Yum. Caramels. Or how to turn your child into a little thief.

I haven't made caramels in about 6 years, because they're a bit time consuming. In fact, it took me an hour and a half to cut the caramels today. The heel of my hand still feels bruised tonight from pushing down on the knife to cut them. Then, it took another couple of hours to wrap each one. If they didn't stick to plastic wrap or waxed paper like they do, they wouldn't take so long to wrap. However, there's something rather gross about having to pick the plastic or waxed paper out of the caramel before eating it, so I'd rather use the cellophane.

Let me just say this:

They are totally worth the effort!

I made this little bowl the other night when I was doing the pinata. I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for when I was making it, but I knew it would be put to good use and Mom would like it. It wasn't until I was done making the caramels that I knew it's purpose.



To give you an idea of how many caramels are in there...the bowl is 9.25" in diameter and 6" tall. The doubled recipe I made makes 5.5 pounds of caramels. We did eat a few, but that's still over 5 pounds of goodness in that bowl!

I got my recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens CANDY cookbook that I've had for years, but it's also all over the web. If you want to try the recipe for yourself, you can find it here.

Oh. And the cookie jar?

Yeah. It's full now. I added 3 dozen more cookies after this picture was taken. The kids have been so good about not begging for any out of the jar, but I did go ahead and sneak one out for each of the girls today. It's such a temptation for them.

Speaking of temptation...Scooter really likes the caramels. Hopper does, too. And I did give them one here and there while I was wrapping them up today. The last time they got one, I gave Scooter hers and she immediately popped it into her mouth. I handed her Hopper's caramel and asked her to go give it to her sister. No sooner did I put it in her hand than the little turkey decided she wanted it. I caught her hand on it's way to her already full mouth, and told her it was her sister's. She grinned from ear to ear at having been busted, and I followed her to make sure she gave Hopper her caramel.

If you don't want to see your child become a little caramel thief, you may want to stick with store bought goodies!