Recipes

1 Preheat oven and prepare pan: Preheat an oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan lightly with cooking oil.
Line the pan with parchment paper, making sure about 1-inch of paper overhangs the long side of the pan. You will use the overhang to lift the bars out of the pan later.

2 Cream the butter, sugar, and spices: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on medium-high, cream the ingredients together until the mixture forms a paste and clings to the side of the bowl, about 2 minutes.
3 Scrape, add molasses and egg, and mix: Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the side of the bowl and add the molasses and egg. Mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds on medium speed.
4 Scrape down the bowl: Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the flour. Slowly mix, at low speed, until the dry ingredients are absorbed. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl down halfway through to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated. The dough should be the consistency of thick and stiff frosting.

5 Transfer dough to the prepared pan: Scrape the dough into the prepared baking pan and spread the dough out evenly with a butter knife or small offset spatula.

6 Bake: Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan comes out clean.
7 Cool the bars: Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack until it is at room temperature, about 2 hours. While the bars are cooling, take the cream cheese and butter out of the fridge to come to room temperature.

8 Make the frosting: Once the bars are cool, make the frosting by placing the cream cheese and butter in a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream together on medium-high speed until the butter and cream cheeses are well blended and there are no more lumps, about 1 minute.
Scape down the sides of the bowl and add vanilla and salt and mix for 30 seconds to incorporate. Again, scrape down the sides and add the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until the sugar is absorbed and the frosting is thick and smooth.

9 Frost the cookies: Frost the top of the cookie bars generously.

10 Chill and cut the bars: If you want clean lines for presentation purposes, place the frosted uncut bars, uncovered, in the fridge to chill for 1 hour. Once the bars have chilled, use the parchment sling to lift them from the pan and place them on the cutting board. Use a large sharp knife and press straight down, rather than dragging the knife through the bars. Wipe the knife blade after each cut.
If you want to skip the refrigerator chill step, you can cut the bars after they’ve cooled on the counter. The lines just might not be as sharp.

11 Serve: Arrange the bars on a platter, top with sprinkles if desired, and serve. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. LEGGI TUTTO

Making classic, soft and chewy caramel candies to stuff into stockings, gift to loved ones near and far, or simply treat yourself is easier than you might imagine. You can make these sweet candy treats in about 30 minutes. Then all you need to do is let them cool and wrap!

Working with sugar is simply a matter of preparation, focus, and instinct. Each time I’ve attempted to rush my caramel-making, I’ve found myself frustrated by either a runny or burnt caramel, or a runny caramel and a burnt me. We want none of that here.
These caramels are my candy pride and joy. For me the “perfect” caramel is one that is not runny, yet one that isn’t too hard. A buttery flavor is a must and it can’t be grainy in the slightest. This recipe covers all of those bases, so you can see why I share it with pleasure.
Because I’ve already beat myself over the head with candy-making frustration, I expect this recipe to be a walk in the candyland park for you. I’m going to equip you with the correct techniques and cues to ensure your candy-making is pleasurable and fun. Key tools to have on hand, visual alerts to pay attention to and things to avoid are all here.

HOW TO MAKE CARAMEL CANDY
Caramel is not a recipe one should approach without preparation. Everything, from the weather to the pot you use, plays a role in how successful you are at making caramel candy. Most importantly, you must relax. Rushing through making caramel candies is an exercise in frustration.
Back when I was just a wee culinary student, I had a classical pastries instructor, Chef Bandula, who was a Certified Master Pastry Chef. Basically, he was in the upper echelon of pastry chefs in the world and I was lucky enough to be his student.
The one piece of advice he gave me which I still carry to this day is: “If you don’t relax while you’re making caramel, you’re going to fail every time.” It’s advice that transcends the pastry shop.
Don’t include the kids: While I’m generally a big believer of kids in the kitchen, that’s not the case when it comes to making the caramel. Sugar burns are terribly painful and not worth the risk. When it comes to wrapping the candy then it’s all hands on deck.
Dry days are best. Avoid making caramel on extremely humid or rainy days because, as sugar cools, it evaporates moisture, once it’s finished doing so, it’ll turn right back around and start absorbing it again.
Use a large pot: A larger pot is necessary is for safety’s sake. Once the cream and butter mixture is added to the boiling sugar the mixture will steam and bubble violently. A larger pot will decrease the risk of over-flowing the sugar in pot and burning you.
Use a wooden spoon: A wooden spoon is the best tool to use when stirring in the cream. It won’t conduct the heat of the sugar and burn your hand. Also, never put your face or arm directly over the pot.
Use corn syrup. Making caramel is all about chemistry. Two molecules of simple sugar are formed from a molecule of sucrose and a molecule of water. Invert sugar, such as corn syrup (also known as glucose) facilitates the formation of simple sugar, which also prevents our finished candies from becoming grainy after they set.
Don’t seed the sugar: One tiny grain of sugar reintroduced to the boiling sugar mixture can re-crystallize or “seed” the entire batch. There’s nothing more disappointing than watching your pot of liquid sugar frost over like a winter’s pond.
To avoid seeding use one of these two methods:
Press a wet pastry brush against the side of the pot and allow the water to wash away the crystals.
Cover the pot with a lid. The steam created as the water in the pot evaporates is usually enough to dissolve any rogue crystals.

Stay put: Don’t walk away or busy yourself with anything else. Sugar cooks quickly at this point and can go from perfect to smoking in a matter of minutes.

CANDY MAKING: SOFT-BALL STAGE VS. HARD-BALL STAGE
If you plan to do any amount of candy-making, investing in a reliable candy thermometer is advised. The candy thermometer you select should be marked at 2-degree intervals because that’s the degree of separation between “caramel” and “burnt.”
Thread stage: Sugar begins to hold its shape at 215°F (102°C)
Soft-Ball stage: 240°F (115°C)
Firm-Ball stage: 241-249°F (115-118°C)
Hard-Ball stage: 250-260°F (122-127°C)
Caramel stage: at 320°F (160°C) (Any hotter, the sugar will eventually explode.)
For light colored and delicate, mellow caramel flavor, cook the sugar to 300°F.
For darker more robust caramels, cook the sugar to 350°F.
FLAVOR VARIATIONS FOR HOMEMADE CARAMEL CANDY
Let your imagination be your guide when it comes to flavoring caramel candies. You can use extracts, flavor the cream, use liqueurs or simply finish them with salt.
Extracts: Replace the vanilla in this recipe with any of the extracts below.
Maple
Run
Cinnamon
Coconut
Steep: You can flavor the cream by steeping it with leaves or spices before straining it and adding it to the caramel.
Lavender
Rose petals
Tea leaves
Coffee
Boozy: Add liqueurs to the cream before heating it.
Grand Marnier
Bourbon
Brandy
Cognac

HELPFUL TIDBITS FOR CUTTING CARAMEL CANDY
Let your caramel cool for at least 3 hours on the countertop. Caramel that’s too soft won’t hold its shape and will only frustrate you in your attempts to wrap it.
A marble pastry board isn’t essential but if you have one they work great. I find it keeps the caramels cool and they stick less to marble than they do to other surfaces.
A long, sharp knife is essential to cutting caramels.
Butter the caramel cutting surface before you get started and butter the knife blade between each cut.
Use a ruler to guide your sizes when cutting so they fit into the wrappers.
If, after 3 hours of cooling, your caramel is too soft to cut, it may be the result of too much humidity in the air or not having cooked it to the proper temperature. Just repurpose it and use it as a caramel sauce.
If the caramel is too hard, it was cooked to too high a temperature during the final boil. You can melt it over a double-boiled or in hot milk to make a caramel drink or sauce.
HOW TO WRAP HOMEMADE CARAMEL CANDY
Wrapping the candies is fairly simple once you’ve gotten the hang of the twist. Use pre-cut squares that are labeled “twisting wax paper.” These hold the twist in the paper without the need for twist ties or ribbon.
Place the caramel in the middle of the long side of the wrapper and roll it up. Hold the candy and use the fleshy part of your thumb to hold one end of the wrapper while you twist with the other hand. Repeat this process on the other loose end.
HOW TO STORE HOMEMADE CARAMEL
I store my wrapped caramel candies in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid (or a lid that clamps). If you have any of those silica packets (they usually come in packages of jerky or nori or in shoe boxes), throw one of those into the jar as well. The air-tight, moisture-free environment will prevent the candies from growing too soft or too hard.
Store the jar in a cool, dark pantry for 3 weeks at room temperature.

HOW TO FREEZE SOFT CARAMEL CANDY
To freeze the wrapped caramel candies, just transfer them to a freezer storage bag and keep them in the freezer for 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
MORE CANDY RECIPES LEGGI TUTTO

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