Mexican Candy Leche Quemada Food

MEXICAN BURNT MILK CANDY (LECHE QUEMADA)

Steps:

• Line a 9 X 13 inch baking dish with foil or parchment paper. Spray well with nonstick cooking spray.
• Place the sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, and salt in a large 6-8 quart sauce pot and set over medium-high heat. Secure a candy thermometer to the side of the pot. Stir well and bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low. Stir continually until the candy thermometer reaches "soft ball" temperature, or 240 degrees F. It's okay if the bottom browns and little burnt sugar pieces are floating around the mixture. Just make sure to keep stirring!
• At 240 degrees F, remove from heat and immediately stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Once smooth, carefully pour the mixture into the prepared dish and allow the mixture to cool.
• When the Mexican Burnt Milk Candy is firm, but still warm, cut into small squares. Do not wait to cut the candy when it's all the way cool. It becomes hard to cut. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

LECHE QUEMADA, MEXICAN CANDY

Steps:

• Mix milk, sugar, butter and salt in a large heavy pan and bring to boil. Add brown sugar and stir until it dissolves. Continue cooking and stirring mixture over medium heat until it reaches soft ball stage. Stir until thick enough (as for fudge). Drop by teaspoonful on a buttered pan or waxed paper or pour into buttered pan and cut into squares.

LECHE QUEMADA (BURNT MILK FUDGE)

Steps:

• Put sugar, evaporated milk, evaporated goat's milk, corn syrup and salt in a large heavy pot.
• Attach a candy thermometer to the pot.
• Cook on medium-low heat for 1 hour, stirring often with a wooden spoon.
• The temperature should rise slowly but steadily.
• Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, for 20 minutes. Increase heat to high and cook, again, stirring constantly--make sure to scrape the burned bits off the bottom as they develop--until the the temperature reaches 245 degrees.
• Immediately remove pot from heat, stir in vanilla and butter and continue to stir mixture occasionally as it cools.
• When the candy cools to 180 degrees, stir in pecans (optional) and transfer to a buttered 9 x 12" baking pan.
• Cool slightly, cutting into bars while still pliable.
• Cool completely before serving.

LECHE QUEMADA (CARAMELIZED MILK)

Steps:

• Heat milk in a saucepan. Add baking soda and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over high heat and remove from heat. Cool. Repeat procedure 3 times. Combine sugar and cornstarch. Beat egg yolks with sugar-cornstarch mixture. Add some hot milk to egg mixture, stir and pour back into hot milk. Return to heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until pudding is very thick and separates when stirred to reveal the bottom of the pan. Add walnuts and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Spoon pudding onto a deep heat-resistant platter. Sprinkle with sugar and top with butter. Heat the broiler and brown top of pudding. Sprinkle generously with chopped walnuts and cool for 4 to 5 hours before serving.

CAJETA (CARAMEL CANDY)

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine 1 quart of the milk with the sugar and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until mixture turns golden.
• In the remaining quart of milk, stir in the soda and place in another saucepan.
• Add the cinnamon stick and bring to boil.
• Discard the cinnamon and add the hot milk very gradually to the caramel mixture, stirring constantly.
• When all the milk is incorporated, place over a low heat and cook very slowly until the mixture is thick like melted caramel.
• Cool slightly; then pour into a glass container and chill.
• Please note that the cooking times and yield are approximate.

MICROWAVE LECHE QUEMADA

Steps:

• Butter an 8 x 8 square dish and set aside.
• Place pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast in oven on 350 degrees for about 2 minutes, just until they start to brown slightly.
• Set pecans aside.
• Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute or until melted.
• Stir in brown sugar and condensed milk.
• Return to microwave and cook on high for 7 0r 8 minutes, stopping every 2 minutes to stir the mixture with a wooden spoon.
• When 7 0r 8 minutes cooking time is up, take the mixture out on the microwave and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to thicken and lose it's glossy appearance.
• Add vanilla and pecans to mixture and stir.
• Pour mixture into the greased dish and allow to cool completely.
• Slice into 1" squares and serve.
• *Note - You can leave the pecans out completely or not put them into the candy mixture and instead add toasted pecan halves to the top of each square of candy before it cools.