Sweet

The Xmas gift sweet-fest continues...


Beginning:


Middle:


End:


I think these caramels (really, they turn into toffee in the blink of an eye) are candy perfection. Just a little bit salty and very buttery. And they are so lovely to look at.

However...

Man, they're an undertaking. The ingredients are simple and standard. The instructions are clear and concise. But for those who are unused to working with boiling sugar / candy thermometers and the great unknown of when soft ball starts morphing into hard ball, well, it can be a bit tense.

Then, assuming you make it through that hurdle (tip: pay attention to the thermometer readings, not your own sense that things look completely "wrong"), once it sets and it's cool, a gorgeous-looking slab in its baking dish, you have to cut it up into sweet little pieces. Lovelies, that is really hard on the hands! Takes about as long as making the caramel. Oh, and did I mention slicing up the wax paper into 4x4 inch pieces. It's more time-consuming and finicky than you would imagine. Finally, there's the actual wrapping, which would be fun if your fingers weren't already bruised from cutting the caramel pieces.

Guess this is why I don't make it every week. Cuz once you eat a piece you forget all the challenge and are transported to another time and place. It really is a labour of love.

Note: The recipe for these is online at Epicurious.

Zig Zag

Here's the latest Xmas gift finished:

Rambler's Scarf by Elizabeth Sullivan

Actually, it just occurred to me that this is the third from latest gift. A shrug and tea cosy followed it. And now I'm back to making another one of these scarves in a different yarn and colour...

But isn't it pretty? Plus, it's easy, though I did alter the pattern by increasing the width by about an inch (4 stitches) and neglected to adjust one element of one row in every 8. Just slightly. Don't tell.

OK, crafters (and apologies to the non-crafters - I have to finish the 20 gifts I've committed to by next week(ish) before I'll have much energy to speak about other topics. Don't worry, though, I've got a few lined up...):

• Do you think making rectangular scarves is ultra-boring? I mean, I know they're lovely and everyone needs a great rectangular scarf, but man, the repetition!
• How far along are you on completing your knitting or sewing gifts?
• Are you starting to resent everyone cuz they're about to get some seriously stylish and useful objets, while your 18 projects languish in the corner?

After the knitting, I start the baking. I've decided to make, as my core gifts, sable (see this ye olde post for a summer presentation of the shortbread) and fleur de sel caramels. I just ordered, and received, the most adorable packaging! I don't know that I'll order wrapping online again - the experience had its drawbacks, though client service wasn't one of them. I think there must be a great packaging place in downtown TO that can sell me the same calibre of item at a lower cost.

At any rate, I'm going to put the cookies in perfect gift-sized windowed cookie bags and the caramels in these little velcro-sealed boxes.