Wednesday

Chocolate Caramels From Epicurious

Just let me make this very clear.... I am not a food blogger, do not enjoy documenting cooking progress nor do I like to rewrite recipes or take pictures of food.

~ Read that above line one more time and soak it all in. ~

I do however enjoy eating, and I know good when I taste it.

I also like to join in on link parties my friends host, and one of my decorating inspirations, Holly over at Down To Earth, is having a holiday baking party I want to be part of.


I have been trying for 10 years to perfect or find a chocolate caramel recipe that is as good as my butter caramel recipe.  Last year I gave yet another recipe a try.

It turned out to be "the one".

The one that is now in the lineup of favorite holiday treats to make year after year.  The one good enough to end the yearly search for a chocolate caramel recipe.



It has the perfect creaminess and a very distinct chocolate flavor.  I found the recipe at Epicurious.  It is a salted caramel recipe that I love, but my family doesn't like the salt on top so I leave it off.

The caramels do look more gourmet with the salt flakes, but I haven't had anyone feel slighted without it.

Look at that hot vat of bubbling cocoa goodness.  Mmmmmmmmm.

The only change I have is to NOT cook it to the temp they call for in the original recipe.  The original recipe calls for cooking to 255* on a candy thermometer.  I find cooking to that temp makes the caramel too hard.  I recommend 252 and no higher for perfect ones, at least in my kitchen.  Cook it right at 252 and when it starts to go above that, turn it off.


Unlike my butter caramels this one is a two step boil process.  A little more work, but after a 10 year search for the perfect tasting chocolate caramels, I'm not messing with a good thing because the outcome is excellent.

I will doubled the batch again this year, without any problem for the original recipe.


I use Ghiradelli 60% bittersweet chocolate baking bars.  I won't use another brand because these give me the taste I was going for.

Yummmm.......  I don't like overly sweet, I want to taste the chocolate not just a sweet something I can't identify.

I gift some of them, but usually my family asks me to hoard these for us.  Not very giving at the giving time of year are they?

Remember to stop in at Down to Earth and link up a holly-day recipe or one of the other hosts; Amy at Atta Girl Says, or Marty from A Stroll Thru Life.

For the full chocolate caramel recipe/tutorial, head over to Epicurious .... those folks don't mind writing out tutorials like I do.  I like to just get right to the best part....... the eating.  And these are excellent eating if you want to indulge.



Stay Tuned, coming soon, December 2nd to be exact......



Linking up the goodies at:
Holiday Baking Party @DownToEarth



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23 comments :

  1. OH those look like they would melt in your mouth! Thanks for sharing, Bliss!

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  2. Oh my gosh... this looks darn technical and delicious. Yum. Glad to see you made it out of the chair room. :)

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  3. Yumm! I'll just run down to the neighborhood chocolate shop for mine but they sure do look delicious!
    Save me some leftovers! :)

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  4. I was just looking at your chocolate caramels on my Pinterest board from last year. Darn these look good! I think I want to attempt plain caramel first but then this is the next one I try!

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  5. Hey, quit hoarding the chocolates and save some for me! Those look lish. I have never made candy.

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  6. Just get in my mouth, already!

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  7. Those look delicious. Looks like the kind of candy that is made with love which makes the calorie count much less :).

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  8. I am the World's Second Worst Cook, my mom came in at #1. But, I am an excellent baker and candy maker. I am definitely going to make the chocolate caramels for our Christmas party.

    thanks

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  9. delicious! they look amazing and i can only imagine how good the kitchen smells. :)

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  10. I'm a huge chocolate lover so I know I would like those! My favorite candy is turtles. You know the chocolate covered caramel with pecans. I actually made those one year and they turned out pretty good but I still liked the ones from Russell Stover better so I never made them again. It's a lot of work to make homemade candy! I'll check out the recipe over at Epicurius (since you were being a slacker). Just kidding!

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  11. Wow look at you! I've never tackled any food that needs a thermometer stuck in it. I'm in awe...

    and I want some!

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  12. I'm another one who really doesn't like writing out recipes. I'm not big on measuring and you can't tell people to just put in an amount that looks right. I'd like to try this, so I guess I'd better go buy a candy thermometer!

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  13. This is on my list. Yum !
    Rose

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  14. Ditto on the disclaimer too, but wow, these look delicious and sound fabulous. Gotta' give them a try. Thanks so much for linking to the Holiday Baking Party. Hugs, marty

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  15. It's a blessing and a curse! I LOVE caramels - but they pulled my cap right off my tooth! But it was soooo worth it! P.S. Warning - you have a big glass Christmas light in your chocolates - be careful not to bite into it!
    Kelly

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  16. Yuuuuuummmmmmy, I'd have to try this recipe at work, making this at home would be lethal because there aren't enough people to share things with, and I'm already way over my chocolate quota for this month !

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  17. OMGosh these look DELICIOUS!! You can add candy maker to your list of talents. I adore caramels. Maybe Beth can throw a few in with the cake testers I am about to order. LOL

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  18. Did someone say chocolate.. or was that caramel? Wait, both in one?? I would have a hard time giving these away, too!

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  19. I'm going to have to give these a try. I need to come up with a small gift for our potluck at work, and I think these chocolate caramels are the ticket. Half of the group would appreciate the salted version, so I could do some of each. Pinning this. Thanks for sharing with us, unlike your selfish family. hehe

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  20. Yummy!! I love anything chocolate and caramel makes it even better.

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  21. Well you'd never know by the fabulous pics that you didn't like doing this! Can't have caramels, but I appreciate a good food pic that makes me drool!

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  22. YUM-MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

    Andi

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