Martha, Mom, and Me: February 2010

I now work in a different neighborhood since starting my new job, and I've been eating lunch at a salad place called Chop't often. Now what do salads have to do with baking? Well they have this massive jars of caramels staring me in the face everyday, so of course every time I go in there I end up leaving with caramels as well as my salad. While eating them I kept thinking I could make these, I knew they must be made with brown sugar, butter and some other stuff, so I started reading caramel recipes. I thought I've been pretty lucky with baking, because everything I've made has turned out really well. But I have been humbled by the world of caramel making. While attempting to make these tasty little treats, I turned into some sort of mad scientist! Candy making is very timed out, and very specific. I now currently have caramel permanently inside of my cheap stove top, because the caramel boiled all over the place, due to me not having a big enough pot. I will definitely be buying bigger pots for my future candy making.
After removing about 1/4 of the cooking caramel, I was able to finish the candy. They taste and look great, but even after all of my boiling over mishaps were over, the next day I found all of my caramel melted back together. I have learned keep them in the fridge, but let them sit out for about 10 minutes before eating, so they are soft and chewy.

New Mexico Caramels - Nancy Baggett

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract, combined with 1 tablespoon hot water

Line a 9x13" baking dish with aluminum foil, allowing the foil to overhang two sides. Grease the foil or evenly coat with nonstick spray.

In a heavy, nonreactive 6-quart pot, thoroughly stir together the sugars, corn syrup, butter, and salt. Stir in the cream until the sugars dissolve. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. If any sugar remains on the pot sides, wipe it away with a pastry brush dipped in warm water.

Adjust the heat so the mixture boils briskly. Clip a candy thermometer to the pot side, with the tip immersed but not touching the bottom. Continue boiling briskly, occasionally gently stirring and scraping the pot bottom, until the mixture thickens and darkens somewhat, 8 to 9 minutes. Reduce the heat slightly and continue boiling, gently stirring and scraping the pot bottom to prevent scorching, until the caramel reaches 246 to 247 degrees F. Watch carefully, as the temperature may rise rapidly near the end of cooking. Immediately remove from the heat. Working carefully to avoid splattering, gently stir in the vanilla mixture (I dumped mine in, the recipe wasn't kidding about gently - mad scientist bubbles, but it was ok still just scary). Carefully pour the caramel into the baking dish; do not scrape out the pot.

Let cool until thoroughly set, at least 1 1/2 hours. To aid in cutting the caramels, refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes - though if they are in too long, they will be too hard to cut. Carefully peel off the foil. Wipe away any excess oil from caramel slab using a paper towel. Place the slab on a cutting board, using a large sharp knife cut the slab into eighths lengthwise and twelfths crosswise (or as desired). Wrap caramels individually in wax paper. I failed at this, because I had parchment paper, I guess there is a difference.

The caramels will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Let come almost to room temperature before serving.

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