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Spiced Orange Caramels

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

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!

Method
 

  1. Line an 8x8-inch square baking dish with parchment and set aside.
  2. Combine pomegranate molasses and orange juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
  3. Remove from heat, add sugars, vanilla bean seeds, corn syrup, butter, cream, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and pepper. Return to medium-high heat.
  4. Continue cooking caramel, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until caramel registers 255 F on a candy thermometer.
  5. Remove from heat and quickly stir in vanilla extract.
  6. Pour caramel into prepared parchment-lined baking dish, spreading to corners and edges with a spatula if needed.
  7. Allow caramel to cool about 30 minutes before sprinkling ginger and coconut over the top.
  8. Allow to cool an additional 8 hours before cutting.
  9. Invert the caramel and peel off the parchment.
  10. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the caramel into 1-inch-wide strips and then into 1-inch squares.
  11. 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.
  12. Dip the bottoms of the caramel squares into warm chocolate, tap off the excess and transfer to wax paper to set.
  13. Alternatively, plain caramels can be wrapped in parchment or waxed paper!