Homemade Milk Duds

Also called, ‘The worst-for-you treat despite the fact that it is quite delicious”.

I have been craving homemade caramels for quite some time (no, not pregnant!). I bought all the stuff to make some before Thanksgiving and finally got around to making them just after New Years. I used a recipe that I found on my blog, which I used 2 years ago and apparently forgot how completely horrible they are for you!

Sugar, upon sugar, upon sugar, with a little more sugar, and then top it off with butter. WHY DID I MAKE THESE?!!!

One thing I had to change though (not the sugar and butter of course:/) was the temperature that I boiled it to. The previous recipe said to boil it to 240 degrees, which is soft ball. I didn’t want super soft, sticky caramel so I boiled it to about 245 degrees (firm ball). In the end, it still wasn’t as firm as I had wanted it, but it did turn out alright.

It made a HUGE pan of caramel. I’ll admit right now that I ended up throwing half of it away. One, really didn’t need all that CRAP in my bod. Two, I don’t have the patience to deal with that big of a batch.

This is what I did with it…

 

I rolled them up into bit size balls and covered them in white and dark chocolate! Homemade Milk Duds (aside from the milk chocolate). Almost takes just like them.

FUN FACT: One time I watched Unwrapped on the Food Network and they did their tour on Milk Duds. Milk Duds got their name because they were suppose to be round balls, but instead they fell flat (like mine), hence the name DUDS.

I’ll admit I have a love for candy. I have a dream of being a baker or candy maker. It sounds like such a fun job and honestly I love the creativity and art that goes into baking and candy making.

Some of my favorite shows/movies to prove it are Cupcake wars, Unwrapped, Food Network Challenge, Willy Wonka and the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I really like reading Bakerella’s blog too. Her pictures of her artful creations are just amazing to me!

It’s a weird dream, to want to be a candy maker. Especially considering I have a degree in Nutrition, plan on being a personal trainer, and have a health and fitness blog. I shouldn’t want to make and promote sugar and butter and all the nasty stuff that makes you unhealthy and can lead to diabetes, not to mention tons of cavities.

It’s more for the love of the art of it, but I have no patience to do it myself. I couldn’t even finish a single batch of caramels. I absolutely couldn’t put in the detail that goes into some creations either. So, in the end, I’ll just be a co-owner of a candy factory, that way I don’t have to take full credit for people getting diabetes and cavities and so I can just watch over the production of the creative treats and every now and then dabble in the art. How’s that for a dream job ;)