Salted Caramels are easier to make than you might think! Their lovely sweet/salty flavor is addictive and they make a beautiful, festive homemade gift or party treat.
This recipe is something I’ve wanted to make for quite a while: the fabulous Ina Garten’s Fleur de Sel Caramels. All of Ina’s recipes that I’ve made in the past have been delicious and this one was no different. I’m sharing the recipe here because I made a few changes to Ina’s original recipe, in both the ingredients and method.
These soft little caramels are rich and flavorful with the perfect texture; they’re chewy, but they don’t stick to your teeth the way store-bought soft caramel has the tendency to do. Ina cut her caramel into 16 pieces, but I usually cut mine into 64 (1-inch square) or 32 (2 by 1-inch) pieces for a more manageable bite-sized sweet treat. These candies are the perfect Halloween indulgence for adults, and around the holidays they make great party treats, or a lovely homemade gift in a festive tin or vintage jar.
I know candy-making and general and caramel-making in particular can be a little intimidating; here are some tips to help you when making caramel:
- When the boiling sugar mixture turns a warm golden color it’s time to add the cream/butter mixture. Be careful because it very quickly goes from a light amber color, to a golden amber color, to burned. And since it’s most likely to do this the instant you turn your back (sugar can be a fickle thing!), be watchful.
This is the warm golden amber color your sugar should be when you add the cream/butter mixture. (Image Source)
- The caramel should be cooked until it reaches firm ball stage, which is around 244-248F. I like to remove it from the heat right at 244F because the temperature continues to rise slightly even once taken off the heat source.
- When you’re chilling the caramel before cutting it, you can leave it in the fridge overnight. If you decide to do this, it might be a bit too hard to cut when it’s taken directly from the fridge, but you can let it sit for about five to ten minutes at room temperature, and then you should be able to work with it. (But don’t let it sit out too long or it will be too soft to cut and you’ll need to re-refrigerate it.)
- If you store your caramels in the fridge, be sure to let them sit at room temperature for about half an hour to soften up before serving.
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons salted butter (or 5 tablespoons unsalted butter + ¼ teaspoon salt)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Fleur de sel (or your favorite kind of sea salt), for sprinkling on top
- Avocado oil or another neutral-flavored oil, to oil the pan
- 8 by 8-inch baking dish
- Pastry brush
- 3-quart pot (about 6 inches in diameter and 4½ inches deep)
- Another small saucepan (large enough to hold about 2 cups)
- Candy thermometer
- Wooden spoon
- Parchment paper
- Get out all the ingredients and equipment you’ll need for this recipe.
- Line the bottom of an 8 by 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper so that it hangs over 2 sides; use a pastry brush to lightly brush the bottom and sides of the prepared pan with avocado oil.
- To a 3-quart pot, add the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Turn the heat on medium-high, bring the mixture up to a boil, and then cook until it turns a warm golden amber color. You can swirl the pot to mix the ingredients, but do not stir.
- While the sugar mixture cooks, in a separate small saucepan heat the heavy cream and butter over medium-low heat until it simmers. Turn off the heat and keep warm until ready to use.
- When the sugar mixture is a warm golden amber color, slowly add the cream/butter mixture; be very careful, as it will bubble up. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the vanilla. Continue to cook over medium-high heat until the caramel reaches 244F (firm ball stage) on a candy thermometer.
- Carefully pour the caramel into the prepared baking dish. Cool to room temperature, and then chill in the refrigerator until solid enough to handle.
- Using the parchment paper as grips, remove the caramel from the pan (you might need to run a sharp knife along the sides that are against the baking dish), and then use a sharp knife to cut it into 64 (1 inch square) or 32 (2 by 1-inch) pieces. Sprinkle a little fleur de sel on top of each piece, and then wrap in parchment paper that has been cut down to size.
- Store the caramels in the fridge or at room temperature.
Photos updated December 7, 2015.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Your caramels are perfect. I’ve had my struggles with making caramel, so I really admire someone who can do it well.
I have never attempted caramel, although I have always wanted to…
salted caramel is my favorite, and yours looks gorgeous!
I love those! So irresistible.
Cheers,
Rosa
I love caramels!
They look perfect!
Salted Carmel candy awesome. I wish i could be in your neighborhood.
I am most envious of your caramel stash right now! They look sublime – can’t wait to make them as a sweet Christmas treat :)
Wow, what a great treat for the Halloween…love the idea of some salt to cut the “too sweet” feeling :-)
Beautiful caramel! I love how you show the necklace to share about the caramel colour. I sure need that…haha
Perfect caramels without a need to visit the dentist – love it! Great idea to make little bite-sized pieces.
Faith, your caramels look perfect! I used a recipe I was given and they just wouldn’t set. I was so upset. I should try yours! :D
I’m so impressed that you made caramels! I bet they’re delicious. :)
I tell ya, I was not wild for caramels until people started sprinkling that little bit of sea salt on them. It makes all the difference in the world. Now, I’m hooked on them. ;)
I haven’t made caramels before but I might just have to try! Those look very tasty!
Wow, those came out perfect! I remember watching Ina make them, they looked so good! Yours look amazing, I love the idea of bite size!
These are absolutely stunning. I am very impressed. I make salted caramel chocolates every Christmas, but these look gorgeous as they are. YUMMMM!
Thank you!
Valerie
I’ve wanted to make these ever since I saw Ina make them on tv- yours are gorgeous! (I like the smaller bite-size caramels better too.)
Oh, these look HEAVENLY!!! I simply must find some fleur de sel–I’ve seen these caramels on foodgawker and have been jonesing for them for almost a year. You just made it 10X worse!! aaaack!
Those look like fun little treats!
These intimidate me, but I want to try them! I’m making your California Pizza Kitchen-Style BBQ pizza on Thursday night, I’m so excited! And I know my hubby is, too…I’ve been talking about it forever!!! :)
I love salted caramels. I wish I had the means to make them, my kitchen here is tiny and not very well equipped…
homemade candies? Impressive!!! :D
These are just too good. I love salt and caramel. I had seen a chocolate salted caramel in Gourmet and got the company to product place them for a movie I was doing.. the crew ate them all up the minute we were done shooting… they were just great!!! I can’t wait to try these… simple and good!
After making caramel macchiato cupcakes with a hint of sea salt, salted caramel is my new favorite thing! These look fantastic. I would love to see them on my Christmas cookie tray. Or in my halloween basket.
You and your homemade candy continue to make my mouth water! These sound fantastic!
Beautiful candy, Faith! These should be in a magazine! You did a great job!
Wow! These are wonderful little beauties. :-) Thank you for the tips you included. I’ve never made candy before so I love getting ideas on how to do it RIGHT. :-)
Faith, Thank you so much for posting this recipe! You have no idea, I have been looking for a good Caramel with Fleur Del Sel recipe for awhile. I Love caramels & yours look delicious!
Oh yum, salted caramels sound so delectable.
May I suggest that you hold a contest of some sort and give these away to one lucky winner – who of course would be me?
Happy Tuesday!
Your caramels look wonderful. And the step-by-step advice you give is so helpful. I loved being able to see the color, and also the temperature it should reach. Okay, maybe I really will give it a try!
I love the tips you give in this post they are very helpful. And these little treats look divine.
I just knew this was Ina’s basic salted caramel recipe, Faith. I’ve been dying to try these. Not sure how they will hold up in Florida’s humidity. My mouth is watering…you’ve done great photo-instructions!
Homemade sweets are the best! They love great – well done :-)
Homemade caramels are fabulous. Great job on the photos.
Mimi
I have always had such a hard time making caramel…so I very much appreciated your tips. I’m in need of something sweet like this…homemade caramel sounds just about perfect right now. Thank you again for your kind words/thoughts on my blog.
love love salted caramels!
Oh I wish I could have one of these! Love salted caramels. I’ve made caramels but never salted ones. I will be giving these a try.
Your caramels look amazing! I am totally trying your recipe. I have made caramels a bunch of times and they never come out so perfect and sliceable.
I’ve made caramel and butterscotch sauces but never took it a step further and made caramel candies. I need to make some…what’s a few more degrees, right?!
~ingrid
Mmmmm, I love sweet and salty. I’ve never tried making caramels, I wonder if I could make them work with golden syrup in lieu of corn syrup…
ou ahhhhhh! fresh caramels!!! I never tried them fresh before :( would love to one day though! I miss those soft caramel candies – where they stick to your teeth!!
Have a great day!
jen @ http://www.passion4food.ca
i’ve always wanted to make caramels. salted sound even better. i may try it!
A lovely treat for my kids. Thanks for sharing, Faith.
I bet the fleur de sel put these caramels over the top in flavor. Ooh, la, la.
Sam
These salted caramels do look perfect and I can’t think of a better use of fleur de sel:)
Is it sad that I know the exact episode when Ina made these? Does it also make me sad that I want to be her…haha :)
I love salted caramel and these look fabulous.
I’d love for you to submit one of your beautiful photos, and a link to your post, to my new food photo gallery showcasing beautiful baking and desserts.
These look fantastic, thank you for sharing. Do you think these could be frozen to keep them?
Gold, Good question. I haven’t tried freezing them so I don’t know for sure, but they do refrigerate well. If you freeze them, I would let them thaw overnight in the fridge, then after that bring them to room temp. (There might be condensation — just dab it with a paper towel.) Also, I would hold off on adding the salt until you’re ready to use them. Hope these tips help…if you freeze them, let me know how it goes!
Thank you for the tips, I will let you know how it goes :)
Faith…with all the catching up I have on your blog…I’m sure smiling upon these caramels, especially with ‘la fleur de sel’.
I’ll have to make sure friends come over when these are made so that I don’t become addicted ;o)
Ciao,
Claudia
These look really good! But do you know of a way to make them without corn syrup? I don’t use it for health reasons.
Mariah, I haven’t tried making them without corn syrup. If you do a search on Google for “caramel recipe without corn syrup” you should find several recipes that come up. Good luck!
Made these today and they are delicious! Have you ever doubled the recipe to make a larger amount?
Brie, I’m so glad you liked them! No, I’ve never doubled the recipe…let me know how it goes if you try it!