Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels
Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels make an excellent homemade candy during the Christmas holidays.
I have a thing for sweet and salty.
My husband doesn’t quite understand it.
He’s not a big fan of salt sprinkled on top of baked goods or sweet candies.
For me, I think I need salty and sweet together to balance each other out.
And that’s why I love salted caramels so much.
Last year I decided that I needed to learn how to make these Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels myself.
Save this recipe for Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels to Pinterest!
I was intimidated by caramels at first.
Over the past few years I have had a few failed batches
Some were too soft to hold their shape as caramels while others were more like hard candy.
In a moment of frustration, I googled something like “why are my caramels turning out like hard candy” or “high altitude caramel.”
I finally discovered that I needed to adjust my final temperature due to living at higher than sea level elevation.
That makes a difference in the final temperature that the candy should reach.
Go too high and you’ll have hard candy.
What a difference that made!
Now I could make soft, chewy caramels in my own home.
Living significantly above sea level will result in hard candy rather than soft, chewy caramels if you don’t adjust the temperature in the recipe.
For best results, you are definitely going to want to adjust the recipe.
I also like to take it off 1 or 2 degrees before the final temperature just to be safe.
These Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels turned out so good it was a bit hard to stop snacking on them as I dipped them in chocolate.
I ended up sending a container of them with my husband to work the next day because I had eaten so many.
And then I deeply regretted it the next day after he and his co-worker had eaten them all.
The horror!
Save this recipe for Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels to Pinterest!
MAKING CANDY AT HIGH ALTITUDES
The trick is to know the elevation for where you live and then factor that into the instructions for this Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels recipe (or any other caramel recipe).
Because, if you’re wondering does altitude affect candy making?, the answer is YES.
HOW TO ADJUST CANDY RECIPES FOR HIGH ALTITUDE
With higher altitudes you are going to bring the final cook temperature up lower if you live above sea level to achieve the same soft, chewy caramels.
1. First you will need to find out what your local altitude is.
If you don’t already know this, just google your zipcode and elevation and you’ll easily find an answer.
- We’ll use my location as an example.
- We are just over 5,000 ft. elevation.
2. For every 1,000 feet above sea level you will subtract 2 degrees from the target temperature of this recipe for Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels.
- 5,000 divided by 1,000 is 5.
- I will take 2 degrees off 5 times.
- Final result 5 x 2 = 10.
3. Subtract the number of degrees you calculated previously from the recipe’s original temperature.
- In this recipe, the target temperature is 248 degrees F.
- 248 – 10 degrees for altitude adjustment = 238 degrees F.
- 238 degrees F is my new high altitude adjusted temperature when I make Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels.
If you don’t have the patience to dip the Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels in chocolate, they are delicious plain as well.
I almost didn’t have the patience, but I think most things dipped in chocolate taste better.
And so I started dipping other things in chocolate too.
Dried apricots, mini candy canes, nuts…and before you know it I had this cute little gift box of treats!
If you’ve never make chocolate dipped candies before, make sure you check out these instructions for How to Temper Chocolate.
Learning how to temper chocolate properly is essential when you want to make homemade candies.
Tempered chocolate will cool into a hardened state with a shiny appearance.
When broken or bitten into will break with a snap.
Think about the outer shell on a ganache truffle – you wouldn’t want the outer texture of a truffle to be dull, sticky and tacky, would you?
Nope.
You want it to be a smooth and shiny shell.
Save this recipe for Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels to Pinterest!
I think the only thing missing from the box were a couple Homemade Chocolate-Dipped Marshmallows.
Christmas candies are the best!
What’s your favorite to make (or eat!)?
Is there a candy you love that you’ve never made?
MORE CHRISTMAS CANDIES FOR HOMEMADE GIFTING
Dark Chocolate Turtle Pretzel Bark is a fun treat for kids to help make for a teacher gift.
Classic Pecan Christmas Turtles meet Dark Chocolate Bark with the crunchy, salty addition of mini pretzels for a delicious sweet and salty Christmas candy treat.
Homemade Chocolate Dipped Candy Cane Marshmallows are easy to make!
Pair a bag of these goodies with a mug or hot cocoa mix for an inexpensive (and yummy) holiday gift.
Do you like making candied nuts?
Cinnamon Vanilla Glazed Walnuts and Sweet and Spicy Rosemary Bar Nuts are both simple to make and nice additions to a candy and nut gift box.
Do you know someone who loves chocolate paired with peppermint?
This Triple Chocolate Candy Cane Hot Cocoa Bark would be a hit with them!
Dark chocolate pairs white chocolate, milk chocolate chips, marshmallows, and mini candy canes in this Candy Cane Hot Cocoa Bark for a fun holiday treat.
Chocolate Raspberry Vanilla Bean Marshmallows are a great gift paired with homemade cocoa mix and a fun new mug.
You can never go wrong with another recipe for chocolate bark.
Try this Bittersweet Chocolate Swirl Fruit and Nut Bark.
Bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate, almonds, raspberries, strawberries, pumpkin and chia seeds combine for a delectable and colorful holiday treat.
Love this recipe for Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels?
Sign up for Good Life Eats email updates and never miss another recipe!
Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels make an excellent homemade candy during the Christmas holidays. Before you start this project you will also need find out what your elevation is and adjust the temperatures accordingly. adapted from Gourmet As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels
Ingredients
For the Caramels:
For the Chocolate:
Instructions
Notes
Recommended Products
Let me know if you try this recipe for and what you think of it by leaving a comment below.
Save this recipe for Chocolate Covered Vanilla Fleur de Sel Caramels to Pinterest!
Hi…quick question. How firm should the caramels be? i had mine in the fridge over night, but when I’m cutting they aren’t in firm chunks…they are oozing a bit. Should they stay in form?
They should be firm enough to cut, but soft enough that they are chewy. I highly recommend monitoring closely with a candy thermometer, and making calculations according to your elevation if you live significantly above sea level. If cooking to the temperature indicated in the recipe yields too soft of a caramel for your preferences, then I would increase the temperature 2-3 degrees.
Also, you can test while you are cooking by dropping a small amount into a glass of ice water and testing the firmness of the caramel once it has cooled in the glass. If it is too soft at the indicated temperature, then cook one more degree higher and then test again, repeat as necessary.
I’ve been thinking about making caramels lately… But, I didn’t know which recipe to try. I’m starring this one to give it a try soon! Lovely!
Really beautiful pictures! If I had more time I might attempt this, but for now will to just bookmark for next year!
YAY! 🙂 Hope everyone enjoys them.
You are my hero! I made caramels the other day and thought they were such a pain in the neck in the cutting step of the recipe – dipping them in chocolate is so much work, you are really dedicated, Katie!
Congrats – they look super delicious and the photos are breathtaking as always.
xx
There is really nothing better than homemade caramel, these look like perfection.
Oh yum, Katie! These look delicious. Love me some caramel.
Wow, I must try this. I love Caramel and chocolate so this is a winner! 🙂 I’ve never used Vanilla Fleur De Sel. Is it easy to purchase in stores?..
I’ve never looked for it in stores. Here is where I got mine: http://www.beanilla.com/vanilla-fleur-salt-p-95.html
I did it! Well, I burnt the first batch of caramel a little. Just a hint of burnt taste so still edible. Made a second batch for gifting that is much better. The first batch gave me some to practice dipping with. They look like real candy! Taking my practice batch to work tomorrow for taste testing along with some dipped pretzels and candy canes. Thanks for a great recipe!
YAY! 🙂 Hope everyone enjoys them.
These look fabulous Katie. Beautiful and delish!
Elevation does make a difference! People generally don’t realize boiling temperature of even water changes with elevation gain. I thought I mastered caramel making until my first batch after moving from near Sea Level to over 5,000ft. I had delicious caramel lollipops 🙁
If I made these, I’d eat the entire pan myself.!
Katie, these caramels are beautiful & I bet so tasty. I am with you I always need that little pinch of salt with my sweet. Beautiful photos.
those caramels look just lovely! i love the sweet and salty combo as well 🙂
I am so going to try making these for my salt and caramel loving mom for Christmas. This seems like a silly question but how do you dip them in chocolate? I’m wondering if you drop them in and then sort of fish them out and how to not leave a mark on the finished product with whatever tool you are using for dipping. I have limited candy making experience – buckeyes, where you use a toothpick for dipping and peppermint bark which is totally easy. So, any tips would be helpful. Yours are so beautiful and I am picturing mine to look all fingerprinty and marred with tong marks or something. Thanks!
I stuck a toothpick in the end, dipped, then removed and placed on parchment. I pulled the toothpick out. If it gives you trouble use a fork to press the caramel away from the toothpick. Let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂
Wow, those are beautiful.
Gorgeous and these sound DELISH!
these are sooooo pretty 🙂 i would just want to look at them, not eat them!
Girl, those are GORGEOUS.
They sound sooo yummy…maybe you cold send me some for Christmas?
Just a thought 😉
wow, these sound absolutely divine! i’ve asked for fleur de sel for Christmas…let’s see if santa delivers! 🙂
These look absolutely delicious. I love homemade caramel.
How fun! These are so cute and I love how you displayed them. I agree that things are better dipped in chocolate 🙂 This year my favorite candy to make was homemade peppermint patties!