It’s week 3 of A Gluten-Free Holiday and Alta from Tasty Eats at Home is hosting this week’s event. We’re sharing Edible Gifts so make sure to stop by her site. She’s also got an incredible give-away – more on that at the end of the post. (If you missed Week 1 and Week 2, make sure to stop by for delicious holiday recipes!)
Roasted Almond Caramels
Sweet, chewy, gooey, and a little crunch. It’s one of those totally indulgent treats perfect for giving as a gift. They have a longer shelf life than cookies so you can make them ahead of time with no worries.
These homemade caramels will delight everyone you share them with.
They’re easy to make, too. There are a few things to remember when you’re making caramels so that they come out soft.
- Use a candy thermometer. Cooking the caramel to the correct temperature (260 degrees F) ensures it will set-up properly. If you cook it to a lower temperature, it will be too runny. If it’s cooked to too high of a temperature, it’ll be too hard.
- Be patient. Cooking any type of sweetener to make candy takes time. It gets to a certain temperature and stays there for a while and then will make a big jump. It’ll get there. You just have to wait.
- Have your cooling pan ready to go before you start cooking the caramel. Once the caramel is cooked, you’ll have to transfer it to a pan to cool. Make sure the pan is lined and ready to go.
If you want to make this recipe with all agave or all honey, go for it. The flavor will be slightly different but it’ll still be incredible.
Other Gluten-Free Edible Gift Ideas:
- Cranberry Walnut Cookies
- Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti
- Cinnamon Roasted Nuts
- Cinnamon Vanilla Granola
- Cranberry Clementine Sauce
- An Edible Gift Round-Up from Diet, Dessert, and Dogs
- Peanut Butter Cups from She Let Them Eat Cake
- Grain-Free Cranberry Walnut Granola from Daily Bites
- Chocolate Peppermint Covered Marshmallows from Cook It Allergy Free
- Chipotle-Maple Mixed Nuts from Tasty Eats at Home
What edible gifts are you giving this year?
A soft, chewy caramel perfect for gift-giving.
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup mild flavored honey
- 1/2 cup agave nectar
- 1 1/2 cups roasted almonds, finely ground
Instructions
- Line an 8x8-inch pan with plastic wrap. Set aside.
- Put the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and sea salt in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Heat over medium until small bubbles form around the edge.
- Stir in the honey and agave nectar.
- Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the caramel reaches 260 degrees F. This will take 30 - 40 minutes. The caramel will be a rich brown color.
- Let the caramel cool in the pan for several minutes. Pour into prepared 8x8-inch pan and let sit for several hours until the caramel has thickened.
- Remove the caramel from the pan. Using a sharp, oiled knife cut the caramel into 1-inch square pieces.
- Fold the caramel squares in half, form into a rectangle, and roll in the ground almonds.
- Cut waxed paper into 4x4-inch squares. Roll each piece of caramel in waxed paper.
- Store at room temperature.
Make sure to stop by Tasty Eats at Home – Alta is giving away 2 copies of Artisanal Gluten-Free Cupcakes. I have this book and love it!
Ricki
posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:21 am
What a gorgeous gift these would make! Except who’d want to give them away (ha ha!)?? They look amazing, Amy!
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Amy Reply:
November 17th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
@Ricki, I had the same thought, Ricki, but then again I don’t need to eat a whole pan of caramel. LOL!!
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makendra
posted on November 17, 2011 at 9:39 am
Do u think it would work to use all agave instead of honey? I’m not supposed to have honey
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Amy Reply:
November 17th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
@makendra, Yes, in the post I talk about this. You might want to re-read it.
Hugs,
Amy
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Kim (Cook It Allergy Free)
posted on November 17, 2011 at 10:13 am
Amy, these look wonderful! I love the idea of adding the almonds to these. What a fun texture contrast to the chewy caramel. I am going to make these for sure this year!
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Barbara | Creative Culinary
posted on November 17, 2011 at 10:27 am
These do sound great, but I’m a bit confused. Ingredients call for finely ground almonds yet the photo shows almonds that look something other than finely ground. Guess we can do either way?
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Amy Reply:
November 17th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
@Barbara | Creative Culinary, Those are finely ground. If I ground them anymore they’d start turning into almond butter. I think it’s just the photography – those macro lenses make things look bigger than they actually are.
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Kathy
posted on November 17, 2011 at 11:36 am
These look awesome. I notice that you mention transferring to a cooling pan, yet the recipe does not mention this. Can they just be cooled in the pan they were cooked in as the recipe suggests? Thanks!
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Amy Reply:
November 17th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
@Kathy, In Step 5 it says to pour into the prepared 8×8 pan which is where you let the caramel cool.
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Lexie
posted on November 17, 2011 at 11:43 am
Oh, you are SO tempting me to make these! xoLexie
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Laureen
posted on November 17, 2011 at 11:46 am
Amy, your caramels look so good! I happen to have all of those ingredients on hand. Guess what I’m going to make
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Maggie
posted on November 17, 2011 at 6:24 pm
Oh my goodness Amy! These look fabulous! So fabulous, I can almost taste them! Joe must’ve been in heaven. I love how you wrapped them too!
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Pat @ Elegantly, Gluten-Free
posted on November 17, 2011 at 8:31 pm
I’ve been thinking about making caramels for a while, but always end up making something with nuts in it. Now I know what I want to make…soon!
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Nicole Gamble
posted on November 18, 2011 at 3:12 am
Great recipe ! I made it! It`s delicious!!!
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Alfa Katzz
posted on November 19, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Hmm, these look yummy. Dipping them in some melted chocolate would be nice too. Would they fall apart if I did that?
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Amy Reply:
November 21st, 2011 at 11:55 am
@Alfa Katzz, I doubt it. They’re solid but still chewy. Let me know if you try it.
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Diane {Created by Diane}
posted on November 19, 2011 at 10:43 pm
oh yummy!!!
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Clair
posted on November 20, 2011 at 8:58 am
Wowww! I’m so glad to see these can be made without refined sugar! My mom makes to-die-for caramels, but they are full of sugar. These look just like them!
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christine
posted on November 22, 2011 at 5:37 am
I suppose I could try substituting a vegan cream substitute, or use a silken tofu and soya mild blend – they look so good, and would be perfect for Christmas:)
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winni Reply:
November 27th, 2011 at 7:14 pm
@christine,
Coconut cream might work.
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christine Reply:
November 28th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
@winni, thanks for that idea
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Curly J
posted on November 23, 2011 at 2:53 am
These look SO yummy! I’m thinking of making Christmas baskets for family and these would look so great added in!
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awesomedawson
posted on December 9, 2011 at 1:55 pm
These look so yummy and perfect for sending to family for the holidays since they don’t need to be refrigerated.
BUT…if I cut the candy from an 8-in square pan into 1-in square pieces, I’d get 64 pieces, not 48 of them. PLUS it would be kind of difficult to fold a 1-in piece in half, wouldn’t it?
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michael
posted on December 14, 2011 at 11:40 am
I tried your Recipe today. And thanks to you got a zillion praises. However instead of using sugar i used Natural sweetener called Natvia http://natvia.com/. I have quiet a few diabetics at home.
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CJ
posted on March 4, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Not only do they look good, they ARE good, I made two batches this weekend! I bought wax paper candy wrappers at Hobby Lobby.
Thanks for a great recipe!
CJ
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April
posted on July 21, 2012 at 6:55 pm
Oh, I’ve been wanted to make my mom sugar free caramels for so long! Do you think I could sub all honey or half maple syrup for the agave? Thanks so much! :0
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Amy Reply:
July 25th, 2012 at 3:28 pm
@April, You can try it – it should still work. Have fun!
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Rachel
posted on October 14, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Taste is awesome! Although, I cooked to exactly 260 and transferred to prepped cooling pan immediately, and they ended up way too hard. What elevation are you at? Do you know if an elevation difference would change temperature?
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Amy Reply:
October 19th, 2012 at 10:51 pm
@Rachel, I am in Dallas – not sure about the elevation. Did you change anything in the recipe?
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