Caramel Teacher Gifts

Remember about a month ago I posted about a Craftsy Class on making Caramel? Yup, I have since made two batches of Caramel, and I can't get enough of the caramel! Seriously I have given them away to about 20+ people and they all are amazed at how good the caramels are, and one of my friends have said that the caramels taste like those expensive ones you get at Hallmark. It's that good. It should be, Carole Bloom, a well known cook book author is the instructor of the class. cheek her out.

The recipe is very simple, which I like, the only thing that I would note is that Caramel is all about the timing, so be careful that you don't over cook the caramel!  YOU HAVE TO USE VANILLA BEAN PASTE! the Vanilla bean past makes the caramel! and it might be worth ordering the wrappers on amazon, I have cut out the wax paper sheets 4x4 and it took like 20 mins to get the caramel cut and wrapped the caramels.

Caramels

Yield: 64 candies 
 1¾ cups (350 g) granulated sugar
 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
 ¼ cup (85 g) honey
 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
 ¼ teaspoon sea salt
 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste
 Unflavored oil, such as canola or safflower

Method 1. Line an 8-inch (20-cm) baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick baking spray.

2. Place the sugar, cream, and honey in a 3-quart (2.8-l) heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat. Stir for a few minutes to dissolve the sugar. As the mixture cooks, run a damp pastry brush around the edges of the mixture to dissolve any stray sugar crystals and prevent the sugar from crystallizing. Do this two times.

 3. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Place a candy thermometer in the pan and cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until it registers 250 F (120 C).

 4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter until it melts. Add the salt and vanilla bean paste and stir in thoroughly.

 5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Place the pan on a rack, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool to room temperature.

 6. Rub the blade of a large chef’s knife and a cutting board with oil. Remove the candy from the pan by lifting out the foil. Invert the candy onto the cutting board and peel off the foil.

 7. Trim off any ragged edges, then cut the candy into 1-inch (2.5-cm) squares, cutting 8 rows in each direction. Immediately wrap each caramel in waxed caramel papers.

 8. The caramels will keep at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

I like little treat bags to bag them up, I get the treat bags after the season for next year so I always have them for the next year.

This recipe will be something I make every year for gifts!