Holiday Shapes

Caramel candies are always a hit whenever there are available. They range from soft, chewy morsels to hard, crunchy treats. Many times caramel is flavored with extra ingredients or coated with chocolate, but the caramel flavor is distinct and the candy is not that hard to make. Once you have got your ingredients together, combine the condensed milk and cream in a saucepan at the lowest setting. The mixture simply needs to be kept warm for a future step, it should never come to a boil. In a separate saucepan, bring the sugar syrup mixture to a boil and make sure it reaches 250° F. The candy should have a light golden brown color at this stage in the process. Add the milk mixture and several softened chunks of butter to the candy syrup and let it the entire mixture reach 244°F.

Once the mixture has reached the desired temperature, pour it immediately into a foil lined pan and allow the caramel to set overnight at room temperature. The mixture can be refrigerated to speed up the process, but it can compromise the smooth silky quality of the caramel. Be certain when pouring the caramel mixture into the pan that you do not scrape the side of the saucepan as this could cause some burnt pieces to fall into the mixture.

After the mixture has set, using the foil to pull the caramel out of the pan and cut it into squares. To prevent little pieces of foil from getting cut and sticking to the caramel, flip the large block onto a sheet of waxed paper and, using a knife coated in non-stick spray, cut through the caramel. Because caramel the caramel is soft, it will loose its form if not wrapped. Take sheets of waxed paper and wrap them around each piece, create a bite sized snack for anytime.