Maple Butter Caramels
The Couche Tard at the end of my street doesn’t sell those tiny Kraft caramels that every deppaneur (corner store) in Canada seems to have at the cash register for a nickel, or a dime, or whatever they’re charging nowadays. To curb my cravings, I decided to make a swanky version by myself.
I’m always a little nervous cooking with sugar, and it’s probably because I need to invest in a better candy thermometer, and be more patient when it comes to eating the results. Too many times have I reached into caramel wondering “is it cool yet?” only to plunge my blistered finger into ice water instead of my mouth with its caramel covered goodness. I froze these caramels, just to be safe.
We’ve enjoyed snacking on these buttery, gooey morsels, but I decided to bake up the remainder of the batch into Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies.
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- (optional) 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel
- Prepare a 9″ long loaf pan or similar container (I used a Christmas cookie tin, for example) by lining it with parchment paper and greasing it lightly.
- Heat the cream, salt and butter in a small pot or microwavable container until the butter melts and the salt dissolves, then set aside for later.
- In a large, heavy bottomed pot, heat the syrup and sugar over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to medium and continue to cook until a candy thermometer registers 310 degrees.
- Stir in the cream mixture (be careful as it will bubble up in the pot), then continue to cook until the candy thermometer registers 260 degrees again.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the cold butter. Quickly pour this into the prepared pan. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before sprinkling the top with finishing salt, if desired. Slice into squares with a warmed knife. Wrap them individually or space them apart to prevent them from sticking to each other. Keep cool.
Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz.