Makes 64 one-inch squares
Ingredients
- non-stick cooking spray
- ½ cup (6 oz) honey
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 stick (4 oz) butter, room temperature, cubed
- 1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- ¼ - ½ tsp coarse sea salt
Optional Ingredient
Special Equipment
- parchment paper
- 8” x 8" square baking pan
- 4 qt saucepan
- candy thermometer
How-to
Prepare Pan
- Take parchment paper and cut or fold it so that you have 2 strips of 8” x 15”. Line the baking pan with the parchment strips in a criss-cross fashion, one overlapping the other, and then spray the strips with cooking spray. This process makes lifting the caramels out of the pan easier when they've cooled
- Note: If adding nuts in your caramels, sprinkle evenly in the pan at this point
- Set pan aside
Melt Sugar & Honey
- Stir honey and sugar together in a deep heavy saucepan (4 qt size is ideal) and set over medium-high heat. The sugar will melt into the honey and the mixture will start to boil
- As the mixture cooks, it will start to turn darker brown, about 3-4 minutes. The darker the color, the richer and less sweet the caramels will be. (You may see a little smoking, but that’s OK, however, do not burn the melted sugar, as it will turn bitter)
Add Butter & Cream
- When the color is dark enough for your preference, add the butter and cream. The mixture will sputter and sizzle – be very careful
- Stir until the butter is blended into the caramel and the mixture is smooth
- Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan; making sure the bulb is in the candy, but not touching the bottom of the pan
- Cook the caramel, without stirring, to 250º (firm-ball stage), 5-10 minutes
- Pour the caramel into the prepared pan (do not scrape the bottom of the saucepan). Sprinkle coarse salt over the top. DO NOT touch the hot caramel
- Let the caramel cool, about 2-3 hours (overnight is even better)
Cut & Wrap
- For 1” square caramels, cut 4" x 4” squares of parchment (waxed paper will stick to the soft caramels)
- Lift the cooled caramels out of the pan and lay them on a cutting board. Cut a 1” strip from the block of caramel. Then cut the strip into 1” squares
- Place each candy on a parchment square and wrap. Continue the process, cutting a strip of caramel into smaller pieces and wrapping the candies
- Store the finished caramels in an airtight container. They’ll keep well for about 1 month
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