Homemade Milk Duds Recipe

Stella Parks
Homemade Milk Duds Recipe

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Neat freaks, watch out: This recipe's a little messy. That's because homemade Milk Duds are best dipped by hand, which lets you coat all the pieces in a thin chocolate shell without spending an eternity fishing each one out with a fork. But really, there are worse fates than being covered in your favorite dark chocolate. Such as living without a batch of chewy, chocolaty, bittersweet caramels.

Why It Works

  • Cooking over medium heat ensures that the sugar completely dissolves before the water boils off.
  • Minimal caramelization matches the flavor of real Milk Duds.
  • A generous dose of cream makes the caramels soft but chewy.
  • Coating the caramels by hand is super fast and keeps the shell thin.
Read the Whole Story
  • Yield:Makes about 50 pieces
  • Active time: 1 hour
  • Total time:3 1/2 hours
  • Rated: 5

Ingredients

  • For the Caramel:
  • 4 ounces water (1/2 cup; 115g)
  • 8 1/2 ounces sugar (1 1/4 cups; 240g)
  • 3/4 teaspoon (3g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or use the same weight
  • 6 ounces heavy cream (3/4 cup; 170g)
  • For the Chocolate Coating:
  • 8 ounces finely chopped dark or milk chocolate (1 1/3 cups; 225g), such as Callebaut or Valrhona; do not use chips

Directions

  1. 1.

    For the Caramel: Nestle a large sheet of parchment paper into an 8-inch cake pan to roughly cover the bottom and sides. In a 2-quart stainless steel saucier, combine water, sugar, and salt over medium heat. Stir with a fork until sugar is fully dissolved and syrup comes to a rolling boil, about 4 minutes. Simmer, without stirring, until syrup is honey-gold, roughly 7 minutes. Immediately add cream and reduce heat to medium-low, adjusting the heat lower if needed to keep caramel from foaming too high. (This is more likely on an electric stove due to residual heat.) Stirring constantly with a heat-resistant spatula, simmer until caramel registers 260°F (127°C) on a digital thermometer, about 7 minutes. Immediately pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil, and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

  2. 2.

    Peel caramel from parchment, transfer to a cutting board, and cut into 50 pieces (approximately 1/4 ounce or 7g each) with a sharp knife; don't worry about being too precise with their shape or size. If you like, use your fingers to mold the pieces into a more oval, Milk Dud–like shape.

  3. 3.

    For the Chocolate Coating: Line a baking sheet with parchment. Temper chocolate according to one of the methods described here. Fold all caramel pieces into tempered chocolate. With a clean hand, scoop up pieces like handfuls of marbles, then slide each one over your index finger with your thumb into your other hand (think of how you'd dole out a handful of M&M's) and arrange on prepared baking sheet. Let stand at room temperature until fully set, about 15 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container.

This Recipe Appears In
BraveTart's Homemade Milk Duds: All That's Missing Is the Yellow Box
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