Happy Thanksgiving! So, for some reason I’ve never been the biggest fan of the traditional pies around this time of year. I do like the flavors though, so I worked two of them into caramels instead. The base recipe for the soft caramels is the same and can be made with or without a candy thermometer. The two slight variations to the recipe give you a  Pumpkin Spice Caramel and an Apple Pie one too.

Since the fat is added right at the beginning for this one, the rules about not stirring caramel don’t apply here (that said, I don’t stir anyway. No sense starting bad habits or getting unnecessary arm exercise). This is pretty much just “combine everything, cook, take off the heat at the right time, done.”

Troubleshooting: When you make caramels you have to be pretty quick to pull them off the heat at the right time, but the good news is they’re easy to fix if you mess them up. If they set too hard once cool and you don’t want to break your teeth, break them up the best you can and melt them down again in a pot and add a little extra butter and half and half. If they set too soft, just melt them down and cook them just a couple minutes longer.

Tip: You can also make these with nondairy half and half to make them better for those sensitive to dairy. You could probably try using a vegan butter too to make them truly dairy free.