Gingerbread Caramel Crunch Recipes

GINGERBREAD CARAMELS

Steps:

• Line bottom and sides of an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment. (Related: Kitchen Tip: Lining Pans with Parchment)
• Bring cream and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
• Pre-measure the spices and salt out into a small bowl. Pre-measure the vanilla into another small bowl. You will need to access these ingredients very quickly at the end of the recipe.
• Combine the sugar, molasses, and water in a 4 to 5-quart heavy saucepan over medium high heat.
• Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until all of the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is a deep amber color.
• Turn heat to low. Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up).
• Return heat to medium to medium-high and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel temperature registers no higher than 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and immediately whisk in the vanilla, salt and spices. Pour into baking pan.
• Once the mixture has cooled slightly but is still tacky to the touch, sprinkle the tops very lightly with additional sea salt, if desired.
• Then, allow the caramels to completely cool before cutting.
• Remove caramels from pan and cut into 1 inch pieces.

GINGERBREAD CARAMEL CRUNCH

Steps:

• Place popcorn in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; set aside. Butter the sides of a small heavy saucepan; add the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, molasses, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 5 minutes., Remove from the heat; stir in baking soda (mixture will foam). Stir in vanilla. Quickly pour over popcorn and mix well., Transfer to 2 greased 15x10x1-in. baking pans. Bake at 250° for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from pans and place on waxed paper to cool. Store in an airtight container.

GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Combine egg, sugar, molasses, butter and water; mix well. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, ginger and salt; add molasses mixture. Beat until well mixed. Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° until cake tests done, 20-25 minutes. Cut into squares; serve warm with whipped cream.

GINGERBREAD-CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine molasses, 1/2 cup water, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high, gently stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil; cook until foaming reduces and bubbles begin to slow, 4 to 5 minutes (about 250 degrees on a thermometer). Remove from heat and carefully whisk in cream, butter, salt, and spices (mixture will splatter), stirring until butter is melted and combined. Let cool completely. Transfer to 6 seven-ounce jars. Sauce can be refrigerated in jars up to 2 weeks; gently reheat before serving.

GINGERBREAD CARAMELS

Steps:

• Lightly coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed bakingsheet with cooking spray. Line with parchmentpaper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on shortsides; spray paper.
• In a large pot over high heat, bring cream,corn syrup, sugar, butter, and molasses to a boil,stirring until sugar has dissolved. Continue tocook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently,until mixture reaches 248 degrees (firm-ball stage)on a candy thermometer, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla, salt, and spices. Immediately pour onto prepared sheet, without scraping pot. Let stand, uncovered, 24 hours at room temperature (do not move pan).
• Generously coat a large cutting board with cooking spray. Lifting it by the parchment overhang, invert caramel onto the cutting board; use a sharp knife to loosen parchment, and remove. Cut into 1-by-1 1/4-inch pieces. Wrap each in cellophane or waxed paper.

GINGERBREAD CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Divide popped popcorn equally between 1 lightly buttered 13x9 baking pan.
• Combine salt, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, ginger and cinnamon in a large heavy saucepan.
• Heat over medium heat till mixture comes to a full boil.
• Boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, remove from heat.
• Add baking soda, it will foam up -- stir well.
• Pour over popcorn in prepared pans and toss to combine well.
• Bake at 250* for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.till popcorn is crisp --.
• Cool completely, and store in an airtight container.

GINGERBREAD CAKE WITH CARAMEL BISCUIT ICING

Steps:

• Measure the milk and treacle into a saucepan (grease the measuring spoon with a little oil first and the treacle will easily slide off). Bring to a gentle simmer and stir until combined, then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, grease 3 x 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins with a little oil and line the bases with baking parchment (if you don't have enough cake tins, see tip). If the tins are any shallower than 4cm, line the sides with a deep collar too. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Measure the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and spices into a large bowl, then add ½ tsp fine salt. Mix the dry ingredients together with a large whisk; if there are any large lumps of sugar, squeeze these through your fingers until you have an even, sandy-textured mixture.
• In a jug, whisk the oil, buttermilk, eggs, rum and vanilla. Add the milk and treacle mixture, and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and whisk into a smooth batter. Divide between the tins and bake for 25-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. You may have to swap the cakes over to cook evenly, but don't do this until they've had at least 20 mins cooking. Cool the cakes in their tins for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack, peel off the parchment and leave to cool completely. Once cooled, you can wrap the sponges in cling film and store in a cool place for 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months - the texture and flavour will be all the better for it.
• To make the icing, put the butter and half the icing sugar in a large bowl. Mash together roughly with a spatula, then whizz with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar, the cream cheese, vanilla bean extract and biscuit spread. Mix again until smooth and evenly mixed. Transfer half the icing to another bowl and set aside. Use the remaining icing to stack the cakes and cover the entire outside in a thin layer - don't worry about making the cake look too neat at this stage, as any crumbs trapped in the icing will be covered in the final coat. Chill the cake for 30 mins and the remaining icing for 20 mins (remove the icing from the fridge 10 mins before the cake to soften a little).
• When the icing on the cake is firm, remove it from the fridge and use the remaining icing to cover the cake. Smooth the sides using a palette knife, but leave peaks and dips on top for your snow scene. Top the cake generously with desiccated coconut, a dusting of sieved icing sugar and some edible glitter, if you like, then decorate the top and sides with gingerbread shapes (see tip). If you're not eating the cake within a few hours, store it in the fridge, but bring back to room temperature before serving. Wlll keep for 2 days.

CARAMEL GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line 10 muffin cups with paper liners., Whisk together first nine ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil, molasses and extracts. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened., Fill prepared cups two-thirds full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 15-18 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; cool completely., For frosting, beat confectioners' sugar, butter, extract and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Spread over cupcakes. Drizzle with caramel syrup before serving.

CARAMEL CRUNCH

Steps:

• Make the caramel crunch: Line a rimmed baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons water; mixture should look like wet sand. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until sugar is dark amber in color. Immediately pour caramel onto prepared baking sheet; let cool completely.
• Crack cooled caramel into large pieces and place in a resealable plastic bag. Crush into tiny pieces using a rolling pin; you should have a scant 1/2 cup of caramel crunch.

GINGERBREAD CARAMEL CRUNCH

Steps:

• * Place popcorn in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; set aside. Butter the sides of a small heavy saucepan; add the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, molasses, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 5 minutes. * Remove from the heat; stir in baking soda (mixture will foam). Stir in vanilla. Quickly pour over popcorn and mix well. * Transfer to two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake at 250° for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from pans and place on waxed paper to cool. Store in an airtight container. Nutrition Facts: 1 cup equals 167 calories, 7 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 17 mg cholesterol, 144 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein.