CARAMELS!

You would think with Christmas that I would have lots of new food posts! Well, it has been a busy season. Actually the entire fall/winter has been a bit nuts! But I finally got around to making some Caramels! I LOVE caramels. Love, Love, Love them! So once I had tried this recipe a few years ago I just have to make them each year. So I am sharing. I am not sure where the recipe came from, it was giving to me (sadly forgot by whom) and there is no credit give to the recipe. So I just know that they are super yummy! And relatively easy to make.

I doubled the recipe below! So keep that in mind when looking at these instructions.
Melt 1lb butter.

Measure out sugar and salt. I did by weight but you can use a measuring cup.

I measured out the corn syrup at the same time but it is added after you mix the brown sugar.

Mix in the brown sugar and salt, mix well.

Add sweeten condensed milk

Make sure you have your buttered pan ready to go!

Boil until it reaches firm boil stage (245°) I think I will go to 250°F next time as they were just a bit too soft.

Once you reached the right temperature, remove from heat and add vanilla. Also, if you want nuts, this is the time to add them.

Pour into buttered pan. Be careful it is VERY hot! Don't scrap the bottom of the pan as it has cooked more than the rest and will add crunch into the soft caramels. I just poured it onto a plate, that way kids (big ones too) can have a taste before the rest are ready to eat. After you pour into the prepared pan, allow to cool slightly. Well enough so that it isn't as runny as it is when you pour it. Take my advice, it is easy to tilt your pan. Not that I would know from personal experience because there are no pictures to prove it! But I will just say that I found time in my busy day to stop and clean my back hall rug! After them are slightly cooled, they need to be chilled. During the winter months, I often use the top of my freezer in my garage, it is my seasonal freezer or fridge, depending on the weather.

Now if you would like to mix it up a bit and have a chocolate flavored caramel (highly recommended!) you add squares of chocolate at the same time as the milk. I used semi-sweet but the recipe calls for unsweetened. Then just follow the same method as regular caramels. You can also add nuts at the end of cooking if you would like. I give mine away so I don't because of allergies, but if I made them just for us, pecans would be fabulous with the chocolate caramels.

CARAMELS

1 cup butter

1 pound (2 1/4 cup) brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup light corn syrup

1 - 15 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in heavy 3 quart saucepan. Add sugar and salt: stir thoroughly. Stir in corn syrup; mix well. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over medium heat to firm ball stage (245° F), 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour into buttered 9x9" pan. Cool and cut into squares. (For double batch pour into 11x17" pan.)

CHOCOLATE CARAMELS:  Add two 1 ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate with the milk. (I added semi-sweet chocolate.)

CHOCOLATE PECAN CARAMELS:  Add 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans and stir briefly just before pouring into buttered pan.

Once your caramels have had a chance to cool. You can cut and wrap them. I cut up parchment paper to wrap my caramels. They are always a big hit!