Best Ever Homemade Caramel Candy

Soft caramels are my most requested holiday treat. They are tender buttery, with just the right texture when made correctly. I roll them up yearly and put them in the kid's stockings or a string around the tree. For a few years now, I've ordered them from a friend due to health issues, but I can make them again this year, and I'm thrilled! If you've been searching for an old-fashioned caramel recipe that works without fail, this is the one. 

My youngest son, Luke, is home from his missionary service this year. He will be here for a few months and then off to college.  My older son Samuel started his mission in August. He is serving locally, and we're blessed to have him home. I know these last two precious years are going to go by quickly! It seems like I started this blog only yesterday. The days are long, but the years are short. As we gather together in the kitchen, there is joy! I have never felt more blessed as a mother. 

So yes. We're making the caramels. It has to happen. 

Chef’s note:

• Temperature matters. The most important part of making homemade caramels is ensuring they reach the right temperature. For soft caramels, 238°F is the perfect temperature. I like to use a candy thermometer while stirring/cooking the caramels, and then, MOST IMPORTANTLY, I double-check the temperature with an instant thermometer. Be sure to check the temperature in the middle of the caramel mixture! The temperature won't be correct if the thermometer touches the pan's bottom.
• Use a stainless-steel pot if possible! These caramels turn out so much better when made in a stainless-steel pot (as opposed to an enameled Dutch Oven).

Prep Time15minutes minutes

Cook Time1hour hour

Best Ever Homemade Caramel Candy

2 sticks butter (1 cup)
4 cups sugar
2 cups dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 12 oz. cans evaporated milk
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

• Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• Melt the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and salt together in a large, heavy-bottomed stainless-steel pot over medium heat.
• Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the evaporated milk a little at a time, taking 10 minutes per can and stirring constantly.
•  Once all the milk is added, bring the mixture to 238-240°F. Temperature is pivotal.  Use a candy thermometer, not any hotter! Even a few degrees hotter will make the caramels really chewy instead of tender and soft. This will take another 15-20 minutes. Double-check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Be sure to check the caramel mixture in the middle without touching the pan's bottom.
•  Immediately pour into the prepared pan and cool completely. Once the caramels are cool, it is recommended to refrigerate them for a few hours to get the caramel solid enough to slice. Cut and wrap in individual pieces of wax paper.

Storage:

Store them in an airtight container or in a candy jar. One can also store them in the fridge. They will last several weeks!

There you go! Make some amazing caramels and enjoy this Christmas with those you love. I know I am! 

Always My Very Best, 
Your Friend Chef Tess

Salted Caramel Buttermilk Doughnut Holes on a Fork

These were a huge hit at the baby shower last weekend. Seriously. What's not to love about salted caramel on anything. Even liver would taste good with salted caramel.  These homemade buttermilk doughnut holes are a far cry from the liver. They're fluffy cake bites with a hint of spice that you roll in powder and then drizzle with salted caramel just before serving. I roll them in powdered sugar, wait a few minutes, and roll them in sugar again. This gives them a nice thick coating.  Don't add the salted caramel more than an hour before serving or it will melt into the doughnuts. I served them in mini souffle cups that you can purchase at most grocery stores in the cake and party favor section.

Salted Caramel Buttermilk Doughnut Holes

Doughnut Batter:

2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

¼ tsp. Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Blend, or nutmeg; optional, for flavor

¼ cup coconut sugar

1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 cup buttermilk

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

Frying Oil:  about 5 cups

Powdered Sugar, about 3 cups

Salted Caramel Sauce, prepared, about 2 cups

Instructions:

      Pour the oil 1" deep into a 10" skillet that's about 2 1/2" deep or use an electric frying pan. You want the oil to be about 1" deep. Start to heat the oil to 350°F while you're preparing the doughnut batter.
Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg.
Pour the milk/egg into the bowl with the dry ingredients, stirring briefly; then add the oil, stirring to make a thick batter/soft dough.
When the oil has come up to temperature, use a cookie scoop (or a spoon) to drop balls of batter into the hot oil. This recipe will make 2" doughnut holes using a tablespoon cookie scoop, and drop in balls of dough about as big as an undersized ping pong ball; or 1 1/2" holes, using a teaspoon cookie scoop, and dropping in balls of dough about as big as a chestnut.
Fry the doughnut holes for 2 minutes on the first side, or until they're a deep brown. Some of them may turn themselves over; that's OK, just use a pair of tongs to turn them back. After 2 minutes, turn the holes over, and fry for an additional 2 minutes (for the larger doughnut holes), or 1 1/2 minutes (for the smaller ones).
Transfer the doughnut holes to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain and cool.

Decorate:

·       Serve warm or at room temperature, roll in powdered sugar and place in mini souffle cups.Drizzle each doughnut hole with 1 Tbsp. salted caramel sauce and pierce with a mini serving fork. 

Wise Woman Sweet Apple Cake with Orange-lavender infused Salted Caramel Sauce

Mondays I generally try to show some great ways to cook or bake with your food storage. Tomorrow I teach a class at Honeyville Farms on Edible Christmas Tree ornaments at 10 AM! That will be a blast and give ya a lot of projects to do with the kiddos during the Holiday break. Hopefully they'll be healthier cookie choices too! This week will speed by and by this time next week, Christmas will be over. Yikes.  So...what better way to prepare for the upcoming events of the week than to share a dessert cake that could easily double as a breakfast cake?! It's fast and easy. Thanks to my friends at Lucky Leaf premium pie filling who sent me a copy of the new Bake Your Heart Out Recipe Book and several cans of their filling to play with for Christmas. Grin. Grin. Grin. Give a chef something  she can use will ya?! I was soooo excited!  I couldn't resist trying some of the new recipes and I have to say that I am a huge fan of the new book. It's short, but packed with some great ideas! Among them a baked oatmeal, Apple Fire BBQ chops, Strawberry Slow cooker scoop cake, and Cherry bliss brownies. In it there was a recipe for Pretty Peach cake with Pineapple frosting. It looked beautiful with the fruit peeking though and I just wanted to make it. I love creating recipes. It's my passion. So...I decided to bake my heart out too! We had the apple filling from Lucky Leaf and some caramel...How did I end up with this Sweet Apple Cream Cake with Orange-Lavender infused Salted Caramel sauce? I have no idea. Sometimes stream of consciousness takes over when I create. However, I did use their basic recipe for the Pretty Peach cake as a guide for the cake.

Pretty Peach Cake by Lucky Leaf
1  white cake mix
1 can Lucky Leaf Peach Pie filling
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a fork mix together the cake  mix withe the peach pie filling and eggs. Gently fold in the sour cream.  Spread into a  greased 9 by 13 inch cake pan. Bake 30-35 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center come out clean. Cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Wise Woman's  Sweet Apple Cake 

 4 1/2 cups of My Homemade Cake Mix ( I made it with a NEW 9 grain flour... Recipe to follow soon!)

1 can Lucky Leaf Premium Apple Pie filling

3 eggs (or 6T Powdered Whole Eggs )

1/2 cup sour cream (OR 1/3 cup powdered sour cream)

1 1/2 tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Spice Blend

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a fork mix together the cake  mix withe the apple pie filling and eggs. Gently fold in the sour cream. * If you use the powdered egg and sour cream, simply combine them with the cake mix. Combine the pie filling, 1 cup water and the dry ingredients. 

 Spread into greased and floured 9 by 13 inch cake pan and sprinkle with the Wise Woman of the East Spice blend.

Bake 30-35 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center come out clean. Cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to serve...though we ate it pretty fast.

While the cake bakes, I made the orange-lavender infused salted caramel sauce.

You need 1 cup of Kraft Kraft Caramel Bits

                                            1/2 cup Gossner Shelf Stable Whipping Cream or fresh whipping cream

Heat the cream and caramel over a double boiler with a whisk until the caramel melts and the sauce is smooth. Now add  1/2 tsp culinary lavender.

Breath. Relax. It won't make your sauce taste like soap. It will be a subtle yet beautiful touch.

 1tsp zest of a fresh orange.

Micro-plane zest the orange and add to the sauce. Let the flavors marry about an hour.

Slice the orange as a garnish for the cake if desired.

After an hour, strain out the lavender. You know why? Because I don't want to have anyone say, "There's a fruit fly in my caramel sauce!" Lavender looks like a fruit fly. 

Well...maybe it's a purple fruit fly, but its crazy to keep it in the sauce and risk it right?

Get a sprinkle of French Sea Salt.

Drizzle  the sauce over the cake. Be afraid. Pinch a little of the salt onto the sauce.

Share it with someone you love. 

 There you go! A wonderful way to use your food storage and make a divine dessert or breakfast cake for the holidays!

Now the folks at Lucky Leaf said they are excited to give away two of their cookbooks to my readers. If you want one...just leave a comment after this post. I'll be doing a giveaway with their book this week. I'll also be catching up on all my low fat Holiday baking! Wah woooo!!

There you go. Make some Christmas memories...and bake your heart out!

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

2001 Space Odyssey...and Chocolate.

Monolith Monologue...

Random Thoughts...
In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter that one tall chocolate dipped French caramel landed on it's end? Not really. It just looked insane. Something is coming...something wonderful. Especially because we couldn't possibly sell one that landed on it's side...so it's coming to me!! Ahhh two suns. Unless you saw the second movie 2010, the two suns comment won't make a bit of sense. Enjoy the picture anyway.