Ping: Leslie. re: caramels

Isn't it just awful! Hope they turned out good for you. I've had nothing but rave reviews and people trying to bribe me to get their hands on more of them. The stick-to-it-ness is a good thing, tho.... it keeps them firmly wrapped. Or so I try to tell myself that. I've searched online trying to find a source to buy candy wrappers for them. I found one that was outrageously expensive, but not any luck beyond that.

Be brave- you won't make them that often and it's worth the wrapping hassle to see people's faces when they taste them!

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

I use waxed paper to wrap caramels, and then store them/give them in plastic zipper bags. It's easy to handle, cuts very easily, wraps well, and then I twist the ends like it's salt water taffy. I stack several pieces of waxed paper, paper clip them together so they don't slide, and then cut pieces wide enough to go around the caramels twice, and then twice as long for the twisting. Be a bit careful about the twisting until you get the hang of it -- plan to tear a few at the beginning.

Just a thought, but would cellophane work / be easier to work with.

Dee in Oz

I've tried it and it's much easier to work with. It just doesn't stick to itself at all and comes unwrapped.

Cindy

Twisting! I never thought of that. This. Could. Work!

Cindy

That was one disadvatage I did think of but thought that if it was twisted firmly enough it may work.

I do know that if it is wet it will stick to itself but guess that won't work for caramels like it does for soap

Dee in Oz

A week or 2 ago I was looking for paper candy cups to put chocolates into, and thought I saw a reasonable price on cellophane squares. A bit of fussing with my browser history and I actually found it! They are even called caramel wrappers.

(sorry for the huge long possibly wrapped link, it just seems advisable at the moment)

They have them as small as 4 1/4 inch squares for $9/1000 The price goes up as the squares get bigger, but they are still a lot less expensive than a good many of the places that sell such things.

The first time I tried caramels they came out brilliantly. I have not had a batch set up right since!

NightMist

THANK YOU, NightMist! I just ordered a batch of the cellophanes. I hope they stick to themselves, but even if I have to put tape on each one (VBG) it will save a tremendous amount of time and bother. You're GREAT!

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

PS: If you make a batch that doesn't set up it will make a wonderful apple dip or ice cream topping. If it gets too hard.... well, those I throw away.....

Did you order the 4 1/4 X 4 1/4?

And if my caramel doesn't set up, I just eat it with a spoon.

Cindy

NOO - o - o - o - o h!

Just hold them between your hands for a while and they will soften up beautifully. I have to eat all toffee that way (to preserve crowns and fillings) >gTHANK YOU, NightMist! I just ordered a batch of the cellophanes. I hope

My Dad and I did that once (after an experiment for us both!) years and years ago (well over 50 years and I remember it as clear as day!). The bowl was in the larder and several visits were paid, with a spoon, to that particular shelf over the next however many days ... ... Thanks for raising that memory, Cindy. . In message , teleflora writes

I don't know, Patti. I've overcooked caramels before and you could build a house out of 'em.

Cindy

Ah well, I'll take your word for it! I once made some brown bread rolls that the birds couldn't get their beaks into until we had soaked them in hot water!! so I can accept that *really bad things can happen >gg< (The really sad thing about the rolls was that they were made for the first tea my parents-in-law came to at our house shortly after we were married!!). . In message , teleflora writes

That gave me a giggle. I once made some brown bread rolls that they could have used in York Castle museum for cobblestones. Totally inedible. LOL Shirley PS. we must have used the same recipe.

In message , Patti writes

They usually come out too soft, but not so soft they pour. Soft like you can stick your finger all the way through with no effort, but they take hours to flow out flat if you dig a lump out and put it on a plate. I've done both cooking them to exactly the right temperature according to the candy thermometer, and the trick that was told me of cooking them until a cold water test gives you just the firmness you would like. My first batch turned out so well, it just is irksome that I haven't had a good batch since. Same recipe, same thermometer, sugar works just fine for other candies, I think I may have been placed under a caramel curse!

NightMist

I had to chuckle at this one myself! I've made boneless pork chops that we could use as hockey pucks...they were that hard! My dogs wouldn't/couldn't eat them! lol

Thanks Leslie for the caramel recipe...I'm gonna give it a try. I am going to wrap them in waxed papers made for burgers....these are about five inches square. I have tons and I'll see how they work. I'll have to use tape to secure the wrappers I'm sure....kids might enjoy this process.

Launie, in Oregon

Because Patti wrote:

So I'm gonna say:

Ladies, I think I can beat the both of those.

When I got married, we wrote the ceremony ourselves. One section had the groom offering his bride a goblet of wine and talking about how he'd always provide the sweetest things from his labors, yadda yadda yadda. He had to choose the wine, and he picked one I like a lot. The bride, then, was to offer the groom a piece of hand-baked bread and talk about how she would always ensure his plate was full. This is where the problem came in.

You see, I had never baked bread before in my LIFE. And my husband wanted pumpernickel.

So I grabbed The Joy of Cooking and tried my hand at baking bread. The result was a rock. It didn't rise a single millimeter. If anyone's read Terry Pratchett, this was the perfect loaf of Dwarf Bread. But I didn't have the time or the skills to make another one. So that's the one that travelled to the ceremony.

I got my sip of wine, and handed my husband-to-be the piece of "bread" I had pre-sawn from the loaf in order to expedite the process a bit. My sweetie placed it into his mouth, and chewed.

And chewed.

And chewed.

Chuckles started in the assembled multitude of witnesses, and my husband held up a finger, chewing a bit more intently. My father jokingly piped up, "Somebody give that boy something to drink!" and the place erupted into laughter.

Still my sweetie chewed.

After a good five m "Mmmmmm! Tasty!"

We've been married eight and a half years, and he's grown to love my (much better) bread. But people still talk about that wedding.

Anastasia

--we put the rest of the "loaf" out in the back yard, figuring the birds would enjoy it. Not even they ventured toward that thing. It's probably still there.

I liked that story a lot.

Cindy

red faced.....ahem.......would someone be so very kind as to send me the link to the recipe?? Pretty please?? I tried looking back through the messages with no luck. And using google is a waste of time for me. Thank you so very very much. (Was I polite enough?)