Melting Away My Cares with Caramel

Oy!  This has been quite an eventful week at work!  Actually, I take that back... nothing mind-shattering has occurred.  I just have that overwhelming anxiety that comes with returning to work after a long chunk of time on "Staycation".

So, what do I do when I stress?  I bake.  Or cook.  Or blog.  Today, I wrapped up caramel, and now I'm blogging about it.  Must have been a really stressful day, right? 

All my cares disappeared as soon as I took a look at the glistening pan of homemade caramel that was screaming to be photographed and wrapped up.  Nothing is more soothing than a delicious bite of sweet, buttery, homemade caramel.  What's even better is that it's super easy to make.  Besides the ridiculously sickening amount of sugar needed (Hey-I never claimed this was a low-calorie blog!), it only requires two things-- Patience and a Candy Thermometer.

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt  

Directions

Place all of the ingredients in a medium sized, heavy saucepan.  Turn the heat on low, and clip your candy thermometer to the side of your pan making sure that the bulb isn't touching the side or the bottom. 


Not the most appetizing picture at this stage, right?

As the ingredients are melting, stir occasionally.  When all the ingredients are melted, increase heat to medium.  (Note: do not leave the mixture unattended! It can bubble up as the temperature is increasing, and since it's so hot and sticky, it could easily cause a huge mess or a bad burn to a pet or little one!)  Keep an eye on the candy thermometer-- when it gets to 245 degrees, carefully pour the molten (yes, molten!) mixture into a prepared 13x9 inch pan.  I used a glass pan that was sprayed generously with butter flavored cooking spray.  Cover and allow to cool overnight.  Once the caramel has set, cut/scoop into pieces and wrap in heavy duty wax paper. 

 

 

I've managed to find a few ways to enjoy this caramel!  We've eaten it plain.  We've dipped apples in it.  We've heated it a bit and drizzled it over ice cream.  We've also combined it with the Candied Pecans from last week, and boy was THAT delicious!

 

 



 

 

 

 

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