Monday, August 27, 2012

Sweeet!

A few years ago, I bought one copy of Mary Jane magazine. Like the very popular Pioneer Woman blog/show, I understand the appeal for some people, but it was not my cup of tea.  Still, I found one thing worth keeping: I clipped out the Holiday Caramel recipe because it sounded amazing.

The recipe sat in my recipe binder for ages. Flash forward to April of this year, when I finally decided to make the dang recipe or toss it out.

It turned out soooo tasty! Here they are cut up:
Then I wrapped some up in wax paper per the directions:
You have to try this yourself, holiday or not, and regardless of the fact that it's technically a butterscotch, not a caramel.

Holiday Caramel - modified
makes 40 pieces

1 C cream
1 C sugar
3/4 C corn syrup*
1/2 C butter**
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 C chopped nuts (opt)

1. Line 8" square pan with 2 sheets of crisscrossed parchment paper.
2. Combine cream, sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a heavy 3-4 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil ove medium heat and cook, stirring, until the mixture reaches 245F on a candy thermometer.
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and optional nuts. Immediately pour into prepared pan, and allow to cool at least 2 hours or overnight.
4. After caramel has cooled, remove from pan and cut into 4 equal lengths; then cute each length into 10 equal pieces.
5. Wrap each piece in a 4" square piece of waxed paper, or store between pieces of waxed paper in an airtight container.

*I normally would not use corn syrup, but for this recipe, I got Nature's Flavors organic corn syrup.

**I found this amount to make a very greasy caramel and will play with cutting down the amount in the future.

Enjoy! This didn't last very long in our house. I think I ate more of it than the boys did.


"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams