Christmas Caramels

My family's holiday tradition

This is the recipe my family has used for the last 20 years, maybe more. It is fairly foolproof so long as you use a candy thermometer. I use a blown glass one with mercury that was my husband's grandmother's, but any one will do.

Making your own caramel is simple in theory but takes patience, preparation, and a lot of stirring. My mom found the original recipe on AllRecipes.com but I tweaked it by using sweetened condensed milk instead of evaporated milk (giving it an even deeper caramel flavor). The bubbling pot of golden brown goodness perfumes your whole home with the best, buttery, sweet caramel scent. The worst part is waiting for it to cool completely to taste. But when you do it's chewy, melty, smooth and creamy-dreamy. Together, we have made this recipe dozens of times over the years and the only variation that has happened is the firmness of the finished caramel. Never has it turned out grainy or separated like some candy horror stories I've heard. We boil it to just before "hard ball" or 250 degrees Fahrenheit. At that point the caramel is firm and chewy but not tacky making it easy to cut and wrap in waxed paper. If you pull it off the heat before then its going to be quite sticky and hard to handle. If you let it go too high it will get a little crunchy on the outside and you'll have to suck on it a little before you can chew it. But the flavor has always stayed divine.

Christmas Caramels

Makes about 5 dozen

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar

• 1 cup packed brown sugar

• 1 cup corn syrup

• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1 cup butter

• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla

  
  

Instructions

1. Grease a 9x13 pan with butter. Place empty pan on heating pads (caramel is HOT when you pour it in)

2. Combine all ingredients except vanilla in heavy Dutch oven pot, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it reaches 250F (almost hard ball) on a candy thermometer

3. Remove pot from heat, stir in vanilla

4. Pour into the greased 9x13 pan to cool completely

5. Once cooled, remove caramel from the pan by flipping it over onto cutting board

6. Cut into your desired shape ad size and wrap in waxed paper squares.

   
   

Impress your friends and family with our favorite homemade caramels this year. They make a great addition to your holiday cookie plate and are a perfect last minute gift to have on hand during the holidays. Merry Christmas from my family to yours!