Bourbon Rose Caramels

It’s the middle of December, and it’s almost that time of here when you start thinking about your past year’s events and the next year’s resolutions. Every year, I start a list of ambitious resolutions, but I almost always forget them. They’re also very generic: exercise more, be nice to people, work hard, waste less time. Generic, non specific, unachievable goals. Ok, maybe not unachievable, but I think I need more specific goals. I recently started reading a book called The Happiness Project, in which the author, Gretchen Rubin, decides to be happier by creating monthly goals that are realistic and doable. I think that’s a great idea, and while I don’t think I can set monthly goals, I do think starting off with a realistic goal might just be that first baby step to larger ones. For me, I started to consciously drink 1.5 liters of water a day. I know the recommended value is more than that, but I already drink water throughout the day – I just never kept track of it. I have this water bottle that is 0.75 liters. During work, I will have to make sure that I drink two full bottles a day.

I’ll let you know how that goes. Back to this year. I got married this past year in June – probably the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me. :). The reason i started thinking about this is that when I was planning (back in 2013), I wanted to do everything DIY. I did my own save-the-dates and invites, did a set of our own engagement photos, did my own flowers with my sister, did my own party favors. However, I quickly realized that I could not do everything DIY, unless I wanted to resemble a dehydrated scarecrow with my eyebrows permanently scrunched up in the middle before my wedding day. I did not, so I learned to delegate. I learned to take a step back and trust that whatever I choose will still contribute to a very personal, very Betty + Alex wedding. Oh the memories – watching Gilmore Girls while painstakingly cutting out cardstock on the floor with my large cutting mat and exacto knife from my architecture days; waiting anxiously for my stamps to arrive so I could quickly factory-style stamp my way through invites; forcing Alex to double-lick all the envelopes to ensure complete seals. It was a stressful time but also a very fun one :).

Anyways, my yen for DIY didn’t end with the wedding. I still love to make my own cards. My biggest DIY hobby is probably this food blog. Making food, styling it, photographing it all myself. This year, I decided to make these bourbon rose caramels to give out to my dear friends. They’re soft, chewy, and have a deliciously subtle bourbon taste. The rose adds a subtle floral tone to it, making it a little more complex than a simple caramel. I wrapped them individually with parchment paper and will be handing these out like it’s Halloween again :).

RECIPE: Bourbon Rose Caramels
Adapted from here

Ingredients
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp butter (divided into 2 tbsp each, cut into small cubes)
2 tbsp good bourbon
1/2 tsp. flaky sea salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 tbs rose syrup

Directions

1| Heat the heavy cream, 2 tbsp butter in a small, heavy bottomed saucepan until it just boils. Cover and keep warm.
2| Line 8×8 pan with 2 long sheets of parchment paper, crisscrossed. Set aside. Prepare all ingredients.
3| Fit a heavy bottomed saucepan with a candy thermometer. Add the corn syrup and sugar and heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking until it reaches a dark, amber color, (8-10 min) swirling pan if necessary, as little as possible.
4| When it reaches 310F, remove from heat and gradually stir in warm cream mixture. It will bubble a lot, so please be prepared! Watch out for steam!!! Once it is completely incorporated, return to heat and cook to 248F.
5| Turn off heat, remove the thermometer, and stir in the remaining 2 tbsp butter, bourbon, sea salt, and rose syrup, if using. Pour mixture into your prepared 8×8 pan. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with more sea salt, if desired. Stick in fridge and let cool, 1 hour. Remove caramels by lifting both sides of the parchment paper. Invert onto another sheet of parchment paper and peel off original parchment paper. Using a very sharp and well oiled knife, slice caramels, 1″ pieces. Wrap in parchment paper, cellophane, or wax paper and store :).

*Remember to oil your knife after each cut :).