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This week is full of caramel deliciousness. I have three different recipes that will stand on their own or combine into one amazing confectionery creation. First on the agenda are simple Fleur de Sel Caramels that will make you weak in the knees.
Although I thoroughly enjoy consuming candy, I can’t make the stuff to save my life. Trust me; I have tried…numerous times. I always end up blaming the thermometer…because it couldn’t possibly me, right? Well numerous specialty thermometers later, candy is still not my forte.
However, when I saw this salted caramels recipe on Annie’s Eats back in December, I thought they appeared simple enough for someone with zero candy making skills like myself. Well, I was right, these buttery caramels are rich, smooth, and insanely tasty. Be careful…these are so incredibly addictive that I’m betting you could easily eat yourself into a caramel coma.
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Vanilla Bean Caramels with Fleur de Sel
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
5 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise and scraped
1¼ tsp. fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling
1½ cups sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup water
Directions:
1. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Lightly butter the parchment.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, butter, vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, pods, and fleur de sel. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture is a light golden caramel color.
4. Remove the vanilla bean pods from the cream mixture and carefully stir the cream mixture into the caramel – the mixture will bubble up, so pour slowly and stir constantly. Continue simmering the mixture until it registers 248˚ F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from the heat and pour into the prepared pan. Let cool for 30 minutes, then sprinkle lightly with additional fleur de sel. Continue to let sit until completely set and cooled. Cut into 1-inch pieces (a buttered pizza cutter works well). Wrap the individual caramels in small pieces of wax paper, about 4-inch squares.
Notes:
- I stored my caramels in the refrigerator. Leaving them out at room temp made them a little more pliable than I wanted them to be.
- From: Annie’s Eats
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I made some caramels for this past holiday season too. My first time in candy-making and it was a raging success! These look wonderful.
I am a caramel-a-holic.. If there is such a thing. Yours look AMAZING!!
Aaaah, that sweet and salty combination is the BEST! These look beautiful.
Yes, yes, yes! Salt + caramel = two of my favorite things
Mmmm….homemade caramels!!
Caramels are my weakness. What a delicious recipe!
Your caramels look gorgeous in that picture!
They look very professional. I’ve always wanted to try making some of these myself, I’ll need to store your recipe while I work up the courage!
Love that you can see both the salt and the vanilla bean specks. I would probably eat the entire batch by myself.
I use a recipe from Epicurious that comes out perfect every time! I use a Cyprus white flake sea salt that is so pretty. The grains are like miniature pyramids and they look beautiful and give a nice crunch to the candy. I made at least 10 batches this Christmas. They are out of this world! I’ll have to give yours a shot. They look YUMMY!