Spiced Caramels

Tis the season for candy, cookies, and plenty of holiday treats! Caramels make a great gift any time of the year. I made these spicy caramels in October when the flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger seem to fill the air.  It was just over a year ago when I made my first unsuccessful attempt at creating caramels. I had used some leftover candied spaghetti squash from my Candied Spaghetti Squash Tart recipe and ended up with squash candy instead, which I later learned is a traditional candy in Mexico. While the candy was good, I was determined to successfully make caramels without fail. This time, I decided not to wing it and referred to the ginger cinnamon caramel recipe I previously found on thekitchn. I tripled the recipe to make caramels for a large gathering. I also added nutmeg, cardamom, and a little more butter. They were unfortunately not ready in time for the party due to the larger quantity and extended cooking time. The pot I used was not big enough (even though it looked like a caramel cauldron!), and a caramel overflow occurred at various times during the cooking process. This added a little extra time. Luckily, I learned that baking soda combined with a little water cleans it up very nicely! Plus, it was worth the cleanup. The caramels came out perfect. Creamy, soft, buttery with lots of flavor from the spices, but not overwhelming.  I had so much caramel left over that I also made some caramel chocolate shortbread bars with a basic shortbread recipe and some Taza ginger chocolate. I also coated some apples with the caramel. If you have a little time over the holiday and want to impress your family and friends, this recipe is sure to please! The trick is to be patient during each phase of the cooking process. You will notice that the temperature on your candy thermometer (I do not recommend making this recipe without a candy thermometer unless you are a candy making expert) will stay at a certain temperature for what seems like hours, but it will slowly increase... just be patient. It is worth the wait! I shared some caramels with various friends and family. My total yield was well over 400! You may not need as many... Have a fun time making them!

Ingredients (x3 in my case!)

2 cups heavy cream
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks (I added a couple more tablespoons)
3 teaspoons fresh-ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg  
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 teaspoons powdered ginger (recipe called for extract)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Line a 9x13 baking sheet with heavy-duty foil and butter generously. Put the cream in a small saucepan and let it warm over low heat.

Put the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat and stir vigorously until the sugar melts and dissolves. Stop stirring and turn the heat to high. Cook until the sugar turns dark amber. Take off the heat.

Whisk in the butter. VERY CAREFULLY pour in the cream and whisk it. The caramel will bubble up furiously and steam. Whisk until well-combined and return to high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring, then turn the heat to medium-low. Clip on the candy thermometer and cook until the temperature hits 250°F. Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the ginger extract, cinnamon, and salt. Pour into the prepared pan and let it cool.

Being a scientist, I made careful observation as to the changes in consistency, color and viscosity. Unfortunately, I misplaced my notes. Before each temperature increase, there was a 'boiling over' of the caramel. At this stage I would turn the heat down a bit to prevent overflow and a messy stove. This added more time to the cooking process. Next time I will use a bigger pot. You will notice a change in color and consistency in the photos. 

When the caramel has cooled for a couple hours, put it in the fridge to harden overnight. The next day, cut into small pieces and wrap. I stored a giant slab of caramel between sheets of waxy paper. It was pure joy seeing it in the fridge. 

10 1/2 Cups sugar

mmmm....butter

About to overflow

Not quite

Preparing the spice mix

So much waiting...

Almost..

Starting to look like caramel

Just about to boil over...

250F! Finally!!

My niece helped me with some of the wrapping (and eating!)

The caramel is very easy to cut and form into any shape

Each caramel was wrapped in wax paper. 

Some of the caramels were dipped in chocolate! These were gone in minutes.

Shortbread for the chocolate caramel shortbread bars

Taza Ginger Chocolate

Caramel and chocolate poured on top of the shortbread

The bars were very delicious!

Caramel apple

Enjoy!

Squash Candy

I took a giant leap outside of my candy making comfort zone and set out to make squash caramels with the candied spaghetti squash I had leftover from making the Candied Spaghetti Squash Custard Tart. I knew that caramels could be tricky. The process was fun. I ended up with a squash sugar candy with lots of flavor and a nice burnt sugar squash chocolate covered brittle, but no caramels. I found this Ginger Cinnamon Caramel recipe after the fact and realized that I did not add enough butter and cream into my mixture. Plus, I may have taken it off the heat a little early. I think this calls for a consultation with my friend and caramel expert, Kai over at Nosh This to know for sure... what a good excuse to plan for another trip out to San Francisco!

In the end, my squash candies were tasty. I was really impressed when one of my scientist friends could taste a hint of the ginger in the softer, lighter pieces. I still plan on making another attempt at conquering the caramel at a later date! 

Ingredients

 ~2Cups candied squash mixture 

(refer to "Candying The Squash" in Candied Spaghetti Squash Custard Tart)

Candy Thermometer

Blender 

Parchment Paper

Chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60%)

1 Tablespoon butter

1/4 Cup heavy cream

Candy wrappers (optional)

Instructions

Butter a glass baking dish (I used 11x7). Heat the candied squash mixture in a medium saucepan on medium high until warm and easy to pour. Blend using a hand blender or if you are like me and do not have a hand blender, use a countertop blender and blend until smooth and squash pieces are no longer visible. Return to saucepan on medium high heat. Add butter and heavy cream. Bring the temperature to soft ball using candy thermometer. Remove from heat, pour into glass baking dish, smooth and cut into pieces. Now, this is where you should have nice, chewy caramels. For me, the candy was sugary and soft, but not chewy. It was more like a maple sugar candy. Curious to see what would happen, I decided to return some of the candy to the saucepan and heat a little more. The candy darkened and ended up as a burnt sugar brittle. I cut the brittle when it was cool enough (yet still soft) with a strong pair of kitchen sheers. This really helped to create nice little squares. I had some Ghirardelli chocolate close by (I always have chocolate close by), so I melted a bar and dipped the squares. I then put the chocolate dipped squares in the freezer until set and wrapped in candy wrappers to be extra fancy.

The candy almost started to look like caramel when it came in contact with the buttered dish. 

Enjoy!