I’m working on a cookbook for the Oregon Hazelnut Industry, and I thought it was time to share.
You see, some of the recipes are turning out pretty darn good. There will be everything from soup to, well, nuts. But it’s this one very delicious caramel that has my legion of taste-testers in a tizzy.
How do I know? I’m getting all these transparent hints like, “Well, Jan, about that hazelnut caramel candy you sent. I’m just not sure how I feel about it … I think I really do need another sample. Or two.”
Pathetic.
And yet, it got me thinking: In honor of spring and friendship, perhaps I should share. The recipe, that is. Besides, this special little caramel candy thing needs a name, and perhaps one of you, just might be the one to provide it.
In the book, the story about my special little caramel is going to be titled, “The Evolution of a Caramel … Mother Peach’s Caramels Meets the Oregon Hazelnut.”
It all began when a friend and former newspaper editor, Ginger Johnston, gave me a box of Mother Peach’s Caramels for Christmas.
She knew that those candies would mean a lot to me because they were made by another friend of mine, Cheri Swoboda. Cheri’s day job for over 25 years was home economist for The Oregonian’s food section.
But all the while, she has been selling her amazing caramels in her spare time. No caramel that I’ve ever had compares to the creamy-smooth-yet-chewy-buttery-brown-sugary perfection found in a Mother Peach’s Caramel.
None.
Of the special stash I had been nursing along for the weeks after Christmas, I’d found myself in the delightful post-lunch habit of opening one of those treasured Mother Peach’s Caramels and pressing its surface into a bowl of toasted and chopped hazelnuts. Just for a nosh. Turns out, the flavor combo of the caramelized sugar and butter and smokey-toasty-nutty hazelnut is exquisite. It’s hard to describe why. It just is.
So one night I thought, You know, I’m just going to have to come up with a caramel recipe as close to Mother Peach’s as I can get so I can create my own caramel-hazelnut confection for the book. Without giving away her secret recipe, Cheri generously shared some important tricks of the trade, plus a few guidelines on how to develop a good recipe.
So here’s what came of all my research and test-runs. I’m very pleased and I think you will be too. They are now a part of my Christmas treat repertoire. And in fact, when I shared some with the Hazelnut Marketing Board administrator, Polly Owen, her thoughts ran along the same lines.
“Oh my goodness!” she said. “I would definitely make these for some really good friends!”
You might think along those same lines when the holidays roll around. But I wouldn’t wait that long to make your own batch.
Meanwhile, if you come up with a good name for them, I’d really appreciate if you’d share.
(It’s just a working title, don’t be critical!)
Hazelnut-caramels
2cups toasted hazelnuts (a mixture of halved and coarsely chopped, see note)
1 1/2cups granulated sugar
1 1/2cups firmly packed golden brown sugar
1cup butter
1cup half &half
1cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
1cup light corn syrup
1/2teaspoon salt
1teaspoon vanilla
Lightly coat a 13-by-9-inch pan with cooking spray, then line it with parchment paper: Cut two rectangles of parchment paper, one measuring 9 by 22 inches, and the other measuring 13 by 18 inches. Lay the 9-by-22-inch piece in the pan so that the short dimension fits into the bottom of the pan and the long dimension drapes over the sides.
Spray the bottom of this piece of parchment with cooking spray (so the top sheet will stick to it), then press the other strip of parchment on top, orienting it in the opposite direction, so that there are a few inches of paper hanging over each side of the pan (this makes it easy to lift the caramel out in one whole slab when it’s time to cut it into pieces). Pour the hazelnuts into the prepared pan and spread them evenly.
In a heavy-bottomed 4-quart saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, half &half, heavy cream, light corn syrup and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the butter and sugars have melted and the mixture comes to a gentle boil. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
At this point, insert a candy thermometer and continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the candy thermometer reaches between 243 and 245 degrees. This will take at least another 20 minutes, but I’ve had batches that have taken up to 40 minutes, it varies due to the amount of moisture in the butter, for one thing. Don’t rush it! (That’s the advice of Mother Peach’s creator, Cheri Swoboda)
Remove the pot from the heat immediately and stir in the vanilla. Using two very thick pot holders (the pot is very hot and caramel is molten!), pour the hot caramel evenly into the prepared pan on top of the chopped nuts, pushing the caramel down into the nuts with your spoon or silicon spatula in various spots so some of the nuts come to the surface and others stay languishing on the bottom.
Let it cool completely at room temperature (the caramels never should be refrigerated; they’ll get very hard in cold temperatures). If it’s going to be more than two or three hours before you cut the caramel into pieces, cover the surface with another piece of parchment, then cover the entire pan with a piece of foil, crimping the corners so that the foil will help keep the caramel from being exposed to oxygen, which will make the surface of the caramels sticky.
When ready to cut, lift the slab of caramel from the pan using the excess parchment paper as handles and place it on a cutting board. Spray a large knife (or kitchen shears) with nonstick cooking spray. Cut the caramel into desired shapes. Wipe the blade and re-spray as necessary (I don’t usually need to do this more than once or twice).
To keep the caramels from sticking together, immediately wrap them in twists of waxed paper or food-grade cellophane (clear or colored). I’ve been able to purchase 6-by-6-inch food-grade cellophane wrappers from a local candy maker. Perhaps you can create a similar arrangement with one in your area. You can also check online.
Makes 3 1/4 pounds of caramels (about 64 individual pieces measuring 1-by-2 inches, a very generous size).
Note: Pay attention to the size of the hazelnuts. Don’t chop them too small. Everyone who’s tasted the candy agrees that part of its specialness is in the substantial chunk of nut mingling with the creamy caramel. A heavenly yin and yang thing, where complimentary opposites create a greater whole.
Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by email at janrd@proaxis.com, or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.
Mother Peach’s Caramels
Caramel creator, Cheri Swoboda doesn’t make it easy to obtain a batch of Mother Preach’s Caramels; there’s no Web site. But she does sell them to folks — even her dentist is a customer! Simply drop her a line at Mother Peach’s Homemade Caramels, P.O. Box 25071, Portland, OR 97298-0071.
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