Homemade Caramels With Dark Chocolate And Sea Salt Food

CHOCOLATE CARAMELS WITH SEA SALT

Steps:

• Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an extra inch or two hanging over the sides.
• In a small saucepan, heat butter and cream until melted and hot, but do not allow mixture to boil.
• Make the caramel: Pour sugar into a large saucepan fitted with a candy or instant-read thermometer. Heat sugar over medium heat until areas begin to melt and turn brown. Using a wooden or silicone spoon, stir melted areas to redistribute the heat. Continue to melt sugar, stirring gently to break up clumps until it is dark brown, bubbling and clear, about 330 degrees. This will take about 15 minutes.
• Immediately pour cream-butter mixture through a strainer into caramelized sugar, but be careful: It will bubble wildly. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat to 255 degrees. This will take about 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to very low, add chocolate, and stir until melted and smooth.
• Pour mixture into lined pan and let cool 20 minutes. Sprinkle salt on top. Let cool at room temperature until firm, about 3 hours or overnight. (If weather is hot and humid, chill in refrigerator.)
• When caramels are cool and firm, use the parchment paper or aluminum foil to lift caramel slab out of pan. Using a large sharp knife and a ruler, cut into small squares, about 3/4 inch. Refrigerated caramel will need to soften slightly at room temperature before cutting.

HOMEMADE CARAMELS WITH DARK CHOCOLATE AND SEA SALT

Steps:

• Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.
• Combine white sugar, 1/2 cup cream, light corn syrup, and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup cream. Cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches 242 degrees (117 degrees C), or until a small amount of the caramel mixture forms a firm yet pliable ball when dropped in cold water. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract.
• Pour caramel mixture into baking pan. Allow to cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight.
• Remove baking pan from the fridge and allow caramel mixture to warm up slightly, about 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
• Combine dark and semisweet chocolate chips with shortening in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, about 1 1/2 minutes.
• Cut caramel into 1-inch squares. Dip caramel squares in melted chocolate, shaking off excess. Place on lined baking sheet; sprinkle with sea salt. Chill until hardened, about 1 hour.

COFFEE CARAMELS WITH DARK CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang; lightly spray the parchment with cooking spray. Set aside. Prepare a large heatproof bowl of cold water that will accommodate the bottom of a large heavy saucepan.
• Place the cream, granulated sugar, corn syrup, brown sugar, butter and espresso powder in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring the mixture to a light boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugars have dissolved and the butter is melted. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the caramel is thick and bubbling and reaches a temperature of 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately stir in the vanilla and salt. Cool the caramel to room temperature by placing the bottom of the pan in the prepared water bath.
• Pour the caramel into the prepared baking pan and let stand, uncovered, until set, at least 8 hours.
• Lift the caramel out of the pan using the parchment overhang, and slice into 1-inch cubes.
• To finish, dip the bottom half of each caramel into the melted chocolate. Top with cookie crumbles. Set aside until set, about 30 minutes

DARK SALTY CARAMELS

Steps:

• Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
• Combine the sugar, water, corn syrup, and cream of tartar in a heavy 4-quart saucepan and put over high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Cover and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the heavy cream and soy sauce in a liquid measuring cup. Have this and the butter standing by.
• Remove the lid from the sugar mixture, and attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. When the sugar mixture reaches 230 degrees F, reduce the heat to medium and cook, without stirring, until the syrup is a golden color and is approaching 300 degrees F, about 6 to 7 minutes. At this point, there is less likelihood of any crystallization, so gently swirl the pan to break up any hot pockets.
• When the temperature approaches 350 degrees F, it will turn deep amber. Remove the pan from the heat, and gently swirl again to break up all of the hot pockets. Cool for 2 minutes.
• Carefully incorporate the cream and soy mixture and the butter into the pan. Stir to combine. Return the caramel to medium heat, stir until the butter is completely melted, and continue cooking until it reaches 255 degrees F. Remove from the heat and pour into the parchment-lined pan, tap gently to release air bubbles.
• Cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes, and then sprinkle evenly with the salt. Continue cooling on the rack for an additional 3 1/2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces and wrap individually in parchment. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

CHOCOLATE-TOPPED SEA SALT CARAMELS

Steps:

• Line bottom and sides of 11x7-inch glass baking dish or pan with foil, leaving 1 inch foil overhanging on 2 opposite sides of pan; grease foil with butter.
• In 3-quart heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the corn syrup and milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 40 to 50 minutes or until 248°F on candy thermometer (firm ball stage). Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour into pan. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until completely cooled.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and oil on High 30 to 40 seconds, stirring every 10 seconds, until chocolate is melted. Using spatula, spread chocolate evenly over caramel layer. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set.
• Remove caramels from baking dish to cutting surface, using foil to lift; peel back foil. Cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Store at room temperature.

HOMEMADE CARAMELS WITH DARK CHOCOLATE AND SEA SALT

Steps:

• Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.
• Combine white sugar, 1/2 cup cream, light corn syrup, and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup cream. Cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches 242 degrees (117 degrees C), or until a small amount of the caramel mixture forms a firm yet pliable ball when dropped in cold water. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract.
• Pour caramel mixture into baking pan. Allow to cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight.
• Remove baking pan from the fridge and allow caramel mixture to warm up slightly, about 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
• Combine dark and semisweet chocolate chips with shortening in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, about 1 1/2 minutes.
• Cut caramel into 1-inch squares. Dip caramel squares in melted chocolate, shaking off excess. Place on lined baking sheet; sprinkle with sea salt. Chill until hardened, about 1 hour.

SEA SALT CARAMELS

Steps:

• In a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan, bring sugar, evaporated milk and heavy cream to a boil over medium heat. Add corn syrup and continue cooking until mixture reaches 230 degrees on a candy thermometer.
• Add butter, vanilla; cook, stirring constantly, until caramel reaches 240 degrees. Remove from heat, stir in salt; pour into a lightly oiled 13x9-inch baking dish (parchment paper in pan helps).
• Let cool at least 1 hour. Invert onto a cutting board covered with waxed or parchment paper and cut into 1-inch pieces with a sharp, lightly oiled knife. Caramels can be wrapped in waxed or parchment paper or cellophane. (To serve candy-store style, wrap individual pieces in parchment paper and secure ends with a twist.) Store airtight at cool room temperature (around 65) or in the refrigerator; will keep up to 3 weeks.

SALTED CHOCOLATE CARAMELS

Steps:

• Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch straight-sided square metal baking pan with 2 long sheets of crisscrossed parchment.
• Bring cream just to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, then reduce heat to low and add chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then stir until chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat.
• Bring sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt to a boil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, uncovered, without stirring but gently swirling pan occasionally, until sugar is deep golden, about 10 minutes. Tilt pan and carefully pour in chocolate mixture (mixture will bubble and steam vigorously). Continue to boil over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until mixture registers 255°F on thermometer, about 15 minutes. Add butter, stirring until completely melted, then immediately pour into lined baking pan (do not scrape any caramel clinging to bottom or side of saucepan). Let caramel stand 10 minutes, then sprinkle evenly with sea salt. Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 2 hours.
• Carefully invert caramel onto a clean, dry cutting board, then peel off parchment. Turn caramel salt side up. Lightly oil blade of a large heavy knife and cut into 1-inch squares.