pumpkin spice kahlua caramels
Pumpkin puree turns ordinary caramels into an extraordinary fall treat with these pumpkin spice kahlua caramels.
Clearing the table, washing the dishes and boxing up the Thanksgiving leftovers marks the quick transition into the winter holiday season. As excited as I get for the flavors of peppermint, gingerbread and eggnog, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t sad to see pumpkin spice everything retired for another year. Nobody says you can’t bake pumpkin treats after Thanksgiving, but with the chaos of the holidays and the new year its memory quickly fades.
These caramels are the kind of pumpkin spice recipe that won’t easily be forgotten. I would even be willing to bet that I’ll be making them again long before fall rolls around next year. They’re rich, creamy and packed full of bold fall flavors. If you don’t have Kahlua Pumpkin Spice on hand you can substitute traditional Kahlua or water, but trust me when I tell you that nothing warms a chilly morning like coffee with a splash of Kahlua Pumpkin Spice. Give these a shot if you’re looking for a unique homemade caramel recipe and promise me that you won’t forget about baking with pumpkin for a whole year!
- ¼ cup Kahlua Pumpkin Spice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup dark corn syrup
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Espresso Brava sea salt for finishing
- Line an 8×8 inch square cake pan by criss-crossing two sheets of parchment paper, being sure to cover all sides. Spray lightly with cooking spray and set aside.
- Combine Kahlua Pumpkin Spice, sugar, brown sugar and corn syrup in a deep saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Boil until mixture is fragrant and a deep brown, swirling occasionally. The ingredients make this stage more difficult to judge on color alone, but the mixture should bubble and then clarify once the sugar has completely dissolved.
- In a small saucepan, bring pumpkin puree, cream, butter and sea salt to a simmer while waiting for the sugar mixture to brown. Once simmering and butter melted, remove from heat and set aside.
- When sugar mixture is ready, turn off heat and slowly add cream mixture. Make sure that you have used a deep saucepan for the sugar mixture and take caution as the sugar and cream combination will bubble violently at first.
- Return the caramel to medium low heat. Stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, cook for about 10 minutes until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once desired temperature is reached, quickly remove from heat, stir in vanilla and carefully pour caramel into prepared cake pan. Do not scrape sides of saucepan; this caramel will be slightly overdone and can be discarded.
- Refrigerate until caramel is set, about two hours.
- Remove caramel from pan, sprinkle with espresso brava sea salt and cut into desired size with a sharp knife. Wrap caramels with 4×4″ squares of candy foil or wax paper.
GADGETS
High Temperature Candy Thermometer
RESOURCES
Assorted candy foils can be found at the Layer Cake Shop
Espresso Brava Salt available from Saltworks
