Candy-Making Adventure!

I've been dying to make salted caramels for months now. The idea of combining the creamy sweetness of caramel with the salty crunchiness of sea salt sounded too delicious for words. I've just been too intimidated by the idea of making candy to actually do it. I had a browser window open with a salted caramel recipe for two weeks or so about a month ago, and would open it, read the directions, salivate a little, then sigh and minimize the window, sure I'd never be able to do it. (I've done the same while walking by Velatis, the new caramel shop on Georgia Ave: look in the window, salivate a little, and then sigh realizing there was no way I could pay $3 for a truffle, or $17 for a box of caramels. The place has gotten great reviews...Someday, they will be mine...)

Imagine my delight, then, when Alton Brown--one of my celebrity geek crushes!--had a show last week featuring salty/sweet foods...And had a recipe for dark salted caramels! I figured if Alton was telling me I could do it, and it would turn out to be Good Eats indeed, I could get off my ass, stop being scared, and do it.

With a little "Don't worry about messing up; it's only food" encouragement from Jake, and his assurance that he'd be on the couch doing work if I needed him, I gathered my ingredients (pictured above--that mysterious brown liquid in the little dish is the secret ingredient: soy sauce) and started making candy.

The adventure begins...after the jump!

The sugar starts to boil...

And starts turning amber.

I stir in the butter and heavy cream. (Hey, no one ever said caramels were good for you.)

The sugar caramelizes as the temperature creeps higher.

And...Caramel! Waiting to be salted.

Sprinkled with coarse sea salt, and starting to cool. For an agonizing three and a half hours!

Cut into adorable little pieces, it looks like candy!

Jake helps me wrap the caramels.

Sixty-four pieces!

I finally get to enjoy the fruits of my labor! I can make candy!

For all of the nervous buildup, it actually wasn't that hard. I had to keep a close eye on the thermometer, and be extra careful when pouring the caramel into the baking dish, but other than that, the hardest part was waiting for the caramels to cool and harden. It was absolutely worth it, though. Creamy, sweet, salty, and crunchy. Delish!