Liz Hicks Studios: Chocolate Covered Caramel Wrapped Marshmallows- AKA The Scotchmallows

When I was younger my aunt worked for See's Candies. This meant every Christmas there would be some sort of sweet treat for each family and one of those tasty lollipops or a small assortment of candy sticks for each of us children. Even Easters would involve some of the dotted gum drops and of course... those lollipops.

With every mall visit, I was always so happy to stop by the See's shop and get my free piece of candy, as I grew older I still made it a point to drop by See's with every shopping trip, only this time to purchase candy out of guilt for all the free candy I had eaten through the years.

From Apricot Delights, to Mint Truffles to Marsh Mints to well... just about any other candy they had there... my favorites changed just about every season :)

One of my consistent favorites has been the Scotchmallows. I mean who doesn't love butter caramel, wrapped around a sweet marshmallow and then dipped in dark chocolate?

Once in a while I will get a craving for something and I just have to make it. A few weeks ago it was for These Scotchmallows in which resulted in an in depth research project via the internet to find just the right recipe.

This recipe is a hack in order to make these beauties quicker and easier. Of course the original is much more flavorful, but momma doesn't have time for that.... so this recipe offers the flavor of homemade with the convenience of store bought for a few steps.

DIY Scotchmallows

Ingredients:

1 cup- Ghirardelli's semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 bag- mini marshmallows

PLUS

Caramel: (Recipe found at Not So Humble Pie)

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
generous pinch salt

Find full recipe for caramel here.

TIPS: The recipe is really easy to follow although time consuming. I recommend following the recipe and timing as recommended as it really does take some time to let the caramel slowly cook. Also you will want a clean, flat area to let your caramel rest. A marble slab or greased pan are recommended in the recipe. Since I don't make enough candy to justify a marble slab I used some plates that were greased and still had some issues with the caramel sticking. Even if the caramel sticks, you can still pull most of it off and use it. You might want to heat the dish up a bit to help release your caramel. Just don't heat it to much as you want your caramel to be firm yet pliable when you are working with it.

Once you complete the caramel, it has cooled and is ready to be worked with it is now time to wrap your marshmallows. This is where store bought comes in great. The original recipe (above) has some great homemade marshmallows that would be HEAVEN in your candy... I just don't have the time or patience right now to add it to my recipe and found that in a pinch... the mini marshmallows (if fresh) worked well and were very well received.

After you have wrapped your caramel around your marshmallows. prepare your chocolate by melting it according to the directions on the bag. I would start with 45 seconds in a microwave and progressively add more time in 15 second increments as needed. If you are using more than 1 cup of chocolate than you might want to double the initial time.

To dip your caramel wrapped marshmallows use two tooth picks to help you roll and stabilize your bon bon as you cover it with chocolate.

Allow your chocolate covered caramel marshmallow dry on wax paper and cool at room temperature. If your chocolate is not setting correctly, you can move it to a cool refrigerator but make sure to allow your candies to settle at room temperature before serving them. The caramel will harden when cooled and will not be fun for guests to take a bite out of (ouch!).