Honey Caramels

soft and chewy honey caramels with macadamia

and walnuts

It's good to start the new year with sweet sweet stuff and what could be better than salted honey caramels loaded with nuts or enrobed in dark chocolate. The soft chewy silky buttery caramels are so yummy and utterly addicting. I thought of dipping them in melted chocolate, saw this cookie and caramel candy, baked a few crunchy brown sugar meringue cookies, melted some dark bitter chocolate and had the most delicious chocolate treat ever!

brown sugar cookies layered with honey caramel and enrobed in bitter chocolate

Honey Caramels
recipe adapted from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

2 cups coarsely chopped walnut or macadamia pieces, optional
¾ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup honey
2 cups sugar
3/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil. If using walnuts, spread them in the prepared pan.
• Combine the syrup, honey, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula, until the mixture simmers around the edges. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover the pan, attach a candy thermometer to the saucepan, and cook uncovered, without stirring until the mixture reaches 305°F.
• Meanwhile, heat the cream in a small saucepan until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.
• When the mixture is at 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically. Turn the heat back on until the mixture boils. Stir until smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly to 248°F for soft chewy caramels or 250°F for firmer chewy caramels.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let stand for 4 to 5 hours or overnight until firm.
• Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner and turn the caramel right side up. Cut the caramel into desired size. Wrap individually in wax paper or cellophane.

Apple Carpaccio

apple carpaccio with orange blossom and mint ice cream

Alice Medrich in her cookbook PURE DESSERT has a recipe for microwaved thinly sliced apples she calls Summer Apple Carpaccio. The apple halves take 45 seconds to cook in the microwave oven and have less than a teaspoon of sugar each. The apple slices become soft and almost transparent but still crunchy and they are served either fanned or shaped to look like garden roses. She suggests pairing them with Rose Water and Mint ice cream or drizzle with caramel ssauce. I adapted her ice cream recipe using orange blossom water because I was not sure if I will like the rose water flavor, doubled the mint leaves for a stronger mint flavor, and increased the milk by just half a cup. The ice cream flavors are so good together and perfect with the simple sweet apple. And the rose apple "petals" look pretty and fun to eat. The apples are also fantastic with Salted Caramel ice cream.

recipes are adapted from PURE DESSERT by Alice Medrich
Apple Carpaccio

• Cut the apples in half lengthwise. Peel and core. Place one half apple cut side down on a cutting board and cut crosswise into 1/8 inch slices, leaving the slices in place. Transfer into a saucer, sprinkle with ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar, cover with a bowl, and microwave on high for 45 seconds (1000 watts oven). Cook one half apple at a time.

• Fan the cooked apple and transfer on a serving plate using an offset spatula. Or shape into roses. Cool completely before shaping. Twist the middle slice without removing it, into a cone to form the bud at the center of the rose. Wrap one or two adjacent slices partially around the bud to resemble the inner petals of the rose. Continue to arrange the adjacent slices, working from the center outward, until the apple looks like an open garden rose. Use an offset spatula to transfer the rose to a serving plate.

cooks in 45 seconds and shaping takes a few minutes

Orange Blossom Water And Mint Ice Cream
1 cup whole milk
12 mint leaves
½ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons orange blossom water, more or less to taste
2½ cups heavy whipping cream

• Blend the mint leaves and milk in a blender. Strain milk through a very fine sieve into a measuring bowl with spout. Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Add the orange blossom water and heavy whipping cream, stir to combine. Pour into an ice cream maker and churn for 20 minutes. Transfer into an ice cream container and freeze until scoopable. Serve with apple carpaccio rose.