Adventures in Caramels

Despite this being my favorite candy on the entire planet, I have put this off for about a week or so.  It unfortunately requires alot of standing and stirring scalding hot sugar forever.  My mom is usually the candy maker at Christmas and definitely this particular candy.  She's genius at candy!  But a few years back I was in Albertson's late buying her a candy thermometer.  The man working directed me in the right direction and we chatted about me getting my mom the thermometer to make caramels.  As I was checking out he said, "You better learn how to do it.  You don't want the tradition to die."  It suddenly occured to me that if I didn't learn then I would spend a portion of my life without this little piece of heaven.  So armed with the recipe and my own candy thermometer I have been attempting to perfect this little gem of a recipe.  I've made them too soft...which isn't bad except I prefer my caramels more chewy.  Then I made them too hard...which was much closer to the way I like them, but you have to suck on them for awhile.  They also crack when you cut them so it's hard to package them pretty.  For those of you who know me, pretty is very important.

So I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I got it just right this time.  If you try this recipe don't fret about them turning out bad...they are delicious no matter what!

Here you go:

Homemade Caramels

2 c. real butter
2 lb brown sugar (most brands come in 2lb bags)
Couple dashes salt - I use sea salt since that seems to be all the rage right now
2 c. light corn syrup
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 c. chopped pecans (I prefer mine without nuts, so go with what you like!)

Melt butter, add sugar and salt.  Add the corn syrup and mix well.  (Note: butter will not completely incorporate into the caramel until it starts to boil) Gradually add the sweetened condensed milk.  Stirring constantly over medium heat cook to soft ball stage - 243 - 245 degrees. **Always test your candy thermometer in boiling water.  It should read 212 degrees, so adjust accordingly if yours does not.  Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla and nuts.

Line two 9x13 pans with aluminum foil and spray foil with non-stick spray.  Pour caramels into pans and let set.

Remove to cutting board, cut with pizza cutter and wrap in wax paper.  **I found these handy pre-cut candy wrappers at the craft store that will save you from cutting all that wax paper.


End Result:

After believing my caramels were going to turn out perfect; I again cooked them to long and they are harder than I wanted them to be.  I have a sneaking suspicion that I messed up the reading of my thermometer when I tested it in boiling water.  Oh well...looks like I have more caramels in my future!

It has begun...

Not yet December 1st and I am making Christmas cookies.  However, these are not my own.  My mother successfully bribed me into making her cookies for her.  She bought the ingredients and I make the dough.  I don't even have to bake them.  I completely got the good end of the stick in this.  To top it off she bought me two sets of Rubbermaid containers just for making them.  My cupboard looks amazing...especially after I bought these awesome containers to store my baking ingredients.  No more open bags of flour and sugar...no more hard dried out brown sugar and I look amazingly organized. 

Last night I knocked out the Kipling Cookies while my husband made dinner (love that guy).  This was an incredibly simple recipe.  They are a powdered sugar coated butter cookie from my mothers childhood.  Funny story about this cookie...last year my parents traveled to Rock Springs for New Years.  My mother brought these cookies with her.  Mom and Samantha were standing in the kitchen talking about the cookies.  Samantha said she helps her Grandma make these cookies every year.  Mom got so excited and told Samantha about making them with her mom as a little girl.  Then the conversation went something like this...

Mom: Oh, I love these cookies!
Samantha: (Patiently listens with a small smile)
Mom: Don't you love them?
Samantha: (Stops smiling) No, I just help my Grandma make them.
Mom: (Looks confusingly at Samantha, disappointed)
Melodie: (Rolls on the floor laughing at the honesty of children and their ability to cut adults to the quick)

You would absolutely have to know Samantha to truly appreciate the humor in this.  She is the most agreeable young woman I've ever met and will go to great lengths to agree with just about anything so she doesn't hurt someones feelings.  I love that kid!

Anyway back to the cookies...here is the Kipling Recipe:

KIPLINGS

2 STICKS BUTTER
1/2 C. SUGAR
2 TSP. VANILLA
2 1/4 C. FLOUR
3/4 C. FINELY CHOPPED NUTS

CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR; ADD FLOUR, VANILLA AND NUTS.  CHILL DOUGH. ROLL IN SMALL BALLS AND BAKE AT 275 DEGREES FOR 20 MINUTES.  REMOVE COOKIES FROM THE OVEN AND ROLL IN POWDERED SUGAR. **I ADDED GREEN FOOD COLORING TO MAKE THEM A BIT MORE FESTIVE.

I told you it was easy.  This morning I made Soft Gingersnaps which I have already blogged about.  I am about to research Chocolate Crackle cookies so I can add those to the list.  Stay tuned this afternoon for Almond Drops. 

The Carnival Party

My daughter, Taylor turned 13 on September 26.  I really wanted this to be a special birthday for her.  I wrestled with tons of ideas and thought how cool my daughter would think making cotton candy would be.  So I went in search of a Cotton Candy Maker and strangely enough I found one at Pamida.  In place of cupcakes, which I had struggled to nail down a particular design I thought I would create an entire Carnival Theme.  We had a huge jar full of candy for everyone to guess how many pieces.  My dad was the front runner until Uncle Dean came in and stole it away from him.  I made caramel apples, popcorn, cotton candy and lollipop sandwich cookies. The table turned out beautifully.  My mom made homemade corn dogs and my dad cooked hamburgers.  My husband was in charge of ribs.  My daughter had a friend come and lots of family.  We had a blast!

I am including how to make the Lollipop Cookie Sandwiches below: 


1.  Make a single batch of your favorite sugar cookie dough.  I would not recommend using store bought cookie dough because it is too soft to mold.


2. Divide the dough into 3 equals balls.  Choose 3 colors of food coloring. ( I used neon food coloring for brighter, more girl friendly colors.)  Mix color into dough.  I recommend using your mixer as doing it by hand is very labor intensive.


3.  Form each color into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.


4. Cut each disk in 1/4 inch slices and then each slice into 1/4 inch cubes.  Work in small batches and allow the remaining dough to chill/


5. Take equal lengths of dough in each color and press together.  Form into a long rope and then each rope into a spiral.  The colors will mix randomly giving the illusion of the Old Fashioned All-day Lollipops.


6.  Place on cookie sheets and bake according to your recipe.

7.  Pipe frosting of your choice on the back of one cookie.  Place another cookie on top and squish until frosting is almost to the edge of both cookies.  **I pipe the icing because it leaves a smooth edge.  If you try to frost them they often look sloppy.

8. Enjoy and when someone says "Seriously, you did that?" you can say absofreakinlutely!

Potential Christmas Cookie Experiment - Take One

A week or so ago my mother and I discussed what cookies I would be making for Christmas give-aways.  One of the cookies she requested was Ginger Snaps.  I've been trying to master the art of making a soft Ginger Snap...I know it kinda takes the "snap" out of it!  So yesterday when I came across the following recipe I decided to give it a try.  Here is the original recipe:

Lara's Tender Gingersnaps Recipe

36 Servings

Prep: 15 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat brown sugar and butter until blended. Beat in egg, then molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves; gradually add to brown sugar mixture and mix well (dough will be stiff). Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Shape dough into 1 in. balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 3 dozen.

Due to failure on my part to ensure I had the correct ingredients I was forced to make some changes.  I only had one stick of butter so I used margarine for the remainder of the specified amount.  I also added a few ingredients and changed amounts on some.  Here is the recipe I used:

Melodie's Tender Ginger Snap Cookies

16 Servings

Prep: 15 min. Bake: 14 min./batch

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, butter and margarine until blended. Beat in egg and vanilla, then molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves; gradually add to brown sugar mixture and mix well (dough will be stiff).
• Shape dough into 2 in. balls using an ice cream scoop to measure dough.  This allows all your cookies to be the same size. Roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on baking sheets  Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 16 large cookies



Underdone first tester batch

 I originally cooked the first 3 cookies for approximately 10 minutes.  I should have known that it would not be enough time due to the larger cookies.  The original recipe called for chilling the dough for 2 hours.  I skipped this step.  The dough is soft but rolls into adequate balls without the chilling.  If you prefer a stiffer dough to form the cookies then chill until your hearts content.  You may also notice from the photo that the color is very pale.  Your cookie should not be this color when its coming out of the oven. 

The Grand Finale

I increased the baking time to 14 minutes and the cookie turned out perfectly.  I used my husband's employees as extremely willing taste testers.  They all gave them a thumbs up.  Even my extremely picky husband said they were delicious because they aren't overwhelmed with spice.  I tend to agree that these cookies have the perfect amount of spice.  This one will be added to the Christmas Cookie List.