Peppermint Candy Cane Caramels

Yes, one more holiday candy recipe - I didn't manage to post this before christmas, and I still have quite a backlog, but hey, this is appropriate all year round. (Or inappropriate, depending on your relation to candy, but that's another story.)

As with all caramel, don't attempt this without a candy thermometer, and don't let the kids help. It's a little scary since it's high temperatures involved, but it's not difficult at all. And the caramels are well worth any trouble!

Peppermint Candy Cane Caramels
makes at least 50

140 g glucose
280 g sugar
200 ml cream (full-fat)
80 g unsalted butter
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla powder or 1/2 scraped-out vanilla bean
1/2-1 tsp peppermint oil (or a little more if using extract)
100 g crushed candy canes

Start by combinining glucose and sugar in a saucepan, and heat until 165°C - watch it closely, it'll go quickly towards the end.

Meanwhile, bring cream, butter, salt, vanilla and mint to a boil in another pan, and keep it warm. When the sugar has reached the right temperature, add the cream mixture. Be VERY CAREFUL! It will sputter and bubble a lot.

Stir until it settles down into a homogenous mixture, and cook until it reaches 125°C. Pour into a prepared tin - I use a special non-stick foil, but you can just oil a tin.

Sprinkle with the crushed candy canes - if you do it right away, they'll melt, which is what I did. Wait for a minute or two if you want them to retain their texture and sit more on top.

Let the caramel set but not cool completely, and then turn out the whole slab on a cutting board. Cut it into good sized caramels. If it becomes too hard and brittle to cut, you can soften it briefly in the microwave, for 10-15 seconds.

Recipe in Swedish:
Pepparmintskola med polka