CHEF JEFF — ONE BYTE AT A TIME: Old-Fashioned Caramels

This would be a hit at holiday gatherings.

Old-Fashioned Caramels

2 cups granulated sugar

1½ cups light corn syrup

1 cup butter

2 cups cream, divided use

½ cup cocoa

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts

Butter pan and set aside. Put cold tap water in several bowls to test mixture for hard-ball candy stage.

Boil sugar, corn syrup, butter, 1 cup cream and ½ cup cocoa until mixture comes to a rolling boil that can’t be stirred down. Continue boiling; slowly add the second cup of cream while continuing to stir and allowing the mixture to keep boiling. Stir and cook until the mixture makes a hard ball in cold tap water (250 degrees on candy thermometer). Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and nuts and pour mixture into the prepared pan to cool. Mark for squares and turn onto wax paper while still warm or allow cooling completely and breaking with a knife handle.

Grab more food tidbits at the Chef Jeff blog at GrandForksHerald.com.

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