Afraid of Making Caramel? Read this

One of the best things about hosting a party is that you get to select the menu. You can make what you’re in the mood to eat or simply something you want to make. When it comes to desserts, mine most often contain some sort of caramel.

I have a passion for caramel. I learned to make it before I was told or realized it was allegedly hard—sometimes ignorance is bliss.

If I’d read arduous instructions about what to do and expressly what not to do, I probably would never have tried melting sugar over high heat and hoping it would result in that sweet, rich, creamy substance that I love so much. Don’t worry, I won’t tell you all the things you need to watch out for—you don’t need to know. But I will show you how to make caramel.

For the holidays I made caramel walnuts. I’ve included the recipe below. Next week I’ll make a video to show you how you can make the caramel and combine it with the nuts to come up with these delicious candies.

Caramel Walnuts

1 cup sugar

2 cups walnut pieces

Place parchment paper on a sheet pan (18” x 13” x 1 inch)

Caramel is melted sugar. It can go from perfect to burnt very quickly. Caution - Do not walk away when you are making it. 

Use a heavy-bottom skillet or sauté pan

1.     To make caramel place the sugar in the pan. Shake the pan to even out the sugar.

2.     Place on medium-high heat.

3.     Without stirring, let the sugar begin to melt around the outside.

4.     Once the sugar has started to melt start stirring the melted sugar into the remainder of the sugar. Lower the heat to medium-low to slow the caramel from darkening before all the sugar has melted.

5.     You want the caramel to become a medium amber color. Turn the heat off.

6.     Add the walnuts and mix them into the caramel to coat them completely.

7.     If the caramel gets too stiff, turn the heat back on to soften it without letting it burn.