Chill pans of cooked caramel overnight in the refrigerator, then slice into caramels and twist in candy wrappers. / Joe Horn/For the RGJ
I have a confession: I am a caramel addict. And fall, to me, means caramel. There are few things deposited so completely in my taste memory banks as this creamy confection of cream, butter, sugar and vanilla.
So it might be surprising that given my addiction, candy making is a territory that I haven’t explored much. My sister makes three different kinds of candy each Christmas and has since we were girls, but I’ve always baked and cooked during the holidays, afraid of candy thermometers and molten sugar and burning up the kitchen if I weren’t careful.
But I really wanted a fun project to work on with my little girlfriends, so last week when I picked them up from school for their mother, I announced we would be making homemade caramel as they buckled up for the short drive to my house. We donned our aprons, measured out sugar, unwrapped butter and filled the pot with the short list of goodness.
Dip apples into heated caramel and decorate with nuts, coconut flakes or candy sprinkles. / Joe Horn/For the RGJ
The girls set up our Apples to Apples game and a jar of shelled peanuts to keep us occupied while we waited for the caramel to cook, then cool afterward.
I did the cooking part because everything had to reach 240 F. You can make caramel the day before, then spend a few hours wrapping caramels and making caramel apples the next day. Making ahead means the candy will be completely cooled and ready to go, no waiting.
You can find a candy thermometer for less than $20 in the kitchen supply section of any grocery store, super stores like Target, or a kitchen store like Nothing to It or Williams-Sonoma.
You can use the candy thermometer to make other kinds of candy, meringues and fudge and even to keep track of oil temperature when frying. Make sure to get a clip-on model so you can focus on stirring.
Wrapping and dipping
Watching melted butter, sugar and cream boil and change from light yellow to blonde to a creamy cappuccino is pretty cool. Your kitchen will smell like roasted marshmallows.
The whole process takes about 45 minutes, with about 30 minutes of cooking the caramel over steady medium heat to the final temperature.
Once the mixture is ready, you pour it out to cool, and that’s it. I used half white sugar and half brown sugar and doubled the amount of vanilla. Most recipes call for white sugar only, but the little bit of molasses in brown sugar made a big difference, deepening the flavor.
To cool the caramel, I used two small quarter sheet pans -- half cookie sheets. My pans came with plastic lids that are so useful. You can cover your food with these sturdy lids and stack the pans easily without crushing or squishing anything. We have half pans with plastic lids at Dish Café and love them.
If you ever see half or quarter sheet pans with lids, snap them up right away. I found my lidded pans at T.J.Maxx , but I’ve seen them around town at the stores I mentioned above.
One pan of caramel I made was for cutting into small pieces that would be wrapped in squares of wax paper (one recipe made about 100 small pieces of caramel).
The other pan was for caramel apples and caramel sauce to top bread pudding. My friend and I held a candy wrapping and caramel apple making session, setting out bowls of coconut flakes, chopped toasted nuts and sprinkles. We used these tiny, adorable red apples and wooden Popsicle-style sticks.
Everyone raved about the caramels and the caramel apples. I imagine I’ll be making more for stocking stuffers, Christmas presents and any time I want a sweet something to serve after supper or need a little portable pick me up in my purse.
The caramels keep well, but they don’t keep long. Cook up a stash when you can.
DISH IT UP CARAMEL
2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup (this will stabilize the sugar and keep your caramel smooth and shiny)
4 sticks (1 pound) butter
4 cups heavy cream (you’ll use 2 cups in the first stage, then slowly add the remaining 2 cups later)
4 teaspoons vanilla
Line a rimmed half sheet pan (a cookie sheet with a lip) or 2 rimmed quarter sheet pans with parchment paper. Use a large heavy-bottomed pot and a wooden spoon. I love my big Le Creuset Dutch oven. Set the pot over medium-high heat and add sugars, corn syrup, butter and 2 cups cream. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Continue to boil slowly, adding remaining 2 cups cream. Clip a candy thermometer to pot and continue to cook, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the temperature climbs to 240 F. This will take about 30 minutes. Once the temperature is reached, add the vanilla and stand back because the mixture will bubble up when you do so. Stir to combine.
Pour caramel into the lined rimmed half sheet pan or 2 quarter sheet pans. Spread hot caramel to the edges of the pan and allow to cool to room temperature. Wrap with plastic wrap (or put on the lid if your pans are lidded) and store all day or overnight in the fridge.
Once ready to serve, invert the pan onto a cutting board to release caramel and carefully peel off the parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to slice caramel into quarters, then into small pieces. Wrap in small squares of waxed paper. To make caramel apples, add some caramel to a pot and reheat until bubbly. Dip apples on sticks into caramel, then roll in toppings if you like. Let cool on waxed paper at room temperature.
To use caramel as a sauce for bread pudding or other desserts, heat in a pot until pourable, then drizzle onto desserts. Store caramel in the fridge for up to 1 week or at room temperature for a few days.
