MISS MARY'S CANDY GUEST POST AND A GIVEAWAY!

Sweet tooth anyone?? I have a serious one. One thing that I can never turn down is a dark chocolate covered caramel from Miss Mary's Candy.  The woman behind the candy happens to be my sweet mother in law, Marye Jo. She is an amazing cook and has blown me away with her entrepreneurial talents. Marye Jo is guest posting below and has also so generously offered a box of her caramels as a giveaway. Believe me, you will want to enter this one!! 

 All you need to do to be eligible for this giveaway is visit her facebook page and like her here ...then come back and tell me you did!  For a second chance to win, you can be a follower or become a  follower of  this blog through google friend connect and tell me you have done that too! And finally for a third chance to win...like Restore Interiors on facbook as well. Good Luck!
So here we go.....Take is away Miss Mary!! 
Recently, a cute girl with strawberry blond hair hugged me and said " you make the best candy I have ever tasted"!  It made my day.  It is moments like this that make my candy business fun and exciting.
  I acquired the recipe for MISS MARY'S OLD FASHION CANDY many years ago from a friend of my mother-in law.  Every Christmas Miss Mary would give her an apothecary  jar filled with delicious caramels, which Mom would share with us very grudgingly one piece at a time.  She would make it last a long time.
 I loved to cook so I asked for the recipe and to my surprise, she gave it to me!  For years I made caramels at Christmas for gifts and for my family.  The problem was the recipe was inconsistent.  Being an old recipe, it required putting drops of candy into cups of water to determine whether  it had reached the "soft ball stage" or "hard ball stage".  Even then, it would often turn out too soft or too sticky, but when it was good it was incredible!
 When I decided that I wanted to offer this wonderful candy to the world, I bought a digital candy thermometer  and tested and tested until I found the perfect temperature.
 
 The ingredients are the same ones that Miss Mary used: cane sugar, pure cream, corn syrup (never high fructose), butter, pure vanilla, and salt.

 Later, we developed CARAMEL POPS, my husband David's and my granddaughter Anna Kate's favorite.  (The development is a story for another time.)  We also began dipping the caramels in semi-sweet and white Ghiradelli chocolate.  We still have lots of ideas and new  things to try so please stay tuned. 


 We have received  much encouragement and advice from great friends and family and it is all very much appreciated so please keep it coming.



 Miss Mary is no longer with us on Earth, but I think she would like that her delicious caramels are still being enjoyed by lots of happy people. Thank you Marye Jo! Your caramels are delicious! If you would like to order some caramels and see for yourself how great they are you can visit their website www.missmaryscandy.com