Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Maple Caramel Candies

These are known in our family as "Knack" (kuh-neck, should be two dots over the "a" but I can't figure out how to do that.) My mom is Swedish and always made these for us every Christmas.

1 c. heavy cream
1 c. maple syrup
1/3 c. sugar
1 TBS butter

Mix all ingredients in a pot. Heat on med -med high and bring it to a boil. Let it bubble for about 1/2 hour. Heat to about 250 degrees (or firm ball stage). You can test the texture by dripping it into a cup of ice water. You want a ball formed without sticking. Pour it into small candy cups while it's still hot and let it cool.

If you prefer, you can make it softer (240 degrees), or hard like toffee (anywhere from 260 to 300). We like the chewiness we get at 250 degrees.

I bet you could also substituted other natural sweeteners for the sugar, I just haven't tested it yet! If you do, let me know the results! I would try no extra sugar, or honey or sucanat.

2 comments:

Lindsay said...

Sounds sooo good. I may have to try these tomorrow!

CompleteLee Blogger said...

Do you actually get knack to work? Mine seems to fail every year! I keep trying and trying. I'll try again this year. At least I make really good pepparkakor now!