eggnog caramels
Smooth bourbon and rich egg nog turn my favorite caramel recipe into a deliciously boozy holiday sweet!
I am beyond excited to introduce the first recipe for this year’s Holiday Boxes. For the past several years I have chosen a seasonal caramel recipe to include with the cookies and chocolates that I package in pretty boxes to spread cheer to friends and family. Wanting to try something new, I experimented with an eggnog variation of my homemade caramels that turned out incredible.
Every time I experiment with a new flavor of caramels I declare that it is my absolute favorite. Partly because they really do keep getting better and better, but mostly because of the excitement and awe of how well the flavors always seem to come together. These eggnog caramels are easily a new “favorite” but if we’re being honest, I don’t believe I’ve met a caramel that I don’t love!
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup prepared eggnog
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 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 bourbon, 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 golden brown, swirling occasionally.
- In a small saucepan, bring eggnog, butter, sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg 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 egg nog mixture. Make sure that you use a deep saucepan for the sugar mixture and take caution as the sugar and cream combination will bubble violently at first.
- Stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, cook for about 10 minutes until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once desired temperature is reached, remove from heat, quickly 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 and cut into desired size with a sharp knife. Wrap caramels with 4×4″ squares of candy foil or wax paper.
RESOURCES
High Temperature Candy Thermometer is a must
High Quality Caramel Wrappers
Kimmie… these photos are STUNNING!! Seriously… they’re so gorgeous!
You are the sweetest! And this totally made my morning. I retook all of these after pouting about taking them with too little night the night before. Sweet comments like this make the extra work worth it. :) Happy Holidays!