Every year I strive to make caramels like my dear sister-in-law, Kris who would bless us with them every Christmas. She was taught by a sweet little old neighbor named Ann, who gave her all the details on how to get the perfect, melt-in-your mouth result. Well, not so easy for me-- each year I try to follow the details laid out by Kris in an email sent to me in 1996. Sometimes I must stir them beyond the 242 degrees and they end up like "Slo-Poke" suckers. This year I took a few seconds away from the 45 minutes of stirring and got a really weird result of a crystalized confection...I probably couldn't repeat that if I tried. Anyway, for some odd reason I'm driven to make these each year. They're challenging, but so worth it when they turn out right!
