I've been trying last night and this morning to get this post up but my computer is being difficult. I think it wants to crash. I'm posting it without all the pictures because it won't load anymore for me. But, since I promised you this recipe....here it is. I'll add the rest of the pictures later when my computer decides to cooperate! Here's hoping this will finally post. OH, and I'm going to try and get some cookie recipes up this weekend from my sister. They were going to be my guest posts for the week of Christmas but then I realized that you'd probably want them as far ahead of Christmas as possible....I'll be taking a blogging break during Christmas....so I'll get those guest post up this weekend.
INSTRUCTIONS
butter a cookie sheet and set aside
melt in a sauce pan
2 1/2 sticks of butter (unsalted)
3 tbsp ice water
add 1 cup of granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
dash (small pinch) of salt
3/4 c nuts (optional- I used sliced almonds for 1 batch and left the other batch plain.)
attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan
stir continually while cooking on high heat. Keep stirring while the candy goes through stages until it reaches 300-310 (hard crack stage).
At about 240 degrees the candy gets a marshmallow texture to it.
Then it goes from a yellowish color to a brown caramel color....
When it reaches 300 it starts to pull away from the pan (sometimes the butter starts to separate but keep stirring) and it starts to look like peanut butter.Once the temp gets between 300-310 degrees pour the mixture onto the buttered cookie sheet. Let it cool for about 1-2 minutes and then sprinkle it with chocolate chips or broken up chocolate bars.
Let the chocolate melt and then use a spatula to spread the chocolate evenly over the candy. Let the candy now cool completely (I set mine in my cold garage for an hour and it was ready to break.)
Use a metal spatula to lift the candy and break it into chunks. Store in an airtight container or package up in cellophane bags as gifts.
2 comments:
How long did you spend stirring?
Hi Tulip,
I'm kinda confused by your question. I stirred constantly until it was done. It's quite the workout on your arm.
If your question is because you are thinking of making it without a candy thermometer then I would HIGHLY discourage you from that. I haven't heard of anyone getting the texture correct when not using a candy thermometer. When using the thermometer you almost have to burn the mixture to get it to the perfect spot which is just too risky without one. The candy will heat at different speeds when making different batches. Sometimes it heats slowly around the 240-260 mark but then quickly at the 280-310 point. It's just different every time.
Candy making is like science. There isn't much room for winging it. A candy thermometer is very inexpensive and can be picked up at most grocery stores.
If your question wasn't in regards to that.....then just stir continuously until the thermometer reaches the hard crack stage (300-310).
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