Fa-La-La-La-Laaaaaa! I love Advent, I love Christmas, and I love cooking and gifting delicious goodies to people. Salted Caramels are one of my favorite treats, and I want to give you this easy recipe so you can wrap them up and gift them to your friends and families!
Salted Caramels
You will need:
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp sea salt + 1 Tbsp for later
- wax paper, cut into rectangles
- candy thermometer
- Just to let you know, this will take you at least 45 minutes to cook. If you don’t have the time- don’t start it. It needs your full attention and constant stirring, so give yourself freedom to stand over the pot, because in this case- this watched pot will boil and boil and then burn!
Add white sugar, brown sugar, butter, evaporated milk, corn syrup, and 1 tsp of salt into a large heavy bottomed pot. This mixture will triple in size while cooking, so make sure your pot is big enough. Bring the ingredients up to a simmer (med heat) and stir gently with a silicone spatula making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Stir slowly and continuously until your candy thermometer reaches 245-250 degrees. I let mine cook at 248 for 2 minutes before removing it from the heat. This will ensure the caramel is firm, yet chewy. Do not let it get past 250 degrees or it will become too hard to chew.
Once your mixture has reached the desired temp, remove from the heat and stir in the 2 tsp vanilla. Pour into a lightly greased 9×13 pan, or directly into a 9×13 silicone dish, or into a 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper. Any of those three will work great. Let the caramels cool completely (2 hours is ideal). Once the caramel is cooled, turn the pan upside down onto a lightly salted cutting board. The salt will keep the caramel from sticking to the cutting board, and it will also give it great flavor.
Cut the caramels into long strips, and then cut the strips into small bites. If your knife is sticking to the caramel, give it a spray with non-stick spray, or rub it with an oiled cloth or paper towel. Sprinkle sea salt over the caramels and toss them around in it to make sure all sides have a little bit on them. Wrap each caramel in a piece of wax paper and then twist the ends tight. These can be stored at room temp for 2 weeks, or in the fridge for up to a month. Bring to room temp before eating. These make great little gifts and can be put into cute bags or Christmas themed tins for giving.
I hope you love this recipe! I have been trying different recipes over the last few weeks (my family is about sick of caramels at this point) and this one seems to be the winner. I know corn syrup puts people off sometimes, but it is honestly the best way to make caramels. I hope you give it a try. And…I have a second way to dress these up!
If you have a mini cupcake mold (I have a silicone one that I love) you can layer dark chocolate chips (about 6 per mold), top those with toasted and chopped pecans (half way up the mold), and then top with the hot caramel. Let those cool and they will make pecan turtle stacks. These are so good and they look beautiful! Sprinkle a little sea salt on top and serve on a tray, or wrap for giving.
I hope your Thanksgiving meal is delicious and shared with family and good friends. We will be putting our Christmas tree up on Friday evening, and then we will begin our Advent journey with devotionals and kid’s activities on Dec 1st.
Lots of love and many blessings,
Chelsea
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3
The Catholic Kitchen 