A Homemade Christmas....part one..

This year for Christmas I decided to put a little more effort into handmade goodies and gifts.  Of course having surgery has created some forced time off, which gave me the time to do some small things for my friends and family. :-)

Carole's post a few weeks back kind of got the creative juices rolling for me.  Who doesn't love real Vanilla extract?  Myself, I keep opening the bottles and sucking in all of the yummy good smells.  The extract really needs to sit for 6 weeks to be at it's full potency, so for now I just keep sniffing and smiling.

So following Carole's que, I purchased my 4 ounce bottles here and my vanilla beans here.  I went with the Madagascar beans, but next time I will experiment with a few others as well.
  Once everything arrived, I set about cutting my beans in half and then sliced them up the middle leaving about 1/2 inch.  Each bottle was stuffed with 4 halves and then topped off with Vodka....well a few of the bottles were filled with brandy and one with some rum.  It will be fun to see how the different alcohol flavors blend with the vanilla.

Then came the labels.  After reading Carole's post, I did a little blog surfing on homemade Vanilla Extract and came across this blog .  I love the clean simple lines of the labels that Elaine created, so I have to admit I copied hers completely, which she is ok with.  Elaine gave the type and sizes to a number of the people in her comment section. :-)  You can find the labels here.  Oh my...so much fun can be had with these different labels!!  I LOVE the Italian Dish's entire blog....such a great read!

Making the sea salted caramel was a bit more challenging the first time around, but once you get the right temperature it takes to get just the right texture it's very easy....and oh SO good!  My first batch came out so hard, it qualified as toffee, not caramel...LOL, but those will be used in toffee cookies later this week.  The key temperature is 250 degrees on a candy thermometer...not a point higher or lower and you will get perfect caramel each and every time.
I basically followed this recipe, except for one ingredient.

Lyle's Golden Syrup instead of corn syrup.   I had read on a few blogs that you get a nicer texture and flavor from Lyle's Syrup, but ey yi yi, finding it up here in this neck of the woods was not a happening thing.  I ended up ordering it online and thankfully it arrived very quickly.  You can also order it from King Arthur's Flour, but the turn around time was not quite as fast.

I had so much fun making these simple yet satisfying treats and I think that the recipients have enjoyed them as well. :-)
~
The next post will be about the Holiday Knitting, which is a FIRST for me. :-)

Comments

[Jo Morgan]

You are an inspiration! Note to self: add homemade goodies to list of gifts to give next Christmas! It's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't be delighted by these yummy gifts! Happy New Year!

P.S. I hope your back is healing well.

[Patty]

Beautiful Kim! Happy New Year to you and yours. 2012 is going to rock! And MicheleinMaine...excellent idea! :-)

[Vicki]

Those things just make the prettiest picture! Lovely. Your whole house must have smelled divine.

[Gina]

Yum! I can smell it from here...what fun!! And the caramels sound super special. What great ideas!!!

[Kathleen Kelly]

Yum! Definitely on my to do list!

In response to Rebecca's concerns with high altitude. I now live at 5400 ft. (Metro Denver); after living most of my life in the Mid-West. It does create some challenges, but you can still make good candy. I have found some great info in The New High Altitude Cookbook by Beverly M. Anderson & Donna M. Hamilton. Sometimes, I just Google... Hope this helps.

[Christine]

Candy maker amidst recovery from back surgery--you amaze me! I know I'm not the only one who hopes maybe you'll add salted caramels to the shop?

[Lynn]

Love your holiday gifts, where did you find the bags for the caramels?

[margene]

You have an incredible amount of energy for someone just out of surgery. You, Carole and Terry have inspired me to try my hand at vanilla next year, but in the meantime, I have a bottle of my own to enjoy! It's amazing! Your gifts are beautiful and anyone would be very pleased to be a recipient.

[Mary]

Great tip on the syrup--wonder if it would work in pecan pie? I luuv sea salted caramels and bought some as a treat for Christmas in a "Made in Brooklyn" store that sells handmade goods. So good. Glad you had the time to enjoy and make these lovely treats.

[Kathy]

That all looks so gorgeous!!!!

[Sandy W]

Very nice labels. Thanks for sharing all of your tips. Just wondering where you ordered the golden syrup from that provided quicker shipping. Thanks.

[Jaci]

How awesome! Wish I was on your list :). Hope your feeling better after surgery.

[Carole]

I'm glad I inspired you to make some homemade gifts. Your labels are beautiful and I bet those caramels are fantastic!

[Rebecca]

Gasp! Sea Salted Caramels?? I absolutely loved the Salted Caramel coffee that Starbucks had and that wouldn't hold a candle to your caramels! Unfortunately, at my altitude nothing that requires reaching a certain temperature ever works...something to do with how water boils quicker but is less hot. Thanks for the eye candy!

[MicheleinMaine]

How yummy, Kim!

We used Lyle's in some peppermint hot fudge sauce on Christmas Day and it made an incredible difference. Not easy to find in the hinterlands, though. Fortunately, it does last forever.

Love all your packaging and labels.

So, will all the yarn club members be getting caramels next month ?? :-)

Glad you're on the mend!