Salted Butter Caramels

I am on a bit of a candy kick here at the ranch. I'm chalking it up to winter plus the fact that I have cream in the fridge and that always makes me want to make candy or hot fudge sauce. 

I had seen this caramel recipe several times and couldn't resist giving it a try.  Against Mr. Lebovitz's advice, I made these without a candy thermometer.  In my mind I keep hearing the advice from family cooks that they can smell when it's done.  I've been using this lately in my baking to much success, and while no disasters occurred during the making of these caramels, I think Mr. Lebovitz is on to something.  I was sweating and freaking out the entire time ondering if it was burning or if it would it be too soft.  Then I remembered as a kid we didn't totally trust the candy thermometer in our kitchen so would fall back on the hard-ball/soft-ball candy chart in the back of some cookbook. Of course I only remembered this as the caramel was cooking and I couldn't run to the computer to google for the chart.  I did look it up afterward and this page seems pretty handy.  The Cold Water Candy Test

But like I said, no disasters occurred.  The caramel was ever so slightly firmer than I would have liked but not brittle. It didn't rip your fillings out (unlike the peanut brittle I made and gave to my hairdresser back in 1999. Sorry Michael!). The salty sweetness is divine and a friend said she could feel the butter melting down to her hips.  :)
  That's why I share.

Salted Butter Caramels 
modified from David Lebovitz recipe
makes 40-50 candies

3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, bean paste, or powder
rounded 1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
1/2 cup (160 g)  golden syrup
1 cup (200 g) sugar
4 tablespoons (60 g), total, salted butter, cubed, at room temperature

Line a 9-inch (23 cm) loaf pan with foil and spray the inside with cooking spray.

Heat the cream with 2 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan with the vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt until the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm while you cook the syrup.

In a medium, heavy duty saucepan (4 quarts, 4l), fitted with a candy thermometer, heat the golden syrup with the sugar, and cook, stirring gently, to make sure the sugar melts smoothly. Once the mixture is melted together and the sugar is evenly moistened, only stir is as necessary to keep it from getting any hot spots.

Cook until the syrup reaches 310ºF (155ºC).

Turn off the heat and stir in the warm cream mixture, until smooth.

Turn the heat back on and cook the mixture to 260ºF (127ºC).

Remove the pan from the heat, lift out the thermometer, and stir in the cubes of butter, until it's melted and the mixture smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and wait ten minutes, then sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of the sea salt over the top. Set on a cool rack and let cool completely. Once cool, lift out the foil with the caramel, peel away the foil, and slice the bar of caramel with a long, sharp knife into squares or rectangles.

Storage: These caramels can be individually-wrapped in cellophane or waxed paper. Once cut, they may stick together if not wrapped. Store in an air-tight container, and they'll keep for about one month. (But you totally won't have to worry about that because there is no way these things will be in your house that long.)