Every Christmas season I make a variety of sweets that I give to friends and family. SO FAIR WARNING…. reading this might cause BORBORYGMUS (stomach grumbles!). Some of these delectable goodies include homemade caramel, turtles (made with the previously mentioned caramel), western pecan pralines, and autumn brittle. If you really know me, you know I always love to cook and bake, but these treats I only make once a year. Which makes it just a little more special to give these out to the ones I love. In my blog post last week 7 of My Favorite Things About Christmas, I mentioned this baking production that I do every year…and as promised, I am going to share with you some of these recipes and give you the low down on the baking scene in my kitchen this time of year.

We are going to dive right into one of the all-time favorites … DRUM ROLL PLEASE…. HOMEMADE CARAMEL. This stuff is indulgent. It is creamy and melts in your mouth; not one of those caramels that gets stuck in your teeth.

BEST CARAMEL EVER RECIPE:

1 Cup Butter

2 Cups Brown Sugar

1 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1/4 tsp Salt

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

1. Butter an 8-inch square pan and set aside

2. In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, melt butter and then add sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Stir until combined. Gradually stir in the condensed milk and cook until candy thermometer reaches 244 degrees or soft ball stage.

   **be careful to stir candy constantly, since the mixture burns easily. I usually stir every few minutes until the temp reaches 180 degrees, then stir constantly till it reaches 244 degrees.

3. Remove from heat, add vanilla, and mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

4. Allow to cool 4-6 hours (I usually place in the refrigerator) before turning out the set caramel onto a cutting board.

5. Cut into small squares and wrap in wax paper or place in plastic bag. I always close the bag with a cute Christmas ribbon.

Now, I usually double this recipe of caramel and pour half into the pan and use the other half to make Turtles. I’m not sure which is the crowd favorite… the caramel or the turtles. Either way the turtles are mouthwatering when you see them and finger lickin’ when you eat them. I don’t really need to give you a recipe for these… all you need to do is place a cluster of pecans (I use about 3) on a silicone sheet (don’t use wax paper… the hot caramel will melt it and make them stick- speaking from experience here!). When the caramel is done, pour a spoonful of it over the pecan cluster, and once the caramel is set dip the clusters in chocolate, set out to dry (you can use wax paper at this stage) …then enjoy!! I will give you one of my secrets… Use roasted and salted pecans…it makes the turtles exponentially better!

Moving on to the next scrumptious treat… Western Pecan Pralines. I found this recipe in my Nana’s Cookbook and underneath the title it says, “An Old favorite recipe from the early 1900’s.” I’m not really sure whose favorite it was, but now it’s mine…so without further ado, here is the recipe…

EASY WESTERN PRALINES

2 Cups Sugar

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Cup Buttermilk

2 Tbsp butter

2 1/2 Cups Pecan Halves

1. Mix sugar, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk in a large saucepan. Cook over high heat until mixture reaches 210 degrees on a candy thermometer. While mixture cooks, stir frequently, being sure to scrape bottom and sides to prevent sticking. Mixture will foam up - A LOT…so use 2x larger pot than you think is necessary!

2. Add butter and pecans. Over medium heat, continue cooking, stirring constantly and scraping bottom and sides of pan until candy reaches soft ball stage (234 degrees).

3. Remove from heat and cool slightly, about 2 minutes. Beat with a spoon until thick and creamy. (Mixture will start off glossy, you will know it’s ready when it gets a dull and opaque look). Drop from a tablespoon onto wax paper.

One of these PRALINES is definitely BONNE BOUCHE “a delicious mouthful!!”

And finally, I will share with you my mom’s favorite of all my Christmas candy…Autumn Brittle. I found this recipe by accident one day when I was looking for something different to make, and now it has become a staple in the Christmas Candy mix… except for last year! I was really busy with wedding plans, so I cut my candy list down and did not make this one, and I never thought I would hear the end of it!! Lesson Learned!!

AUTUMN BRITTLE

2 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Honey

1 Cup Water

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Butter

1 Cup Cashews

1 Cup Almonds

3/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds

2/3 Cup Dried Cranberries

1. In a large pot, heat sugars, honey, water, and salt over low-medium heat. NOTE: You should use a pot that is larger than you would think necessary, mixture will foam when it boils and increase in size.

2. Stir every 5 minutes. Continue to heat until mixture reaches 302 degrees on a candy thermometer, hard candy stage. Do not go over 302 degrees or the sugar will burn. It will take about an hour for mixture to reach 302 degrees.

3. While sugar mixture is boiling, place a piece of parchment paper on top of 9”x13” pan and grease the paper. I prefer to use a silicone mat that I lay flat on the counter.

4. When the sugar mixture reaches 302 degrees, remove from heat and stir in butter, cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and cranberries until coated in mixture

   *** You can mix up your nut/seed mixture. Sometimes I add sunflower seeds or do double almonds and omit the cashews.

5. Immediately pour mixture onto parchment paper or silicone mat and spread it out into a large rectangle using a rubber spatula. Try to make an even height (I prefer less than 1”). Allow brittle to cool and break into pieces. If you layer is really thick you might have to use a hammer…but if you make it a little thinner like me, it will break apart easily with your hands.

There are a few other things that I make in my Christmas candy menagerie, but I think these three are enough to keep you busy. Just another warning for you… If you make any or all of these, you will have people GROAKING at you (to stare at someone eating in the hope they will offer to share their food), and if you do share, they might act like GUT-GULLIES (an old Scots dialect verb used to describe eating greedily).

Let me know in the comments below if you make any of these…better yet, I would love to try them! Do you have any recipes that you love to make? I would love to see them! Maybe I will add them to the Christmas Candy Collection!