Gingerbread Caramels

Gingerbread Caramels is a candy recipe built around heavy cream, vanilla extract and ground ginger. Plan on 60 caramels and about 180 minutes.

• Yield 60 caramels
• Ready in 180 minutes
• Prep 15 minutes
• Cook 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
• 6 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I use salted butter)
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse, kosher salt (use 1/4 teaspoon for table salt)

Instructions

1. Butter the bottom and sides (get into the corners, too!) of a 8- or 9-inch square baking pan. (Alternately, you can line with parchment and butter the parchment – this may make it easier to pull the slab of caramels out of the pan after they have cooled in order to cut and wrap them.) Set aside.
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan or in the microwave until steaming. Keep warm.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Set aside.
4. For the caramels, in a large, heavy-bottomed pot (at least 5- or 6-quarts), stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water, taking care to not splash the mixture up the sides of the pot. Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan, if using.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat WITHOUT STIRRING or moving the pan. As it begins to boil, fill a cup with water and use a pastry brush to wash down the sides of the pan so there are no granules of sugar sticking to the sides of the pan (you probably won’t need to repeat this after the sides have been well-cleaned). This prevents the caramel mixture from crystallizing in later steps.
6. Cook until the boiling sugar turns a light amber color and registers 325 degrees F on the thermometer, about 15-20 minutes.
7. Slowly and carefully pour the warm cream into the caramel. It will bubble and produce a lot of steam! Add the molasses, butter, and salt. The mixture will bubble high during this step but will go down after a few minutes.
8. Begin stirring the caramel with a heatproof rubber spatula, making sure to scrape across the bottom of the pan (but avoid scraping the sides of the pan too much). Continue to cook, stirring constantly and slowly, until the mixture reaches 244-246 degrees F, about 10-20 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat.
9. Off the heat, scrape the vanilla/spices mixture into the caramel and stir gently until well-combined.
10. Pour the caramel mixture into the prepared pan. Let the caramels cool completely at room temperature.
11. Cut the caramel into squares using a sharp knife or bench scraper. Wrap the caramels and store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to two weeks.

Let the center settle before you cut it, or the slices will slump.