Pumpkin Caramels

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Read the reviews before making this, and they came out wonderfully. I made two batches, first I took to firm ball, 240, and they were sticky at room temp. I tossed them in the fridge to firm up and they were fine. Second batch I took to hard ball, 250 and had no trouble with the caramel being firm at room temp. Microwaving the pumpkin (as stated by an earlier reviewer is a touch of genius. I used home roasted pumpkin and had no trouble.

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i made these in a heavy bottomed pan, but after more than 45 minutes of cooking, the temperature was stuck at 221 so i hoped for the best and poured them into my prepared pan (i used pecans instead of pumpkin seeds. once they reached room temperature, i had a pan of delicious goo that was the perfect combination of pumpkin pie and caramels. the only way to eat it was with a spoon which my husband and i did for a couple days before i decided to try what a previous reviewer said and re-cook them in a non-stick pan, pecans and all. it took 22 minutes for it to reach 248, stirring almost constantly with a silicone spatula to prevent burning. they set up in about 2 and a half hours. they're a bit firm but have fantastic flavor. next time i'll cook them to about 245 so they'll be slightly softer. definitely a keeper!

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I read all of the reviews before I tried this recipe, and they really helped! I added a little extra cinnamon because I love my spices. I also used sunflower seeds that I toasted because I couldn't find unsalted pumpkin seeds. I read that the caramels were a little too gooey, so I cooked them back to 248 degrees instead of stopping at 240. I stirred constantly after adding the pumpkin instead of occasionally to make sure it didn't burn. They're absolutely perfect, and that's a lot coming from someone whose previous attempts at making candy were all disasters. If someone else doesn't come home soon, I'm going to eat them all myself... I think it might actually be hazardous to my waist to ever make these again!

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This was my first attempt at candy making and they were SO EASY and SO GOOD! Instead of using pumpkin seeds, I used almonds and added an extra 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice to the sugar mixture.
I noticed some had a hard time with bringing the temp back up after adding the pumpkin so I nuked my pumpkin in the microwave before adding it to the sugar mixture and it took about 15 minutes to bring to firm ball stage. I cooked it until firm ball since some were saying soft ball was a little too gooey and they turned out perfect!

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I just found this recipe and read the reviews.

My first thought was that maybe people weren't adjusting for high altitude but then remembered that at higher altitudes, you would cook to a lower temperature than given in recipes which were developed at sea level. I am assuming that Food Network Kitchens would be developed at sea level since they are in New York City. I guess if someone at a higher altitude cooked to a lower temperature than the recipe, that would make even softer and stickier caramels.

One other thing that can keep candy from setting up is the humidity. You might want to wait for another day if it is raining, snowing, or a high humidity day. Or, you can cook to a few degrees higher than the recipe on those days.

In any case, I am anxious to try this recipe to see whether I have any problems because it sure sounds YUMMY! I had to give a rating in order to post this, so I'm going to hope for the best since so many have loved it.

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I used almonds instead of the seeds, and they were delish. Ive been thinking that i might not take it all the way to the soft ball stage after i add the pumpkin, and just serve this as a hot caramel sauce on vanilla ice cream and Sprinkle some nuts on top. Yum

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This was my first attempt at candy and I am so glad I have conquered my fear of trying to make it with these amazing caramels! If there was a rating for 4.5 stars, that's probably what I would give it because they ARE a tiny bit on the gooey side, but I usually like my caramels a little firmer in general so maybe that's just me. (When stored in the frig they are the perfect texture for my liking.

For me, the cooking to the firm/soft ball stages both took about 30% longer than what the recipe said it would. I'm not sure if this is because my candy thermometer (brand-new for this recipe! wasn't calibrated properly or because I used a non-stick pan or what. That said, I kept in mind all of the other comments about making SURE you get to the recommended temperature for each stage before moving on, and they set up perfectly. I also took my time getting to the soft ball stage because of some comments about the pumpkin burning...I think if you stir it in slowly intially and don't crank up the heat to get the temp back up, you should be fine.

These caramels are just so rustic and simple and delicious...a perfect treat for the fall. I plan to make another batch to share with friends and family around Thanksgiving. Yum!

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I've been cooking and baking seriously since I was in middle school. I've been making chocolates and fudge for about the last 10 yrs. This was my first attempt at caramels. Keep in mind, I did NOT have a candy thermometer, but a digital probe-style with a candy setting, and I used the same pot in which I make my soups and spaghetti sauces. I started these at 2:00 AM, mentally frazzled after hours of school work. In other words, I was ill-equipped, unexperienced, and brainless. How did these caramels turn out? WONDERFUL!!! I read all the reviews before I started, and kept everything in mind as I made them. The house smelled HEAVENLY for the next 24 hrs, and my son's first-grade class, his teacher and other parents at the "Fall" party LOVED them. They were perfect in taste, consistency, gloss and had that perfectly slight goo-factor. I'm going to add these, and other flavoured caramels, to my gifts-for-giving along with my chocolates, cookies and fudge.

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I had no trouble at all with this recipe's instructions and the caramels set up perfectly. I used sunflower seeds instead of pepitas and they're the perfect foil to the rich, soft caramel. These turned out so well that I'm going to make several batches of these and give them as holiday gifts to my co-workers. Perhaps the others who had troubles had problems with their candy thermometers? It's important to check them from time to time.

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it was good