Soft buttery sea salt caramels (Printable Version)

Delicate soft caramels with buttery richness and a hint of flaky sea salt for a balanced treat.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dairy

01 - 1 cup heavy cream
02 - 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

→ Sweeteners

03 - 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
04 - 1/4 cup light corn syrup
05 - 1/4 cup water

→ Flavorings

06 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
07 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

→ Finish

08 - Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon), for sprinkling

# How to Make It:

01 - Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides, and lightly butter the parchment.
02 - In a small saucepan, warm the heavy cream and butter over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and set aside.
03 - In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, gently stir together sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook over medium heat without stirring until the sugar dissolves.
04 - Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cook without stirring until the mixture turns light golden and reaches 320°F on a candy thermometer.
05 - Carefully pour the warm cream and butter mixture into the caramelized sugar. Stir constantly and cook until the temperature reaches 245°F for soft caramels or up to 250°F for firmer texture.
06 - Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and fine sea salt.
07 - Immediately pour the hot caramel into the prepared pan. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then evenly sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt.
08 - Allow to cool completely at room temperature for about 2 hours. Use the parchment overhang to lift the caramel out, then cut into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife.
09 - Wrap each caramel piece individually in wax paper or cellophane to prevent sticking.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • They taste like you spent all day on them, but you can pull off a batch in under an hour.
  • That flaky sea salt hits different when it's balanced with buttery caramel instead of chocolate.
  • Wrapping them up makes you feel like a fancy candy maker, even if your kitchen's a bit of a mess.
02 -
  • Don't walk away from the caramel once you've started cooking the sugar because it goes from perfect to burnt in about 30 seconds flat.
  • That scary moment when the cold cream hits the hot sugar will bubble dramatically, but stir through it calmly because it's supposed to do that.
  • A good candy thermometer is worth every penny because eyeballing the temperature is how caramels turn into either pudding or hockey pucks.
03 -
  • Wet your knife with water between cuts and the caramel won't stick to the blade, saving you from the sticky mess that usually happens.
  • If you accidentally go a degree or two past your target temperature, don't panic—it'll still be delicious, just slightly firmer than you expected.
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