Love for Food

I saw this recipe where else in my Food Network Magazine. I cannot tell you how much I love that magazine! It's featured in the step by step picture section they have each month. I was a bit intimidated but seeing the pictures at each step helped ease my fears. I had to buy a candy thermometer which was a bit hard to find (I was too lazy to trek to Bed Bath and Beyond in the cold.). I ended up finding a cheap one at Pathmark ($4.99). It's glass though so you have to be careful not to break it.
This recipe takes a lot of time and effort. You really have to stand over the stove the entire time and watch so that the sugar does not burn too much. In the next step, you have to remove the mixture at exactly 248 degrees to ensure the right texture. Another issue I had was waiting. It took about three hours to set. Finally when you remove the block it's a pain to roll and cut.
When all the work was done I was very happy. The result tasted like one of those soft chewy caramels, I ate as a kid. You know the square ones you use to steal from the bins in the supermarket... only better! The sea salt adds that touch of gourmet. I have to admit that I could not find Fleur De Sel at Whole Foods. I settled for Maldon sea salt from the UK. Mario Batali recommend this salt in his latest cookbook. Maldon was also recommended to me during a brunch cooking class. I'm not sure how different they are but Maldon worked fine for this recipe. A box of Maldon is a bit pricey, around $8 bucks, but you only use a tiny bit.
I think this is an impressive item to make for the holidays. Wrap each piece up in parchment and than place them in a cellophane bag. The pieces are substantial and I figure you can make two gift bags per batch (8 pieces per bag). It was a lot of time and effort but it came out great. I don't mind spending the time but nothing is worse then when it comes out inedible or lackluster. *Note that if you get the recipe off of the Food Network website it was posted with mistakes. Several reviews pointed out that it did not come out when made as posted.*

Does anyone have any good candy recipes for the holidays?

Ingredients: Serves Sixteen
vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup (1/2pint) heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling on top
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup water

Method:

• Heat the cream, salt, and butter in a small pan and set aside.
• Heat the sugar, water, corn syrup in a large pot on medium and boil till golden brown. Do not stir only swirl the pot.
• Mix the cream mixture into the sugar mixture and put temperature on low/medium and boil for about ten minutes until a candy thermometer reaches 248 degrees.
• Pour mixture into parchment lined, vegetable oil greased 8*8 pan and put in the fridge for a few hours till set.
• Take out of pan and cut in half. Roll each half into a log.
• Cut each half into eight equal pieces. Cut in half and than half again and half again to make sure they are equal.
• Sprinkle with salt and wrap individually in parchment paper.