Gingerbread Caramels
These gingerbread caramels are absolutely amazing! All the flavors of gingerbread wrapped up in a creamy, chewy, soft, homemade caramel.
These gingerbread caramels just scream HOLIDAYS. And CHRISTMAS. And COZY EVENINGS IN FLANNEL PJS. And DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE WITH THE WHOLE BATCH OR THERE WILL BE TROUBLE.
The gingerbread flavors combined with the creamy caramel are absolutely divine. Step-by-step caramel making tutorial below!
How to Make Gingerbread Caramels
I know candy and caramel making at home can see intimidating. But I promise you with all the fervor of my soul that this recipe is doable!
I’ve given lots of details in this definitive guide to homemade caramels on how to make homemade caramels like a rock star, but I’ll walk you through the steps here, too!
The base of these gingerbread caramels is my go-to caramel recipe. It’s the only one I make anymore. I love the method (never scorches!) and I love, love, love the flavor.
The recipe starts with boiling sugar, corn syrup and water until the mixture turns a light amber color.
The most important part of making caramels at home is to ensure no sugar crystals attach to the sides of the pan (if they fall back down into the caramel mixture, the batch can crystallize).
This is easily avoided by brushing down the sides of the pan occasionally and as needed with a pastry brush dipped in water. It only takes a few swipes – you don’t need to babysit it or worry about it too much!
Once the sugar mixture reaches 325 degrees F, add the warm cream, butter and salt. It’s going to bubble and splutter! And the temperature will drop a bit. Totally normal!
At this point, the notable addition for gingerbread caramels is to also add molasses. Just regular, unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap).
The molasses adds a delicious depth of flavor and color.
Bring the caramel mixture to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. At the beginning the bubbles will be frothy and thin.
As the caramel cooks, the color will darken and the bubbles will get bigger.
Toward the end, the caramel will be thick and swirly and large bubbles will pop at the surface.
The Perfect Temperature for Homemade Caramels
Cook the caramel to 244-246 degrees F.
Having said that, the exact temperature will actually depend on several factors:
- your thermometer (and if it is accurate/has been calibrated)
- your elevation (I live at 2,400 feet elevation)
Here is a post with details on how to calibrate your thermometer and also details on how elevation affects the boiling point of water and what that means for thermometers and candy making. Please read this information and the comments for some helpful info!
Taking the time to calibrate your thermometer will make all the difference in how your homemade caramels turn out!
I’ve long since abandoned traditional candy thermometers in favor of using an instant-read thermometer with a pan clip to attach it to the side of the pot (or sometimes I just grab it and dip it in the caramel when I know it’s getting close).
I have this Thermopop thermometer from Thermoworks. It’s inexpensive and is very accurate.
Gingerbread Spices
In addition to the molasses, this recipe relies on the following ground spices to give these caramels that perfect gingerbread flavor:
- ginger
- cinnamon
- allspice
- cloves
Because the spices are prone to clumping when stirred into the hot caramel at the end, after many test batches, I discovered a handy trick to ensure that didn’t happen!
Stir the spices together in a small bowl with the vanilla extract. This creates a paste-type mixture that incorporates beautifully into the caramel.
No clumping means a very, happy Mel!
How to Cut Homemade Caramels
Once the caramels have cooled in the pan, it’s time to cut and wrap!
The easiest and best way to cut homemade caramels is to use a bench knife {aff. link}. I gently peel the whole slab of caramel out of the pan and onto a cutting board.
The bench knife makes quick work of cutting the caramels into squares.
Best Wraps for Caramels
Gone are the days of cutting wax paper into squares. These precut cellophane wrappers {aff. link} are a game changer!
They twist (and stay twisted) better than the parchment or wax paper precut wrappers.
Amazing Gingerbread Caramels
I don’t bring new caramel flavors into my life casually. It’s quite a serious process to decide if a caramel flavor will make the cut (and I’ve made and rejected lots of other caramel flavors over the years – razzleberry, I’m looking at you #tasteslikecoughsyrup #gag #nothanks)!
And I can honestly say that these gingerbread caramels have skyrocketed to the top of my all-time favorite caramels list.
They.are.so.good.
The gingerbread flavors are warm and cozy and delicious without being overpowering. They are the perfect caramel flavor this time of year. I love them so much and hope you do, too!
One Year Ago: Overnight Cheesy Bacon Croissant Breakfast Casserole
Two Years Ago: Cranberry Coffee Cake with Warm Vanilla Sauce
Three Years Ago: Make-Ahead Overnight Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
Four Years Ago: Easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Graham Cracker Toffee
Five Years Ago: Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Blossom Cookies
Six Years Ago: Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast Bake
Seven Years Ago: Soft Eggnog Sugar Cookies with Whipped Eggnog Frosting
Eight Years Ago: Amazing Scottish Shortbread
Nine Years Ago: Orange Zested Cranberry White Chocolate Bliss Bars
Ten Years Ago: Chocolate Shortbread Fingers
Gingerbread Caramels
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 ½ cups (530 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup molasses (not blackstrap)
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I use salted butter)
- ½ teaspoon coarse, kosher salt (use 1/4 teaspoon for table salt)
Instructions
- Butter the bottom and sides (get into the corners, too!) of a 8- or 9-inch square baking pan. (Alternately, you can line with parchment and butter the parchment – this may make it easier to pull the slab of caramels out of the pan after they have cooled in order to cut and wrap them.) Set aside.
- Heat the cream in a saucepan or in the microwave until steaming. Keep warm.
- In a small bowl, stir together the vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Set aside.
- For the caramels, in a large, heavy-bottomed pot (at least 5- or 6-quarts), stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water, taking care to not splash the mixture up the sides of the pot. Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan, if using.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat WITHOUT STIRRING or moving the pan. As it begins to boil, fill a cup with water and use a pastry brush to wash down the sides of the pan so there are no granules of sugar sticking to the sides of the pan (you probably won’t need to repeat this after the sides have been well-cleaned). This prevents the caramel mixture from crystallizing in later steps.
- Cook until the boiling sugar turns a light amber color and registers 325 degrees F on the thermometer, about 15-20 minutes.
- Slowly and carefully pour the warm cream into the caramel. It will bubble and produce a lot of steam! Add the molasses, butter, and salt. The mixture will bubble high during this step but will go down after a few minutes.
- Begin stirring the caramel with a heatproof rubber spatula, making sure to scrape across the bottom of the pan (but avoid scraping the sides of the pan too much). Continue to cook, stirring constantly and slowly, until the mixture reaches 244-246 degrees F, about 10-20 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat.
- Off the heat, scrape the vanilla/spices mixture into the caramel and stir gently until well-combined.
- Pour the caramel mixture into the prepared pan. Let the caramels cool completely at room temperature.
- Cut the caramel into squares using a sharp knife or bench scraper. Wrap the caramels and store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to two weeks.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
I’m not seeing when to add molasses, hopefully it’s with the sugars.
Hi Dawn, the molasses are added in step #7
Is there a way to divide the recipe to make two flavors? I want to make the anise ones too.
Hi Nancy, at the end after the caramels have reached temperature, you can pour half the caramel into another saucepan (I think it helps if the saucepan is slightly warm so the caramel doesn’t cool down to fast) and whisk in flavorings into the two separate batches.
Hi! Do you think I can cut this recipe in half? Thanks!
Sure!
I typically make 8 different flavors of caramels each year, cut & wrap them, and give them to friends, family, and neighbors for Christmas. This year I decided to try your gingerbread caramels as my 8th flavor, even though the recipe was quite a bit different than my trusty sweetened condensed version, and freaked me out in that I would probably screw things up.
I was pleasantly surprised that I did NOT screw them up and they were definitely MY favorite caramels this season. Like a flavorful gingerbread cookie in every bite. SO GOOD!
Thanks for sharing this recipe and for this wonderful blog, I use your recipes regularly and love having delicious, real life dinner recipes. Merry Christmas!
I am so, so happy to hear that, Lyndsay! Thanks for letting me know!
These were amazing! Perfect for Christmas!
Thanks, Ashley! Merry Christmas!
Thanks for the amazing recipe. I made two batches and got around 125 caramels. I live at 6400’ so pulled them at 138° and they were perfect. These are hands down the best caramels I’ve ever eaten. Both batches came out velvety smooth and were so easy to make following your detailed instructions.
Great high altitude tip, Rochele! Thank you!
If you drop your instant read thermometer into the caramel at 240F and end up overcooking the batch it will be brick hard. Solved the problem by remedying the caramel in the microwave and adding a glug of heavy cream. Perfection!!!!! Now I’m using the end product to make your snickerdoodles!
Oh my gosh, Angie! You have a remarkably good attitude despite that snafu! Glad you could rescue the caramels!
Delicious! Such a fun variation on caramels.
Thank you, Sarah!
So delicious, Mel! I started my Sugar Rush/ community candy making marathon today. I added these to the list, along with your (amazing, incredible!) licorice caramels and Smitten Kitchen’s Apple Cider Caramels. Three very distinct flavors, wrapped and ready to go! I always start with the caramels on my list because wrapping them is such a pain, I want it over with! I also decided to go for the Bravetart Snickers recipe this year, so I’ve got a pan of peanut Caramel with honey peanut butter nougat “ripening” on the counter… I’ll report back. 🙂
Focus! These caramels are a twist of Christmas! I upped the spices slightly (maybe 1.5x) and added a little black pepper- the flavor is assertively gingerbread-y, in the best possible way. The molasses really makes them sing. My 13 yo, who was helping me wrap them/performing quality control, said he wasn’t sure about the flavor when he took his first nibble, but by his third one he was converted. You had me from the first bite!
A note for other lazy candy makers- I’ve had success in the past adding cold cream to caramel, so I skipped warming the cream here and had no issue. It made the caramel seize, but it smoothed right back out as I stirred it. I’m sure Mel’s method is better/more foolproof, but I will reliably take a shortcut that endangers the whole enterprise, every time.
Happy Candy Making and Merry Christmas!
Always love your reviews, Rebecca – thanks for checking in on these caramels and letting me know your thoughts and review!
Ok, so the Snickers…. It’s a recipe worth trying, especially if your teen baker is up for the challenge of molten sugar syrup. The texture and flavors are spot on, maybe a little on the sweet side because of the milk chocolate. I almost exclusively use Ghiradelli 60% chips when I’m coating something with chocolate, but I used their milk chocolate chips here and had trouble getting a nice melt. I think I would have been better off with either a bar or better quality chocolate, but eh, they came out fine. I would use the 60% next time- #darkchocolateformethanks. They are very, very good, but I immediately started thinking about what other flavor combos to try- pistachio/cranberry with dark chocolate? Candied Orange peel and ginger? The nougat layer is very cool. I’ve never made it before and really like the texture. Clearly, I can go on and on, but they were a fun addition to the list this year, another winner from that book!
Hello! Do you know if it would work ok to double the recipe? If not, approx how many normal bite size pieces would you get out of one batch? I want to take them to all my neighbors!
Yes! You can definitely double the recipe. Just make sure to use a large enough pan (6 quarts-ish). I usually get about 50-60 caramels from a single batch.
Made and loved them! I’m usually not a fan of gingerbread flavored things THIS I could eat myself sick on. The gingerbread flavor was subtle and the texture was perfect. So soft and chewy!
I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one who is powerless around caramels (especially these!). Thanks for checking in to let me know what you thought!
Any chance dark corn syrup would work just fine?
I haven’t tried it in this recipe but I *think* it should work fine – just keep a close eye on the sugar mixture since you won’t be able to tell the amber color as well if using dark corn syrup.
Oh Mel …. These are killer!! I doubled the spices like you said. WOW!! So good!!!! This year is the first time I’ve made caramels. Thank you for walking me through it. Your cinnamon caramels and gingerbread caramels will be so fun to give out this Christmas. BOTH are amazing!! (Can’t say enough about calibrating your thermometer and trusting your calculations!!!)
Thank you for ANOTHER wonderful delight!
Yay, Laurie! Thanks for letting me know you made these and loved them!
Hi I’m curious why I can’t use blackstrap as that’s all I have. Thanks can’t wait to try the recipe!
Hi Nell, I haven’t tested the recipe with blackstrap, and usually the flavor of blackstrap molasses is much stronger so I don’t know how it would affect the caramels.