry paste

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon fish oil

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 cup carrots, sliced julienne style

1 cup red bell peppers, sliced julienne style

1 cup shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup snow peas

1 pound cooked shrimp

Chopped fresh cilantro

Lime wedges, for serving

Sriracha, for serving

1. To make the sauce, combine coconut milk, curry paste, fish oil, and curry powder and whisk until combined.
2. To make the veggies, coat a large nonstick skillet with vegetable oil and add chopped onion. Cook until translucent, 5-10 minutes. Add carrots, bell peppers, garlic, and ginger and cook for additional 5-10 minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Add mushrooms and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to lightly brown. Add snow peas and cooked shrimp and sauté for a few minutes just to release flavor.
3. Pour sauce over shrimp and vegetables and stir gently. Cook until just warmed through and thickened a bit. Season with salt and pepper, as needed.
4. Serve with steamed brown rice and garnish with chopped cilantro, lime wedges, and Sriracha sauce.

1. Introducing the newest addition to The Bite-Sized Baker blog, Louie! Louie made the trip from Austin to California to Chicago and we couldn’t be more happy to have him. He is literally the most snuggly and happy dog there ever was.

In a land far away, my dad recently brought home a new puppy to annoy entertain Chandler… We think his name is Ike but it could also be Joey depending on the day of the week.

2. I challenged myself to go a week without coffee and start my morning with a cup of tea and honey… I’ve never been so delighted to welcome coffee back into my life again… Not to mention such a pretty one at that!

3. The sun started shining this week and I was finally able to go outside for a run! Time to get my beach body ready… Oh, joy.

4. Tony and I went to see The Book of Mormon last weekend. It was both of our first time ever seeing a broadway show and it was the perfect combination of humor and musical for some not so theatrical people. And yes, I did make him color coordinate with me…

5. One beautiful sunset… Spring has officially sprung!

6. Baby Genius!!! “But what does it all mean???”

7. The beginning stages of a beautiful thing… Flourless Chocolate Cake.

8. Tony and I felt like reenacting prom this weekend… We went to a charity ball downtown and I felt like I walked into a set of Real Housewives of Chicago.

9. Later that night we met up with our friends, Chelsea and Hunter, and took ample amounts of Fireball shots and devoured a breakfast food feast, complete with a milkshake.

10. This weekend I finally understood why people like Madeleines. They’re not like shortbread at all, but soft and caramelized cake cookies!

Happy Monday, my friends. It’s almost May.

I am so sick of winter. A little bit of my soul gets crushed with each passing winter. I’m sick of looking green. I’m sick of waking up in the middle of the night because I am freezing. I am sick of having to wrap myself in a blanket while I eat soup because I’m frozen to the core. I am sick of seeing this message pop up “The growing season is currently dormant here; opt for items from storage, such as apples, pears, and root vegetables,” when I check Epicurious’s Seasonal Map…

I decided to bake a cake that reflects my crushed soul. A Flourless Chocolate Cake that swells in size as it’s warmed by the oven’s high temperatures only moments before it collapses upon itself as it sits at room temperature. This is a reflection of my soul. My spirits rise as the promise of spring presents itself with a high of 50 degrees only to find that it will be snowing the following day.

Whatever the temperature is outside for you, this is a cake worth baking. The oven only needs to be heated to 275 degrees so it won’t heat up the entire house– if you are one of the more fortunate ones who gets to see the sun on a daily basis and is worried about that sort of thing…

The cake is light and fluffy and not overly sweet. Oh, oh and if the title didn’t give it away this cake is also gluten-free!

Flourless Chocolate Cake by Martha Stewart:

The problem is every  time I sit down to not think I start thinking of all the things I need to think of so I don’t forget my thoughts later.  It’s a lost cause… I can’t help but think.

When the going gets tough and I need a break from my thoughts I bake. I follow a recipe because it tells me exactly what I need, makes all my decisions for me, guides me on what I need to do, and it always gives me a perfect result. It’s a nice break from making the decisions that are difficult to make and gives me the time I need to not think.

Baking gives me the satisfaction that I’ve done something right. I know the tops of my cupcakes rose to pretty little domes because of what I did.  I know the diference between folding in egg whites and mixing in egg whites. I know without the proper vigilance, browned butter can quickly become burnt butter. I know these things because I’ve learned these things from trial and error.

As different as ruining a batch of cupcakes and making a bad decision may seem, I like to think they teach you a similar lesson. Maybe you were experimenting with creating a new recipe and the first recipe was a flop, but by the second third fourth attempt you realized you were missing that secret step that gives the bread it’s elasticity. I like to think life is like experimenting in the kitchen. So maybe you made a poor decision at one point, but you saw what happened as a result, you changed your behavior accordingly the next time you were faced with a similar decision, and you were left with something great.

I’ve attempted to make bread on numerous occasions and for some reason or another, it’s never really worked out for me. I didn’t let the yeast get foamy, there was a draft, I didn’t knead properly… the list goes on. I’ve always strayed away from making bread because it’s always ended up in a failure and I don’t like failing. But I decided to take on this challenge head first and not shy away!

For the FIRST time in my life, I made bread properly. I found a space with no draft, I covered it in plastic wrap so the dough could double in size, I timed it perfectly. I made dough-y yeast cinnamon rolls and MY GOD, are they delicious.

**Ironically enough the morning after I wrote this post my garage door wouldn’t open and I got trapped in the garage, then broke the garage door entirely, and then that night it took me three hours to get home from work because there was a snow storm. Some weeks aren’t easy.

Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls recipe from The Crepes of Wrath:

Dough:

1 cup buttermilk (about 115 degrees F)

½ cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoons yeast

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

2 eggs, room temperature

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Cinnamon Filling:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 cup brown sugar

3 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 cup cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons whole milk

1 vanilla bean, scraped (or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract)

1. Place your sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer (or just a regular bowl if you are doing this by hand). Heat up the buttermilk to about 115 degrees F. Add the warm buttermilk to the sugar, then sprinkle your yeast on top. Allow the yeast to sit for 8-10 minutes, until it becomes foamy (sometimes this may take more than 10 minutes if you have older yeast, but if it doesn’t foam, you’re going to have to start over)
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted and cooled butter, eggs, and salt, then add them to the bowl with the foamy yeast and buttermilk. Mix until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together 3 cups of flour and salt, then gradually add that to the bowl, until just moistened. Using a dough hook, turn the mixer to low and add in an additional cup of flour, and when that has been incorporated, add in the 5th cup of flour. Continue to knead for 8 minutes or so, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough in that bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and place in a warm spot. Allow the dough to rise for 90 minutes, until doubled in size
3. When you’re ready to roll out your dough, lightly flour your work surface, your hands, and your rolling pin, and punch down the dough. Roll out the dough into an 18×20-inch rectangle, adding more flour as needed. Brush your 1/3 cup melted butter over the dough, leaving about 1 inch of space around the outside so that the filling doesn’t squeeze out when you roll it up, then combine the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over the butter.
4. Roll the dough up from the longest side, keeping it as tightly rolled as possible. Cut it into 15 equal sized pieces with a sharp knife, then butter a 9×13-inch pan and place the cinnamon rolls into the greased pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a towel, place in a warm spot, and allow to rise for another hour, until about doubled in size.
5. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 20 minutes or so, until lightly golden but not browned. While they bake, make your frosting by combining the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla bean in a mixer and beating until smooth. Spread the frosting over the warm cinnamon rolls. You can serve them warm, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

1. I have been pretty swamped lately, but I was able to catch a glimpse of the beautiful winter sunset this past Friday. It’s the simple things that count.

2. I apologize… I just really like coffee… and coffee art.

3. I was feeling adventurous this weekend and decided to walk out to the middle of the frozen lake… I did not see any fishies and Thunder and I were very disappointed.

4. But then we had a photo shoot in the middle of the lake and all was right again.

5. In other news, Tony left me to go snowboarding in Colorado for TWO WEEKS. He sends me pictures of mountains and I send him pictures of me sitting at my desk at work. I’m not jealous.

6. It is an excellent day when your dough rises. This is a Bite-Sized Baker first.

7. As always, at the end of winter I get very homesick… But I’m going home, I’m going home in two weeks!!! No amount of exclamation marks is inappropriate!!!

I have claimed my dislike for kneading and all things yeast many times before but these doughnuts do not require ANY of that and yet, they are still fluffy and light as can be! But how can this be, you ask?! Well, my g-frand, Paula Deen, shared a recipe for Canned Biscuit Dough Donuts and answered all of life’s more serious questions. Also, one of my biggest pet peeves is when people spell doughnuts, DO-NUTS. Is it really that difficult to spell it correctly?

These doughnuts literally require zero effort and take seconds to make. This idea is literally GENIUS and I will now always have at least one can of Buttermilk Biscuit Dough sitting in my fridge, in case, I ever have a bad day, you know?

The only thing you need to be concerned about is not getting burnt by spitting oil and getting them while they’re still hot.

Canned Biscuit Dough Doughnuts recipe by Paula Deen:

Peanut oil, for frying
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup sugar
Icings:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided
5 tablespoons milk, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup cocoa powder
2 cans large buttermilk biscuits
Colored sprinkles
Chocolate sprinkles

1. Heat 2 inches peanut oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a shallow bowl, stir together the ground cinnamon and sugar and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, set aside. This is the vanilla icing. In another bowl, whisk together 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar, ¼ cup of cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons of milk and set aside. This is the chocolate icing.
3. Lay out the biscuits on a cutting board and with a 1 ½-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out a hole from the middle of each biscuit. Fry them in the oil until golden and then flip with tongs to fry the other side. You can even fry the donut holes. Drain on paper towels and then toss in the cinnamon-sugar or ice and decorate with sprinkles, as desired.

1. Chicago Winters are the worse… I was stuck in the car for THREE hours with this little guy last week because we had a huge snowstorm. We were both crying by the end of it.

2. I tend to indulge in the winter as well. I am kind of a dessert-snob and I never order pastries or the like when I get coffee… Mostly because I am already consuming copious amounts of sugar in my Vanilla Latte but also because I am very particular about dessert. I gave in and ordered a Nutella Croissant and oh my goodness, my world has turned upside down. Store-bought baked goods, FTW!

3. I need to learn coffee art. This just puts a smile on my face.

4. I’ve been eating breakfast like it’s cool on the weekends. Below is the Farmer’s Market Eggs Benedict complete with basil hollandaise sauce, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes. The other weekend I tried my hand at making hollandaise sauce. Note to the wise: Use immediately. Do not let it sit while you prepare your eggs, it will get gross.

5. A BOMB egg white omelette with Black Bean Chicken Chili. I need this chili in my life every day and just eat it with everything.

6. My Super Bowl spread… Greek Nachos with homemade pita chips, ground lamb, feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, and tzatziki sauce, Nachos with chorizo-refried beans, Caramelized Onion Dip, Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Homemade Jalapeno Poppers, and Pulled Pork Sliders. This spread was so epic I didn’t even care that the 49ers lost.

7. Tony and I decided to play dress up like hipsters and go bar hopping. We managed to go to two bars… None of which were on the original bar crawl list.

8. I decided to be all artsy and take a picture of whipped egg whites… Ya diiig?

9. I was making THESE cupcakes. Sometimes I could cry from all the cute cupcakes I make.

10. Sometimes I take pictures of stuff other than food… We had our CrossFit anniversary party and I got white girl-drunk. There was dancing. And if any of you know me, you know how I dance when I’m drunk. I’m just hoping there are no videos populating the Internet of the scene.

11. A picture of the cute little nugget to make your Monday more bearable…

Happy Monday, Friends!!!

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and my cupboards are stocked with red and pink cupcake liners, sprinkles, heart-shaped cookie cutters, spring-form pans, and cake pans. I like Valentine’s Day, a lot. It gives me an excuse to drink a lot of wine and bake a ridiculous amount of baked goods only a month after I made my New Year’s Resolution to eat less baked goods… Not to mention, pink, red, and white M&Ms are the tastiest of all M&Ms.

If you are struggling with what to do for your Valentine on Valentine’s Day I have you covered. After all, the quickest way to a man’s (and woman’s) heart is through their stomach!

Since Valentine’s Day falls on a Thursday this year and I am typically in bed before 9PM on weeknights I wanted to surprise Tony by celebrating on a Sunday. I was also a terrible girlfriend for his birthday last week and made him Kraft Mac and Cheese for his birthday dinner and a store-bought apple pie for his birthday cake… So he deserved a Valentine’s Day surprise, to say the least!

First on the Valentine’s Day Surprise list were these Faux Hostess Cupcakes. What really makes these cupcakes special, besides the custom notes, is the cake itself. The cake calls for whipped egg whites, which makes the cake ultra fluffy and light. The cupcake is then filled with a marshmallow filling, topped with ganache, and decorated to your liking. What’s not to love about saying you love someone by way of food?!

Faux Hostess Cupcakes recipe from the one and only, Annie’s Eats:

For the cake:
1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
6 large eggs at room temperature, separated
1 cup canola oil
1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
6 tablespoons water

For the filling and frosting swirl:
2 cups marshmallow creme
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
½ tsp. cream or milk

For the chocolate glaze:
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks, canola oil, 1½ cups of the sugar and the water.  Whisk to blend well.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy.  Continue beating, gradually adding in the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar, until stiff, glossy peaks form.  Add a quarter of the egg white mixture to the bowl with the batter to lighten.  Gently fold in the remaining egg whites until the batter is smooth and no streaks remain.
3. Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about three-quarters full.  Bake until the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed, about 16-18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow to cool in the pan about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To make the filling, combine the marshmallow creme and butter in a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed until smooth.  Blend in the confectioners’ sugar and salt and whip until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes more.  Transfer the majority of the filling mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip, reserving ½ cup in the mixing bowl.  (The tip I use is not labeled, but the opening is just under ½-inch in diameter.)  Blend in the cream to the reserved filling mixture to make it smooth for piping the swirl on top of the cupcake.  Transfer this to another pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (I used Wilton #3). Chill until ready to use.
5. Fill the cupcakes by inserting the pastry tip directly into the center of each cupcake and squeezing in a dollop of the marshmallow mixture.  (See this post for a visual – an injector tip will not work for this recipe because the filling is too thick.)  If excess filling comes out of the top, just scrape it off with a knife so the top of the cupcake is essentially smooth.
6. To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl.  Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan or the microwave.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes.  Whisk together until a smooth ganache forms.  Let cool briefly, about 5 minutes.  Take the cupcakes one at a time and invert them, dipping the top into the chocolate glaze.  Transfer them to a wire rack or baking sheet and let the glaze set.  (You can speed this process up by chilling in the refrigerator.)  Once the glaze is set, use the reserved portion of marshmallow frosting to pipe a uniform swirl across the top of each cupcake.  Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

A budino is Italian for pudding, but let’s be honest, pudding sounds a lot fancier when you call it budino and a lot less like a Hunt’s Snack Pack… Not like I have anything against Snack Packs!

Pudding, excuse me, budino is not necessarily something I get excited about, but I saw this recipe for Caramel Budino with Salted Caramel Sauce and I was giddy. Layers of crushed chocolate cookie wafers (which I justified eating four of while removing the cream filling), a creamy and light caramel budino, homemade salted caramel, and topped with freshly whipped cream all perfectly presented in a pretty little mason jar. It’s worth getting excited about.

I also just had the idea of using this budino base for a Salted Caramel Crème Brûlée or using the remaining salted caramel to swirl in brownies for Super Bowl. So. Many. Ideas. So. Much. Excitement.

In other news, I have created an ongoing list for Super Bowl Snacks. I have this tiny little habit of planning to make a huge feast for holidays and events and when the event finally rolls around I end up making one lonely dish because I don’t feel like hassling myself. Case in point, Christmas. My family was PISSED when “The Bite-Sized Baker” made one measly attempt at Cinnamon Rolls and Bloody Mary’s. Needless to say, I have some making up to do when I go back home. But SUPER BOWL! I want to share all my ideas but most likely I’ll make only three two one of the recipes I tell you about.. So I’ll just share the recipes with you once I make them.

But here’s something I did make. Caramel Budinos. They’re real, they’re here, and they’re delicious.

Caramel Budino with Salted Caramel Sauce recipe from Bon Appetit:

Cookie Crust

• 1 cup finely ground chocolate cookie crumbs (such as Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers; about 20 cookies)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Budino

• 3 cups whole milk, divided
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 5 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons dark rum
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Salted Caramel Sauce

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Lightly sweetened whipped cream

1. To make the cookie crust, mix cookie crumbs, butter, and salt in a medium bowl. Place 2 tablespoons in a small bowl; cover and chill for garnish. Press 2 tablespoons cookie mixture onto the bottom of each of eight 8-ounce mason jars or ramekins.
2. To make the budino, whisk 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside. Heat remaining 2 1/2 cups milk in a small saucepan just to a simmer; set aside. To make caramel, stir sugar and 3/4 cup water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; cook without stirring until an instant-read thermometer registers 210°–220°
3. Line a sieve with a double layer of cheesecloth and set over a large pitcher. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in hot milk, then cornstarch mixture. Slowly whisk in caramel. Return mixture to saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens and a thermometer registers 175°, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter, rum, and salt. Pour through prepared sieve.
4. Pour 1/2 cup budino over crust in each jar. Cover; chill until set, 4–5 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
5. To make salted caramel, [pace cream in a small pitcher. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Set aside.
6. Stir sugar, corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high; boil, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush, until deep amber color forms, 5–6 minutes. Remove from heat; gradually add vanilla cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Whisk over medium heat until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and salt. Strain into a heatproof bowl. Let cool slightly.
7. Spoon 2 tablespoons caramel sauce over each budino. Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle some of reserved cookie crumbs over