These Cranberry Pomegranate Caramels are tart, sweet, chewy and absolutely delicious! The vibrant red color is all-natural, and these make for a fantastic edible holiday gift. (They're also delicious dipped in dark chocolate!)
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Growing up, my siblings and I used to make homemade caramels every Christmas with my grandpa. It's been quite a few years since we've made them, so we wanted to create a recipe in his memory!
These cranberry pomegranate caramels are such a unique, delicious treat. At first bite, they're sweet and buttery, and you get a beautiful tartness at the end that will have you going back for more.
This recipe is part of our 2024 Christmas Recipe Advent Calendar, a series where we share a new, festive recipe every day from December 1-25! If you missed the first few days, try our Meringue Christmas Wreath, Rosemary Olive Oil Crackers, or Homemade Baileys.
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Cranberry Pomegranate Caramels Ingredients
- Pomegranate juice: We freshly squeeze ours because this provides the best color and flavor, but if you don't want to, feel free to use the bottled stuff. The color just won't be as red, and may be significantly more brown than what's pictured here.
- Cranberry juice: Make sure to use 100% cranberry juice that doesn't have any added sugar! "Cranberry cocktail" usually has added refined sugars, so we wouldn't recommend using it.
- White and brown sugar: We use a 50/50 mix of the two, but you can use all white or all brown and the recipe will still work. White sugar creates a classic caramel flavor, but brown sugar creates a butterscotch-type flavor. We like ours somewhere in between.
- Butter: Be sure to cut this into cubes so that it melts easily when added to the reduced syrup. If you can soften it to room temperature before adding it, even better.
- Heavy cream: Adds flavor and mouthfeel to the caramel.
- Kosher salt: We add this in towards the end, it helps to balance out the sweetness of the caramel. Be sure to use kosher salt, not table salt.
- Vanilla: You can use paste or extract. We used extract, but have tested it with paste and it works exactly as well.
- Orange peel: We add this in while the syrup is reducing to add another complimentary flavor.
How to Make this Cranberry Pomegranate Caramels Recipe
STEP 1 (optional): If you're making your own pomegranate juice, add pomegranate arils to a vacuum-sealed bag, suck out the air, then "pop" them lightly with a rolling pin. Once you feel most of them have popped, use your hands to feel for any unpopped arils. This is super satisfying and it's a lot like bubble wrap.
STEP 2: Add your pomegranate juice, cranberry juice, and orange peel to a heavy-bottomed saucepan (this will help to evenly distribute heat) over medium heat and bring the juices to a light boil, then reduce to medium low. The mixture should be lightly bubbling and it should bubble up a lot when whisked. Let it reduce until you can drag a spatula across the bottom of the pan and the syrup takes a moment to cover the exposed area again. You should have between ½ cup and ¾ cup of syrup.
STEP 3: Fish out the orange peel with a pair of tongs, then add in the sugars, butter, and heavy cream. Keep the heat on medium low and stir until everything is melted and you can't feel any grainy sugar left over. Place a candy thermometer into the mixture and turn the heat up to medium. The syrup will begin to boil shortly.
STEP 4: If you want a softer caramel, heat to 245˚F to 250˚F. For a harder caramel, heat to 255˚F to 260˚F. Once it reaches your desired temperature, remove from the heat, stir in vanilla and salt, and carefully pour into an 8" x 8" pan that's been lightly greased and has pieces of criss-crossing parchment going up the sides. Use cooking spray in between the pieces to get them to stick together. This is essential because you're never going to be able to get it out of the pan if you skip this step!
STEP 5: Let the caramel cool in the fridge for about an hour and a half. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of a cutting board and place your caramel on top. Make sure to put parchment paper between anything you place the caramel on, or it will stick! Using a knife lightly sprayed with cooking spray, cut the caramel into roughly 1" x 1" pieces. If you're giving these as a gift, wrap in wax paper and place in a gift box.
Equipment
- Candy thermometer: This is the one we use.
- Gift boxes: You can use any gift box or bag for these cranberry pomegranate caramels. These are the ones we used (the cute little white houses pictured above!). Tie a nice ribbon on top and affix a label for a great DIY gift.
Storage
Wrap each caramel in wax paper to keep them from drying out. (This also prevents them from sticking together.)
Store the caramels in a closed container at room temperature for up to a week, or in the refrigerator for up to a month. Note that they harden up quite a bit in the fridge, so let them soften to room temperature before enjoying.
For long term storage, you can place the wrapped caramels in a freezer bag and freeze for up to a year. Let them defrost to room temperature before enjoying.
Tips and FAQ
Top tip
It's essential to use a candy thermometer for this recipe! If the caramel mixture doesn't reach the correct temperature, they will not set.
More tips
- Dip them in dark chocolate: For an extra decadent treat, dip each caramel in melted chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip off before transferring to a sheet pan with parchment paper to set. Optional: top with a sprinkle of flaky salt before the chocolate sets!
- Pomegranate juice: We make freshly squeezed juice for maximum fresh flavor and a super vibrant color. If you use store-bought, just keep in mind that the color may be a bit more brown than red.
- Top with flaky salt: If you like a super salty caramel, sprinkle the caramels with flaky salt before they set.
- Be sure to use a candy thermometer to make sure your liquid reaches the right temperature.
- Don't underestimate how sticky these can be - be sure to use parchment paper whenever you place the caramels down on a surface!
- We used wax paper, not parchment paper, to wrap the caramels. Parchment paper doesn't have the right translucence and is a little to rigid to wrap the caramels.
For a softer caramel, heat the liquid to 245˚F to 250˚F. If you want a harder caramel, the liquid should be heated to 255˚F to 260˚F.
You can use a knife or a stainless steel bench scraper to cut the caramels. Just be sure to place the uncut caramel block atop some parchment paper to prevent sticking. Your knife should also be lightly sprayed with cooking spray to prevent it from sticking to the caramels.
More holiday sweets recipes
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📖 Recipe
Cranberry Pomegranate Caramels
- Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
- Yield: 30-40 caramels 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Cranberry Pomegranate Caramels are tart, sweet, chewy and absolutely delicious! The vibrant red color is all-natural, and these make for a fantastic edible holiday gift. (They're also delicious dipped in dark chocolate!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups no sugar added pomegranate juice (freshly squeezed if possible. You'll need 3 large or 4 smaller pomegranates to yield 2 cups of juice)
- 2 cups no sugar added cranberry juice
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- Peel from ½ of an orange, pith removed
Instructions
- If making freshly squeezed pomegranate juice: Start by juicing the pomegranates. Add all of the pomegranate arils to a vacuum sealed bag or just a regular zip lock, remove all of the air, and gently roll with a rolling pin until you've "popped" all of the arils without crushing the seeds inside. Try to get as much juice out of each aril as possible.
- Strain the pomegranate arils through a fine mesh sieve. Press down on the arils with the back of a spoon to remove as much juice as possible.
- Add the pomegranate juice, cranberry juice, and orange peel to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and bring to a light boil, then reduce heat to medium low. The mixture should be gently simmering and it should bubble up a lot when whisked.
- Let it reduce until there's about ½-3/4 cup of syrup. It's done when you can drag a spatula across the bottom of the pan and the syrup takes a moment to cover the exposed area again. It should be thick and should cover the back of a spoon.
- While the syrup is reducing, lightly spray an 8x8" pan and line with parchment paper. Make sure the parchment paper covers the sides of the pan so the caramel is easy to remove.
- Remove the orange peel with tongs, then add in both sugars, butter, and heavy cream. Keep the heat on medium low and stir until everything is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and increase the heat to medium. Bring to a boil.
- If you want a softer caramel, heat to 245˚F to 250˚F. For a harder caramel, heat to 255˚F to 260˚F (this is what we do). Once it reaches your desired temperature, remove from the heat, then immediately whisk in the vanilla and salt, and carefully pour into the prepared pan.
- Place in the refrigerator for about an hour and a half to cool and set. Once the caramels are set, remove the caramels from the pan and place on a cutting board. Keep the parchment underneath the caramels, otherwise if will stick to the cutting board.
- Using a knife lightly greased with cooking spray, cut the caramels into roughly ½" x 1 ½" rectangles. Wrap the individual caramels in wax paper.
Notes
Pomegranate juice: We make freshly squeezed juice for maximum fresh flavor and a super vibrant color. If you use store-bought, just keep in mind that the color may be a bit more brown than red.
Wrap each caramel in wax paper to keep them from drying out. (This also prevents them from sticking together.)
Storage: Store the caramels in a closed container at room temperature for up to a week, or in the refrigerator for up to a month. Note that they harden up quite a bit in the fridge, so let them soften to room temperature before enjoying.
Freezer: For long term storage, you can place the wrapped caramels in a freezer bag and freeze for up to a year.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cool Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pieces
- Calories: 172
- Sugar: 21.1 g
- Sodium: 68.7 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.3 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 0.3 g
Ryann says
This took a little longer than I expected, BUT they turned out great. I wanted to comment that I used POM wonderful and the syrup came out just fine for the recipe. I know there’s some added sugars so I didn’t measure the full amount of sugar for the recipe.