Homemade Chewy Maple Caramels

At Halloween, I love making homemade old-fashioned candy; toffee, caramels, candy apples, caramel corn and the like – the smell of cooking sugar is akin to baking apples, remininscent of leaves crunching underfoot.

These are those soft, chewy caramels you sometimes see wrapped in waxed paper on coffee shop counters that are always more expensive than I think they should be, but then again totally worth it. The maple syrup adds a maple flavour. Roger’s Golden Syrup makes them more buttery. And if you cook them right to 244°F, they won’t compromise your dental work.

At a time when everyone is all about the chocolate – I’m veering toward caramel. Total comfort food, and a good jaw workout too. That counts, right?

Ingredients: 

1 cup (250 ml) sugar

1/2 cup (125 ml) packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (125 ml) butter

1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream

1/2 cup (125 ml) pure maple syrup or Roger’s Golden Syrup

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Butter an 8×8″ pan.

Combine all ingredients except the vanilla in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil (15 to 20 minutes).

Continue cooking, until a candy thermometer reaches 244°F, or a small amount of mixture dropped into ice water forms a firm ball (about 25 to 30 minutes).

Stir in the vanilla and pour into the buttered pan.

Chill until set. Cut into squares. If you like, wrap each square in waxed or parchment paper.