This year has flown by! Our family had a crazy year. We moved, welcomed a new baby boy, started a new business and had so many more ups and downs. Through it all we’ve done our best to slow down and really appreciate all we have and more importantly who we have in our life. This recipe’s versatility makes it something we savor every holiday season.
In this version of the recipe, it's used in caramel-dipped pears, cashew caramel turtles, and wrapped caramels. All of these ingredients are sure to impress this holiday season. I usually dip 3-4 pears, make 24-30 turtles and then use the rest for plain caramels.
Ingredients:
Caramel
1 lb. light or dark brown sugar
1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 (14 oz) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 c. dark corn syrup
½ tsp. mapleine or maple extract
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. molasses
¼ tsp. coarse sea salt
For the pears:
3-4 almost ripe pears
Caramel apple sticks
1 lb. white chocolate melting wafers
¾ c. crushed Biscoff cookies
For the turtles:
1 ¼ c. roasted, salted whole cashews
½ lb. white chocolate melting wafers
Sea salt
Instructions
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In a large heavy bottom pan over medium high heat, combine brown sugar, butter, milk, corn syrup, extracts, molasses and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
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Once it's dissolved do not stir again. Using a candy thermometer, let the caramel boil until it reaches 242 degrees. It takes about 10-12 minutes.
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Let cool for 5 minutes.
For the Pears
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Press the skewers down through the core of the pears.
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Dip each pear leaving about an inch at the top.
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Let them cool completely on a piece of parchment paper covered baking tray. Melt chocolate wafers in a small bowl. Then, let chocolate cool for 3-5 minutes.
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Dip pears into chocolate, scraping off all excess from the bottom. Turn upside down for 10-15 seconds. Then roll in the crushed cookies and let cool on the tray.
For the turtles
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On a large baking sheet with parchment paper, place 6-8 cashews into little piles. I did 12 little piles per tray and two trays total.
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Using a spoon, drizzle small clumps of caramel over the cashews. Let cool.
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While the caramel is cooling, melt chocolate. Drizzle the white chocolate over the caramel and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
For the caramels.
1. Pour remaining caramel into an 8x8 pan, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and let cool.
2. Once cooled, cut into squares and wrap in wax paper.
Notes
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For a gluten-free pear option, roll in cinnamon sugar instead of cookies.
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Almonds and macadamia nuts are delicious substitutes for the cashews.
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Apples can be used instead of pears.