Sea Salt Caramels

I get a lot of card ideas and stamps from Impress Rubber Stamps. I saw this caramel packaging and wanted to make some, even thought I didn't know what Sea Salt Caramels were. But I found a lot of recipes for them. I ended up using third-person Grandma's recipe and just added the Fleur de Sel at the end like what some of the other recipes recommended. A tip for making the caramels easier is to buy precut squares of wax paper to wrap them in.

Packaging from Impress Rubber Stamps:


My version of the packaging. I designed the labels in Quark (don't be hatin') and printed them out on card stock and attached them with scrapbook adhesive squares.






Here's the Recipe:
Caramels or Sea Salt Caramels

1 pound light brown sugar
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
½ pound (2 sticks) butter (I use salted)
½ teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons fleur de sel (sea salt), optional
Extra fleur de sel to press into cut pieces
Special equipment: parchment paper, candy thermometer, wax paper squares

Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper; set aside.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir mixture until temperature reaches 245°, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.
If using fleur de sel, sprinkle 2 teaspoons on top of caramels after 10 minutes. Let caramels cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until cool.
Place a piece of parchment paper on a cutting board. Lift caramel out of pan and place on parchment paper sea salt-side up. Cut caramel into bite-size pieces and wrap in 4-inch squares of wax paper. If using fleur de sel, you may press some extra into cut pieces. Don’t use too much because a little bit goes a long way.
Makes about 6 dozen caramels.
NOTE: This recipe can be easily doubled. Use a bigger pan to cook the caramels and pour into a 13x9-inch pan.