It’s been a while since I posted…. Egads! Almost a month. The cookie baking was in full swing in November (we’ll come back to that) and then I was traveling for a couple of weeks. But I am back. Never fear. And it’s getting to be Christmas and as some of you know, in addition to the Cookie Maddens, I try to make some candy or truffles every year. This year, I’ve made these lovely semi-soft and chewy caramel candies — melt in your mouth good! There are two variations: gingerbread (love!) and butter rum. Each batch makes about 50 caramels. Great stocking stuffers!
Ingredients
for the gingerbread flavored caramels
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
You will also need: 8×8 baking dish, parchment paper, a 2-quart saucepan, a 4-quart saucepan, and a candy thermometer
Directions
Line an 8×8 baking dish with a parchment sling (both directions). Spray the parchment and the sides of the pan with nonstick spray.
In the smaller of the sauce pans, melt the butter in the cream over medium heat. Remove from heat, but keep the pan close by.
In the larger sauce pan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, molasses, and water. Stir until the sugar is evenly moistened and you form a thick grainy paste. Wipe down the sides of the pan with a spatula so there are no sugar crystals above the surface of the sugar mixture. Clip the instant-read thermometer to the side of the pan so that the heat sensor is immersed in the sugar. Do not stir the sugar after this point.
Note: The large saucepan is necessary because the sugar will bubble up and triple in size when you add the cream. Do not substitute a smaller pan.
Place the pot with the sugar mixture over medium to medium-high heat. Let the sugar syrup come to a boil without stirring. At first, you will see small bubbles around the edge of the pan, which will eventually move inward. Around 250F, the sugar syrup will turn transparent and boil rapidly. Around 320°F, the syrup will darken slightly and smell caramel-like. Do not let it get past 325F, but you can move on to the next step after the temperature reaches 300F. Note: If your instant-read thermometer isn’t quite submerged into the sugar, you may need to tilt the pan to get an accurate reading. Simply tilt the pan by the handle until the thermometer is submerged a few inches in the sugar syrup. If the syrup hasn’t reached 250°, wipe down the sides with the spatula again. If it has, there’s no need.
Turn off the heat under the sugar syrup. Slowly pour the warm cream and butter mixture into the sugar syrup while whisking the sugar syrup gently. The sugar syrup will bubble up and triple in size. Stop whisking once all the cream and butter mixture has been added. Return the pan to medium to medium-high heat. Let the caramel come to a boil without stirring. It will start off as a soft buttery yellow and eventually darken to reddish-brown caramel. Remove from heat when the caramel reaches 245°F to 250°F. Quickly whisk in the vanilla and spices into the caramel.
Immediately pour the caramels into the mold. Do not scrape the pan (there are sometimes hard burnt bits on the bottom). Knock the pan against the counter a few times to help air bubbles work their way out.
Set the caramels somewhere out of the way to set, for at least two hours or (ideally) overnight. Once the caramels have cooled to room temperature, you can cover the pan. When the caramels have set, lift them out of the pan by the parchment paper sling and onto a cutting board. Cut the caramels into candies with a very sharp knife. If the caramels stick to your knife, spray your knife with nonstick cooking spray. Cut squares of wax paper a little longer than your caramels. Wrap each caramel in wax paper and twist the ends closed.
Note for softer caramels: The softness of the caramels is mainly a result of the cream. This recipe makes fairly firm, chewy caramels. For softer, taffy-like caramels, experiment with adding an extra 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of cream to this
recipe.
Ingredients
for the butter rum flavored caramels
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon butter rum extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark rum
You will also need: 8×8 baking dish, parchment paper, a 2-quart saucepan, a 4-quart saucepan, and a candy thermometer
Directions
Line an 8×8 baking dish with a parchment sling (both directions). Spray the parchment and the sides of the pan with nonstick spray.
In the smaller of the sauce pans, melt the butter in the cream over medium heat. Remove from heat, but keep the pan close by.
In the larger sauce pan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Stir until the sugar is evenly moistened and you form a thick grainy paste. Wipe down the sides of the pan with a spatula so there are no sugar crystals above the surface of the sugar mixture. Clip the instant-read thermometer to the side of the pan so that the heat sensor is immersed in the sugar. Do not stir the sugar after this point.
Note: The large saucepan is necessary because the sugar will bubble up and triple in size when you add the cream. Do not substitute a smaller pan.
Place the pot with the sugar mixture over medium to medium-high heat. Let the sugar syrup come to a boil without stirring. At first, you will see small bubbles around the edge of the pan, which will eventually move inward. Around 250F, the sugar syrup will turn transparent and boil rapidly. Around 320°F, the syrup will darken slightly and smell caramel-like. Do not let it get past 325F, but you can move on to the next step after the temperature reaches 300F. Note: If your instant-read thermometer isn’t quite submerged into the sugar, you may need to tilt the pan to get an accurate reading. Simply tilt the pan by the handle until the thermometer is submerged a few inches in the sugar syrup. If the syrup hasn’t reached 250°, wipe down the sides with the spatula again. If it has, there’s no need.
Turn off the heat under the sugar syrup. Slowly pour the warm cream and butter mixture into the sugar syrup while whisking the sugar syrup gently. The sugar syrup will bubble up and triple in size. Stop whisking once all the cream and butter mixture has been added. Return the pan to medium to medium-high heat. Let the caramel come to a boil without stirring. It will start off as a soft buttery yellow and eventually darken to reddish-brown caramel. Remove from heat when the caramel reaches 245°F to 250°F. Quickly whisk in the vanilla, the butter rum extract and the rum.
Immediately pour the caramels into the mold. Do not scrape the pan (there are sometimes hard burnt bits on the bottom). Knock the pan against the counter a few times to help air bubbles work their way out.
Set the caramels somewhere out of the way to set, for at least two hours or (ideally) overnight. Once the caramels have cooled to room temperature, you can cover the pan. When the caramels have set, lift them out of the pan by the parchment paper sling and onto a cutting board. Cut the caramels into candies with a very sharp knife. If the caramels stick to your knife, spray your knife with nonstick cooking spray. Cut squares of wax paper a little longer than your caramels. Wrap each caramel in wax paper and twist the ends closed.
Note for softer caramels: The softness of the caramels is mainly a result of the cream. This recipe makes fairly firm, chewy caramels. For softer, taffy-like caramels, experiment with adding an extra 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of cream to this recipe.
