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Salted Pumpkin Caramels, Take 3
adapted from Take 2
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1/2 c raw, unsalted pepitas
2 c white sugar
1/2 c light corn syrup
1/3 c maple syrup
1/4 c water
1 1/2 c heavy cream
2/3 c pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut in chunks
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp sea salt
Butter one side of a sheet of parchment. Line the bottom and the sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with the parchment paper, buttered side up.
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Toast the pepitas in a large skillet over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until they begin to pop.
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Evenly spread out the pumpkin seeds on the bottom of the pan.
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In a heavy bottomed saucepan, with sides at least 4 inches high, combine the sugar, both syrups, and water. Stir over medium heat until the sugars are melted.
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This was about 6 minutes.
Allow the mixture to boil until it reaches 246°F, stirring occasionally.
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218°F, 238°F, and 246°F - happened over 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a smaller saucepan, combine heavy cream, pumpkin puree, and spice. Warm the cream mixture over medium heat until heated through but not boiling. Set aside.
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Once it's sufficiently warmed, the cinnamon will be incorporated until homogeneous. This was about 3 minutes.
Very carefully, slowly add the cream mixture.
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Stir the mixture occasionally until it reaches 230°F and then continuously until it reaches 242°F.
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The mixture will gradually thicken and darken until the final temperature is reached; it took mine a total of 23 minutes to go from 218°F to 242°F.
Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the butter and lemon juice. Stir vigorously so that the butter is fully incorporated.
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It takes 4 minutes of stirring like your life depends on it for the butter and lemon juice to finally go into the caramel mixture.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
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Let cool 30 minutes, then sprinkle the salt on top.
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Let the caramels fully set (at least 2 hours) before cutting them into 1-inch squares with a hot knife.
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Yep, you're much better off stirring the sugars and water until the granules are dissolved. It expedites the whole process. While I'm not completely sure, I can't help but think that this variable had a lot to do with whether or not the caramels are grainy or not. These, and the first batch, were not grainy while Take 2, where I didn't use the water, were.
This time I let the mixture get up to 246°F before I carefully added the cream mixture and let that cook until it reached 242°F, each step two degrees hotter than the original recipe specified. It looks like this helped the caramels remain absolutely creamy while holding their cut shape a lot better. I think this batch turned out perfectly!
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Cost:
- raw, unsalted pepitas: $0.87
- white sugar: $0.39
- light corn syrup: $0.72
- maple syrup: $1.32
- heavy cream: $1.46
- unsalted butter: $0.23
- lemon: $0.27
- sea salt: $0.21
TOTAL: $5.47 or about $0.06 for each of 81 caramels.
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