Butterscotch Lollipops Food

BUTTERSCOTCH HARD CANDY RECIPE

Steps:

• Butter an 8" square metal pan with straight sides. Line with nonstick foil, pressing it down to smooth it out against the pan as much as you can. Put the pan on a cooling rack convenient to the stove.
• Cut the butter into small pieces and put in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.
• Once the butter has melted, stir in the two sugars, corn syrup, and kosher salt. Stir well until mixture comes to a boil. Alternately stir with either a wooden spoon or a high heat spatula and swirl the pan to keep the mixture moving. SEE NOTES
• Either clip a candy thermometer onto the side of your pan or keep checking the temperature with an instant read thermometer. When the candy reaches 250F, add the heavy cream. The mixture will sputter some, so add it carefully and then stir it in well.
• Continue cooking the candy, stirring and swirling almost constantly until it reaches 295-297F.
• Carefully pour the candy into the prepared pan. You can use your spatula to gently help the last bit of the candy pour out, but don't scrape to clean the pot out.
• Allow the candy to cool for about 10 minutes. (If you use a smaller pan, it will take a few minutes longer. You want the candy to be pliable but still be able to hold its shape.
• Use the foil to ease the candy out of the pan and put it on a cutting board, foil and all.
• Peel the foil back from the sides of the candy and, using a pizza wheel, score the candy into 64 pieces in an 8 x 8 grid. You can run the wheel over your lines a few times. Try to make the score marks fairly deep--about halfway through the candy. A little butter will leak out in the score marks, but worry not. It will reabsorb once the candy has cooled completely and cured.
• Move the scored slab of candy back onto the cooling rack.
• Let the candy cool for about an hour or so until completely firm. Allow the candy to sit in a dry spot where nobody will bother it for several hours or overnight. Then break the candy into pieces along the score lines. It will be easy to break.
• Store candy in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or so.

BUTTERSCOTCH CANDY

Steps:

• Line a 15x10x1-in. pan with foil. Grease the foil with 1 teaspoon butter; set aside. , In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, vinegar and remaining butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 3 minutes to dissolve any sugar crystals. , Uncover; cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage). Remove from the heat. Pour into prepared pan without scraping the saucepan; do not spread mixture. , Cool for 1-2 minutes or until candy is almost set. Using a sharp knife, score into 1/2-in. squares; cool completely. Break squares apart. Store in an airtight container.

BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter, and 3/4 cup of the cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring, over medium heat. Turn the heat to medium-low. Place a candy thermometer in the pan. Boil the sugar, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 234 degrees F., (the soft ball stage).
• Remove pan from the heat, and carefully add the remaining cream and vanilla. Cool slightly. Serve the sauce warm.
• To store the butterscotch sauce, pour it into a heatproof jar. Cover with the lid and refrigerate for up to 2 week. To serve, loosen the cover on the jar and set jar in small pot of simmering water until heated through. Serve.

BUTTERSCOTCH LOLLIPOPS

Steps:

• Line several baking sheets with waxed paper; set aside. Use butter to grease the sides of a heavy 1-quart saucepan. In the saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water and vanilla. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, to boiling, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. Avoid splashing the mixture on the sides of the pan. Carefully clip a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, while adding the butter, 2 pieces at a time. Continue cooking the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the thermometer registers 300° F., hard-crack stage. The candy mixture should boil at a moderate, steady rate over the entire surface. Reaching hard-crack stage should take 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat; remove the thermometer. Stir in the vanilla extract. Cool for 5 minutes. Pour the mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, onto the prepared baking sheets. The mixture will for 2 to 3-inch circles. Quickly place a lollipop stick into each piece of candy, twisting gently to cover with the candy mixture. Let the lollipops harden. Wrap the lollipops individually in clear plastic wrap to store at room temperature. Makes 12 to 16 lollipops.