Old Fashioned Butterscotch
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
Combine all the ingredients in a heavy saucepan and cook until on a high temperature until sugar dissolves and it begins to boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to allow it to lightly boil. It will bubble constantly, so you need to use a heat resistant rubber spatula to scrape the sides so sugar crystals don’t form.
For stirring candy, I like to hold the edge of the pan with a pot holder, scrape the side of the pan, working my way around once or twice, then stir the mixture in a figure eight pattern. Candy making takes patience and a lot of stirring. I don’t recommend trying to read, but maybe listening to music or a book on tape would be nice.
Cook until hard crack stage, which is 300-310degrees. If you like a thermometer, fine, use it. I love the water test. You keep a little bowl of cold water on the stove. When you think your syrup is ready, drop a small amount from a teaspoon into the water. If it hardens in the water and makes a little crack (for those of you from ND think of the sound the ice makes when you are ice-fishing, but on a much quieter scale.) If you are unsure, test a few times to make sure you hear the noise and see the threads.
Carefully pour the butterscotch into a cake pan. The bigger the cake pan, the thinner the candy will be. I use a 10×14, because I have a great aluminum one that I don’t have to butter, just pour the candy in. I don’t spread to the edge of the pan, because I need room to work.
As it is cooling, use a knife or pizza cutter to score it. If the lines go away too soon, it isn’t cool enough. Sometimes I just leave it and break it up, but then it gets kinda’ jaggedy.
Here is a great tutorial on learning the stages of candy. Knowing this will make your life so much easier, although you might end up eating way too much corn syrup!
I remember every good thing you did!!!! I think that is why Christmas is still my favorite holiday every. While i really enjoyed just being with my kids and Aaron it just did not feel like a true Christmas!! 🙂 Your pictures made me homesick for that comforting smell of cinnamon pinecones, candy, cookies and whatever good food is cooking. Thank you for always taking the time to make that time so special for us!! I don't have one bad memory of Christmas. I hope and pray I can do the same for my kids!(the only Christmas baking I did was caramel popcorn and peanut butter cookies)
I remember every good thing you did!!!! I think that is why Christmas is still my favorite holiday every. While i really enjoyed just being with my kids and Aaron it just did not feel like a true Christmas!! 🙂 Your pictures made me homesick for that comforting smell of cinnamon pinecones, candy, cookies and whatever good food is cooking. Thank you for always taking the time to make that time so special for us!! I don't have one bad memory of Christmas. I hope and pray I can do the same for my kids!(the only Christmas baking I did was caramel popcorn and peanut butter cookies)
I had a bunch of ingredients to make some favorite treats that we enjoy… they are still in their box in the basement because I didn't get to do ANY fun baking this year. My goodness did this Baby have another idea for how I would prepare for Christmas. Flat on my back wasn't my plan. However, just like you, it was my attitude about the situation and understanding that YES INDEED Christmas CAN and DID still happen. It was much nicer to enjoy it than stress and whine about what didn't get done. Merry (late) Christmas to you! 🙂 The candy looked delicious.
I had a bunch of ingredients to make some favorite treats that we enjoy… they are still in their box in the basement because I didn't get to do ANY fun baking this year. My goodness did this Baby have another idea for how I would prepare for Christmas. Flat on my back wasn't my plan. However, just like you, it was my attitude about the situation and understanding that YES INDEED Christmas CAN and DID still happen. It was much nicer to enjoy it than stress and whine about what didn't get done. Merry (late) Christmas to you! 🙂 The candy looked delicious.
Ha! this was the first year that I TRIED to make candy. The first batch of peanut brittle was awesome! The second and third did not set right….it was rainy days. I made English toffee…..the butter burned and it tasted awful! So I made 4 batches, but only one was edible.
Ha! this was the first year that I TRIED to make candy. The first batch of peanut brittle was awesome! The second and third did not set right….it was rainy days. I made English toffee…..the butter burned and it tasted awful! So I made 4 batches, but only one was edible.