Amaretto Crème Brûlée

For a good chunk of my childhood years, I swore up and down that crème brûlée was the same thing as a soufflé. From having watched tv and movies that were all food related, I pretty much figured out that the crème brûlée/soufflé creation was a daunting feat to make. I would see people make soufflés and watch as they worried about it deflating, and I thought that I would never be able to make those. Then, I would see people make other kinds of soufflés (which were the crème brûlées), and I'd see them worry about the texture and the color of it. In high school, I had a reality check. One day during French class, the students that were a part of the cooking/home ec class stopped by and gave us crème brûlée. I then realized that what I thought was a soufflé all along was actually a kind of flan creation called crème brûlée. I finally challenged myself to make it after finding the recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book, and I loved it. I love how the texture is somewhere between pudding and flan; I love the light taste of amaretto; I love how easy it was to make.

Amaretto Crème Brûlée
*makes 6 desserts*

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups half-and-half
5 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp amaretto
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325F. In a small heavy saucepan heat half-and-half over medium-low heat just until bubbly. Remove from heat; set aside.
2) Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine egg yolks, the 1/3 cup sugar, the vanilla, the amaretto, and salt. Beat with a wire whisk just until combined. Slowly whisk the hot half-and-half into the egg mixture.
3) Place six 6-ounce custard dishes in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Divide custard evenly among the dishes. Place baking dish on oven rack. Pour boiling water into the baking dish to reach halfway up the custard dish sides.
4) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center of each custard comes out clean. Remove dishes from the water; cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
5) Before serving, let custards stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a heavy 8-inch skillet heat the 1/4 cup sugar over medium-high heat until the sugar begins to melt, shaking skillet occasionally to heat sugar evenly. Do not stir. Once the sugar starts to melt, reduce heat to low and cook about 5 minutes more or until all of the sugar is melted and golden brown, stirring as needed with a wooden spoon.
6) Quickly drizzle the caramelized sugar over custards. If sugar hardens in the skillet, return to heat; stir until melted. Serve immediately.