Surprising Fruit Caramels

I have never made caramels before, and honestly I've been kind of afraid. Generally when I think about it, images of burnt sugar and a caramel covered stove, deter me.

However, my fears were forgotten when I stumbled upon this recipe. Blood oranges aren't in season though, and I'm impatient so I decided to try this recipe with different tart fruit recipes.

You could use any tart juice/nut combination you want for these, just make sure you buy the fancy nice and not a "fruit juice cocktail".

I made Black Cherry Caramels and Grapefruit Caramels (with no nuts).

They weren't difficult to make, all you really need is a little attention and a candy thermometer.

Black Cherry Caramels
3 cups of black cherry juice
1/3 cup light cream
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract

Grapefruit Caramels
3 cups grapefruit juice
1/3 cup light cream
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract


Instructions:
Line a 8in round baking dish (the one you use for 2 layered cakes) with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper with non-stick spray/butter/Crisco. If using nuts, cover the bottom of the pan with the nuts.

Pour juice into a large pot, reduce to about a 1/3 cup. (Make sure you use a large enough pot that the juice cannot boil over.) Once it is reduced, add the butter, sugars and cream.

Whisk throughly. Let boil, to 248 degrees then pour into baking dish. Place in refrigerator and let cool for 2 hours. Then cut into individual pieces.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the caramels cut, most of them got eaten, and the rest melted. (Don't leave them out in the heat!)

One more thing: The original recipe calls for salt, which a lot of people like on their caramels. However a lot of other people absolutely hate it! I like salted caramels, but decided to omit it.