Caramel Food

CARAMELS

Steps:

• Combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, cream, condensed milk, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the mixture reaches 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Take from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour into a 6-inch square baking pan lined with parchment and allow to cool and set about 3 hours.
• Take the caramel from the pan and, using a very sharp knife gently sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, cut the caramels into squares and wrap in wax paper or candy wrappers (see Cook's Note). Store in a cool dry place.

CARAMEL POPCORN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250.
• Prepare popcorn and set aside.
• In a sauce pan bring to a boil brown sugar, butter and syrup.
• Boil at a slow boil for 5 minutes without stirring.
• Remove and add baking soda, salt, vanilla and peanuts.
• Pour over popcorn and toss.
• Lay out on greased cookie sheets and bake for 1 hour stirring every 20 minutes.
• Store in Large Zip Lock Bags.

TRIED AND TRUE CARAMEL CANDY

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan and cook on medium-high flame.Stir consistently as the ingredients melt and combine.
• Let mixture come to a rolling boil and continue stirring consistently.
• Mixture will begin to thicken more and more the longer it is allowed to boil. Keep in mind that the caramel will firm up considerably when it is cooled.
• Cook to medium ball stage. Do the drop test to see how firm your caramel is.
• DROP TEST: Get a small bowl and fill it with ice water. Set it to the side of the stove and when you think your Caramel is firming up, take a spoonful and drop it in the ice water. Wait about thirty seconds so it has time to cool, then take the caramel out of the ice water and squish it between your fingers. If it isn't as firm as you want it, cook the caramel for a bit longer and then do another drop test. Keep doing this until it has reached the stage you want. See how easy and simple that was?.
• Remove caramel from heat and let cool for a while in the pan.
• When it is somewhat cooled, pour it out onto a greased counter, or onto parchment paper.Let cool to room temperature.
• Use a pizza cutter to cut strip off the caramel, then cut the strip into small pieces and wrap in pieces of wax or parchment paper. The softer the caramel, the more likely it is to stick to the wrapping. So if you like it really soft, I would suggest you use parchment paper instead of the wax.
• The best thing about this recipe is that it tastes good no matter how hard or soft you cook it. If you want a caramel syrup, then you boil it for a very short while. If you want a caramel toffee, the flavor will still be as wonderful. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have over the years.

CREME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place eight 4-ounce ramekins in a large roasting pan. Add 4 tablespoons water to a small pot. Add 1 cup sugar and stir to dissolve. Cook over medium-high, swirling occasionally, until caramel begins to turn amber, 6 to 8 minutes. Working quickly, divide caramel between ramekins, swirling ramekins to coat bottoms evenly, set aside.
• In a medium pot, heat milk over medium until hot, but not boiling. In a medium bowl whisk together whole eggs and yolks, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. While whisking, ladle some milk into the egg mixture. Whisk in remaining milk, one ladle at a time. Strain through a fine sieve into a large liquid measuring cup, and stir in vanilla. Divide custard evenly among ramekins.
• Transfer roasting pan to oven. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until custards are just set, about 35 minutes.
• With tongs, remove ramekins from hot water and let cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours (or up to 3 days). To unmold, run a sharp knife around inside of each ramekins and invert onto a serving plate, gently shaking to release.