The Candyman Can

I've mentioned before that Tallman is the candy maker in our relationship. Well, that's still true. I tried to spear head an effort to make those Fleur De Sel Caramel Fondant Whirls I posted about last week, and I don't know if you noticed this about that link, but that link is not a recipe. I'm sorry I did not do my research before posting about them, but I promise, no one was as disappointed as I was when I was in the Whole Foods parking lot Friday night trying to find the recipe on my phone so I knew what ingredients I needed. Apparently those pictures are from a blog that goes with a cookbook on how to make candy, and because they're trying to sell their book they have no recipes.
I was mad for a while, then I decided to make salted caramel chocolates and got over it. THEN I looked the cookbook up online and decided that I must have the candy cookbook.

Salted Chocolate Dipped Caramels

First, the story of the salted caramels and why Tallman makes the candy in this relationship, or why a candy thermometer is not the same as a meat thermometer.
So after being fondantly disappointed by the internet and pictures and pinterest Friday night I decided that we should make salted caramels because they're probably not that hard right? I used a recipe I found on my phone in said Whole Foods Parking lot, and the ensuing chocolates are delicious.
In making them I broke a thermometer because it was a meat thermometer and thus not meant to go above 240 degrees, Tallman had a candy thermometer and I misread it thus over cooking the caramel so its not so soft and delicious as it could be (its like if toffee and caramel had a baby, its good if you let it warm up in your mouth a bit before trying to chew it), and they took 4 hours to make.
Of course part of the reason they took so long is that the recipe makes 200 candies, which isn't bad because they are pretty darn good.
Which leads me back to my original statement of Tallman is the candy maker, all the things that went wrong in this candy making endeavor (which did not make them inedible just not amazingly tasty) were things that Tallman pointed out before they went wrong. But Tallman is a good guy and when I disagreed he let me have it my way and I broke the thermometer (it was electric and its last act was a spectacular light display on the monitor), overcooked the caramel, and made too much candy. Sigh, he didn't rub it in too much.

Anyway, I want this book:  Sugar Baby.
Especially once I saw the miraculousness that is a chart that tells you what consistency your candy will be depending on how hot you make it.

This is now on my Amazon List of must buy books before the Beekeeper's Bible, Pioneer Woman Cooks, Domino: The Book of Decorating, and Italian Slow Cooker. (I like cookbooks, ok?)

This was a long blog post but to recap: sorry about no recipe in last weeks blog post, I made candy but Tallman would've made them better, I want Sugar Baby.