I’m starting off the Christmas Cookie series with my favorite creation from this year – caramels! They were fairly easy to make and so delicious. I made them with my friend, Christina, and we actually cut the batch in half (then each took half the batch) so I think if you made the whole recipe, you just might be wrapping up the caramels until New Year’s Eve! You’ll need a candy thermometer and a whole lot of heavy cream for this recipe.
4 cups heavy cream
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
4 cups light corn syrup
4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
Spray a half-sheet pan with cooking spray, then line with parchment or wax paper overlapping on two ends, and spray that with cooking spray. Set aside in a spot where it will not be moved. In a 2-quart saucepan, combine cream and sweetened condensed milk; set aside.
In a heavy 6- to 8-quart saucepan, combine corn syrup, 1 cup water, sugar, and salt. Clip on candy thermometer. Over high heat, cook until sugar is dissolved, stirring with a wooden spoon, 8 to 12 minutes. Brush down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to remove any sugar crystals.
Stop stirring, reduce heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until temperature reaches 250 degrees (hard-ball stage), about 45 to 60 minutes (it didn’t take this long for us, but we did cut the batch in half). Meanwhile, cook cream mixture over low heat until it is just warm. Do not boil. When sugar reaches 250 degrees. slowly stir in butter and warmed cream mixture, keeping mixture boiling at all times (be careful – it bubbles up!). Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until thermometer reaches 244 degrees (firm-ball stage), 55 to 75 minutes (again, it didn’t take ours this long to get to 244 degrees). In order to prevent burned parts from making it into the candies, you have two options: 1) make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan while you stir, or 2) make sure you don’t scrape the bottom at all. Stir in vanilla. Immediately pour into prepared pan without scraping pot. Let stand uncovered at room temperature for 24 hours without moving. Our set in less than 24 hours but I left them for that long, just to be on the safe side.
To cut, spray a large cutting board generously with cooking spray. Grasping the overhanging parchment paper, unmold caramel from pan onto sprayed surface. Cut into 1-by-1 1/4-inch pieces, or other shapes. Wrap each in cellophane or waxed paper. I used a large pizza cutter to make the initial cuts, then a metal pastry cutter to cut any pieces that didn’t get cut all the way through.
Yep, there’s a piece missing. I needed to test them out!
This is a really rich dessert, so you might want to cut small pieces. Or not… it’s up to you.
Here’s my deepest secret: I can’t make pie crust. The last time I tried, which was about 4 years ago, it was a disaster. Ever since then, I’ve been buying the pre-made stuff that you can find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store (near the dinner and cresent rolls). Maybe I’ll try my hand at Pate Brisee again, but don’t hold your breath.
1 pie crust
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (divided)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 oz bittersweet chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the pie crust to fit in a 9-inch fluted tart pan. Prick with a fork all over. Bake for about 10 minutes until lightly golden brown. (The original recipe says to blind bake the crust with pie weights, but I don’t have any so I skipped this and it turned out fine.) Toast the pecans on a sheet pan at 350 for about 10 minutes.
Next, make the caramel. Put the sugar, salt, and water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook (swirling the pan, not stirring) until the caramel is an amber color. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream, butter, and vanilla. (Be careful: when you add the cream, it will bubble up!)
Stir until smooth. Pour the caramel into the baked crust, and top with the toasted pecans. Refrigerate while you make the ganache.
Put the chocolate in a bowl. Bring the remaining 1 cup of cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Then stir until smooth and pour over the caramel crust.
Refrigerate until set, then serve! Make about 12 servings.
I found this recipe on the Smitten Kitchen and just had to try it. Chocolate and caramel: what’s not to love? I have made a recipe similar to this in the past (with a cookie crust), which I will have to write about some other time. I omitted the optional nut topping from the original recipe; I thought that it might be good topped with toasted coconut (think: Girl Scout Samoa cookies).
The original recipe calls for saltine or matzo crackers, but while standing in line at the deli at Kowalski’s, I found some water crackers (Minnesota Flats brand) that looked like they’d be perfect.
About 40 saltine crackers or one package of water crackers
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into a few large pieces
1 cup packed light brown sugar
A big pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup toasted coconut (optional – see below)
1 cup toasted chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts or a nut of your choice (optional)
Extra sea salt for sprinkling (optional)
Line a 11×17 rimmed baking sheet with foil, then top with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread out the crackers into a single layer onto the prepared pan. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar. When the mixture comes to a boil, stir and cook for 3 minutes. Take the mixture off the heat, then add a pinch of sea salt and the vanilla (I used the vanilla my grandma brought me back from Mexico – thanks, Grandma!). Pour the caramel quickly onto the crackers, then spread evenly onto crackers with a spatula. Bake the crackers for 15 minutes (caramel will bubble) and make sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. If it starts to brown too quickly, turn the heat down. Once you remove the crackers from the oven, immediately cover with chocolate chips. Let sit for 5 minutes so the chocolate can melt, then spread the chocolate evenly over the caramel. Top with nuts or toasted coconut. Let sit until hardened (or put in refrigerator to speed up the process). Once hardened, break into pieces and enjoy! The crack will keep for a few days.
Toasted Coconut
Spread coconut onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes, toss, then bake 5 more minutes, until golden brown and toasty.
