Homemade Gingerbread Caramels
I’ve been wanting to make caramels for a very long time now for a couple of reasons. For one, Hubby LOVES caramel. It’s his favorite sweet treat. For two, I seriously love using my candy thermometer. And for three, I’m always up for a challenge.
There have been plenty of caramel recipes floating around food blogs recently. Salted caramels, chocolate covered caramels, and toffee caramels just to name a few. I decided to spice things up by making this gingerbread caramel recipe. Not only does Hubby love caramel, he also loves molasses and gingerbread, so I knew this recipe would be a hit.
And I was right about that! Hubby and I gave ourselves stomach aches while cutting and wrapping up these little beauties.
A couple notes about this recipe. Be sure to use a huge pot. I used our big stock pot that we cook Lobsters in. I thought it would be too big, but it wasn’t. When the caramel starts to really boil, it will boil up to nearly the top of the pot for a second before going back down. I also doubled the amount of spices in the recipe since many of the reviews online said they weren’t very gingerbready.
I also checked my candy thermometer before starting the whole process. To do that, stick it in a pot of boiling water. It should read 100C or 212F on your thermometer. If it doesn’t, just remember how far off it was (mine was off by about 2 degrees). And, if you make these, be ready for the cutting and wrapping process. This makes over 100 caramels. That’s a lot of caramels to wrap. And they need to be wrapped because if the cut caramels sit next to each other, they will meld together into a big caramel. All that being said, these are definitely worth the effort.
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Cookie Kisses
Gingerbread Caramels
Yield: ~150 caramels
Ingredients:
4 cups (2 pints) heavy cream
2 cups light corn syrup
4 cups sugar
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
Directions:
Lightly coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on short sides; spray paper.
In a large pot over high heat, bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and molasses to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 248 degrees (firm-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla, salt, and spices. Immediately pour onto prepared sheet, without scraping pot. Let stand, uncovered, 24 hours at room temperature (do not move pan).
Generously coat a large cutting board with cooking spray. Lifting it by the parchment overhang, invert caramel onto the cutting board; use a sharp knife to loosen parchment, and remove. Cut into 1-by-1 1/4-inch pieces. Wrap each in cellophane or waxed paper. Caramels can be stored up to 1 month in airtight containers.
Recipe from Martha Stewart
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
That looks delicious!! And perfect for the winter weather.
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This looks yummy! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I made this tonight for a birthday and it was truly *amazing*! We all loved it and all the kids came back wanting seconds. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out incredibly moist and gooey, deliciously sweet, and spiced. I used half Granny Smith apples and half Gala. I also only had a 9″ pan and by the time I filled it up I still had enough batter (and some extra apple slices left) to fill another 9″ pan. I didn’t have any extra caramel topping, but decided to just bake the batter with the few left over apple slices. Next time I will double the amount of the caramel topping and cut up two more apples and make two full pans worth. It takes a little bit of time to make, but is not a difficult recipe to follow and is oh-so worth it! Thanks for sharing this!
beantownbaker — May 12th, 2014 @ 4:54 pm
SO glad you enjoyed it! It’s been years since I’ve made this recipe and your comment has me moving it to the top of my to-bake list!
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