Salted Caramel and Lollipops (dairy free)

At first, candy making was pretty intimidating. After reading up on how to make lollipops and caramel, I came to one conclusion. Candy making is nothing but heating up sugar to a certain temperature.

Just like baking bread, I researched many recipes, loading up on tips and tricks. Last year, I tested out some recipes, substituting heavy cream with coconut cream. Let me tell ya. When the caramel turned out creamy and chewy, I could hear myself laugh like the mad scientist. 

I luv how these caramels turned out... chewy but not sticky. Feel free to double or triple the recipe. Perfect for the Holiday's gift giving.

Salted Caramel (dairy free)
makes a lot, but who's counting

1/3 cup (3 oz.) coconut cream
3 Tablespoons (1.6 oz.) water
1 Tablespoon (2 oz.) maple syrup
1 cup (7 oz.) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
Cooking spray

1. Line an 8 by 6 pan with a parchment paper. Spray it with a cooking oil and set aside.
2. Whisk all of the ingredients in a heavy bottom pot.
3. Place it over the stove and heat the mixture over medium low heat.
4. Boil until the candy thermometer reads 240F degrees (soft crack), about 10 minutes.
5. Pour it on to the prepared pan.
6. Leave it sit at a room temperature until cool enough to touch, about 30 minutes.
7. Cut them into desired shaped.
8. Wrap them in parchment papers. (Now you can do the mad scientist laugh because you just make the perfect gooey, chewy caramel.)

TIPS: Be sure to spray the lollipop mold with cooking oil. Once the caramel is ready and pour into prepared pan, leave a little bit of the caramel in the pot, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Bring the caramel to 300F degree (hard crack stage). Pour the caramel into a lollipop mold. And there you have it... dairy-free caramel lollipops. Makes up to 6 lollipops.

STORING: Keep the caramel individually wrapped with parchment paper in a fridge for a week. Bring them to a room temperature for at least 10 minutes to softening them up. Or just eat them like caramel a little bit hard candy.

Allergy Info: These salted caramels are free from or can be made without dairy, eggs, corn, nuts (not coconut), wheat, legumes (soy), and fish.