Chewy Homemade Salted Caramels
Sweet, salty, chewy, and melt-in-your mouth delicious, these homemade salted caramels are the best of the best. Everything you want in a candy, these caramels give you and then some. Yum. Prepare your mouth for some watering. 😉
‘Tis the season! Christmas time is upon us. Hard to believe, isn’t it? It’s time to start thinking about gifting your friends/colleagues/neighbors sweet treats. And do I have the perfect recipe for you–homemade candy. Not just any ol’ candy either–salted caramels. This recipe has only seven ingredients and it’ll leave you feeling like a pro after you’ve whipped up a batch.
Last week was my birthday and Mitch and I spent the day together meandering around the 2013 winner of “America’s Coolest Small Town” of Lititz, PA. Lititz is quaint, cute, full of history and good eats, and has lots of interesting little shops where you can get your fill of local crafts, furniture, pretzels, and chocolate (and a host of other things!). Lititz is the home of Wilbur Chocolate and many of its shops are filled with all types of sweets made with the fine confection. One such shop Mitch and I made our way into was a new-to-us one–Sweet Legacy Gourmet. I’m not sure how we never stopped in there before but it’s full of some of the most delightful cookies, candies, and other confections you’ll ever see. Run by third generation candy makers, this is one sweets shop you need to visit.
Among a slew of treats we picked up there that day, was homemade salted caramel. They had caramel wrapped up individually as well as poured over apples, homemade marshmallows, and one treat had caramel and marshmallow dipped in chocolate. Seriously. Anyway, it got me inspired to try my hand at making my own caramel. And I’m so glad I did.
Making candy has always been one of those things I didn’t feel qualified to tackle. Not quite sure why. I think it’s the whole using a thermometer or something. But it really is a simple process. Just make sure you have a candy thermometer. 😉
It’s a matter of heating up the cream, sugars, and light corn syrup (a must), and waiting until it reaches 245 degrees. That’s pretty much it. Then you remove it from the heat, add the butter and salt, and pour it into a baking dish and you’re done. Sound simple enough??
I was afraid I added too much salt but man, oh man, the moment I sunk my teeth into that chewy caramel, I knew it was just perfect. Something about that sweet and salty mix…so so good.
This treat makes the perfect homemade gift for all your Christmas gift giving needs. I mean really, who wouldn’t want to receive some amazing caramels made with the freshest ingredients?
So I think you should totally try making these. Start by making a batch for your family. And just watch their faces as they bite into that individually wrapped caramel. Then listen to their praises. That’ll give you all the confidence in the world. Shoot, maybe you’ll be opening your own candy shop soon. 😉
Ingredients:
- 1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup Golden Barrel Organic Cane sugar
- 1/2 cup packed Golden Barrel Light Brown Sugar
- 1/3 cup Golden Barrel Light Corn Syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon butter, softened (plus more for lightly buttering the pan)
- coarse sea salt for topping
Instructions:
- Line an 8x8" pan with aluminum foil that overextends the pan on all sides (to lift out for easy removal). Lightly grease foil with butter.
- Combine cream, sugars, and light corn syrup in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon until sugars are melted and mixture starts to boil.
- Stop stirring. Attach a candy thermometer to rim of pan making sure the bottom of the thermometer doesn't touch the bottom of pan. Let mixture boil until temperature reaches 245 degrees F (it'll take time so be patient!) As soon as it reaches 245 degrees, remove from heat and add in salt and butter. Stir until butter melts.
- Pour hot mixture into prepared pan and sprinkle coarse salt over top. Let set uncovered on counter for 4 hours or overnight.
- Once set, remove caramel from pan by lifting the foil. Remove foil and with a sharp knife cut into rectangles or squares. Wrap individually in wax paper wrappers. Store at room temperature.
I used these waxed paper wrappers. Made it super simple to individually wrap.
Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction.
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