Carmels!

When I was little, one very fond memory I have with my Mother was making homemade carmels. She would always make carmels for us to take to school for our birthdays (back when kids were still allowed to take homemade treats), and also all through the holidays.

I remember standing on one of our kitchen chairs next to her at our stove "helping" her make the carmels. I remember one time I dumped an entire glass of water into them, which ruined them. Mom just said that I would at least know why you don't do that for the next batch.

After a while, she started branching out and making her own candies. Toffee, and tons of different chocolates. She had her own little candy business called "Alice's Treats," and even got to the point where she would have her friends over and they would have candy teaching sessions.

A year or two after she passed away, my family went around to all of her close friends' houses to give them a Christmas present and thank them for being there for her and us when she was sick. When we went to Christie Mabey's house, she said she had actually just made a batch of my mom's toffees earlier that day! She gave each of us a BUNCH of it. I was so close to crying, because I never thought I would taste my mom's treats again. Thank you Christie!

Anyway... I've been thinking for a while that I've been wanting to get back into baking and cooking. I figured I would start with baking, since that is what I remember the most clearly from my mother's teachings.

So I decided to try my hand at making the carmels yesterday. I have never attempted it before by myself, and the last time I participated in making them was long before she passed away. Surprisingly enough, I remembered more than I thought I would!

Very simple ingredients.

Also easy supplies.

...plus a thick pot. (my mom's was thicker, but I made due with what I had)

Boil, boil, boil....

Testing to see if it's done!

Pour into a buttered pan, but don't scrape the pot!

Scrape the pot into a separate bowl, so the stuff that is extra cooked doesn't mix with the softer part.

Let cool, cut up and wrap! (I actually ended up using a pizza cutter to cut the strips as I was going. Much easier than the knife.)

Enjoy!

I think they turned out pretty good for my first time by myself! Next projects... Mom's chocolate chip, and oatmeal cookies! MMmmMMMmmm....