Another recipe from an old "folk" cookbook
Holiday Delight (hint: It's whipped cream caramel, very similar to penuche, but not exactly like it)
3 c sugar
1 1/2 c cream
1/2 lb chopped pecans
1/2 lb chopped Brazil nuts
1/2 lb chopped walnuts
1 c white corn syrup
1/2 lb chopped candied cherries
1/2 lb chopped candied pineapple
1 tsp vanilla
Cook sugar, syrup and cream to soft boil stage (watch carefully as it burns easily). Take off range; add vanilla and beat until slightly thickened. Begin to add chopped fruits and nuts. Continue beating until thick. Pour into buttered loaf pan. When firm, cut into slices. Makes 5 pounds of candy.
Edith Jacobs
Okay, so I made this. I had to look up "soft boil stage" in a 1916 cookbook because it does not mean what modern "soft ball stage" is (despite what you'll read on forums and websites all across the internet). It means more akin to firm ball stage in our lingo--the boiled mixture, dropped in very cold water, will form a ball that holds its shape but can be squished (therefore is soft). If you watch the boiling process, the sugar mixture goes through a frantic boil, then a climbing boil, and then it settles down into a softer boil that is much thicker and slower--akin to firm ball stage, and a way of knowing caramel is done without testing the mixture. You watch for it to hit this soft boil, and it's ready. (I always test it in cold water anyway, just to be sure.) This is the stage you cook caramel to. If you use our modern version of "soft ball stage," you get a fantastic soft caramel that won't hold its shape and that it's a waste of time to beat because it just melts back into itself again. I know this because that's what I did the first time I made it.
I made this without the nuts or fruits because 11 yo has nut allergies and I didn't want to buy candied pineapple. It's so so yummy!
If you don't beat this, you have a fantastic and delicious vanilla cream caramel. If you beat it, you get a kind of nougat. Either way, delicious. Just make sure you cook it long enough. Also, I poured it into a 9x9 pan lined with buttered aluminum foil.
Holiday Delight (hint: It's whipped cream caramel, very similar to penuche, but not exactly like it)
3 c sugar
1 1/2 c cream
1/2 lb chopped pecans
1/2 lb chopped Brazil nuts
1/2 lb chopped walnuts
1 c white corn syrup
1/2 lb chopped candied cherries
1/2 lb chopped candied pineapple
1 tsp vanilla
Cook sugar, syrup and cream to soft boil stage (watch carefully as it burns easily). Take off range; add vanilla and beat until slightly thickened. Begin to add chopped fruits and nuts. Continue beating until thick. Pour into buttered loaf pan. When firm, cut into slices. Makes 5 pounds of candy.
Edith Jacobs
Okay, so I made this. I had to look up "soft boil stage" in a 1916 cookbook because it does not mean what modern "soft ball stage" is (despite what you'll read on forums and websites all across the internet). It means more akin to firm ball stage in our lingo--the boiled mixture, dropped in very cold water, will form a ball that holds its shape but can be squished (therefore is soft). If you watch the boiling process, the sugar mixture goes through a frantic boil, then a climbing boil, and then it settles down into a softer boil that is much thicker and slower--akin to firm ball stage, and a way of knowing caramel is done without testing the mixture. You watch for it to hit this soft boil, and it's ready. (I always test it in cold water anyway, just to be sure.) This is the stage you cook caramel to. If you use our modern version of "soft ball stage," you get a fantastic soft caramel that won't hold its shape and that it's a waste of time to beat because it just melts back into itself again. I know this because that's what I did the first time I made it.
I made this without the nuts or fruits because 11 yo has nut allergies and I didn't want to buy candied pineapple. It's so so yummy!
If you don't beat this, you have a fantastic and delicious vanilla cream caramel. If you beat it, you get a kind of nougat. Either way, delicious. Just make sure you cook it long enough. Also, I poured it into a 9x9 pan lined with buttered aluminum foil.
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