Caramels

Sea Salt Caramels:
Adapted from: Not So Humble Pie
Makes 60-70 large caramels

Ingredients
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream, separated
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
Directions
Line a 9 x 9 cake pan with lightly buttered parchment and set aside.
In a heavy sauce pan over medium heat combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and one cup of the heavy cream. Stirring constantly with a silicon spatula or wooden spoon, slowly bring the mixture to a boil.

Once the mixture boils add the remaining cup of cream in a slow trickle so that you do not cool your caramel mixture and it continues to boil uninterrupted.
Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to boil for 5-6 minutes without stirring.
Add butter one tablespoon at a time, stirring after each melts. Clip on your candy thermometer and allow to boil over medium-low heat until the mixture just hits 250°F (Firm Ball stage) stirring occasionally. This should take about 30-40 minutes, if your temperature is climbing too quickly you might need to reduce heat all the way to low. By the same token, if you're not hitting 250°F by 40 minutes you might want to increase the heat a bit.

Once you've hit the right temperature, quickly remove from heat. Stir in the teaspoon of vanilla and pour into your prepared pan. To prevent any crystallization, don't scrape the pan as you pour, just allow what clings to the pan to remain in it. Set your pan on a wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature.

Remove the cool caramel sheet from the pan and cut into pieces. Lightly press each piece onto a plate sprinkled with Sea Salt and wrap in cellophane, parchment or waxed paper.
These should keep for roughly 1-2 weeks, when wrapped and in an air tight container on the counter.
They should keep 3-4 weeks in the fridge. Best served at room temperature.

Calories
55 calories each (when yielding 70 caramels)