Candy Making

Decided to try my hand at homemade caramels today.

I might be a little too impatient for candy making, but I think I could eventually learn patience.

They didn't turn out badly, but I am distressed by the huge amounts of butter that are seeping out of the top while it is firming up in the pan right now. The taste is pretty good. I did not scorch the caramel mixture.

I want to try again tomorrow with condensed milk instead of half and half.

But seriously, who doesn't have a day where they just feel like ingesting a cup of butter, three cups of brown sugar and a cup of corn syrup?


Caramels:

1 c. butter
1  16 oz. bag (2 1/4 cups) packed brown sugar
2 cups half and half
1 c. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla


1. Line an 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 baking pan with foil, extending foil over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil. If desired, sprinkle walnuts over the bottom of the pan. (Yuck.)

2. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Be sure you use the BIG saucepan, not the little one. Add brown sugar, half and half and corn syrup and mix well. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Reduce heat to medium; continue boiling at a moderate, stead rate, stirring frequently until the thermometer registers 248 degrees Farenheit, firm-ball stage. (45-60 minutes - don't rush it.) Adjust heat as necessary to maintain a steady boil.

3. Remove sauce pan from heat; remove thermometer. Stir in vanilla. Try not to crap yourself if is sizzles and makes odd noises while stirring in the vanilla. Quickly pour the mixture into the prepared pan. When firm, use foild to lift it out of the pan. Use a buttered knife to cut into 1 inch squares. Wrap each in plastic wrap, if you don't eat them all while removing them from the pan. Store up to 2 weeks. But let's be honest, are you really going to make them and then let them sit around for 2 weeks??