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bowl of wrapped caramels with cumin and cinnamon sticks next to it on a table
30 Jan 2026

Warm Up Your Winter With These Irresistible Spiced Caramel Recipes

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With the winter season still in full swing, we’re looking for warming and comforting meals and treats. The toasty flavors of these caramel recipes are elevated by kitchen spices and pair perfectly with a cup of tea. Whether you keep them all for yourself or share the warmth with your family and friends, we have three herbal caramel recipes for you to try. 

These recipes combine trusty kitchen pantry staples with digestive herbs to create festive treats perfect for capping off a meal with a sweet treat. The methods used are straightforward and approachable even for first time candy makers, and take a lower and slower approach to caramel making. This longer and slower process also allows the aromas of the herbal additions to bloom and the bodies to soften, making the final texture evenly soft and preventing any kind of “crunchy bits” experience in the finished product.  

jar of spiced caramel

A few notes before we start.

The times in these recipes will vary. The moisture and ambient temperature in the room, variance in cooktop styles, and cookware can all impact the time these recipes take. Understand that these recipes and instructions will guide you to the final result, but the time will vary, and that is normal. 

That being said, make sure that everything is set up and ready to go before turning on the heat and starting the candy-making process. This means having the resting mold for the finished caramels fitted with its parchment paper sling, hot water for rinsing your spatula, cold water for ball testing, and your ingredients all measured and prepped.

You won’t need a candy thermometer for these caramel candy recipes. Instead, we’ll use an age-old method called “ball testing,” where small dollops of the molten candy are dripped into a bowl of cold water. This cools the candy quickly. Once the candy has had a moment to cool down in the cold water, roll the blobs together into a ball between your fingers. When the candy is ready, it will form into a cohesive ball with a firm but malleable texture. This is the soft ball stage, ideal for caramel candies. 

The caramel candy recipes contain a small amount of corn syrup. I attempted these recipes multiple times without the corn syrup, going through an entire bag of sugar. Each time the candy appeared smooth, it tested correctly, and then disappointingly hardened into a grainy golden block. After some internet research, I found that the cooking forums and recipe blogs all agreed that corn syrup was the answer.

I added the corn syrup without changing a single other thing, and voila…soft chewy caramels. It turns out that corn syrup helps the sugar to abandon the rigid crystalline structure of the past so that it can get all relaxed and ooey gooey in the caramel (CAERT, Inc, n.d.). The corn syrup is an important ingredient that helps to make these recipes nearly foolproof. (Note, this recipe calls for corn syrup instead of high-fructose corn syrup. However, if looking for a substitute for corn syrup, brown rice syrup is a possibility, although I have not experimented with that in these recipes.)

spiced caramel ingredients on a table

3 Irresistible Spiced Caramel Recipes

Cinnamon Dulce de Leche

A warm baking spice, cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is great for easing digestion, making it a choice addition to any treat. This low-effort recipe yields an incredibly indulgent sauce that will go well in coffee, with apple slices, and any dessert. 

Make this one when you’re hosting brunch or want to make that store-bought apple pie feel a little more special. You can easily swap out sweetened condensed coconut milk in this recipe for a vegan version.

Spiced Caramels jar of caramel and cinnamon sticks on a wooden cutting board

Cinnamon Dulce de Leche

Ingredients

1 can sweetened condensed milk or sweetened condensed coconut milk
1 cinnamon stick

Directions
  • Preheat the oven to 400° degrees F (200 degrees C). Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a small baking dish (a loaf pan or pie dish works well) and add the cinnamon stick. Cover tightly with foil.
  • Place the covered baking dish inside a larger casserole pan. Fill the larger pan with hot water until it reaches about ¾ of the way up the sides of the smaller dish.
  • Transfer the whole water bath to the oven. Check the water level every 30 minutes, topping it off with very hot tap water if needed.
  • After 1 hour, remove the water bath from the oven and lift a corner of the foil to check the color. The milk should have a golden caramel color.
  • If it’s not ready yet, re-cover the dish, return it to the water bath, and continue baking. Check the color every 30 minutes. Depending on your oven, this could take anywhere from 1-2 hours.
  • Once it reaches your desired color, remove the cinnamon stick and whisk until smooth. Let the dulce de leche cool for 20 minutes before transferring to a glass jar and storing it in the fridge.

Spiced Caramels pan of caramel and caramel ingredients

Chewy Cumin Caramels

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) seed is an aromatic spice great for stimulating and relaxing the gut. Better known for its applications in savory dishes, the earthy floral notes combine with the rich sweetness of the caramel for an adventurous combination sure to win over foodies. 

You don’t need to toast the cumin seed prior to the candy-making process. They will heat and bloom in tandem with the melting and browning of the rest of the caramel ingredients. They also soften nicely and don’t create a noticeable textural difference in the finished product.

Spiced Caramels cumin caramels

Chewy Cumin Caramels

Ingredients

1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted grass-fed butter, softened
2 tablespoons corn syrup
½ teaspoon whole cumin (Cuminum cyminum) seeds

Directions
  • Lightly grease a small square or rectangular baking dish. Line with parchment paper, leaving to form a sling. The thin layer of grease helps the parchment stick, and the parchment paper ensures easy removal later. 
  • Have everything ready before cooking:
    • A hot water bath for rinsing your spatula
    • A small bowl of cold water for soft-ball testing
    • All ingredients measured, and your heavy-bottomed pot ready
  • Use a ceramic-coated cast iron or stainless steel pot. Avoid aluminum (uneven heating) and nonstick (poor caramelization).
  • Add all ingredients to the pot. Turn heat to low and stir continuously as the mixture loosens, alternating circular stirring with scraping along the edges to prevent scorching or clumping. The sugar crystals will melt gradually.
  • Once the mixture looks uniform and the sugar has fully dissolved, raise the heat to medium-low. For reference on a 1–10 stove dial, start at 1 and increase to 2. Slow cooking helps develop flavor and gives the cumin time to bloom. Stir constantly as the mixture begins bubbling. 
  • As it bubbles, the caramel will darken and thicken. When dragging your spatula through leaves a trail, begin testing.
  • Drop a small amount of caramel into the bowl of cold water. After a few seconds, try rolling it between your fingers. When the caramel forms a cohesive, squishy soft ball that holds together, it’s ready. If it’s not ready, the caramel will dissolve or won’t clump. Once the mixture starts bubbling steadily, things move quickly. Test every couple of minutes to avoid going past the soft-ball stage and ending up with hard candy.
  • When it reaches the soft-ball stage, pour the caramel into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Cool at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate overnight.
  • Remove from refrigerator. Let the caramel sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to soften slightly. Use the parchment paper to lift it from the pan. Cut into bite-sized pieces, lay pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and chill for 1 hour before wrapping each piece in parchment squares.

cutting the spiced caramels

Salted Vegan Vanilla Bean Coffee Caramels

This vegan caramel recipe swaps the dairy ingredients for coconut-based substitutes. Sure to please every palate, the warm combination of vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) bean and coffee (Coffea arabica) bean complements the richness of the caramel, and the salt helps to cut the richness just enough to make you go back for seconds, and maybe even thirds. 

Vanilla is warming and soothing, and coffee may just be the best-known digestive stimulant in the world. Although you could see the speckles of the ground coffee and vanilla bean in the final product, the fine grind combined with the slower cooking process allows for a uniform texture in the end. The color of this recipe starts off much darker before the heating and caramelization really begin, so it’s important to pay closer attention to the thickness of the candy as it cooks. 

Wrapping Spiced Caramels

Salted Vegan Vanilla Bean Coffee Caramels

Ingredients

1 can sweetened condensed coconut milk
⅓ cup white sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar
¼ cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons corn syrup
3 grams finely ground coffee beans (or ½ teaspoon espresso powder)
½ vanilla bean
2–3 generous pinches flaky sea salt, for finishing

Directions
  • Lightly grease a small square or rectangular baking dish. Line with parchment paper, creating an overhanging sling. The greased surface helps anchor the parchment.
  • Before you begin cooking, prepare:
    • A hot water bath for your spatula 
    • A small bowl of cold water for soft-ball testing
    • All ingredients measured and the heavy-bottomed pot ready
  • Grind coffee beans to an ultra-fine texture, or substitute ½ teaspoon espresso powder. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
  • Use a ceramic-coated cast iron or stainless steel pot; avoid aluminum and nonstick.
  • Add the sweetened condensed coconut milk, both sugars, coconut oil, corn syrup, ground coffee (or espresso powder), vanilla seeds, and the scraped vanilla pod to the pot. Turn heat to low and stir until the mixture loosens and the sugar dissolves. Increase heat by one small notch once dissolved.
  • Because of the dark ingredients, the color changes will be more subtle with this recipe. Instead, watch consistency and keep checking for sugar crystals around the edges. As it bubbles, the caramel will thicken. When your spatula leaves a clear path, begin ball testing.
  • Drizzle a little caramel into the bowl of cold water:
    • Ready: It forms a soft, cohesive ball.
    • Not ready: It dissolves or cannot be shaped.
    • Once bubbling steadily, test every 1-2 minutes to avoid over-cooking.
  • When the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage, remove the vanilla pod from the pot using tongs or a fork. Pour the molten candy into the prepared dish and smooth the top. Sprinkle with 2-3 generous pinches of flaky sea salt. 
  • Cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
  • Remove from refrigerator. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Lift out using the parchment sling, cut into bite-sized pieces, and chill on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 1 hour. Wrap each caramel in a parchment square.

In Closing,

These show-stopping spiced caramel recipes alchemize kitchen staples into gold. A slower caramel-making process allows the flavors to come together to create indulgent caramels with the digestive plus of our herbal allies. Whether in need of a way to put your morning cinnamon rolls over the top or a homemade gift of herbal indulgence for a friend, these recipes are sure to help you create a little magic for yourself and your loved ones this winter season.  

Herbal Caramel Recipes Pinterest image

REFERENCES

CAERT, Inc. (n.d.). Sugar crystallization. Illinois State Board of Education. https://www.isbe.net/CTEDocuments/FCS-700047.pdf 

About Post Author

Kira is passionate about empowering and educating. As a community educator and Herbal Academy blog contributor she enjoys getting to share what she's learned along her own wellness journey. In her free time, Kira enjoys spending time in wild and cultivated plant spaces or reading with her rescue dog Iggy. You can connect with Kira on Instagram @theherbaceousbabe or on her website www.herbaceousholistics.com.

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