candy-making

I watched too much Food Network this weekend and especially loved the show where Guy Fieri helped make candy canes in Disney Land. It's a cool process and a lot more difficult than I would have ever guessed. I now have a newfound respect for candy canes.

All of the holiday themed shows I watched really got me in the Christmas spirit so after I wrapped presents and hung ornaments on the tree, I decided to try my hand at making caramels. I had tried last year, but didn't let them reach the firm ball stage so they never set up. It tasted delicious but was sort of impractical for eating or giving as little gifts because they would start melting at room temperature. Hey, can't be perfect every time right?

This year I did my research. I looked a bunch of different recipes — finding the common traits — then created my own recipe. I also figured out what temperatures, cooking times and cooling techniques I needed to use to insure better, firmer caramels this time around.



SUCCESS! The caramels set up nicely at room temperature. Soft and chewy, but not melting all over the place. Oh and check out the vanilla bean specks — beautiful and delicious!

I'd also been wanting to try covering some of them in tempered chocolate. Another technique I have no experience with. I'd seen Ina do it on TV, making it look so simple,  and also watched a video on Ghirardhelli's website. I used the microwave method, mostly because I didn't want to have to sanitize my marble counter then dump hot chocolate all over  it. Too messy.

I think I did it sorta wrong too. They set up and hold up at room temperature, but some of them have weird marks on them. Those cooled at room temperature. Then chocolates sans weird marks cooled in the fridge. Who knows?! Either way they still tasted really good. The semi-sweet chocolate was a nice a balance against the really sweet and rich caramel.

So if you're feeling adventurous, give homemade candy-making a try. It's not as hard as you'd think and really rewarding! One tool you MUST have? A candy thermometer that reaches at least 310 degrees.

Salted Vanilla Caramels, makes about 64

• 1/2 recipe of vanilla caramel, below (or all of it if you don't like chocolate!)
• Sel Gris, Fleur de Sel or Flaky Sea Salt, check out the spice area in a specialized grocery like Whole Foods or Central Market
• lots of parchment paper

Sprinkle with just a touch of sea salt and wrap individually.

Chocolate-Covered Vanilla Caramels, makes about 64

• 16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, tempered (I used Ghirardhelli)
• 1/2 recipe of vanilla caramel, below
• lots of parchment paper

Dip the caramels into the chocolate with a fork, scraping excess chocolate off into bowl and place on parchment paper to cool. Wrap individually when finished.

Vanilla Caramel, makes about 125  1" caramel squares

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cups corn syrup
• 2 tsp coarsely ground sea salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 8 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped from the inside, reserve the pod for simmering

Place parchment paper in a 9" by 13" cake pan and grease well with butter, set aside.
In a large saucepan with candy thermometer attached, boil the sugar, corn syrup and sea salt over medium-high heat. Stir for the first few minutes, then only swirl the pan gently to mix. Boil for about 30-45 minutes until it reaches a nice light golden color and a temperature of 310 degrees. You want to watch it, once it starts getting dark it seems to get darker quickly. Meanwhile, simmer the heavy cream, butter, vanilla extract vanilla bean seeds and pod over medium-low heat — do NOT boil – for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Remove vanilla bean pod.

Once your caramel has reached the correct color, remove from heat. Slowly pour in the cream mixture and stir gently, be careful it will boil up vigorously and you don't want the hot sugar or steam to burn you! Mix until combined and place back on medium to medium-high heat. Bring back to a boil and stir often until mixture reaches 248 degrees F. This is the firm ball stage that will make your caramel set up nicely, but it will still be chewy. Pour into your greased pan and let cool at room temperature for 8 hours. Cut with a buttered knife into 1-inch squares and sprinkle sea salt on them or dip them in chocolate and wrap individually in parchment paper.

Enjoy them with yourself or give them as Christmas presents!