Pumpkin Caramels

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My co-workers loved these caramels. I had a tough time getting them to set properly, so I froze them and they were great.

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I had such high hopes for this recipe despite the mixed reviews. My issue wasn't with the prep/time allotment as most recipes take longer than the stated time. Couldn't find dark corn syrup so substituted with molasses. Otherwise, followed recipe to a tee. It would have been helpful for recipe to include set time. I allowed it to cool to room temp (about 5 hours and found it too soft, so I covered the pan with foil and refrigerated overnight, hoping it would harden. Flavor is outstanding (reminiscent of traditional Korean yut candy. But the candy never set as per other reviewers and was super gooey. Still, I wrapped the rolls in parchment paper hoping that it would continue to set. Few hours later, I unwrapped to find it a sticky spread out mess...but tasty.

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I made the caramels on 10-26-07. This was my first attempt at making candy. The first stage I could get the caramel up to the correct temperature, but after adding the pumpkin it was really hard to get it to the correct temperature. The caramel set but it was really soft and sticky. Most of the people that tried it didn't like the pumpkin seed texture. Maybe shelled pumpkin seeds would have been better.

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quantities small so that all my thick bottomed pans were too big - only the very tip of my candy thermometer was covered. Also, like a previous reviewer, the pumpkin burns easily trying to get it back up to temp. Otherwise, everything went well, had no problem setting up and it was the consistency I like for carmels, buttery, soft and chewey.

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Things started off well, got to the first temp point ok. After adding the pumpkin, however, I couldn't get the mixture hot enough without burning it -- and I've never burned anything in my heavy steel pans before. Finally, after changing pans and cooking it over an HOUR I got the temp up to 148+ and gave up there.

The final result is tasty, but too soft. I don't know if I'd try this again, the pumpkin puree is too susceptible to burning. Maybe as plain caramel with pumpkin seeds it would work better.

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This was such a pain to get right. I made 3 batches in 3 different pans on 2 different stoves before finally getting it to work and what finally worked for me may not work for you. I used a non-stick pan (NOT stainless, heavy bottomed-they didn't work for me, and did everything as directed but 248 degrees wasn't warm enough to get the caramel to set. So I put the block back into the pan the next day and heated it back up to ~270 and mixed everything together (used chopped pecans instead of pumpkin seeds and when I checked it the next day it was firm and tasted good. If I make it again it should be a piece of cake but there is a lot of trial and error involved with this recipe, I think.

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It sounded fantastic, but I could not get the caramel to the soft ball stage with the pumpkin and in the end the pumpkin and caramel weren't such a great combination of flavors.

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What a TREAT!!! I will say this: Make absolutely SURE your temps reach the appropriate levels in order to ensure the candy sets up. I got a bit impatient and pulled my pot off the heat a little before 248 degrees before adding the pumpkin and it never set and I cooled it all night. So I put it back in the pot the next morning and cooked it to the required temp and it set up perfectly. I then cut it and wrapped the squares in waxed paper. They ARE addicting!! Your house will smell heavenly!

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Well, I've tried making these two times, and each time they never set up. Too soft to cut... kind of gooey. I even tried cooking the mixture, with the pumpkin, up to the firm ball temperature on the second try, but still no luck. I'm so sad -- it smells so good! Other folks have seemed to have no trouble at all. Maybe bringing the mixture all the way up to hard ball stage would do the trick?? Can I throw it all back in the pot and reheat it, or is it too late? Maybe my candy thermometer's no good. Argh.

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Flavor was very good - you can definitely taste the pumpkin. These went over very well at a Christmas party. As a result of the pumpkin, these do not have a perfectly silky smooth texture like plain caramels. The recipe is a bit flawed - cooking it to soft ball stage only (the final step was not sufficient. The caramels were far too soft to hold a shape, even after well cooled. I threw it all back in the pot and brought it to firm ball stage. That did the trick. Overall, a yummy recipe. For those who complain about how long it took - you are making homemade candy. Of course it will take awhile. Read through a recipe beforehand and figure out how long it will take you to do each step. Don't simply trust the summary.