Honey caramels 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1. Honey caramels • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces • 1 cup honey (mild honey works best here) • 1 cup raw sugar (or granulated sugar) • 1/2 cup heavy cream • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla • Procedure: • Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper, letting the edges of the foil hang over the side of the pan and butter generously. • In a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan melt the butter. • Add the honey and sugar. • Stir over medium heat. Stir & cook until sugar has dissolved and is golden brown. • Carefully add the heavy cream. (It will bubble up). • Clip your candy thermometer onto the side of the pan….carefully. • Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches firm ball stage, which you can determine in one of two ways: • a. the mixture reaches 248ºF (give or take a degree or two) on a candy thermometer (it will be marked with “FB” or “firm ball”) or • b. Drop a bit of the mixture into a small bowl filled with ice water. • It should immediately form a ball that you can squeeze together with your fingers without it dissipating. • As soon as it has reached firm ball stage, immediately remove from the heat. • Quickly stir in the vanilla (it will bubble slightly) and pour the mixture into your greased pan. • .Let cool. Using the parchment paper, lift out of pan. Then, cut and wrap in waxed paper, cellophane or parchment paper. • Store in refrigerator for 2-3 weeks or in freezer for a few months. • Note: If you happen to accidentally take your caramels past the firm ball stage (i.e., if the caramel mixture gets a little too hard after it has cooled), melt the candy over low heat with 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Stir until the mixture is totally combined, then do the ice water test to check the consistency of the mixture (dropping the mixture into cold water is a reliable indicator of what the texture/consistency of the caramels will be when cool). Immediately pour into a newly-foil lined and greased pan, and cool completely. • ChocolateCaramels • Add 1 pkg. semisweet good quality chocolate chips to heavy cream. Heat over low heat until chocolate has melted. • Chai Caramels • Add chai spice mix to sugar. • 1 tea ground Cardamom • 2 tea. Ground Ginger • 1 tea. Ground Cloves • 2 tea. Ground Cinnamon • ½ tea. Ground black pepper • ½ tea. Freshly ground nutmeg