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Test Kitchen Approved

Smoked Maple Caramels

Adapted from Inspired Taste by Amanda Upton

Yields

12 servings

Prep Time

5 Minutes

Cooking Time

30 Minutes

Adapted from Inspired Taste by Amanda Upton

Welcome to caramel heaven. These soft, chewy caramels are irresistible with the perfect balance of smoke, sweet maple, and mineral black lava sea salt.

Serving Suggestions

Instead of setting into candies, use warm caramel to coat apples, rim a mug for hot cider, toss with popcorn, or drizzle onto ice cream.

Recipe Notes

*To use vanilla beans: split beans in half lengthwise and scrape seeds out from pod with the back of a knife. Use empty pods to make homemade vanilla extract or flavor homemade vanilla sugar.

This recipe was adapted from the Best Salted Caramels recipe on Inspired Taste.

Ingredients

Savory Spice ingredients in this recipe

  • Madagascar Vanilla Bean Paste

    Our Madagascar vanilla bean paste is formulated to match Madagascar vanilla extract in flavor, strength, and usage. The paste holds hundreds of van...

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  • Madagascar Vanilla Beans

    Our Madagascar Vanilla Beans are Grade A, the highest quality available. Grade A beans, also called prime or gourmet beans, are pliable and plump w...

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  • Mexican Vanilla Beans

    Our Mexican Vanilla Beans are Grade A, the highest quality. Grade A beans, which are also known as gourmet or prime quality, are plump and pliable....

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  • Ugandan Vanilla Beans

    Ugandan vanilla beans are a premium quality. These beans are plump, pliable, succulent, and flavorful. The purchase of these beans supports local f...

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    New
  • Natural Maple Extract

    Our Natural Maple Extract is perfect for adding the sweet, yet savory, flavor of maple to many types of dishes. As with our other extracts, this pr...

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  • Whiskey Barrel Smoked Sugar

    We smoke this sugar in-house in Denver, Colorado using wooden staves from whiskey barrels. Use it to add smoked flavor to sweet and savory dishes. ...

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  • Hawaiian Black Lava Sea Salt

    Activated charcoal, only of the highest purity and quality, is added to sea salt using a proprietary technique that bonds this wonderful element to...

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Directions

Prepare a 9x5 inch loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper and greasing it thoroughly with nonstick spray. Combine butter and cream in a microwave-safe measuring cup and microwave for 1 to 2 min., or until butter has melted. Stir in vanilla of choice and Natural Maple Extract and set aside.

Combine corn syrup and water in a small pot. Add Whiskey Barrel Smoked Sugar and stir to incorporate. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush away all of the sugar granules that have stuck to the side of the pot (this will help prevent the caramel from crystallizing later). Heat over medium heat until sugar mixture comes to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon if needed to distribute sugar. Do not stir after the sugar has come to a boil--instead, move the pot in a circular motion to gently swirl the mixture.

Place a candy thermometer in the pot. Cook sugar for 5 to 10 min., or until sugar reaches a temperature of 320 degrees on the candy thermometer. As the sugar cooks, continue to brush sugar granules off the side of the pot with the wet pastry brush. Once caramel has reached 320 degrees, stream in butter mixture while carefully stirring. The sugar mixture is extremely hot and will bubble and rise with the addition of the butter mixture, so do it very slowly. Cook for an additional 5 to 10 min., or until caramel comes back up to a temperature of 250 degrees. Pour caramel immediately into prepared loaf pan. Cool for 10 to 20 min., then sprinkle the top with salt. Let cool completely, at least 6 hours or overnight.