I wish I could tell you the ingredients for this recipe are: kale, lemons, and water. You might be able to eke out some health benefits from the 60% cacao chocolate, but the truth is caramels are comprised of cream, butter, and sugar. That’s why they taste good. I’m sorry if you didn’t already know.

RECIPE
makes about 4 dozen (caramel recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 pt heavy cream
2 1/4 c sugar
6 T butter, cubed
1 1/4 c light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
a candy thermometer

16 oz bittersweet chocolate (60%), bar form, chopped
8 oz semisweet chocolate, bar form, chopped
Coarse sea salt

1. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment and grease.
2. In a large pot, combine the cream, sugar, butter, and light corn syrup (don’t confuse this with the high fructose stuff you find in sodas). The pot needs to be larger than you think. The caramel’s going to rise and you don’t want it boiling over!
3. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium. Let it go. You don’t even need to stir it. All you need is the caramel to register between 245° and 250° F. I shoot for right in the middle, 247° or 248°. Temperature’s your biggest key to success. If you don’t get it hot enough, your caramels will be too soft and you’ll need a pick to get them off your teeth. But if it’s too hot, you’ll make toffee. If anything, err on the side of too warm. In my opinion, toffee’s better than glue.
4. When it hits the mark, remove it from the stove and swirl in your sea salt and vanilla.
5. Quickly and carefully pour the caramel into the pan and let set out at room temp for at least 8 hours.
6. Transfer to the fridge, and cool for a couple hours before slicing. Cut into squares, and place them on another parchment lined baking sheet. Return them to the fridge.

Dipping the Caramels in Chocolate:
You’ll end up with extra chocolate, but you can reheat the chocolate for future recipes, such as chocolate dipped strawberries, etc. It might look spotted or slightly pale after you store it, but should return to color when you re-temper it.

1. Place the caramels in the freezer while you get the chocolate prepped. This ensures they’ll keep their shape when you dip them.
2. Fill a pot of water about an inch deep, and bring to a simmer.
3. Turn off heat, and place all of the bittersweet chocolate in (but not the semisweet yet).
4. Stir until melted and registers 118° F. Now you are tempering the chocolate, so that it sets properly and has some sheen to it. Make sure no water comes in contact with the chocolate or it will seize, and that the chocolate does not get too warm (it heats pretty quickly once its melted).
5. Remove from heat and stir in the semisweet chocolate and let cool to between 87-90°F.
6. Line a sheet with parchment, and then you’re ready to dip them.

7. Place a caramel on a fork and dip into the chocolate, covering completely. Lift out of the chocolate and gently shake off the excess. Run the back of the fork against the side of the pot to get rid of any extra chocolate and then transfer to the clean sheet. You can use an upside down butter knife to help slide the caramel off the fork.
8. Work quickly, so the chocolate stays warm, and caramels cold. I keep the pot with the lukewarm water underneath the chocolate (off heat) to keep the chocolate warm. Have someone else salt the caramels, or pause after doing a few to hit them with a pinch of sea salt before the chocolate hardens.
9. When finished, transfer them to the fridge.
10. Once they’re cold, trim the edges with a knife, and put in a box.