[foodpump]

Am looking for a recipie for soft caramels. Soft enough to enrobe in chocolate. Have many recipies for "caramel" but this is too hard, almost tofee. What my customers are looking for is a consistancy of those square little Kraft cream caremels you used to get for halloween

[BettyR]

This is a home recipe that has been in my family for a long time. My grandmother and her brother owned a candy store in Little Rock before she married my grandfather; this is her recipe cut down for home use.

I've never owned a candy thermometer so I can't tell you what temperature to cook them to. My grandmother taught me to cook them by feel. You can make these as soft or as hard as you want them. If you made a batch or two at home you would get a feel for them very quickly then you could expand the recipe for commercial use.

The milk in the recipe has been adjusted as the size of the cans that evaporated milk came in shrunk over the years.


Millionaires

1-13oz can evaporated milk plus 4 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1-cup brown sugar
1-cup dark Karo syrup
1/2-cup butter melted
2 cups chopped pecans
1-teaspoon vanilla

1. Combine sugars, Karo, butter and milk in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil and cook until a soft ball forms in a cup of cold water.

2. Remove pan from fire while testing, candy over-cooks very quickly.

3. Then add nuts and vanilla and pour into a buttered 9x13 cake pan or a glass cake pan works well too to cool.

4. Cool over night in the refrigerator. Then cut into small pieces and dip in chocolate.

[tammylc]

This Fleur de Sel caramel recipe on Epicurious is great:
Fleur De Sel Caramels Recipe at Epicurious.com

Read the comments too - some people like more salt (i do!) and you may need to adjust your cooking time accordingly.

[Cat Man]

The key temp is 208F.
Get as close as possible w/out going over.
209F = toffee

Cat Man

[foodpump]

Thanks, I'll be trying them out over the weekend.

[foodpump]

Catman, are you sure about 208F? 212F is the boiling point of water, and most taffy recipies start at 270 F.

[Cat Man]

Originally Posted by foodpump

Catman, are you sure about 208F? 212F is the boiling point of water, and most taffy recipies start at 270 F.

I am certain. The key is a rolling boil, and whipping air into it as you approach 208F. Obviously, there are variables, such as how much brown sugar, corn syrup etc.
The applied heat will be much higher than 208F which is why it's such a delicate process.
As an experiment, I would encourage you to try this side by side;
Pot of water on high, and a pot of 50% WATER, 50% Brown Sugar. Use equal total volumes and equal pots and BTU's. The sugar water will boil much faster than the pure water.

Cat Man