Enjoy Homemade Caramel and Toffee Candies

Last week when I gave a recipe for Cracker Jack, we ventured
into territory that home cooks don’t necessarily need to tread:
that of candy-making and particularly cooking sugar to a specific
point.
Last week when I gave a recipe for Cracker Jack, we ventured into territory that home cooks don’t necessarily need to tread: that of candy-making and particularly cooking sugar to a specific point.

With candy and chocolates offered in ever-more varieties and sizes, home candy making may be an art reserved for the truly dedicated – or the truly curious.

So this week, as we hover between Christmas and the New Year, having possibly eaten a lot of many good things and possibly too much, specifically, of confectionary, I offer information that’s more for the reading than necessarily the doing … not because the methods are especially hard but because making more sweet stuff right now seems unnecessary.

If you do decide to try some of these recipes, however, I can be reached via e-mail for the tasting party.

The sugar process in the Cracker Jack recipe was to caramelize the sugar and give it that rich taste and brown color that is part of so many other treats, from Snickers candy bars to Starbucks’ Caramel Macchiato.

Caramelization, in fact, is the result of “heating either ‘ordinary’ or ‘starch’ sugar …” and is “formed also during the roasting of all materials containing sugar such as malt and coffee.” (from the Grocer’s Encyclopedia, published in 1911).

In fact, the word “caramel” didn’t enter the English language until 1725, and is thought possibly to stem from the Latin “calamus,” referring to the reed or sugar cane.

In the 1700’s, caramel was sugar boiled to the “casse” stage, or the stage where it cracks when dropped into cold water. Toffee, another favorite, is caramel boiled to a further stage of hardness.

Caramels

(Source: Better Homes and Gardens; Makes 81 pieces)

1 cup butter

1 16-ounce package (2-1/4 cups packed) brown sugar

2 cups half-and-half or light cream

1 cup light-colored corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Step 1: Line a 9x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Butter the foil; set pan aside.

Step 2: In a heavy 3-quart saucepan melt the 1 cup butter over low heat. Add brown sugar, half-and-half, and light corn syrup; mix well. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Carefully clip candy thermometer to side of pan.

Step 3: Reduce heat to medium; continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, stirring frequently, until the thermometer registers 248 degrees, firm-ball stage (45 to 60 minutes). (Adjust heat as necessary to maintain steady boil.)

Step 4: Remove saucepan from heat; remove candy thermometer from saucepan. Immediately stir in vanilla. Quickly pour the caramel mixture into prepared baking pan. When caramel is firm, use foil to lift it out of pan. Use a buttered knife to cut candy into 1-inch squares. Wrap each piece in clear plastic wrap. Store up to two weeks.

Chocolate Caramels

Prepare Caramels as directed above, except melt 2 squares (2 ounces) unsweetened chocolate with the butter or margarine.

Shortcut Caramels

Prepare as above, except substitute one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk for the half-and-half. This mixture will take less time to reach 248 degrees (about 15 to 20 minutes instead of 45  to 60 minutes).

Another favorite of caramel-lovers everywhere is:

Toffee

(From Marthastewart.com; Makes about 70 pieces)

The pans recommended below are the ideal fit for the toffee; if you use other pans, make sure they are perfectly flat, and pour the toffee to a thickness of an eighth of an inch.

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, each stick cut into 8 pieces   

1/4 cup light corn syrup

2-1/2 cups sugar   

1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces   

3 cups pecans, chopped very fine and sieved to remove fine powder

Vegetable-oil cooking spray

Step 1: Spray a 15×10-inch baking pan, a 16-1/2×11-1/2-inch baking pan, and an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable-oil spray. In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, combine butter, 1/2 cup water, corn syrup and sugar. Clip on a candy thermometer. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Wash down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to remove sugar crystals. Reduce heat to low; stop stirring. Let mixture come to a boil.

Step 2:  Let boil, without stirring, until temperature reaches 280 degrees (soft-crack stage). This will take from 35 minutes to just over an hour; it is essential that the mixture continues to boil. Remove from heat. Without scraping pot, pour into prepared pans as evenly as possible. If needed, use a spatula to smooth. Let cool at room temperature for 1 hour.

Step 3:  After 45 minutes of cooling, melt chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat, stirring with a rubber spatula. Pour over toffee; spread with a spatula if necessary. Let cool about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with nuts; press them into the chocolate.

Step 4: Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Using a large knife, lightly score 1-3/4×2-3/4-inch rectangles over chocolate. Cut toffee along scored lines; lift pieces out with a spatula. Alternatively, toffee may be broken into shards. Store in an airtight container for 3 to 4 weeks.

Elizabeth Gage is a writer who lives in Hollister. She can be reached at

ee******@ya***.com











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