golden bits of heaven

Last weekend I made gingerbread caramels. Yes, you read correctly. Gingerbread Caramels. I know you have probably never had one before. They are quite tasty. Back in November I bought the December Martha Stewart Living and just sat drooling over the gingerbread article but I have found that the general success rate exactly recreating anything from that magazine is 50/50. I finally got around to trying these and they were so good I have dreams of the other varieties I might try... maybe some with cardamom or just fleur de sel... The texture was just perfect, not to firm or too runny. They didn't stick to the parchment, just gently came loose as I unrolled yet another one "test". The gingerbread spices? Such a good match for the caramel.

I would recommend, however, to take your time sifting them over the caramel as you stir because I just dumped them in at once and they clumped together (which I didn't discover until I poured them into the sheet pan). I had to carefully stir them in the sheet pan to distribute the spices throughout. At first I was hesitant to share the recipe because I think these must become a new Christmas tradition, but then realized that since you could find them online if you just did a quick search I'd better make it a little easier on you. So here you go, friends! My first official recipe on the blog. Enjoy!

Gingerbread Caramels

Ingredients:
Makes about 12 1/2 dozen

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
4 cups (2 pints) heavy cream
2 cups light corn syrup
4 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

Coat an 18-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on short sides. Coat parchment.

Bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and molasses to a boil in a large pot over high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan, and continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 248 degrees (firm-ball stage), about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla, salt, and spices. Immediately pour onto prepared sheet, without scraping pot. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature for 24 hours without moving.

Coat a large cutting board generously with cooking spray. Pull up parchment to unmold caramel, and invert onto the cutting board. Remove parchment. Cut into 1-by-1 1/4-inch pieces. Wrap each in cellophane or waxed paper. Caramels can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 month.