Sherene's Caramels

(Makes about 70-80 pieces)
(Original recipe by Sandra Beck)

Mix in a large saucepan:

¾ cup light Karo corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream (2 cups needed)
2 cups sugar
½ cup butter
Optional: ½ cup nuts (cut and placed on the bottom of the 8x8 glass pan instead of the butter.)

Bring this to a boil over medium-low heat while stirring constantly with a flat top wooden spoon. When it starts to boil, stir in the other cup of cream gradually. Continue to stir until it starts to boil rapidly. Stir occasionally and keep a close eye on the boiling mixture. The mixture will thicken and change to a nice caramel color. Cook the candy to 250 degrees or the hardball stage. Take candy off heat and stir in ½ teaspoon of vanilla. Stir for one minute and then pour the caramel into a buttered 8x8 pan. Cool and cut into squares.

*If you don’t have a candy thermometer you can get an ice-cold cup of water and dip a clean, dry spoon in the boiling caramel then put it in the cold water to cool it down. The Caramel needs to hold its shape and is quite chewy. If you have a big cookbook like a “Better Homes and Garden”, it will usually have a section on Candy making. There should be a picture of how it is supposed to look in there.

**To get the caramel out of the pan after it cools down, run a knife along all the edges of the caramel. Then turn the pan over onto a cutting board and slowly edge the knife between the caramel and the pan. Once the caramel falls onto the cutting board if can be flattened and smoothed out if necessary. If the caramel is too soft to do this, you can put it into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to make the caramel easier to work with, but do not freeze the candy solid. If the candy is too hard, be patient and use your muscles.

***If the candy scorches and has brown flecks in it all is not lost. You can still use the candy. The best things you can do is get it out of the pan as quickly as possible and put it in the buttered 8x8 pan. Do not scrape the bottom of the pan. To clean the pan put it in hot water and let it sit. The candy actually dissolves and is fairly easy to clean.

****Sometimes caramels can go sugary. Here are a few things you can do to avoid this problem: Use a wooden spoon with a flat top. As you stir the candy, scrape the mixture off the sides of the pan. Stir the ingredients together in the pan before you turn on the heat. Cut the candy into individual pieces as soon as you can. Make sure there are not any burnt patches on the inside of your pan before you start making the candy (the candy will stick to that spot). Candy is sensitive to the weather and other things - that’s just the way it is. I usually have one batch that flops every Christmas. Don’t get discouraged. Keep trying.!!!!

–Sherene Van Dyke