How to make Caramel

REVISED: I made alot of caramel for Christmas. I experimented. If you add a little water to the sugar, the little balls don't form. It takes a little longer to caramelize, but well worth the wait.

I first came across this watching Emeril Live. He doesn't use butter. I like butter in mine. It gives a margin of error. If you over cook it will not get all sugary brittle.
First, you need a heavy pan. One with a thick bottom. This is easily scorched. Nothing taste like burnt sugar. There is a point when it goes from a pretty amber color to burnt. It happens very quickly.

The recipe I use:
 1 cup granulated Sugar
 6 tablespoons melted Butter
 1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream, heated. Do not let it boil.

I usually double the recipe. I like it over ice cream. You can add 1 tsp of vanilla extract if you like the taste. I think it is a wast of time to put in vanilla flavor. It disappears. The Vanilla from the extract stays.

I put my put the sugar in my pan on high heat. As soon as it starts to melt, about 3-4 mins. I turn it down just a bit. High end of medium heat. If you are patient, and wait to stir it, you will not get the little chunks of sugar like I do. I am just afraid it will scorch. The chunks will melt.

 

 As it begins to melt, it turns a beautiful amber color. At this point, it should be stirred constantly.

 

 

I try to let all the chunks melt. If there are a few it is ok. They will melt. It only takes about 5-6 min for the sugar to melt.

Remove it from the heat and add the melted butter >>>>>>>

It will look like this. Stir it in until it is creamy..

The heavy bottom pan still allows the heat to cook it.

 

With the pan still off of the heat, slowly and the heated cream.
If it is not heated, it will seize up. Then you have to put it back on the heat and it gets all wonky.
The heavy pan still allows it to cook.

 I put it back on the burner, on high heat for 30 sec to 1 min. Let it get bubbly. When the bubbles start getting white (frothy) looking, take it off. Do not leave it on for more than a min. It will over cook.
After it stops bubbling, if you want vanilla, now is the time to add it.

I usually take a small ball jar and fill it to the top. Cap it, turn it upside down. As long as the lid seals it will keep in the pantry, if not, put it in the fridge. Great over ice cream and cheese cake.


Now i put the rest over popcorn. I take all ther unpopped kernals out first.  You can't see them and they hurt.

I hope this makes Caramel easy for you.








 

Pure Vanilla Extract

So I have seen this on Pinterest. I have found that there is no exact recipe. So I started with 8 Madagascar vanilla beans and vodka. I did scrap the beans out of 3 of the pods to use for icing. A few of the post I found said to start with at least 4 pods full of beans. Then, every time you use a vanilla bean, put the empty casing in the bottle.  Shake it once a week. It will be ready in 8-12 weeks. The longer it sits, the stronger it gets.  Just top it off with vodka each time you use it and shake.

More burp cloths

So I am at it again. Finally have gone part time at work. I made these for a friend that just adopted twin boys. I have found that I love black and white material. I can put any color on it, and it looks great.

More burp cloths

 I am learning what works. I don't like these colors on the pink and black.

This is what I call reverse applique.

Tear Bear

This is my first attempt at tear bears. They are made from torn mulberry paper. They look like crap until you finish the details. I think it turned out very well.

Burp Cloths

These are burp cloths. They are diapers on the other side. I found them online. They were a special buy. I can not get any more of them. I used ribbon to make the little tags on one edge. They are stiched twice to make them secure. My little one liked to chew on them. The top one is reverse applique. I used my machine to sew the first line. I cut away the material, then finished with the satin oval applique. Then stitched the M.  The bottom  was stitched on the material before I put it all together.  These are great baby gifts. Everyone seems to love them. 

I will be making baby blankets and little comfy taggies for babies to snuggle with.

First Blog

This is my first blog site. I am an avid srapbooker, however, I haven't had time the last few years. I recently purchased an embroidery machine. I plan on posting a lot of projects. I also like altered art.