It’s been way too long since I’ve baked with the Sweet Melissa Sundays group (over a month – yikes!), so I’m really glad to be back for this week’s recipe selected by Carmen of Baking is My Zen: honey cream caramels. To be completely honest, I’ve never been a big fan of caramel candies. I love caramel sauce but something about the super chewy texture of most caramel candies didn’t appeal to me. If you’re wondering why I forged ahead and made the caramels even though I knew there was a good chance I wouldn’t eat them, it’s mainly because I think caramels are really fun to make. They’re also super easy, assuming you have the right tools, and by tools, I mean a good, reliable candy thermometer. All you have to do is toss some heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup, salt, honey and a little butter in a saucepan and stir occasionally, and the candy thermometer will take care of the rest.
I kept an open mind about these candies, and was surprised to find that I really enjoyed them! They were soft and neither too sticky or chewy. I halved the recipe and let the caramel set up in an 8×4 loaf pan that I buttered and lined with parchment; I also sprinkled the caramel with sea salt about 30 minutes after I poured it into the pan. The salty/sweet flavor combination always works for me, and I thought it was especially nice here. The caramels are pretty sweet on their own and the salt helped to balance that out. You’ll want to use a fairly large saucepan when you’re making the caramels as the mixture bubbles up quite a bit and overflow would not be fun to clean up (right, Jeannette?) For my half recipe I used a 3-quart pan, I’d probably go bigger for the full recipe.
Many thanks to Carmen for hosting this week. You can find the recipe for the caramels on her blog today.
Lemon Bars
Glazed Grapefruit Cake
Orange Sherbet
Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
Tracey, these caramels are so lovely! I just love the combination of salty and sweet. You did a great job! Going to check out Carmen’s blog for the recipe… Thanks! 🙂
Okay, I am officially caught up over here, I was a tad behind. I read Scones, Sweet Potato Pie, Cookies, Little Orange Tarts, Chicken Fingers, and This One!! All good, all interesting and fun, some on my list. The guys would love those cookies, I would love these caramels! Great posts!
they look perfect! Love sweet and salty together. I really need to buy myself a good candy thermometer
I’ve always wanted to make these! Awesome recipe 🙂
I love that you added the salt…I thought about that too late. I was pleasantly surprised at how soft (and not sticky) these caramels were. Definitely a repeat recipe for me. Your caramels look perfect!
Wow, these look so good. I have only made caramels once and it wasn’t a great success. I think I may have to try again after seeing these.
They look perfect! I don’t know about easy though…I’ve had some failures with caramels and caramel sauce. I did just get a new thermometer, though, so I need to try that out on a candy recipe.
The caramels look wonderful – and the flavor combination sounds intriguing. I’ve made caramels before, but they were too sticky and cloyingly sweet for my taste – sounds like you found a great recipe here.
These look so irresistible, I’v always wanted to try making caramels from scratch!
They look like perfection.
I made these a while back and yours look way better than mine did 🙂
This is one of my favorite recipes ever. You are right about the size of the pan – I’ve made the mistake of using too small a pan in the past.
You go, girl. I wouldn’t make these ’cause I don’t eat sweets. But if you passed a plate of them in front of me, I would definitely eat one (or more). Thanks for making my day a little brighter.
I will have to go back and make sure I make this one. I haven’t baked with the group since last year!
These are gorgeous! I love caramels and with the salt…mmmmmmm! Heavenly!
Wow! They look amazing! I didn’t halve the recipe but used a 6×10 dish. Of course mine weren’t set enough so they have spread! Love the salt idea too…
Mmm. These look tasty. I personally like hard maramels more than the soft ones, but I like honey flavored things so this looks right up my allley 🙂
@Becca – I think if you prefer them hard you could probably just cook the caramel a little longer. I couldn’t tell you exactly what temperature but I bet if you Google it you could get some helpful info 🙂
Wow, beautiful caramels!
Tracey, thanks for stopping by. Actually, I’ve dropped out of the SMS group. Karen asked me to host, which is why I did it. Your caramels look wonderful!
Carmen of Baking is my Zen
These look awesome, Tracey! They look very firm, too. Love the addition of honey :).
Pictures are just amazing 🙂 and really tempting
You are correct ;P Large pots are imperative. Thank goodness it wasn’t too difficult to clean, but it wasn’t fun either, so…
Mine didn’t set up properly so I’m going to give them another go soon as I am NOT giving up on these. I loved the chocolate ones, I have to master these 🙂 Yours look like they turned out great!!
I’ve had these on my list since I saw Ina Garten make them a long time ago, yours look fabulous!
yours look so perfect! mine weren’t so perfect looking but sure tasted great 🙂
Yours look great cut! Mine didn’t turn out quite so uniform (and a little more soft). I wondered how these would be with a sprinkle of salt. Good to know that it’s a good idea =)
There is nothing like homemade caramels with a little salt on top. I usually use Jacques Pepin’s recipe from his book “Chez Jacques,” but these look really excellent!
These look amazing… I haven’t made caramels in a LONG time, so I am going to bookmark these and make them as Easter treats.
Ahh these look so perfect. I’ve been meaning to make caramels since forever.
Your caramels looks gorgeous!