Licorice Caramels

I made these a while ago,
and since the rest of my family are NOT fans of black licorice,
the task of eating them all was on my shoulders.

I was doing just fine,
but I knew it was not in my best interest to eat them all
so I took some over to my brothers house to share with his children,
as all good Aunt’s should do.

Today, my young niece
asked me for the recipe.

and here it is,
just as I promised.

1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon anise extract
black paste food coloring

Line a 9x9 inch dish with buttered foil.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
Stir in sugar, milk, corn syrup and salt.
Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Continue to heat, without stirring, to 242 to 248 degrees F (116 to 120 degrees C),
or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a firm but pliable ball.
Remove from heat and stir in anise and food coloring.
Pour into prepared pan. Let cool completely, several hours.

To cut, turn out of pan and peel away foil. Cut with a buttered knife.
Wrap pieces in waxed paper or candy wrappers.

Love,
Aunt Heather

Roasted Chicken

I often roast a whole chicken
then pull it apart and freeze in packets,
giving me a quick dose of chicken for soups and casseroles.

For some reason,
I cannot remember the time and temp required
for a perfect chicken
so I pull out the cookbooks – EVERY TIME.
I even neglect to bookmark the page,
so I have to fumble though the book – EVERY TIME.

I repeated the process today.

Finally, I thought I better get this down in one, easy to find, place.

NOTE TO SELF:
How long to roast a chicken…

roast chicken chart

** stuffed chickens require 15-30 minutes longer.