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Spiced Orange Caramels

The layers of spices and orange flavor shine in these old fashioned caramels!

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup pomegranate molasses
  • ½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice I used 2 medium Cara Cara Oranges from Melissa's Produce
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 whole vanilla bean - seeds scraped and pod discarded
  • ¼ cup light corn syrup
  • 6 Tablespoons butter
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ½ lb good quality dark chocolate melted
  • Finely diced Crystalized Ginger and Dried Coconut Flakes to top!

Instructions
 

  • Line an 8x8-inch square baking dish with parchment and set aside.
  • Combine pomegranate molasses and orange juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
  • Remove from heat, add sugars, vanilla bean seeds, corn syrup, butter, cream, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and pepper. Return to medium-high heat.
  • Continue cooking caramel, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until caramel registers 255 F on a candy thermometer.
  • Remove from heat and quickly stir in vanilla extract.
  • Pour caramel into prepared parchment-lined baking dish, spreading to corners and edges with a spatula if needed.
  • Allow caramel to cool about 30 minutes before sprinkling ginger and coconut over the top.
  • Allow to cool an additional 8 hours before cutting.
  • Invert the caramel and peel off the parchment.
  • Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the caramel into 1-inch-wide strips and then into 1-inch squares.
  • Using a double boiler, melt chocolate over medium heat until smooth. Alternately, you can melt the chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave, stirring until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
  • Dip the bottoms of the caramel squares into warm chocolate, tap off the excess and transfer to wax paper to set.
  • Alternatively, plain caramels can be wrapped in parchment or waxed paper!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!