Homemade Caramels!

Today, I made these:

Is there anything better than homemade caramel? No, no there isn't. Every year around the holidays my mom's friend at work would make caramels and send them to our house... and they were amazing. I really wanted some this year but making them seemed so daunting. I looked for recipes all over until I finally found the most perfect recipe for simple caramels that had great directions and tips to make sure they turned out exactly as they should: chewy and delicious.

I can take no credit for this recipe, it comes from a great blog Givers Log. The original post on her blog is Here - I highly recommend going to check it out to get detailed instructions! 

Step 1: Grab your candy thermometer and clip it to the side of a 3-6 qt pan filled with cold water. Make sure the bottom of the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pan! Bring the water to a boil and note the temperature. Water should boil at 212 degrees- but since my thermometer is not top notch- it marked boiling water at 210 degrees. (I got mine for $5 bucks as Walmart- good, quality candy thermometers can cost upwards of $30 at least)

 Step 2: Grab your ingredients:
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 14oz can of sweet condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

(prepare a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper to pour the caramel in)

 Step 3: Take your butter and chop it into easy melting cubes- and put in an empty 3-6 qt pan until melted. (Use LOW heat)

 Step 4: (Which I don't have a picture of since it takes a little finesse) Add your brown sugar slowly in the middle of the pot. Givers Log points out you do NOT want sugars to crystallize on the edge of the pot - it can ruin your caramel! SLOWLY stir in your brown sugar until it's fully combined with your melted butter- you want to make sure you won't have greasy, separated caramel!

Step 5: Add in your corn syrup and sweet condensed milk (doesn't it look cool?) and stir until it's well mixed on medium heat for a minute- slowly (as to not shock the candy) moving it up to medium high heat until it reaches a boil. Clip your thermometer back on the side of the pan - again making sure not to have it touching the bottom of the pan.

 Step 6: Figure out what temperature will keep your caramel rolling at a medium boil. For me, I needed to slowly turn it to a medium-low temperature- but that's just because my oven burners are ridiculously hot. Adjust it as need be. Frequently stir your caramel until it reaches the necessary softball stage (normally 244 degrees -but because of my thermometer being off I took it off the heat at 242 degrees). Givers Log explains that if you don't frequently stir your caramel will become greasy and separated. After about 30 minutes or so of stirring your caramel will reach the necessary temperature.

 Step 7: Once your caramel reaches the right temp- take it off the heat and immediately stir in the vanilla. This will give your caramel rich color!

 Step 8: Pour in the parchment lined pan so it can cool for a few hours.

 mmmmm looks good, right?

 Step 9: Start cutting!  I used a pizza cutter- which made it really easy to slice through. I cut some in long thin strips and some smaller and shorter like Tootsie Rolls.

 Step 10: Cut wax paper in small squares and wrap the caramels up- give them out or just enjoy them all yourself!

I have to take off my hat to Givers Log, the recipe was great and the caramels are totally delicious. I had to hide them from Michael before he ate the whole pan (which all cut up gave me well over 100 caramels)!

Now I'm going to look for other things to add to the recipe next time I make it- like Fleur de Sal or coffee extract. Yum!

I've got to say- although tedious- caramels are really pretty easy to make and well worth the time. Come visit us in VA and I'll make you some! That is, if Michael doesn't get to them first...

NYE Already?!

 I work retail, which means from November 1st-December 25th all I hear is Christmas music. I actually don't mind the classic Christmas songs- but when you hear all the terrible remade versions of them for almost 2 months straight- it makes you go a little bonkers.


There's a particularly upsetting version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" that's a mix between a song from Mariah Carey's "Butterfly" and nails on a chalkboard. It's painful. During the "he's gonna find out who's naughty or nice" portion it's more like "heeeeeeeeeeeee's gonnafindout whoooooooooo's naughtayyyy or niiiiiiiice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yes. That many exclamation marks. GAH.

For the life of me I can't get that line out of my head- and to calm down the screeching I decided to make the best out of it and run with the "naughty or nice" theme- but for New Year's Eve! Michael and I haven't decided whether we'll be in Richmond or DC for our first East Coast NYE- but either way I intend to:
1. Dress up
2. Drink Champagne
3. Be around confetti

Real original, right? Either way- it all led to this premature NYE Polyvore collection:

Naught or Nice NYE by beautyandthebeard featuring a zipper shirt

My favorite piece by far is the Champagne Skirt for $59.... aaaand the Neon Yellow Slap Dash Collar for ....gasp...$1,750. Guess that won't be making it's NYE appearance with me this year! 

Cranberry Champagne Fizz

Sunday I hosted a holiday party for the ladies I work with, and had been searching for a drink that would be festive for the occasion. I'm not an eggnog fan, so I searched for a fruity alternative.

Luckily, my friend Carly over at A Simple Affair  had recently had a party and let me steal her idea for a drink! All you'll need is champagne, cranberry juice (or cranberry-pomegranate like I used), frozen cranberries, and limes.

Pour in some champagne, add in some cranberry juice, a small handful of frozen cranberries, and some thin slices of limes and you're all good to go!

 Looks delicious, right?

Since not everyone at the party would be drinking alcohol, I had ginger ale and sparkling grape juice on hand to assure everyone could enjoy the festive, fruity drink!

What drinks will you all have at your holiday parties?