Soft Rum Caramels Food

SOFT RUM CARAMELS

Steps:

• Line an 8-in. square pan with foil and grease the foil with 1 teaspoon butter; set aside. In a small bowl, cream remaining butter until light and fluffy. Beat in cream until smooth; set aside. , In a heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until a candy thermometer reads 244° (firm-ball stage). Gradually add cream mixture. Continue cooking until a candy thermometer reads 242°. Remove from the heat; stir in extract. , Pour into prepared pan (do not scrape sides of saucepan). Cool completely. Invert pan onto cutting board; remove foil. Cut candy into squares. Wrap individually in cellophane, waxed paper or foil; twist ends. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

AUNT EMILY'S SOFT CARAMELS

Steps:

• Butter 13x9-inch pan; set aside.
• Combine all ingredients except vanilla in heavy 4-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes or until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil.
• Continue cooking 25-30 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 244°F or small amount of mixture dropped into ice water forms a firm ball.
• Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Cool completely. Refrigerate 1 hour.
• Cut into 1 1/2x1-inch pieces; wrap candies in plastic food wrap. Store refrigerated.

SOFT CHEWY CARAMELS

Steps:

• Line a 15x10x1-in. pan with foil; grease the foil with 1 tablespoon butter. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt remaining butter. Add the brown sugar, milk and corn syrup. Cook and stir until candy thermometer reads 250° (hard-ball stage). , Pour into prepared pan (do not scrape saucepan). Cool completely before cutting.

BUTTER RUM CARAMELS

Steps:

• Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and oil parchment.
• Bring brown sugar, cream, butter, salt, and 1/4 cup rum to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until butter is melted, then boil over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until thermometer registers 248°F (firm-ball stage), about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and remaining teaspoon rum. Pour into baking pan and cool completely until firm, 1 to 2 hours. Invert caramel onto a cutting board, then discard parchment and turn caramel glossy side up. Cut into 1-inch squares.

SOFT CHOCOLATE CARAMELS

Steps:

• In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, stir the sugar and corn syrup together until the sugar is completely moistened. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and cook, without stirring, until it turns a very light caramel color, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and very slowly pour the cream into the hot sugar (be careful-it will bubble up) and stir to combine. Return the mixture to medium-low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometer inserted in the pot reads 238 degrees F, about 12 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate and butter until smooth. Pour the mixture into a greased 8-by-8 inch square baking dish. Allow to cool completely (at least 2 hours) before cutting into 1-inch squares.
• Chocolate is tempered so that after it has been melted, it retains its gloss and hardens again without becoming chalky and white (that happens when the molecules of fat separate and form on top of the chocolate). There are a variety of ways to temper.
• One of the easiest ways to temper chocolate is to chop it into small pieces and then place it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on high power until most of the chocolate is melted. Be very careful not to overheat it. (The temperature of dark chocolate should be between 88 and 90 degrees F, slightly warmer than your bottom lip. It will retain its shape even when mostly melted. White and milk chocolates melt at a temperature approximately 2 degrees F less because of the amount of lactose they contain.) Any remaining lumps will melt in the chocolate's residual heat. Use an immersion blender or whisk to break up the lumps. Usually, chocolate begins to set, or crystallize, along the side of the bowl. As it sets, mix those crystals into the melted chocolate to temper it. A glass bowl retains heat well and keeps the chocolate tempered longer.
• Another way to temper chocolate is called seeding. In this method, add small pieces of unmelted chocolate to melted chocolate. The amount of unmelted chocolate to be added depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate, but is usually 1/4 of the total amount. It is easiest to use an immersion blender for this, or a whisk.
• The classic way to temper chocolate is called tabliering. Two thirds of the melted chocolate is poured onto a marble or another cold work surface. The chocolate is spread out and worked with a spatula until its temperature is approximately 81 degrees F. At this stage, it is thick and begins to set. This tempered chocolate is then added to the remaining non-tempered chocolate and mixed thoroughly until the mass has a completely uniform temperature. If the temperature is still too high, part of the chocolate is worked further on the cold surface until the correct temperature is reached. This is a lot of work, requires a lot of room, and makes a big mess.
• A simple method of checking tempering, is to apply a small quantity of chocolate to a piece of paper or to the point of a knife. If the chocolate has been correctly tempered, it will harden evenly and show a good gloss within a few minutes.
• From Dessert Circus, Extraordinary Desserts You Can Make at Home, by Jacques Torres.

BUTTER RUM CARAMELS

Steps:

• Butter an 8-inch square metal baking pan (do not use glass) and set on a rack. In a 5-quart heavy kettle cook cream, sugars, corn syrup, butter, and salt over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and washing down any sugar crystals clinging to side of pan with a brush dipped in cold water, until sugars are completely dissolved, about 15 minutes. Boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 245°F., about 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add extract, swirling pan until combined. Immediately pour caramel into baking pan set on rack and cool completely. Chill caramel until firm, at least 12 hours, and up to 1 week.
• Line a cutting board with wax paper and invert caramel onto it. Bring caramel to room temperature, about 30 minutes. With an oiled sharp knife cut caramel into pieces, each about 3/4 inch long and 1/3 inch wide.
• Individually wrap caramel pieces in wax paper or candy wrappers or layer between sheets of wax paper (do not use foil or parchment) in an airtight container. Caramels keep at cool room temperature 2 weeks.

SOFT CARAMELS

Steps:

• Heat sugar, syrup, & salt to boil in a VERY large stew pot (non-stick pot with no flaking is best). Please note that if you plan on doubling this recipe, you need to use a commercial size stew pot because the ingredients double in size as the temperature rises. Add cream VERY slowly. Cook stirring almost constantly to 239°F (or until you get just to the point where a little drizzle of cooled caramel gently rubbed between 2 fingers forms into a ball). This takes approximately 3-5 hours. Let cool a few minutes to help prevent sticking to the cookie sheets. Add nuts now if desired. Pour onto 3-4 buttered cookie sheets (cookie sheets should be buttered lightly so as not to end up with greasy caramels). Once cooled completely, flip cookie sheets over to release sheets of caramel (you may have to use a metal spatula to pull the sheet of caramel out of the cookie sheet). Use pizza cutter (if you have cooked them perfectly) or scissors (if you have slightly overcooked them to a stick-to-your-teeth texture) to cut into bite-size pieces. Each piece can now be dipped in chocolate or wrapped "as is" in small squares of wax paper (or candy wrappers).
• Note: This recipe also works great for caramel sauce -- just don't quite heat it to 239°F Hard toffee candies can be made if you heat it above 239°F Therefore, even if you mess up on your attempts to make SOFT caramels, you have SOMETHING left over for your efforts.

SOFT CANDY CARAMELS

Steps:

• Line an 8-inch glass square baking pan/dish with foil extending the foil over the edges of the pan.
• Generously coat the foil with cooking spray; set aside.
• In a heavy 3-quart saucepan melt 1 cup butter over low heat.
• Stir in brown sugar, condensed milk, corn syrup and maple syrup; bring to a bowl stirring gently.
• Cook over medium heat stirring often until a candy thermometer reaches 235 degrees (or for a firmer caramel cook to 240 degrees F).
• As soon ar the temperature reaches 235 or 240 degrees immediately remove from heat, and stir for 1 minute or until the mixture is smooth and no longer bubbling.
• Quickly pour the mixture into prepared pan.
• Allow to stand for 3 hours or until cool.
• Lifting the foil at the edges of the pan remove the caramel square out of the pan.
• Using a buttered knife cut into 1-inch squares.
• If desired wrap each piece with coloured plastic wrap.