Old Fashioned Caramels

Years ago, all the women in my family each got a book for Christmas entitled "Sleigh Bells and Sugarplums" by Frances A Gillette & Daughters. It's a book that is full of old stories, poems and recipes. Although I've cracked it open many times, this is the first time I've ever tried one of the recipes and, after some adjustments, have decided it was a good choice.

I've loved homemade caramels for years now. The first I remember eating was made by Sandy Kestner and now I'm hooked. This batch will most likely be gone in the next day or two...

I made two batches of caramels - the first had a few issues. It turned out too hard for my liking and I thought I'd be smart by layering waxed paper in the bottom of the pan and buttering that. Didn't work so well. the paper was fused to the caramels. I'm just glad I did a second batch - it would have bugged me that I couldn't pull off a decent caramel. (More of my issues shining through!)

My disaster with the waxed paper

Here's the recipe with my adjustments in parentheses:

Sprinkle on bottom of buttered 9x13" pan:

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I don't like nuts so I left them out. I also used an 8x11" pan - the 9x13" was too big...)

Put in saucepan (be sure to use a large enough pan - the mixture bubbles up to 4 or 5 times it's original size):

2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup margarine - don't use butter - it can burn

1 cup half & half or evaporated milk (I used half & half)

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. (Be patient and don't turn up the heat. This whole process takes about an hour, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time)

Then gradually stir in 1 cup more half & half or canned milk. Continue to stir as mixture thickens and cook to 250 degrees on candy thermometer. (This is where the chewiness and hardness comes in. 250 was too hot and made the caramels more like a soft toffee than a caramel, so with the second batch, I only brought it to 235, which is perfect - for me...nice and chewy)

This was at about 200 degrees...close to foaming out of the pan!

This was closer to 225 degrees - getting there!

Remove from heat and pour over nuts in pan (once again, no nuts for me - yuck!).

Once the caramel has cooled, cut into squares and wrap in waxed paper.

My batch, the one I could actually eat, yielded about 90 caramels. Plenty for a few days, right? I shared with co-workers and everyone gave them high marks, although you can't be too sure they weren't just being nice :)

This one is definitely going to be added to my Christmas goodies!