Sunday, December 16, 2012

Baked Sunday Mornings- Soft Candy Carmels



Candy making is a fascinating process. It's really a lesson in chemistry. Watching what different temperatures do to sugar is something I never learned in chemistry class in high school ( which I barely got through, by the way).
One essential component of candy making is patience- not something I've won prizes for in the past! Having made caramels before ( apple cider caramels by Smitten Kitchen) and Fleur de Sel Spirals ( by Gesine Bullock-Prado), I knew the process and  developed some of that precious "patience" thing. Believe me, it's worth it. Temperature, time and keeping an unflinching eye on everything, make the difference between a success and a hot mess of either undercooked or burned (smelly and smokey) sugar. ( and a nasty clean-up as well)

This recipe from Baked Elements is easy to follow and the results are scrumptious. I had a bit of trouble removing the tin foil from the caramels, even though I sprayed it as directed. To resolve that problem, I stuck them in the freezer for about 20 minutes and other than a few stray pieces, managed to get it all off. Wrapping took a long time but the results are so fun to look at, not to mention the great taste. They're soft, very caramelly(? is that a word?) and just melt in your mouth. I packaged them in pink Chinese food type boxes, ready to give as gifts.

  You can get the recipe here.

7 comments:

  1. I had a bit of trouble with the foil as well. But I found that letting it sit for a bit to warm up helped me to get all the foil off the caramel. I really was concerned that it would just stick.
    I did enjoy these a lot....way more than I thought I would.

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  2. Mine were a fail, but I used the non-stick Reynold's wrap foil and they came right out... only hard-ish! Lol... Live and learn. Yours look scrumptious. :)

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  3. Beautiful candies and what a great packaging idea. Enjoyed your post.

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  4. I love the boxes! And I covet your beautiful sheet pan. It looks well-loved.

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  5. Your caramels look perfect & I love your packaging idea! We should have been a bit more patience...but they taste delicious!

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  6. What a great gift idea!

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  7. Didn't think to use my non-stick reynolds, but yes, I'd use something else next time. Yours turned out beautiful!

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