Girls Weekend

Sam is in Phoenix this weekend and Rachel and I stayed behind in Chinle.  First thing on the agenda was to try and make a batch of Penuche.  Penuche is a brown sugar fudge/candy that my Grandma Ellen used to make every time we visited her.  I say try because no one in my family has ever been able to make it ourselves.  Candy making is a science, and apparently, none of us are scientists.  It is supposed to be creamy and smooth and it always turns out grainy, and usually hardens in the pot before we can even pour it out.  But it doesn't stop us from trying to figure it out.  My Grandma didn't intend to keep the recipe a secret--she willingly handed it out, but even with the recipe we didn't know her tips and tricks.  After she passed away it made it even harder.  Maybe about once a year I make an attempt at the recipe, and like I said, I usually end up scraping it with a spoon out of the pot, which is still good, but not the same. 

Until....last night! I googled reciepes online--and while I already had a recipe--some of the comments were extremely helpful.  After reading through many of them that said they had success I tried these tips:

(since I tried all of them, I can't say which one was the crucial miraculous step--so for any of my family reading this--my suggestion is that just try all of them.)

1. Stirred to initially mix sugars and cream  (and added a little pour of extra cream)--but did NOT stir at all once it started boiling.  (comments said stirring too soon will start the crystalization process  too soon and it will go hard and grainy--exactly what mine had been like in the past).
2. Heated to 234 degrees (just before soft ball stage on a candy thermometer)
3. Then, removed from heat and still did not stir until it cooled down to 115 degrees  (as it cooled it seemed very sticky, and grainy--and I had my doubts whether any of my new tips would make a difference--but it worked so at this stage there is still hope :-)   
4. Added vanilla (per original recipe) and also added 1.5 Tablespoons more cream (comments said it would help it to be creamy, and slice easier)
5. Mixed for over 5 minutes with a hand mixer on high.  (My Grandma used to ask my Dad to beat it with a wooden spoon, but it makes your arm sooo tired, and so when someone had success using a hand mixer I definitely wanted to try it.   I bet Rachel that it would go  hard and the beaters would get stuck...but IT WORKED! :-) YIPEE!!   (My grandma's recipe said to beat until the candy loses it's shine, and that didn't happen (a comment said it might not though if you add extra cream.  So I stopped after it had been at least 5 minutes and hoped it would be enough.  It was creamy enough to pour into a pan to cool. 

So I hate to rub it in--but to all of my family--this is a big NEENER NEENER from me and Rachel as we gobble up this entire batch :-)  

Maybe next time I will make a bigger batch so I can mail some to everyone....maybe :-)

 Today was also Opening Day for Rez T-Ball. 

(rachel is in the back on the right).

This year Rachel is playing on the Red Sox--which is pretty awesome. 

I am helping coach, and these little guys needed A LOT of coaching today so I didn't get any any action shots from the game--But Rachel did hit 3 HOME RUNS! WOOOO!