Every year during the Christmas season, my dad’s bluegrass band’s singer and guitar player, Bill Sphar, who is also a dear family friend, takes on the delightful task of making candies to give as Christmas gifts. As a child, I always eagerly anticipated Bill’s arrival with his winter treats, which coincided with the band’s visits to our house for a night of dinner, drinks, and music leading up to Christmas. The candy delivery was as exciting to me as the arrival of Santa Claus himself. Opening the crackly cellophane package from Bill, I knew I would find a selection of homemade delights, including chocolate-covered toffee, sugary red and green hard candies, and my personal favorite: soft caramels wrapped in torn wax paper.
I’ve always been particular about caramel candies, finding them either too gooey or too tough, but Bill’s caramels were always a perfect balance of buttery, chewy, and velvety. They reminded me of a freshly sealed Tootsie Roll, but with a rich caramel flavor instead of chocolate. Intrigued by his culinary skills, I eventually mustered the courage to ask Bill for his caramel recipe. To my surprise, he revealed that it was a gem hidden on the Land O Lakes website.
Determined to unlock the mystery behind Bill’s delectable caramels, I navigated the realms of the internet until I stumbled upon the recipe he had mentioned. Indeed, it was titled “Aunt Emily’s Soft Caramels,” with a description that hinted at a long-standing tradition of enjoyment passed down through the generations. The only mystery that remained was the identity of Aunt Emily herself. The recipe, simple and straightforward, required greasing a baking dish before combining ingredients such as granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, milk, whipping cream, and corn syrup in a saucepan. This mixture was then cooked over medium heat until reaching a precise temperature of 244°F, followed by the addition of vanilla before pouring it into the prepared dish to cool.
After allowing the caramel to cool at room temperature for an hour, it was transferred to the refrigerator to set completely. Once chilled, the caramel could be cut into individual pieces and wrapped in plastic or wax paper. The end result promised a smooth, luscious caramel worthy of Aunt Emily’s legacy.
Though the original recipe suggested using a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish, I discovered that any heatproof pan or vessel of choice could be used to achieve the desired shape, as long as sufficient time was allotted for the candies to cool and solidify. The enigmatic figure of Aunt Emily added an aura of mystery to the process, making the experience of crafting these caramels all the more intriguing and delightful.
As I reflected on the journey that led me to Aunt Emily’s Soft Caramels, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratitude towards both Bill and this mysterious Aunt Emily.
