This soft caramel candy recipe is the perfect gift for a host

Every year around Christmas, Bill Sphar, singer and guitarist in my father’s bluegrass band and dear family friend, makes candy and hands it out for Christmas presents. Growing up, I looked forward to her delivery in winter, always an evening when my parents would host the group for dinner, drinks and music until the wee hours of the morning in the run-up to Christmas. I was looking forward to the candy delivery as much as Santa Claus. Inside Bill’s cracked cellophane wrapper, I would expect the same homemade delights: chocolate-covered caramel, sweet red and green hard candies, and my favorite of all: soft caramels wrapped in torn wax paper.

I’m picky about caramel candies – either they’re too soft and gummy or too hard and sticky – but the caramels Bill makes are always perfectly buttery, chewy and velvety. They remind me of a fresh, perfectly sealed tootsie roll, flavored with caramel instead of chocolate. I finally asked him: what is your recipe? His answer surprised me: it’s a relic from the Land O Lakes site.

Related: How to Never Burn Caramel Again

Aunt Emily’s Soft Caramel Recipe

So I followed the internet’s trail to find it, and sure enough: the recipe is respectfully, if not somewhat cryptically, called Aunt Emily’s Soft Toffees. “These soft, buttery caramels have been enjoyed for generations,” the recipe reads. “Now if we only knew who Aunt Emily was.” If only! Either way, the recipe itself is pretty simple and straightforward:

You grease a baking dish (like a 9×13-inch casserole dish or two 8×8-inch pans), then mix granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, milk, whipped cream, and corn syrup in a saucepan. You will cook all the ingredients together over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until boiling. After boiling and cooking to 244°F, you stir in the vanilla and pour it into the prepared pan to cool. As simple as that!

After the caramel has cooled at room temperature for an hour, it is transferred to the refrigerator to cool completely, then you cut it to the desired size and wrap it in plastic wrap or wax paper. The result is, as promised, a soft and silky caramel.

Advice

Although the recipe calls for a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish, much like one you would use for any number of casseroles or baked goods, you can use any shape or size of heavy duty pan or container heat to obtain the desired result. shape, as long as you allow the candy plenty of time to cool and chill.

Maybe we’ll learn who Aunt Emily is. In the meantime, I like mystery. I will thank her and Bill for helping me appreciate caramel a little more than before and for bringing sweet holiday cheer when I want it.

Read the original article on Southern Living