A new twist

I love my grandmother's caramel recipe. It is a great basic recipe that you can really customize to whatever occasion or craving you have.

After Katelyn made caramels for Young Women in Excellence in November she began to think of other alternatives. One of her most repeated requests was to make a caramel slab with a peppermint ribbon running through it.

I liked the idea lots! I do love peppermint. I wonder if it has anything to do with my birthday being Christmas day?

Anyway, now that I had a day to myself without any other pressing demands, I decided to give it a try.

I followed the recipe for the basic caramel. Then I poured about one cup into a measuring cup and the rest into the prepared dish. I added some red food coloring paste (Wilton's) and about 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract. When that was thoroughly mixed, I poured the red into the plain. Then I took a toothpick and swirled it all together.

I thought I would end up with a marbled caramel. Instead, the red just sat on top of the brown and didn't really blend the way I had hoped. I did love the flavor, though. It was a very subtle peppermint ~ not overpowering at all.

I think next time I will save out two portions ~ one to mix with the flavor and one to pour on top of the red ribbons. I think that will better achieve the marbled look I failed to produce here.

Now on to bigger and better treats ~ caramels with walnuts, and later, FUDGE!