Do you ever stop to think about the people who have come in and out of your life with the ebbs and flows? This recipe made me do that. It is based on a recipe that I received from the wife of a co-worker of my husband. After months and months of trying to get together, we finally had dinner, and they brought us the most fantastic pecan caramels. I felt like I made a new best friend. Then life continued taking us on different journeys, and now they are in another country.

Anyways, I decided to try out a version of the recipe that didn’t have any dairy and was a little surprised at how well it worked. Making it in a smaller batch, cut down stirring time, and momentarily cut down the number of caramels I consumed, but only until another batch was made.

I like to keep a can of coconut milk in the fridge for the coconut cream, and then when I need coconut cream (or am making a dairy-free whipped cream), I always have a can ready. I scoop out the cream from the top and then add the liquid from the bottom to soup or a smoothie.

I made a batch of these and put some of my favorite melted Hu Chocolate in a mini muffin tin, the caramel on top, a bit of nut butter, and some more chocolate, and it won’t be the last time I do that. And you can get 15% off your order of Hu products using code ALANA15. And to be festive, I also made some with a mouse mould that I found in my possession (and ordered late at night off Amazon).

When you make these caramels, I only ask one thing, reach out to one of those who came into your life and blessed it that you might not have talked to for a while. It will make you both feel so good.

Note: You can make these using heavy whipping cream and normal butter as well.

Caramels (dairy and refined sugar-free)

Ingredients

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup honey

¼ cup coconut sugar

¾ cup coconut cream

2 tbsp vegan butter

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

Optional: add a cup of pecans and top with salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and cook together on medium heat in a medium saucepan until you reach soft ball stage*. This will take 20 minutes at least, but maybe as long as 40 minutes. You need to stir the entire time and watch closely, so it doesn’t burn.
Remove from heat and add a pinch of salt and vanilla and mix.
Pour into a parchment-lined bread pan or glass container and allow it to cool.
After it has cooled, you can cut it into pieces and wrap in parchment or wax paper, or coat in your favorite melted chocolate.

* Softball stage = 235ºF, when you drop a bit of the mixture into cold water to cool it down, it will form a softball