Marisa Renwald: Make cinnamon caramels for your sweetie
Marisa Renwald February 6, 2012 3:44PM
Updated: March 9, 2012 8:04AM
There could be perfectly logical reasons why cinnamon is such a fancied flavor on Valentine’s Day. It is, perhaps, the perfect marketing ploy to bring in big bucks during the February holiday. Cinnamon red? Spicy aphrodisiac? Of course. “Spice things up” and “Get a little heated” bespeak archetypal slogans for little red candy hearts, potent with the fiery tang of cinnamon.
Or, maybe it’s not so logical. The covert desire to shun the chocolate overload that tags along with the winter holidays bubbles up inside all of us. After months of shoveling in fudge, homemade bonbons, chocolate Santas (and belting up an extra inch or two around the waistline), it’s time for a fresh new flavor. Something that seems to burn up the catatonic, sludgy feeling of overdosing on chocolate.
Cinnamon.
It doesn’t matter what the reason is — we all have an innate draw to the spicy flavor just about this time every year. Luckily, there are plenty of cinnamon recipes that can give even the most classic chocolate Valentine’s Day desserts a run for their money.
The odd thing is that it really isn’t the taste of natural cinnamon we seek out; it’s the artificial stuff. It’s the same flavor that bursts from chewy Red Hots and other little candies we remember stuffing into one another’s cardboard mailboxes in second grade. It’s so potent, so clear-cut and recognizable that you can taste it on the tip of your tongue right now. Picture it. That, sir or madam, is the flavor of Valentine’s Day.
That nostalgic fireball of flavor can be recreated in these cinnamon cream caramels. Reminiscent of those same chewy candies from our childhood, that classic taste has been updated and matured to a softer consistency that hosts a creamy, slight caramel flavor that complements the cinnamon so very well.
Like any batch of caramels, these can give you grief on the stove. Every stove is alittle different, so try the old drop-in-the-cold-water to be sure to get the right firmness or the entire batch will flop.
Cinnamon oil, which is found in the baking section of most grocery stores or in cake or candy supply stores, is the key ingredient that gives these caramels their heat. Stronger than cinnamon flavoring or extract, oil is really powerful stuff. In other words, if you spill it, be careful not to let it sit on your skin for too long. To complete the Valentine candy kitsch, blend in a bit of “no taste” red food coloring. Chopped into rectangles and wrapped in wax paper or mini cupcake liners, these candies are the perfect focal point to your sweetie’s candy assortment.
CINNAMON
CREAM CARAMELS
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup whipping (heavy) cream
1 cup half and half
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoon cinnamon oil
11/2 teaspoons “no taste” red food coloring
Grease bottom and sides of square baking dish with butter and line bottom and sides with parchment paper or plastic wrap. Be sure to leave extra paper or wrap hanging over all sides of dish. If using parchment paper, also butter paper.
In a heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt together the butter, stirring constantly. Add one cup of half and half and bring to a boil by stirring. Stir in whipping cream and bring to a boil. Stir in cinnamon oil and red food dye. Keep stirring and let cook about 35 minutes, or until a candy thermometer reaches 245 F. Check by dropping a small amount of mixture into cup of very cold water to see if it forms a firm ball that holds its shape until pressed. Immediately spread in lined baking dish. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
Remove from dish and peel away paper or wrap. Cut into 8 rows by 8 rows, using kitchen scissors or sharp knife. Wrap individually in waxed paper or place in mini cupcake liners.
Source: Marisa Renwald
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