Рецепт Licorice Caramels...
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Just in time for Halloween - these make the PERFECT treat... but don't waste them on the rugrats that ring doorbells...save them for only the most discriminating Ghosts and Ghouls.
I had my first licorice caramel at a gas station in Layton, Utah...I went inside to pay for gas and on the counter was a bowl with hand-wrapped candy and a sign that said, "Homemade Licorice Caramels $2.50 each." Yes, highway robbery! I remember thinking someone must be very proud of themselves! Diabetes Satan appeared and told me to buy a handful...but I resisted and only bought one, put it in my pocket and quickly forgot about it - until two days later when it was discovered, quickly unwrapped and popped in my mouth. Eating it was like a minute-ride on the Prozac Express...60 seconds of sugary Heaven, no worries, no cares...so, so good...chewy, with the flavor of licorice/anise but not so over-powering that it blocked out the caramel taste...and now I know why whoever made them felt she could charge 2.50 a piece...it was worth it.
Unable to find the gas station again I was left with trying to recreate them at home...and after three different attempts, I finally succeeded...the picture makes them look like they're brown/chocolate...but they are black, thanks to black food coloring - so perfect for Halloween. One 9x13-inch pan will make about 100 pieces of candy, so you'll have plenty to share with your caramel-worthy friends.
- Licorice Caramels - Pots and Pins
- 1 cup karo syrup
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 sticks butter (do not use margarine)
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons Anise extract
- 3 to 4 drops black food coloring
Butter a 9x13-inch glass baking pan and set aside. In a heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven, combine sugar, karo syrup and butter over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Add sweetened condensed milk slowly, stirring until well blended with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until mixture is past the soft-ball stage and will hold it's shape when a drop of caramel is put into cold water and then removed. If using a candy thermometer heat until 242 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in extracts and black food coloring. Pour into buttered pan. Let cool completely and then cut into pieces, 1/2-inch wide by 1 1/2-inches long, wrap in waxed paper, twisting the ends to secure. Makes about 100 pieces.
My sister made me these darling candy bags - they are now filled with delicious licorice-caramels and are waiting to be delivered on All Hallows Eve...yes, I will be out, donned in my witch's costume, ding-dong-ditching (but I leave treats instead of taking them!) again this year...be afraid...be very afraid!