Old Fashioned Penuche Recipes

OLD-FASHIONED PENUCHE

Steps:

• Butter an 8-by-8-inch baking pan. Line buttered pan with a 16-inch long sheet of parchment papar, buttered on both sides, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan. Allow excess to overhang pan edges (to create handles). Arrange your countertop so all utensils and ingredients are within fast reach. Have pecans, baking soda, and vanilla all measured out and ready in a handy spot near the stove. Also within easy reach, have a warmed candy thermometer*, waxed paper or spoon holder (for laying down sticky spoon or thermometer), and (just in case) oven mitts and a container of ice water**. Combine sugar, salt, corn syrup, half-and-half, cream, and butter in a heavy-bottomed 3-quart sauce pan set over low heat. (Sauce pan should have straight sides so candy thermometer can be attached to side of pan.) Stir with a greased wooden spoon until sugar is completely dissolved. This takes some time, and it is dificult to tell by looking at it. So, to be sure all the sugar is dissolved, carefully feel the texture of the hot sugar mixture by rubbing a little between your fingers or run your finger along the mixture clinging to spoon. If there is any graininess at all, keep stirring until it's gone. Once sugar is dissolved, increase heat to medium and cook, stirring continuously, until mixture foams to a boil. Add baking soda, lower heat and stir like crazy... (The oven mitts are right there if you need them.) The mixture will froth and foam, double in volume, and then gradually subside and begin to take on a golden color. After mixture settles down some, attach a warmed candy thermometer onto pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously and scraping sides of pan, until thermometer registers just 240 degrees F. Watch carefully, thermometer will hover at 239 degrees for a while and then move up. This is crucial -- You MUST remove mixture from heat BEFORE it passes 240 degrees F. Remove pan from heat, remove thermometer, and continue to stir quickly. Mixture will look like a loose caramel sauce. Carefully add vanilla (mixture may froth again), stirring until incorporated. Add pecans and continue stirring quickly. At this point you must pay attention, keep your eyes on mixture, and keep stirring. Watch and feel it as it begins to thicken, lighten in color, and becomes harder to stir. When it has thickened enough that the spoon leaves a path on bottom of pan while stirring, it's almost ready. As soon as you notice that the mixture is starting to lose its glossy shine and is beginning to turn matte, turn it out into prepared pan and, if necessary, press it down with a buttered spatula. Don't wait until mixture looks completely matte or it will be too dry when you try to cut it or, worse, harden in the pan. If you stop stirring too soon, it might not solidify at all and be nothing more than a caramel (albeit a very, very good caramel), but not penuche. If you stop stirring at the right moment, the mixture will firm up almost the second it hits the pan. Let candy cool in pan on wire rake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until firmly set, remove from pan using parchment handles, and cut into squares. (If candy doesn't harden immediately, let it sit for several hours or overnight and it may harden. If not, don't be sad...you still have great caramel.) Makes about 1 pound. * Safety Note: It will not break the thermometer to place it in syrup just after it begins to boil, unless it has been in a cold room. However, it is always well to warm it a little as a precaution when putting it into boiling syrup. They are made to withstand such a shock, but it doesn't pay to be unnecessarily careless. ** Safety Note: Keep a container of ice water handy. If you accidentally splash or spill hot sugar on your hand, immediately plunge it into the ice water to stop the burn. Personal Note: Candy recipes are notoriously unforgiving. Substitution of ingredients or the slightest deviation in technique, temperature or timing can make for major problems. For what it's worth, I've been cooking and baking and for more than 40 years, but success at candymaking continues to be hit or miss for me. It really is harder than you'd think, so don't feel bad about a few failures here and there.

OLD FASHIONED PENUCHE FUDGE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a 3-quart saucepan combine both sugars and the milk and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, while stirring constantly. Once it reaches a boil, stop stirring the mixture (so fudge doesn't turn gritty).
• Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking mixture, without stirring, until it reaches the soft-ball stage, 236F/113C degrees.**If mixture is stirred after boiling and before cooling down, large sugar crystals will form and fudge will be gritty**
• Remove saucepan from the heat and add the butter and vanilla, but DO NOT STIR. Let the mixture cool without stirring until it reaches 110F/43C degrees. Start checking the temperature at 20 minutes and then check every 5 minutes, until it reaches 110F/43C.
• While the mixture is cooling, butter an 8-inch-square pan. Set aside.
• Once the mixture has cooled down, beat with a wooden spoon until the butter is fully incorporated and mixture starts to thicken. Quickly pour the fudge into the buttered pan before it becomes too solid. ***If using optional 1 cup chopped nuts, quickly stir them into the fudge right before pouring into the prepared pan***
• Let cool completely before cutting into 1-inch squares. Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.

PENUCHE FUDGE

Steps:

• Line a 9-in. square pan with foil; grease foil with 1 teaspoon butter., In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugars, milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a rapid boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 234° (soft-ball stage). Remove from heat. Add vanilla and remaining butter to pan (do not stir)., Cool, without stirring, to 110°, about 40 minutes. Beat with a spoon until fudge just begins to thicken. Add walnuts; continue beating until fudge becomes very thick and just begins to lose its sheen (about 10 minutes total). Immediately spread into prepared pan. Cool., Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Remove foil; cut fudge into 1-in. squares. Store between layers of waxed paper in airtight containers.

OLD-FASHIONED PENUCHE

Steps:

• Grease 8-inch by 8-inch metal baking pan. Line bottom and sides of pan with foil, allowing foil to extend above pan on 2 sides; grease foil.
• In heavy 4-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup; heat to boiling over high heat, stirring frequently, until sugar completely dissolves. With pastry brush dipped in water, wash down sugar crystals on side of pan.
• Set candy thermometer in place and continue cooking, without stirring, until thermometer reaches 238 degrees F., or soft-ball stage (when small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a soft ball that flattens on removal from water).
• Remove saucepan from heat. Cool mixture to 210 degrees F., about 8 minutes, without stirring. Sprinkle white chocolate over mixture; let stand 1 minute. Add walnuts and stir with wooden spoon just until chocolate and nuts are incorporated (do not overmix).
• Immediately pour mixture into pan (do not scrape inside of saucepan). Cool candy in pan on wire rack 30 minutes or until firm, but still warm. Lift foil and candy out of pan and place on cutting board. While warm, cut candy into 8 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 8 pieces.
• Cool completely on foil on wire rack. Store at room temperature in tightly covered container, with waxed paper between layers, up to 3 weeks.

OLD FASHIONED PUMPKIN PENUCHE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the cookies: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin, vanilla and egg and mix well. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.
• For the frosting: In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar and butter. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Let cool for 10 minutes. Slowly add the milk and whisk until smooth. Slowly whisk in the confectioners' sugar until the frosting reaches the desired consistency. Spread the frosting over the cookies and sprinkle with the pecans if using.

OLD-FASHIONED BUTTERSCOTCH CAKE WITH PENUCHE FROSTING

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream brown sugar and shortening until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in pecans., Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack., For frosting, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the brown sugar, milk and salt. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Frost cake.