By The week after my sixteenth birthday. The first week of full summer-Sonic shifts. I am working twenty-eight hours this week, the most I have ever worked. Carlos has put me on the Saturday night closing shift for the first time, eight to midnight, paid time-and-a-half for the hours after eight, which means Saturday alone is going to bring in close to seventy dollars in tips and pay. The summer-Sonic kitchen is back to ninety-five degrees most afternoons. The polo smells like fryer grease before I walk through the front door of the house. The work is hard. The work is also the work that is going to push the savings envelope past $250 by the end of June, which is a number I would not have believed in March.
And then there is the recipe. Aunt Tammy mailed me a small envelope on Wednesday. Inside was a single index card in Grandma Carol’s handwriting, dated Christmas 1986 in pencil at the top. The recipe is for gingerbread caramels — spiced caramels with molasses and the warm Christmas spices of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Aunt Tammy’s note in the envelope said, in her own handwriting: Kaylee, this is the only one Mama left out of the box. I had been holding it because she sent it to me directly the year before she died. I am sending it to you because the box belongs together and because you are the one who is going to make these now. Love, Tammy.
The card is in the recipe box on the counter now, between the chicken and dumplings card and the cornbread dressing card. The box is complete.
The math on the caramels: two cups of granulated sugar, $0.40 worth. A cup of packed brown sugar, $0.30 worth. A cup of heavy cream, $1.49 (a small carton). A cup of butter, $1.00. A half cup of molasses, $1.49 for a small bottle (used about a quarter; the rest is for the next batch). Two teaspoons of ground ginger, $0.50 worth from the jar. A teaspoon each of cinnamon and ground cloves from the rack. A pinch of salt. A teaspoon of vanilla. Total: about $4.20 for sixty-four caramels at half-inch squares.
The technique is the candy thermometer. Mrs. Henderson lent me one Friday afternoon — another item from her drawer. The whole recipe is one pot on the stove, but the temperature is the difference between caramel and a sugar puddle.
You combine the sugar, brown sugar, cream, butter, and molasses in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. You stir until the sugars dissolve, about three minutes. You attach the candy thermometer to the side of the pan, with the bulb in the liquid but not touching the bottom. You stop stirring. You watch the temperature climb. The mixture bubbles and foams and slowly thickens. The temperature climbs slowly — from 220 to 230 takes about six minutes; from 230 to 240 takes another five; from 240 to 245 (the firm-ball stage) takes another three.
You take the pan off the heat at 245 degrees Fahrenheit. You whisk in the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and vanilla off the heat. The spice mixture turns the caramel a deeper amber color. You pour the caramel into a parchment-lined 8-by-8 pan. You let it cool on the counter for three hours, until firm. You unmold by lifting the parchment. You cut with a sharp greased knife into half-inch squares. You wrap each square in a small piece of waxed paper, twisting the ends.
The caramels are chewy, deeply spiced, with the kind of warm Christmas-cookie flavor that does not belong in June and that I made anyway because Grandma Carol’s recipe was for Christmas 1986 and I was going to make it the week the recipe arrived in my hand. Mama ate three on Sunday afternoon. She said, baby, these are exactly the way Mama used to make them. She did not cry. The recipes have started to come home and Mama is, I have decided, ready for them to.
I packed five caramels in a small wax-paper twist for Mrs. Henderson when I returned the candy thermometer Sunday evening. She said, baby, this is the third time you have sent something back with my borrowed equipment. I said, that is the deal, Mrs. Henderson. She laughed. The deal is the deal.
The recipe is below. The trick is the candy thermometer and the firm-ball stage at 245 degrees Fahrenheit — do not eyeball the temperature. The spices go in off the heat after the cooking is done. Wrap in waxed paper twists for gifts.
Gingerbread Caramels
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes + 2 hours cooling | Servings: 48 caramels
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Flaky sea salt for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the pan. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two sides. Lightly butter the parchment and set aside.
- Combine sugar and corn syrup. In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, stir together the granulated sugar and corn syrup over medium heat until the sugar begins to dissolve, about 3–4 minutes.
- Add cream. Carefully pour in the heavy cream — the mixture will bubble vigorously. Stir to combine, then clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
- Cook to temperature. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 245°F (firm-ball stage), about 15–20 minutes. Watch the thermometer closely near the end.
- Add butter and spices. Remove from heat. Add the butter pieces, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Stir until the butter is fully melted and the spices are evenly incorporated.
- Pour and set. Pour the caramel into the prepared pan without scraping the sides of the saucepan. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if using. Let cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or until fully set.
- Cut and wrap. Lift the caramel slab out using the parchment overhang. Use a sharp knife to cut into 1-inch squares. Wrap each piece in a small square of wax paper, twisting the ends closed. Store at room temperature up to 2 weeks.
- For caramel apple dipping. If using as a dip for apples, let the caramel cool only until thickened but still pourable (about 10 minutes off heat), then dip chilled Granny Smith apples on sticks and set on buttered wax paper to harden.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 72 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 3g | Carbs: 12g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 18mg