Homemade Vanilla Bean Salted Caramels

Dr. Sweetpea and I absolutely love gourmet caramels, but they are also super pricey! I decided to try my hand at making caramels for us at home and they were a MASSIVE hit. It's definitely time consuming to make, so I finally understand why gourmet caramels are so expensive. These caramels turned out SO GOOD that I will definitely be making regularly!

Homemade Vanilla Bean Salted Caramels

(Source: Cookies and Cups)

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 cups half and half (I used evaporated milk)

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup (2 sticks) Salted Butter, cubed (I used unsalted butter)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of flaked sea salt (or more depending on your preference)

1 vanilla bean (my addition)

Line a 9×9 baking pan with foil and coat with nonstick spray, or butter. Set aside.

In a medium heavy saucepan combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, half and half (or evaporated milk), corn syrup, and butter over medium-low heat (I also added the seeds of one vanilla bean and the scraped pods into this mixture). Cook and stir constantly until the mixture reaches 250°F on a candy thermometer. The mixture will bubble up and get thick as it cooks, while turning an amber color. The process will take over an hour, so be prepared to stir! When the mixture started to get thick, I removed the vanilla bean pods and kept stirring.  Once it reaches 250°F remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wait 30 minutes and sprinkle with sea salt.

Cover the pan with foil and place in refrigerator until set. Remove the candy from the pan with the foil. Gently peel the foil from the sides and bottom of the caramel. Allow the candy to come to almost room temperature before cutting into pieces. Wrap each candy with a small piece of wax paper.