Originally, I had planned to start my scheduled baking activities on Saturday. The kitchen beckoned a bit earlier, however, and the games began Friday night.

The plan was to finish 340 caramels, 120 mint brownies and 120 Italian rainbow cookies, all packaged and boxed, by Sunday evening.

First up: the caramels. My chosen cooking utensils: Le Creuset pot, candy thermometer.

The Le Creuset pot is a godsend when it comes to making caramel. Nothing sticks to it, it conducts heat evenly with no hot spots, and it is very, very easy to clean. Come to think of it, everything I’ve ever cooked with it (Mark Bittman’s No-Knead Bread, beef burgundy, etc.) has turned out beautifully. Amazing.

I used a standard caramel recipe, adding some vanilla to the mix for some extra flavor. (Click “Read the rest of this entry” for recipe.) The tricky part in making caramel is watching the temperature as the sugar boils. Ideally, I wanted soft caramels with a bit of a chew to them, so I settled at taking the caramel off of the heat at 243 degrees – a tiny bit higher than soft-ball stage.

In the end, there were two baking sheets full of caramel. I left them out overnight to cool and harden, and it was off to bed. (Click on “Read the rest of this entry” below for more)

CARAMEL

Yield: 120-150 caramels, depending on size

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
a splash of water

Procedure:
1. Prepare rimmed cookie sheet or baking pan with cooking spray. Line parchment paper over pan.

2. In a small saucepot over medium heat, combine cream, butter and vanilla. Stir as needed. Mixture is ready when butter has melted completely. Set aside.

3. In a 3-1/2quart Le Cresuet pot or two-quart stainless steel pot, add sugar, corn syrup and water. Heat mixture over high heat until sugar is dissolved.

4. Continue to cook mixture over high heat. Keep sugar at a rolling boil until it starts to take on an amber color. Add cream and butter mixture slowly to boiling sugar. (There’s gonna be some steam, and it’s going to look a little scary.) Whisk caramel until everything is combined.

5. Using a candy thermometer or a digital thermometer, keep track of caramel temperature. When caramel reaches 240-243 degrees, remove pot from heat.

6. Quickly (but carefully!) pour contents into prepared pan. Let caramel cool overnight.

7. After cooling, remove caramel onto a cutting board, Cut strips and pieces of caramel from slap, wrap with wax paper or package however you like. Enjoy!

– Cynthia Furey

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Baking/desserts, Candy, In the kitchen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.