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This candy tastes like butter toffee, and it’s so simple, you probably have the ingredients right now. It’s very inexpensive–and delicious! It’s also fun to make (and a good one to make with kids).
I found the recipe here. It was posted on the Chickens in the Road forum as a suggestion right after Morgan got her braces off. I meant to try it, then forgot about it. Then remembered it! So here it is. The original recipe called for regular sugar. I was living dangerously, so I decided to try this with brown sugar. I chose vanilla for the flavoring. You could use any flavoring you have on-hand–lemon, orange, rum, etc. You can make this in whatever quantity you want, just keep the butter and sugar in equal parts.
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How to make Cast Iron Pan Candy:
1 cup of butter
1 cup of brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
Melt butter in a cast iron pan over medium-low heat.
Add brown sugar.
Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 15 minutes as sugar gradually blends with the butter. At this point, I turned it up a little, to medium. At first it looks as if the butter is separating from the brown sugar. Keep cooking and stirring non-stop–the butter and brown sugar will meld together as the mixture thickens.
Update to add: My stovetop is gas and it goes from Low then 1 through 9 then High. I cooked this on 4 the first time and was having trouble getting the butter and sugar to meld and I turned it to 5 and it worked great. The next couple of times, I did it on 5. That temperature works best for me with my stove for this candy. That’s really more medium than medium low.
Be careful not to overcook and burn it–you should finish with a nice, rich caramelized color. In the last few minutes, stir in the vanilla. The directions suggested spooning or pouring small amounts onto waxed paper for individual candies. I decided to pour the whole pan out and cut the individual pieces apart later. This was much simpler. Butter the waxed paper very lightly to prevent sticking before pouring the candy out. (Ask me how I know that.) I also think it would do just fine to let it set up right in the cast iron pan. It would take longer to cool and set up (and the pieces would be thicker), but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. I’m going to try that next time.
Let the candy cool and set up. After it’s firm but before it’s competely set, cut it into pieces. Then you can shape it, roll it, twist it, whatever you want to do to pretty it up. Store in an airtight container. Give it as gifts or eat it all by yourself! (You know you want to.) Suggestions on the forum included dipping spoons into the melted mixture, then cooling, to give as coffee stirrers. (Wouldn’t that be good? An alternate idea to the chocolate-dipped spoon gift–a butter toffee-dipped spoon!) You could also cut it into narrow “straws” to go right into coffee, without a spoon.
This is a plain and simple candy, nothing fancy about it, just good. I’m sure you have butter and sugar! Are you on your way to your kitchen right now?
See this recipe at Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box.
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Due to lack of money, we’re “not having much of a Christmas”. Actually, we’re going to have a great Christmas! It will be a “Charlie Brown” Christmas for sure, but if we have fun, who cares? You’ve just given us another goodie to make for gifts for ourselves and for the kids’ dad and step-mom.
I think we just need to be careful not to mix the hot glue on the twigs with hot candy on the plate! lol
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Next year, you need to create a written plan for us for what you’re going to be doing! All of these great ideas are coming out, and I want to do them all! All I need is time!!!
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This is such a versstile recipe, so many possible variations, but wonderful as is, I am looking forward to trying this.
JO
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http://chickensintheroad.com/blog/2008/01/03/cracker-candy/
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That’s a great idea about dipping spoons in it to stif coffee with. That is going to be David’s stocking stuffer this year…toffee spoons! David loves all those flavored coffee creamers, I love just plain ole cream of half and half.
Thanks for showing this. It really helps seeing the pictures you take when making recipes. I can be so unsure of what a direction means and seeing it done sure does help.
Deb
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Thanks Suzanne & have a great day!
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http://chickensintheroad.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/happybutterfly.gif
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Happy Hanukkah everyone!
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I would really need a Cup so that I wouldn’t have to convert Deciliters into Cups all the time. Maybe I could get one by swapping…
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Eat them s-l-o-w-l-y to make them last!
You know something, Suzanne? If my Mom were still alive, she would absolutely LOVE Chickens in the Road! You have so many ideas for living life not just well but joyously and she was like that by necessity. You don’t need much money…just enough for the basics hopefully and everything else is just so much gravy…thank you for sharing so much with so many. You are a bright and shining star!
Carol
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WOW, this reminds me of making candy when we were kids,haven’t even thought of doing it in forever! Hubby loves his cast iron pans, wait til I show him this!! TGIF and a recipe for the weekend…SWEET! (pun intended)
Thanks again Suzanne! Very much looking forward to trying this! yummmmmmm
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See, now you have me thinking about fattening things. Life is so cruel. And I mean that in the best I’m-going-to-make-candy-this-weekend way when I wasn’t even thinking about it before this morning.
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on!)
Thanks
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That lookis so simple and easy to do!
Plus it doesn’t cost much to do at all. 
Most of us have all of the ingredients right in our pantry and frig. 
I like the idea that someone mentioned about putting it on graham crackers and putting some chocolate on top! 
This sounds like it is such a versitile recipe that you could do just about anything with it! 
Angela
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This recipe looks good!
p.s. I got my Blue Ball book today! (thank you to the first person/company who sponsored it, they’re from St. Cloud, MN which isn’t too far from me!)
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Turned it up too high.
Burned it.
Whole house smells like burned sugar.
Sad. It was my last two sticks of butter.
Now I have to go out in the cold.
I will not be defeated.
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Have you ever heard of potato candy? I grew up in WV and remember my grandmommy making this the day after Thanksgiving with leftover mashed potatoes. I may be missing something, but I remember her mixing powdered sugar w/the potatoes, rolling it out like a sheet of cookie dough, and then spreading peanut butter on it. She rolled it into a long, narrow log and cut off thin sections of it. Fridged it, and YUM. I’d love to know if this was something others did, or just my weird family. :-)