Chocolate Covered Caramels

Nothing like the first really cool autumn day to make a person think of chocolate covered caramels-well, me anyway. The recipe is simple, though it requires quite a bit of time standing at the stove. I waited until my toddler was off for a nap to do the cooking part. While the caramels cooled, I pre-cut squares of waxed paper for wrapping them.

I coated the candy with what I had on hand, which today was three packages of semi-sweet chips that I bought super-clearanced at the grocer one day figuring “I’ll use them eventually.” You could of course, use better quality chocolate.

You Will Need:

2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 cup butter
1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a heavy pot, (I use an enamel coated cast-iron one to retain heat) combine everything except the vanilla and cook over medium heat until it reaches 248 degrees F. on a candy thermometer, stirring occasionally, taking care to scrape the sides (a heat resistant spatula is helpful).

Pour into a well-buttered 8x8x2 pan. Cool. When firm, loosen the sides with a butter knife and place on cutting board. Using a sharp knife (that you’ll need to frequently run under a hot tap to keep clean) cut into squares and place on baking sheets pre-lined with waxed paper. At this point you can coat them with chocolate or leave them plain. When dry, wrap in squares of waxed paper. I cut mine generously and still had six dozen.