Soft buttery sea salt caramels (Printable)

Soft, buttery treats balanced with delicate flaky sea salt and rich caramel flavor.

# 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, for sprinkling

# How-To:

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

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They're genuinely buttery and soft without that waxy texture of commercial caramels, and you control exactly how sweet they are.
  • The flaky sea salt plays against the sweetness in a way that makes people stop mid-chew and ask what's in them.
  • Once you nail the process, you'll find yourself making these for every gift, every gathering, every time someone mentions they love caramel.
02 -
  • Temperature is everything here—a candy thermometer isn't optional, it's your guarantee that you'll get that perfect soft-but-set texture every single time.
  • Don't skip the fine sea salt that goes into the mixture itself, because it actually balances the sweetness at a molecular level, not just as garnish.
  • If your caramels turn out too soft, you cooked to 245°F; too hard means you went past 250°F, so read that thermometer carefully.
03 -
  • Invest in a good candy thermometer—the ones with a clip cost almost nothing and eliminate guesswork entirely, which matters more when working with hot sugar.
  • If you notice your caramel starting to crystallize around the edges while cooking, brush those spots with a wet pastry brush, which dissolves the crystals back into solution.
  • Brown butter added to the cream creates an almost nutty depth that elevates these from good to genuinely memorable.
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