Salted Pumpkin Caramels
We used organic canned pumpkin, but use homemade if you have it.
The pumpkin, cream and spices get heated to just below boiling. Looks good enough to drink!
Toasting the pepitas really brings out their nutty flavor -- we couldn't stop munching on them!
After we put the sugar and maple syrup in the pot, we noticed that it reminded us of making maple candy in the snow.
Cheese1227 is very precise with temperatures and instructions, which is helpful when making candy: first, you heat the sugar and syrups to 244 degrees.
In the meantime, Amanda uses a nifty trick to line the baking dish with parchment. Watch our upcoming video to see how it's done!
She cuts diagonal slits in each of the corners of a square of paper, when then allows the paper to fold over itself and fit snugly into the corners of the dish.
Curious eyes look on as Merrill butters the paper so that the caramel doesn't stick.
When adding the hot pumpkin and cream mixture to the sugar, you should work slowly and carefully, whisking all the time -- this is one of those times when having another set of hands really...
As cheese1227 explain, returning the candy to 240 degrees once you've added the pumpkin and cream can take a while -- it took us about 20 minutes.
Amanda tips the toasted pepitas into the pan, to form the bottom (later, the top) layer of the caramels.
The candy thickens, and the pumpkin color intensifies as it cooks down.
Once you reach 240 degrees, in go some butter and a splash of lemon juice.
Another time when four hands are better than two...
After the caramel has cooled a little in the pan, we added a generous sprinkling of sea salt.
We gently patted in the salt to make sure it would stick.
After waiting impatiently for a couple of hours for it to set completely, we turned the candy out of the dish.
The paper peels back easily, revealing a gorgeous candy mosiac.
It slices beautifully -- use a sharp knife, and dip it in hot water if you need to (we didn't).
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Author Notes: I recently made the fetching brown butter pumpkin layer cake featured on the cover of the latest issue of Fine Cooking. That batter just cried out to be sampled. It tasted as I imagined pumpkin caramels would. Seeing as serving raw cake batter is frowned upon these days, I had to come up with a safer alternative to this wonderful taste profile. - cheese1227 - cheese1227
Food52 Review: Cheese1227's caramels really evoke the essence of fall, and her approach is elegant not heavy-handed. The earthiness of pumpkin, softened with cream, permeates each chewy bite, followed by a whisper of spice, and the delicate crunch of fleur de sel is a clever detail, offsetting the sweetness of the candy. The toasted pepitas are addictive even on their own (make sure to save some for the bottom of the baking dish!); they give each of the finished caramels a beautifully lacquered, dusty green cap. - A&M - A&M
Makes 64, 1-inch caramels
- 2/3 cup unsalted pepitas
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cups light corn syrup
- 1/3 cup good maple syrup
- 1/4 cup of water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in chunks
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon fleur de sel
- Dry toast the pepitos in a skillet until they start to pop.
- Line the bottom and the sides of an 8-in square glass pan with parchment. Butter the parchment on the sides of the pan. Evenly spread out the toasted pepitos on the bottom of the pan, on top of the parchment.
- In a saucepan, combine heavy cream, pumpkin puree and spices. Get this mixture quite warm, but not boiling. Set aside.
- In a second heavy bottomed pan, with sides at least 4 inches high, combine the sugar, both syrups and water. Stir until the sugars are melted, Then let it boil until it reaches 244 degrees (the soft ball point on a candy thermometer). Then very carefully add the cream and pumpkin mixture, and slowly bring this mixture to 240 degrees as registered on a on a candy thermometer. This can take awhile -- like 30 minutes -- but don't leave the kitchen, watch it carefully and stir it more frequently once it hits 230 degrees to keep it from burning at the bottom of the pan.
- As soon as it reaches the 240, pull it off the heat and stir in the butter and lemon juice. Stir vigorously so that butter is fully incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Let cool 30 minutes and sprinkle the salt over the top. Let the caramels fully set (at least 2 hours) before using a hot knife to cut them into 1-inch squares and wrapping them individually in waxed paper.
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13 days ago LJStone
These sound delicious, but I'm lactose intolerant. At last year's Fancy Food Show, though, I discovered a company that makes caramels using coconut milk and coconut cream. I'm not much of a chemist, though, to know how everything else in the recipe interacts. Aside from substituting coconut milk or cream for the heavy cream, do you suggest other adjustments to accommodate this substitute?
13 days ago cheese1227
I think I would increase the amount of pumpkin pie spice so that it doesn't get too masked by the coconut taste.
14 days ago abbyarnold
I have packed these in wax paper and mailed them with great results. You might want to consider whether they would soften in the heat and pack accordingly; maybe not too tightly packed?
14 days ago Jule
Are these okay to send in the mail as a gift? Anyone have any advice?
13 days ago cheese1227
I have sent them in the mail. But never in the summer.
about 1 month ago Foodiewithalife
These are so elegant and luscious! What a gorgeous recipe.
Christina
www.foodiewithalife.com
13 days ago cheese1227
So pleased you liked them!
3 months ago Therese Piper
Are canned pumpkin purees all the same in consistency etc? Canned puree is available in Australia but its not a common ingredient. With our famous "Beaudesert Blue' coming into season I am wondering can I just use mashed roasted pumpkin instead. How does the consistency/wateriness of the puree impact the recipe?
13 days ago Christine Burns Rudalevige
Canned pumpkin here in the US more dense than fresh pumpkin. That said, the extra water in the pumpkin will likely boil off.
4 months ago Tracey Wade
Can anyone recommend a good candy thermometer? I tried making these and ended up with caramel sauce- I want to try again, but - obviously need a better thermometer.
13 days ago Christine Burns Rudalevige
I just use one of the plain old Taylor Classics. Works like a charm..
4 months ago blmcmp
Thank you for the creative recipe! I have made these a few times - successfully, even after one time talking and the temp got way to high, but after adding the hot milk, they still turned out! Everyone who tasted these, loved them, and said they would try to make. They are not too sweet or too pumpkiny, and the texture is just right--they don't stick to your teeth. :O9
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5 months ago aisha vax
This recipe is truly fantastic! One warning though, don't try the carmels until they've been refrigerated for a day at least. No one really I liked them at first and I was very disappointed. Next day was a whole different story. Chota Bheem
5 months ago mubcl
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5 months ago tightlinetv
Oh wow this was a great recipe, I cant wait to make it! web design melbourne fl
6 months ago StephyB
This recipe was on the Food52 Holiday App on my iPad - I can not overstate the awesomeness of these caramels - I'm about to make a second batch to keep all to myself as I gave the majority of the first batch away as gifts. I followed the directions to the letter and it came out great! Although to get them up the the correct temperature - it was almost an hour on the stove - but I had a small pot and had to keep the heat turned down a bit to keep it from boiling over. I used a digital thermometer and didn't pay attention to the "pre-settings" and just brought up to 244 and 240 respectively. I also made a second batch substituting applesauce for the pumpkin and walnuts for the pepitas - they were good - but not as good as the pumpkin.
4 months ago blmcmp
Thanks! I was wondering if I could try applesauce and walnuts!!! I noticed with the pumpkin caramels, they def tasted better the next day, because I made some batches a few days in a row, and the ones that sat a bit tasted richer. I also noticed the size of the pan can make a diff as I was cooking with my daughter, and my two pans were about an ~1-inch difference in width, resulting in better candy making in the smaller pan.
6 months ago hazelsharon
I am visited many other blog site and read attentively your each post. Afrer reading your post i could understand that the content is most simple and great. Thank you for your great share. Also this is my 1st visit at your site and after visiting your site i enjoyed.
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6 months ago lighthouse6
Okay, I just made these for a dessert auction ...again. I doubled the recipe. Used two thermometers and my lazer one was reading much lower. So I decided to use that one to be sure I got it hot enough. I took the temp to 146 after the cream/pumpkin. I was busy talking to a friend and poured it all out in the half sheet and realized that I had forgotten the butter and lemon juice! So, I scraped it all back into the pan added everything and had to stir in the pumpkin seeds. It all came out perfectly but not as cute as when the seeds are on the bottom. They are very soft, hold their shape when cut and taste great : ) Everyone wants the recipe!
6 months ago Tracey Wade
I read several recipes for caramel... I let mine reach 248 - and still they didn't set. When I try again, I'll have a better thermometer - and will shoot for 248.
6 months ago ngardos
maybe caramel is like bread and sensitive to climate, air temp, type of vessel used, etc. each time i make them, i learn something new and experiment a bit. Still an amazing recipe and crowd pleaser.
6 months ago ngardos
I'm curious if the editors feel the need to tweak the temp a bit higher than 240, I've made these like 3 times and my guess is it should reach a slightly higher temp to get firm enough to still be chewy. Thoughts?
6 months ago Tracey Wade
I made these and according to my thermometer, they should have been good... but they were gooey and will be gifted as caramel sauce - the flavor is delicious. I guess I need to invest in a better thermometer. Thank you for the recipe.
6 months ago abbyarnold
Jnnbugg, I'd check the calibration of your thermometer. The first time I made these, I found four different thermometers in my kitchen drawers, and all gave different temps. I invested in one really good thermometer. Go by the time as well as the temp; make sure your goop is cooked long enough to set up properly. You can use some of the old cold spoon or cold water tricks.
6 months ago jnnbugg
I tried making this recipe twice both time super delicious! Love the flavors. But the consistency for me is pretty gooey. What would I need to do to make the consistency more firm? Thank you!