Scottish Butter Tablet

  4.1 – 32 reviews  • Scottish

It’s incredibly delicious and shockingly simple to make this prosciutto-wrapped stuffed chicken. Crispy and juicy with a decadent stuffing, the chicken is served fresh from the oven. It is possible to stuff and wrap chicken the night before; this is great for entertaining! This goes well with mashed potatoes or spaghetti and a quick pan gravy. Considering carbohydrates? With a salad of mixed greens and vinaigrette, this dish also tastes fantastic.

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Additional Time: 6 hrs
Total Time: 6 hrs 35 mins
Servings: 12
Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

  1. 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  2. 1 cup cream or milk
  3. 4 ½ cups white sugar
  4. ½ cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  5. 1 dash salt
  6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Optional)

Instructions

  1. Generously butter a 13×18-inch sheet pan or two 8×8-inch square pans, and set aside.
  2. Stir together condensed milk, cream, sugar, salt, and butter in a large (4-quart), heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place over medium heat, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When the mixture has reached a boil, turn heat to low, and continue cooking and stirring, until a candy thermometer reaches between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of the mixture dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. This should take about 20 minutes.
  3. Once the mixture has attained a light tan color, remove from heat, and beat vigorously (but carefully!) with a wooden spoon until the mixture cools and thickens. Stop beating when you can feel the mixture turn from smooth to grainy. Mix in vanilla extract.
  4. Pour into the prepared pan. Don’t scrape any crystallized bits from the bottom of the pan, or it may cause the whole batch to crystallize. While still warm, score the tablet into 2-inch squares with the tip of a paring knife. Allow to cool 6 hours to overnight until set. Cut into squares with a serrated knife. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Reviews

Tyler Pena
After reading the reviews I cooked this for longer than recommended (about 35 minutes) and even after stirring for almost as long off the heat it still did not set and I have a pan of mush.
Mary Figueroa
I’ll go with user error. This was my first time making tablet. I didn’t have a candy thermometer, so I tried using the method to put some in cold water, but that didn’t quite work out. I’m assuming I ended up having the heat too low. The final consistency once cooled was that of soft butter, not a thick candy that held it’s shape – I could spread it, not cut it. It was also very grainy. And WAY too sweet for us. It I was a more skilled candy maker this may have worked better, but it’s too challenging for me and the overpowering sweetness makes me not want to try again. 🙁 I’ll stick with other fudge recipes which are more forgiving.
Chad Terry
Turned out great! Do NOT skimp on ingredients. Use cream. And do NOT get impatient. This one takes time. Need to stir for at least 30 to 40 minutes to get to the proper temperature. Really beat until the mixture begins to cool before pouring into pan. You will see and feel the difference. We have tried a few other Scottish Tablet recipes and this one turned out the best.
Christopher Long
Tastes just like tablet should. Helpful hint – double the amount of vanilla to give it a rich, creamy taste
James Banks
You must add 1TB of corn syrup or invert sugar to prevent crystallization to the pot while cooking. You need not to stir while waiting to reach 240 degrees. You must take to 240 degrees. Or it will not set. You need to pour into a kitchen aid mixer w/ paddle attachment. Then add vanilla if you like. Mix on medium to high speed. Until you see it change from glossy to opaque. *please be careful w/ this hot mixture at all times. Yes it can burn you if you get it on your skin. I am a pastry chef and they will not give you this information due to the liability factor. Then pour into a lined sheet pan w/ parchment & pan spray.. be patient and let it cure 🙂
Charles Lewis
Made this for a Burns Night party. Used whole milk, and the vanilla, took about 25 minutes before taking it off the heat, low temp during cook was a simmer effectively. Cooked to 236F and used a quick read Cooper digital thermometer to doublecheck the candy thermometer which was 3 degrees off in the cooler direction. Another 10-15 min to cool before pour. I used a nonstick saucepan and had virtually no crystals, poured at about 160F. Scored it at 100F in nonstick pan. Samples from bowl leftovers were quite good!
Brenda Rodriguez
Lizzie Mac I loved this recipe. I am a brittle diabetic so I keep treats in the fridge if I need them. They work like a charm and taste heavenly! Thank you so much for this recipe! Sheree Runion Hyde
Dylan Watson
It tastes REALLY GOOD! I made it for my class, but the only problem is that it didn’t set right and so it’s basically a big Tupperware dish full of a highly viscous caramel tasting substance…
Ronnie Lucas
For the first time in my life it turned out perfect
April Velazquez
Tastes great but did not quite get the consistency right. Maybe more boiling stirring will do the trick next time!
Keith Hodges
I followed this recipe completely and it didn’t set at all. I tried again but this time I made some changes… Used 1/4cup butter, 1 cup milk and 4 cups of sugar. Bring to boil and simmer for 10minutes. Then add the can of condensed milk bring back to a boil for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and beat for 25minutes until thick. I used a whisk for the whole process stirring constantly. It’s been sitting for almost an hour and it’s already setting nicely.
Kimberly Burke
Holy Cow! This was amazingly delicious! This certainly wasn’t the easiest recipe I have ever made, but it was worth it. It took me forever to stir it to get it up to temperature, much longer than the description. I ended up turning the temperature up. It also took me forever to get it to cool down to the grainy stage. It stuck a little in my pan. I think I will use parchment paper next time. When my arm recovers I believe will make this again.
Robert Mccann
The final product was very soft and would not set. I would recommend anyone attempting this to cook much longer than specified. (until a caramel colour)
Amanda Shea
This is delicious. The only problem I had was with the pan size. It didn’t even come close to covering to the edges of the 13X18 pan and its not even 1/4″ thick. I think a 9X13 pan would probably be the correct size for about 1/2″ thick candy. I used half and half (because it was on hand) and cooked it for about 20 minutes till it was soft ball by the cold water method and it set up perfectly. I also took someone else’s suggestion to add invert sugar in the form of a tbsp of corn syrup.
Tina Green
Made it for the first time since my mum used to make it for us as kids. Followed the recipe and it worked perfectly thank you. It even looks like the picture which never happens!!
Ronald Proctor
Close but not quite perfect. I returned from Scotland 5 days ago and the 4 or 5 different makers I tasted while there varied some but all had a more caramel flavor than this…not strong but just a tiny bit. I made this exactly as written and now think I needed to cook it just a few degrees hotter, again, just a tiny bit. Next time I intend to replace half of the white sugar with either brown or turbinado trying to get that flavor. In spite of these critiques, this is tasty, easy and well worth your time and ingredients. If it doesn’t set up for you, recook a few degrees hotter and try beating it more. Read some old fashioned fudge ( non marshmallow ) recipes for more hints because it is the same basic principal.
Ryan Walker Jr.
The first two times I tried this recipe, it would NOT set! I read the reviews, and tried re-boiling my second batch, and, once it reached a rich caramel color (think toffee apple!), I beat it with my electric hand mixer until the mixture lost its gloss **Do not try to “feel” for grit with a spoon or worse, a finger. Once the mixture has lost its gloss completely, it’s gritty.** On my third try (once I was able to recognize what it SHOULD look like) I made successful fudge!!! I can’t wait to give this as gifts for Christmas 😀
Thomas Kelly
Loved it just made it exactly like the recipe and turned out perfect. I will make again and again
Jessica Bennett
This recipe is DELICIOUS. It’s super easy to make, too, but i changed the ingredient amounts (decreased the sugar)…still tastes delicious. Yummy to smell when it’s cooking, too
Angela Reed
After reading the reviews, I decided to make half the recipe just in case I was unsuccessful. I eliminated the salt and vanilla (personal preference). I boiled the mixture vigorously on med heat for 2-3 minutes before reducing the heat to low and continued to cook for about 25 minutes. At that point, the mixture thickened and became a nice tan color. Off the heat, I beat it with a wooden spoon until it cooled and was the consistency of thick batter. I cut the tablet this morning and it came out great! I will present it to my best friend from Scotland to get the real verdict, but I am sure he will be pleased, as this is much better than the packaged stuff I brought back for him from Scotland. Either way, I consider this a great success!!! Thanks for posting!
Dennis Maldonado
Im Puerto Rican, and This is very close to the Dulce De Leche I grew up eating, & taste like the ones we buy in bodegas… Came out perfect , set up perfectly…I cut the recipe in half and also added a tablespoon of Trimoline which is an Invert Sugar.. Not readily available I happen to keep it on hand because I’m a pastry chef… You can use Light Corn Syrup instead this prevents crystallization , acts as a preservative and gives a better mouth feel to the tablet…. It also adds to the caramelization … Which will bring your temperature higher thus cooking faster so use it and you won’t have the issues other reviewers are having getting up to temperature I reached the temperature in 16 minutes It makes a big difference… Use 2 tablespoons of invert sugar for the full recipe …. I also used my hand mixer & beat it for 3 min to cool off … I was done making this in less than 30 min ….. It set up perfectly ….. Only suggestion is less butter to taste more like dulce de Leche. Hope this review helps others.

 

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