Homemade Caramels

I recently came across a great recipe HERE for homemade caramels. 

I had tried the Barefoot Contessa recipe for Salted Caramels at Christmas,  and although they tasted great, I think I didn't cook them enough and it was soft....really soft.  Impossible to cut and roll into pieces. And I also realized that even though it's a big trendy thing right now, I really don't like salt on my caramels. 

So yesterday I came upon another recipe and decided to give this a try.  It worked beautifully. The Caramels are very soft, easy to chew, maybe could be a little firmer, so next time I will cook a bit longer. 

Sliced into Bite Sized squares.

Simple wrappings.

Poured into a parchment lined pan. The cut edge is from the endless samplings.

All you need is condensed milk,butter, brown sugar, vanilla and corn syrup. A candy thermometer (I used by digital turkey thermometer) is a must and a large saucepan and cookie sheet or 9 x 9 brownie pan.  I doubled the recipe because I have a few birthdays coming up so I used the cookie sheet.  This recipe is super easy, but I really wouldn't let kids do it as the boiling caramel makes for serious burns if there is a mishap.....don;t even stick your finger in to try it.

After it was cooled, I cut it into bite sized squares using a sharp knife.  I cut several rows at one time, however I found it was easier to cut one row at a time because when you slice the second row, it slightly pushes the caramel into the previous row and you need to slice it again to get a clean edge.

After they were all sliced I wrapped them in pieces of parchment paper and twisted the ends shut.

Old fashioned and very delicious.

Toss them into a bowl and you could throw these on the table for desert along with some fresh fruit and cheese.

This wonderful recipe is from the most delightful Web site called GiversLog.com.  AmberLee creates the most amazing gifts, flood and fun mailers.  Take a look here www.giverslog.com if you wish to make them.