Candy, Candy, Everywhere

Making candy at Christmas isn't about providing treats for the guys, so much as for myself because Jeff's kids always bombard him on the last day of school with enough goodies to feed a small army. This year's haul includes five large-size Hershey bars, a myriad of regular-size holiday candy like red and green M & M's, two of the 8 oz chocolate kisses, plates of fudge and caramel corn (both homemade and purchased), small gift bags filled with assorted Lindt chocolates, mugs of gourmet hot cocoa mix with peppermint stick stirrers, and a gift certificate for a one-pound box of See's chocolates. Obviously, the kids know that Jeff is a chocoholic extraordinaire. Alas, though, I am a little pickier about my sweets. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy an excellent piece of chocolate as much as anyone (so the Lindor truffles from the goody bags are on my radar), but I don't think Hershey bars, M & M's, and grainy fudge fit that description.

So, in an effort to feed my own sweet tooth, today I made almond butter crunch (aka toffee) and salted chocolate caramels. The toffee recipe is a basic one from my old standby Better Homes and Gardens cook book. The real secret to making this candy is in the finishing. Most toffee recipes call for cooking the syrup to the hard crack stage, but I think it is too crunchy at that point and just succeeds in sticking to my teeth. So I always stop at the soft crack stage which still provides a brittle texture to easily break the candy when its cool, but leaves it soft enough that the buttery goodness just melts in the mouth. On top of that, I don't ever mix the nuts into the toffee. Again, I like the texture of the unadulterated toffee. I do, however, put slivered almonds on top to add just a little crunch. In addition, many directions say to allow the candy to cool and then spread melted milk chocolate on top. I much prefer the richness of darker chocolates, so I always use semi-sweet for this step (Buy a good brand like Ghiradelli for the best results.) and I sprinkle the chips (or chopped up bar) across the toffee as soon as it has been poured. Walk away for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to melt from the heat of the candy, and then simply spread it across the top and sprinkle on those almonds. (I find that the amount of time it takes me to thoroughly scrape the bottom of the pan and gingerly eat the hot candy from a spoon is just about the right amount of time for the chocolate to melt.)

The salted caramels are a new treat for me this year. Yesterday, my mom posted a blog link on Facebook from a woman who tried this recipe (from the Kraft website http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/salted-chocolate-covered-caramels-120321.aspx ) and wrote her own review. She noted that she had trouble getting the toothpicks into the caramels. I didn't experience any difficulty, though I think a few seconds in the microwave might soften them up a little if necessary. In addition, I left the toothpick in the caramels to make them easy to pick up and eat later (voila! built-in handle). Basically, I followed the recipe and directions from Kraft, though I did add a little shortening (to make the chocolate smoother and shinier) and a teaspoon of instant coffee to intensify the dark chocolate flavor even more. I was also pretty liberal with the sea salt, knowing that I like the contrast between salty and sweet. In addition, I didn't put my in the fridge to set up since that would harden the caramels. (Yes, I could wait for them to warm back up once they're set, but I'm not known for my patience!) Instead, I chilled a cookie sheet in the freezer while I made the toffee and pulled it out to drop the caramels on after dipping. The cold pan helped the chocolate set up quickly without making the caramels hard. In the end, these did not disappoint. The richness of the dark chocolate married to the sweet caramels and punctuated with grains of sea salt made a perfect combination on the tongue. I suppose I should be glad Jeff's kids send home so much candy for him (and the boy) to eat since it leaves more of the really good stuff for me.