Not too long ago I started experimenting with cooking Cara-Sel down from a sauce to a candy, specifically, the "firm ball" stage. I first tried "soft ball," but felt a little firmer was best. This all began because I wanted to chop the caramel and fold it into brownie batter (um, yeah, the brownies are amazing).
I kept meaning to post the instructions in case one of you wonderful folks wanted to try it, too, but, well, life got in the way. Fast forward to a few days ago when I saw on Instagram that one of my favorite bloggers (two sisters, one blog!) was playing around with baking caramel in cookies. Not being able to sit idly by, I sent her some sauce to play around with. We corresponded a bit via email about the method for the caramel and after further experimenting, Hannah came up with a complete recipe and had the great idea of us posting in conjunction. FUN!
The method for turning Cara-Sel from sauce into soft/firm candy is below and the recipe for Double Chocolate Caramel Cookies (!!!) can be found over at The Cookery Wife. If you know what's good for you, you'll head over to there to check it out. And then subscribe to their blog, of course.
How to make Cara-Sel Chews:
Even though I was only using a 12 fluid oz jar, I used a 2.5 quart pot. You'll not only want a heavy-bottomed pot, but one with lots of room for the caramel to expand. As you can see here, there is TONS of room.
As soon as you start cooking, get your pan ready. This 10x6 size seems just about perfect for the amount of caramel I am working with here. You can go bigger or smaller; it will only affect the dimensions of your candy. A smaller pan = a smaller, thicker slab. A bigger pan = a larger, thinner slab. Line the pan with parchment or non-stick foil.
I cook the caramel over medium, medium/high heat and keep an very close eye on it. You don't need to whisk it, but an occasional stir with a spatula (one that can take high heat is a must) is a good idea. This photo shows the caramel almost at soft ball/240˚. I am shooting for firm ball/250˚. It gets there pretty quickly, so I wasn't able to get the shot (and to be honest, I got distracted and almost reached hard ball/260˚). As soon as it hits 250˚, take it off the heat and pour it into your lined pan.
If you use parchment, like I did here, you will notice that it won't stay put down in the pan until you start to pour the hot caramel in. Try to guide the caramel into the edges by carefully pushing the paper down into the corners. The pan will be super hot, even where it is not directly touching the caramel, so please use caution!!!
Once it is cool, which won't take long, your caramel slab will be ready to chop for your favorite recipe. You could also wrap pieces in waxed paper to enjoy as caramel candies (especially if you mess up and go all the way to 260˚ like I did), but I haven't played around with this enough to give you advice on shelf stability. If you plan on baking with the firm caramel another day, you can store it, wrapped, at room temperature or in the fridge.