Sea Salt Caramels with Vanilla Bean

This was my first attempt at making homemade caramels, and I have to say, this recipe is a good one to start out with. It has a rich, buttery caramel flavor but the flecks of vanilla bean and sea salt really enhance the taste. This recipe was also my first experience with real vanilla beans, which have to be split open and scraped out into the mixture. My caramels turned out a little on the soft side (which is evident in the picture), because I was a bit timid about about overcooking the caramel mixture. Next time, I'll go a couple degrees hotter and see if I get more of a chewy consistency. The recipe specifies 248 degrees as the temperature to reach, and I think I may have stopped a couple degrees shy of this. The softer caramels kind of grew on me though--they would have made a good coating for caramel apples.

Tips for making caramel: when the recipe says do not stir, definitely do not stir. Instead, swirl the mixture frequently in the pan. If you stir the mixture at this stage, you can end up with a grainy texture rather than a smooth candy. Also, when you pour the caramel into the pan to cool, don't scrape the sides or bottom of the pan, because the caramel you scrape out will have a crumbly, sugary texture. Once you cut the caramels into squares, you'll have to wrap each square in wax paper, which can be a little time-consuming. Save yourself some assembly time by cutting out 64 pieces of wax paper while you wait for the caramels to cool so you have the wrappers ready to go. It's possible you can buy candy wrappers for this sort of thing, but wax paper works well.

Sea Salt Caramels with Vanilla Bean

1 cup heavy cream 

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces 

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1 vanilla bean pod, split and scraped 

1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling 

1/4 cup water 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1/4 cup light corn syrup

Directions:

1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly butter the parchment and sides of the pan.
2. Place the cream, butter, vanilla, and sea salt in a small saucepan. Split open the vanilla bean and scrape the insides into the cream mixture. Add the vanilla bean pod to the mixture as well. Bring the mixture to a boil, remove from heat and set aside.
3. Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy saucepan, stirring only until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring the mixture. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.
4. Remove the vanilla bean pod from the cream mixture and carefully stir the cream mixture into the caramel (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248 on thermometer. This will take a while--check the temperature frequently using a candy thermometer. 
5. Pour the caramel into the baking pan and cool for 30 minutes. Sprinkle another pinch or two of sea salt over the top of the caramel. Let sit until completely cooled. Cut into 1-inch pieces, and then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting the ends to close.

Recipe adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride