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You are here: Home / Desserts / Black Sea Salt Caramels

Black Sea Salt Caramels

December 9, 2014 By cookingintherockies 8 Comments

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A picture of black sea salt caramels sliced and ready to wrapped in colorful tinfoil.

Black Sea Salt Caramels are pure sweet and salty goodness! These little gems make perfect holiday gifts!

Tis’ the season that I am knee-deep in writing my 200+ Christmas cards and making my Black Sea Salt Caramels for clients and friends! This time of year is super busy hanging out in the ol’ house! Every year for something like 15 years I have been making these caramels. I end up making about 1500 of them each year for gifts.

It’s a lot of work to make these many caramels but it’s so worth it. I have gotten to the point that I can make them and not even eat one! That’s right. Not even one… I am pretty proud of this and so is my waistline! Give them a try. Make them for your family or give them as gifts for friends and clients, as I do. You will have a lot of happy people in your life!

Making Homemade Caramels

Making homemade caramels is a bit tedious and time-consuming, but it’s well worth it! There is nothing better than a sweet, chewy, and salty nugget of love.


The trick to making a good caramel is patience. You really do need to watch the pot and stir frequently. Not constantly, but frequently. It’s imperative to pay attention to the candy thermometer. Once the temperature reaches 224 degrees (which is the thread stage), immediately stir in the remaining whipping cream and vanilla. The temperature will drop. Slowly the temperature will rise again. When it reaches the “soft-ball” stage, immediately transfer to the lined cookie sheet. If you let it go past the “soft-ball” stage, even by a few degrees, your caramels will be harder than the soft variety that people love.

Paying attention to the temperature is the biggest piece of advice that I can give. I have made hundreds of batches in my life and have thrown out bunches because of this. Multi-tasking is not what you want to be doing while cooking the caramels! 🙂

I have seen this black sea salt in pretty much every store in Denver. The candy wrappers I picked up at Michael's craft store. Oh you will need a candy thermometer and don't forget the parchment paper!

I have seen this black sea salt in pretty much every store in Denver. The candy wrappers I picked up at Michael’s craft store. Oh, you will need a candy thermometer, and don’t forget the parchment paper!

Special equipment for this recipe

Bubblin away...

Bubblin away…

The caramels are chillin out in the pan!

The caramels are chilling out in the pan!

After the caramels have set up over about three hours, they are ready to cut up!

After the caramels have set up over about three hours, they are ready to cut up!

A picture of black sea salt caramels wrapped up in colorful foil wrappers.

The best gifts are those that are wrapped in tiny colorful packages.

Other Holiday Candy Ideas

Chocolate Toffee Caramel

A picture of black sea salt caramels sliced and ready to wrapped in colorful tinfoil.
Print Pin

Black Sea Salt Caramels

Soft, chewy, sweet, salty...
Course Dessert, holiday candy
Cuisine American
Keyword Black sea salt, Caramel
Author Heather Blake

Ingredients

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream divided
  • 2 sticks salted butter
  • 2 cups light corn syrup
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • black sea salt

Instructions

  • n a large heavy Dutch oven (see picture) combine 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, butter, sugar and corn syrup. On medium-low heat, stir the mixture until the sugar and butter is melted. Make sure you scrape down the sides so everything is well incorporated.
  • Attach the candy thermometer to the side of the Dutch oven and cook the mixture until it reaches 224 degrees. (Thread stage).
  • Add the remaining 1 cup of whipping cream and vanilla. Cook until the soft ball stage on the candy thermometer. Stirring occasionally.
  • Transfer mixture to a 9x13 cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Sprinkle the Black Sea salt evenly over the hot caramel.
  • Let cool for an hour before you cut into squares.
  • Wrap the candies in foil candy wrappers to give as gifts.

Notes

Don't use an aluminum pot. It will get too hot and you will have a burned mess. I know this from experience.
Candy thermometers can be found at most grocery stores, Amazon, or at Bed Bath and Beyond.
Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. This makes for super easy clean-up.
Candy wrappers can be found at Michael's or Hobby Lobby. You will need approximately 150 wrappers per batch.

Filed Under: Desserts, Gluten free, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Black sea salt caramels, Caramel recipe, Christmas candy recipe, How to make caramel, Rocky Mountain Cooking, Rocky Mountains, what is black sea salt

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Comments

  1. Anita says

    October 31, 2020 at 6:17 PM

    I assume the 225 is at altitude; what temp are you using for hard ball, please?
    Thank you.

    Reply
    • cookingintherockies says

      February 12, 2021 at 4:29 PM

      I just use what the candy thermometer says. It always works even with high altitude!

      Reply
  2. Anne says

    December 15, 2014 at 2:07 PM

    Sur La Table carries everything you need to make these delicious candies! One stop shopping is the best!

    Reply
    • cookingintherockies says

      December 16, 2014 at 7:15 AM

      Totally agree! I love that I have Sur la Table so close! THanks for the tip!

      Reply
  3. Sonya says

    December 9, 2014 at 7:13 PM

    I am making these delicious looking morsels but I can promise I will not be able to resist eating them as I make them

    Reply
    • cookingintherockies says

      December 9, 2014 at 7:50 PM

      When you have made thousands over the years like me- you learn to say no… But I will say, when I first started making them I had to try each batch to make sure that they are ok! LOL! I know they are ok now!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge - Rocky Mountain Cooking says:
    December 11, 2017 at 8:04 AM

    […] now. I don’t know (I have lost track) how many batches I have done but at least 12 batches of caramel and 8 or so of chocolate toffee caramel. When I’m done it will equate to about 1500 […]

    Reply
  2. Best Foodie Gifts and Not So Christmasy Pie - Cooking On The Ranch says:
    December 27, 2014 at 7:36 AM

    […] I’m a caramel freak-o and my friend Heather makes the best. Nothing better than homemade Black Sea Salt Caramels for […]

    Reply

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