The Comfort Kitchen

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Candy Gifts from the Kitchen Sweets

Sea Salt Caramel Candy

As this Sunday is Halloween, I find it only fitting to share with you one of my favorite candies, and flavor combinations in general: The sweet-and-salty, delectably creamy sea salt caramel.Simple to pop on your tongue and let melt in your mouth, but just as simple to make in your own kitchen with a pot, a spoon and a baking dish. Nope, you don’t even need a candy thermometer.

The combination of smooth, sweet caramel and slightly crunchy salt crystals may seem unusual at first, but it’s just that intense flavor that makes it impossible to stop after just one of these candies.

In a nutshell, here’s how the process goes: You boil sugar, evaporated milk, and heavy cream. Next, add the light corn syrup, paying attention to the temperature of the mixture with a thermometer. Then goes in the butter and vanilla extract. Stir, stir, stir. Wait until the temperature rises a little more, and move the caramel to a cool burner. Try not to stick your finger in it. Add sea salt, pour it into a pan, stick it in the fridge to cool, and PRESTO!

You have a delicious, diverse candy that can be given as holiday gifts, stuck in the center of your favorite dessert (try ’em in the middle of these mini molten cakes), plopped into a cup of coffee, or simply gobbled up on its own.

I know you will just love the combination of silky, soft caramel and crunchy sea salt in these candies. The ingredients are easy to find, they’re not too time consuming, and it doesn’t take a master candy maker to make ’em perfect. Trust me. If I can do it, you can, too.

Oh, and Happy Halloween! Make sure to stay safe, wear a funny costume, and if you have kids, confiscate at least a little of their candy for your own stash. ;)

Speaking of sweets… What’s your favorite Halloween candy?

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Print Recipe

Sea Salt Caramel Candy

Yield: Makes about 70 1-inch pieces

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups sugar
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
3/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cups light corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
Oil or cooking spray

Directions:

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring sugar, evaporated milk, and heavy cream to a boil over medium heat. Add corn syrup and continue cooking until mixture reaches 220 degrees F.

Add butter and vanilla; continue cooking, stirring constantly, until caramel reaches 225 degrees F. Remove from heat, stir in salt, and carefully pour into a lightly oiled 9" x 13" baking dish (parchment paper in the bottom of the pan is helpful).

Let cool at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Invert onto a cutting board covered with waxed or parchment paper and cut into 1-inch pieces with a sharp, lightly oiled knife. After cutting, sprinkle each piece with a few flecks of coarse sea salt.

Caramels can be wrapped in waxed or parchment paper or cellophane. (To serve candy-store style, wrap individual pieces in waxed or parchment paper and secure the ends with a simple twist.) Store airtight at cool room temperature (around 65 degrees F) or in the refrigerator; will keep up to 3 weeks.

Enjoy!

Adapted from Delish via The Oprah Magazine

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41 Comments

Comments

  4. Hey Goergia,
    I was going to make these today and realized I don’t have heavy cream. Would fat free half and half or 1% milk work instead??
    Thanks! :)

    Reply

  5. Yikes! I want to say 1% would work, but I’ve never used anything but heavy cream. To be safe, I would just stick with heavy cream. In cooking I take plenty of risks, but with the chemistry of baking and candy-making, you never know what will happen! :(

    Reply

  6. Yikes! I want to say 1% would work, but I’ve never used anything but heavy cream. To be safe, I would just stick with heavy cream. In cooking I take plenty of risks, but with the chemistry of baking and candy-making, you never know what will happen! :(

    Reply

  8. Hi Lotta,

    No, sorry – You can’t substitute maple syrup for corn syrup. Corn syrup is a thickening agent in homemade candy, and maple syrup would not give anywhere near the same texture.

    Georgia

    Reply

  12. Fave Halloween candy? Reese’s PB Cups…and Snickers! No costumes for us this year, but did post a pic of us from a while back last night. Saving these caramels for my holiday gift baking…love salted caramel, and these look like something I could do!

    Reply

  13. Fantastic looking caramel! Love the addition of sea salt! I’m bookmarking this to make for Christmas gifts :o) Favorite Halloween candy is Twix but my kids love it just as much, so I have to get creative and find ways to bribe them to part with one or two for mom LOL

    Reply

  14. I love sea salt! Yours look perfect wrapped up…I thought they were taffy at first! Happy Halloween :)

    Reply

  18. Thanks for sharing this wonderful & highly adaptable caramel recipe with us! The sweet with the touch of salt is so delish! Great photos too :) xo

    Reply

  23. Wow, great idea. I think I`m gonna make some of these cuties tomorrow. Do you think I could use maple syrup instead of corn syrup?

    Love, Lotta

    Reply

  28. This is one of those recipes I’ve been dying to make for a while, but I’ve neglected to out of fear that I’m going to rot my teeth by eating the whole batch. But with the upcoming holidays, maybe I’ll try it out and give it out as a present!

    Reply

  35. So pretty and uniformly perfect. You make this look so easy, and it’s nice not to have to have a candy thermometer. The combination of sweet and salty is my new favorite of late. Favorite candy? Hmmm – probably Snickers and Almond Joy…Oh and Reeses peanut butter cups! :)

    Reply

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