My parents had a family friend who was a professional candy maker.  His name was Mr. Finn and he passed on his recipe for Caramels to my mother, who shared it with me when I was a teen in the kitchen.  I treasure the recipe because of the family connection and because these caramels are delicious!  One year for Christmas, I made pecan turtles to give as gifts using this caramel.  They did not last long.

When making candy you need a large heavy pot, wooden spoon to stir,  and a candy thermometer.

Mr. Finn’s Caramels

1 cup butter

2 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup light corn syrup

1 can (15 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in sauce pan.  Stir in sugar and salt, then add corn syrup and mix well.  Add sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly.  Continue stirring and cook to 245 degrees.  Remove from heat and st in vanilla.  Pour into 9″ buttered pan.  When cold, cut into squares and wrap.  Makes about 49 pieces.

Hard candy can be fun to make too, especially if you make it into suckers for your kids or favors for a special occasion. There are many candy molds available to choose from that make cute shapes.

4 cups sugar

1 cup Karo syrup (light corn syrup)

1/2 cup water

flavoring of your choice

Mix ingredients and bring to a boil.  Stir until 260 degrees.  Remove from heat and add flavoring.  Follow the mold instructions and carefully pour into molds; let set until cool.  Remove and store in a sealed container.

Another way to prepare this candy is to cover a shallow baking tray with muslin covered with confectionary (powdered) sugar.  Pour the candy and top with confectionary sugar.  When completely cool, lift from the tray with the cloth and break into bite size pieces.

If you have any homemade family candy recipes  you would like to share, I would love to add them to my collection.

Take time to take care of yourself; others are depending on you.