fleur de sel caramels

I've wanted to make these for months, and a cold Sunday hangin' with Mom and Beverly was the perfect opportunity to finally do so.

Oh, and they're even better than they look.

Recipe from Gourmet, October 2004.

ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon fleur de sel (add extra for garnish, if desired)
  
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water

preparation:

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.

Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.

Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.

Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces, sprinkle with fleur de sel, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

yield: Makes about 40 candies