Sea Salt Caramel Candy

Made by Georgia October 29, 2010 41 comments »

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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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

Candy, Desserts, Gifts from the Kitchen
41 comments »
      

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41 Responses to “Sea Salt Caramel Candy”

  1. #
    1
    Jennifurla — December 15, 2010 @ 9:49 pm

    LOVE

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    Anonymous — December 16, 2010 @ 1:00 am

    i am confused. you say you don’t need a candy thermometer, but the recipe calls for one.

  3. #
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    Georgia (The Comfort of Cooking) — December 16, 2010 @ 1:03 am

    Candy thermometers and regular thermometers are completely different. This recipe only calls for a regular thermometer, which pretty much everyone already has.

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    Ashley — December 16, 2010 @ 10:10 pm

    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! :)

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    Georgia (The Comfort of Cooking) — December 16, 2010 @ 10:12 pm

    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! :(

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    Georgia (The Comfort of Cookin — December 21, 2010 @ 1:10 pm

    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! :(

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    Angie's Recipes — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    You made some perfect candy! I am going to study your recipe through….
    I wish you a sweet weekend!
    Angie

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    Georgia — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    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

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    9
    Lotta — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    Ok, I hope I can find corn syrup here, in Switzerland =).Thanks

  10. #
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    Abundanceyeah — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    Great blog following you from foodblog. Come check out my food blog. http://www.abundanceyeah.blogspot.com It’s full of recipes, my hand blended spices, finishing salts, gourmet fruit butters & jamsfrom my product line. The giveaways are all edible from my product line.

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    Pam — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    I am such a HUGE fan of salty/sweet combinations. I would eat WAY too many of these beauties!

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    Wendy — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    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!

  13. #
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    Susi — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    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

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    Baking Serendipity — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

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

  15. #
    15
    Joudie's mood food — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    Wow. These look so good. I love the combination of sea salt in any dessert. It always brings out the best in it!

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    Katrina — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    Yum!! I’ve always wanted to make these. Thanks for the recipe!

  17. #
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    Medifast Coupon Codes — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    Home made caramels! I have always wanted to try making them on my own, but the whole process slightly scares me. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Looks so delicious.

  18. #
    18
    Marla — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    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

  19. #
    19
    Alivia — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    These look fantastic! I just stumbled across your blog on foodgawker— I really like it! =)

  20. #
    20
    Beverly — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    I love it! So beautiful and simple, and salted caramels are truly one of my favorite things!

  21. #
    21
    Kelsey — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    that’s smart to wrap it in parchment

  22. #
    22
    Mia Summer Sunday Rose — January 10, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

    u have some perfect candy, am sure i’ll love the super textures u describe deliciously!

  23. #
    23
    Lotta — January 10, 2011 @ 9:22 pm

    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

  24. #
    24
    Monet — January 10, 2011 @ 9:22 pm

    Beautifully simple. Thank you for all your kindness, love. Your blog is a source of comfort to me. Truly

  25. #
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    Melanie — January 10, 2011 @ 9:22 pm

    Your caramels look perfect! Absolutely perfect.

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    Katie@Cozydelicious — January 10, 2011 @ 9:22 pm

    I love salted caramel! Chocolate covered salted caramel is my favorite candy, hands down! Although given that it’s Halloween, I have to admit a love of candy corn!

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    27
    Maris (In Good Taste) — January 10, 2011 @ 9:22 pm

    Your trick or treaters are really lucky if this is what they’re getting tonight! Holy yum!

  28. #
    28
    athoughtforfood — January 10, 2011 @ 9:22 pm

    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!

  29. #
    29
    GreenGirl — January 10, 2011 @ 9:23 pm

    salted caramel, yummy
    your idea of wrapping in parchment paper is brilliant.

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    Cakeduchess — January 10, 2011 @ 9:23 pm

    Georgia, this looks fantastic! I love caramel and I will be making this soon.

  31. #
    31
    Deborah — January 10, 2011 @ 9:23 pm

    I actually bought some fancy salt to make caramels forever ago, but I still haven’t made them. This is motivation, because yours look amazing!!

  32. #
    32
    Ashley — January 10, 2011 @ 9:23 pm

    Oh yum! Caramel is my weakness! I am going to bookmark these to make at Christmas time! Thanks for the excellent recipe idea!

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    enrolled agent cpe — January 10, 2011 @ 9:23 pm

    Caramel candies are the best. Though I haven’t tried a homemade one before, this recipe seems to be pretty easy. I guess I can try some for the holidays.

  34. #
    34
    Annalise — January 10, 2011 @ 9:23 pm

    I have always wanted to make these! It’s going on my list this Christmas for sure. Yours look delicious!

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    Cristina @ TeenieCakes — January 10, 2011 @ 9:23 pm

    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! :)

  36. #
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    Miranda @ Mangoes and Chutney — January 10, 2011 @ 9:23 pm

    These look great, I love caramels and have always wanted to try and make them.

  37. #
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    Blackbookkitchendiaries — January 10, 2011 @ 10:14 pm

    i love how pretty these look georgia:) you did a beautiful job. thank you for sharing this. i love this post. it’s a must try on my list now.

  38. #
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    Jihane Jeanty (Sinful Sundays) — January 10, 2011 @ 10:14 pm

    OMG! I’m soo making these next week! They look so good and easy to make. =)

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    39
    Anonymous — July 14, 2011 @ 1:17 pm

    Thanks so much for this recipe! I can’t wait to try it!

  40. #
    40
    Anonymous — December 9, 2012 @ 9:03 pm

    These look good, but what is the dark fleck in them? Did the vanilla cook?

  41. #
    41
    Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking — December 9, 2012 @ 9:06 pm

    Thanks! The dark flecks are just tiny bits of overcooked caramel, but it didn’t affect the taste at all.

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