How strong is your defense system against the season’s bounty of candy?
Mine is weakening… just in time for Halloween! When I realized I can barely resist opening a bag of candy bars waiting for trick-or-treating, my Russian Caramels saved the day..
Not that they are sugar free or anything.. Candy needs to be sweet after all! But it should also be satisfying, non-addicting, have simple ingredients and maybe even be slightly nutritious. That’s if you subscribe to the notion that fat (aka sour cream and butter) is nutritious, like I do.
WHAT MAKES THEM ‘RUSSIAN’ CARAMELS?
Russian caramels are different from their western counterparts because they are softer and have milder caramel flavor. They are sticky and chewy but not too stretchy. For whatever weird reason, my kids won’t have any part of regular caramel in any form but they adore my Russian version.
I grew up on this exact candy, brand called ‘Kis-Kis’. As soon as I made it at home for the first time, I had such a flash-back to my childhood, I loved it!
WHAT ABOUT THERMOMETER?
The less I have to worry about – the better, including temperature monitoring during cooking. This recipe is very popular with home cooks in the old country, and there are not a lot of folks in Russia who keep a thermometer around. Using a thick bottom pan and cooking on very low heat works just fine.
HOW TO MAKE RUSSIAN CARAMELS
Ingredients
1.25 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Place sugar in a thick-bottomed sauce pan, and heat it on very low heat for a few minutes, until it starts to melt.
When no visible crystals remain, add sour cream, and mix well.
Simmer on lowest setting for 20-30 minutes stirring every now and then, or until the caramel becomes thicker and a bit darker than initially (it will still be lighter than regular caramel).
Add butter and vanilla, mix to combine well.
Transfer to a parchment lined mold (I use a bread pan for a single batch, and a square brownie pan for a double batch).
Cool in refrigerator until it is thick enough to cut. Slice with a pizza cutter or a sharp knife. You can wrap it in pieces of parchment paper, if you wish.
I store it in an air tight container in refrigerator but you can store it at room temperature too.
Russian Caramels ~ Iriski
Ingredients
- 1.25 cup sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Place sugar in a thick-bottomed sauce pan, and heat it on very low heat for a few minutes, until it starts to melt.
- When no visible crystals remain, add sour cream, and mix well.
- Simmer on lowest setting for 20-30 minutes stirring every now and then, or until the caramel becomes thicker and a bit darker.
- Add butter and vanilla, mix to combine well.
- Transfer to a parchment lined mold (I use a bread pan for a single batch, and a square brownie pan for a double batch).
- Cool in refrigerator until it is thick enough to cut. Slice with a pizza cutter or a sharp knife. You can wrap it in pieces of parchment paper, if you wish.
- I store it in an air tight container in refrigerator but you can store it at room temperature too.
Notes
