I found an easy-sounding recipe for caramels that I want to use to make candies dipped in chocolate then sprinkled with sea salt. (Like Fran's and Woodhouse! I can't afford to treat myself to their products as often as I'd like.)

I've never made candy before so don't know if there's a particular type of chocolate that melts easily and would be best for this. I've seen several recipes for dipping chocolate that call for semi-sweet morsels. Is there an equivalent in dark, bittersweet chocolate?

Thanks!

Colleen

Why do you sprinkle sea salt on chocolate covered caramels? Am I missing something yummy?

Oh my, yes!

I first tasted the Woodhouse Chocolates version - FAB! ChrisV brought them to our GTG with Diva a couple of years ago and since then I've been looking for a local maker. I haven't found anyone so I thought I'd make my own.

HERE is a link to Fran's Chocolates, with a description of the caramels with sea salt.

Thanks Colleen - I've ordered 3 small boxes of caramels from Fran's (2 for gifts and 1 for me). Will try the other company at a later date.

This is such a great forum- my heart and soul are constantly nourished with travel dreams and my mind and tummy with great food - I can't lose

Grazie & Merci

Hey Colleen,
Try Scharffenberger chocolate. I use their chocolate in cookie recipes. I know they are sold at Peets and sometimes I see the chocolate bars at Trader Joes. Their store is in Berkeley and if you get down there, they run tours of the chocolate factory.
http://www.scharffenberger.com/

BTW, can you share that caramel recipe?

gloria

This is just a "quickie" holiday candy recipe the "kids" around here love. I take plain old Kraft caramels, dip them in chocolate, and roll them in Heath toffee pieces. Hmmm...I'm thinkin' sea salt!

But if Colleen would like to share the caramel recipe...

Palma

Gloria,
Thanks for the tip on Scharffenberger - I'll give them a try.

HERE is a link to the microwave caramel recipe. Have fun!

Colleen I hope you are making these for this weekend!

I made some last year... Love Palma's idea for easy!!!
yeah sea salt and chocolate are incredible...


I think bittersweet chocolate.. and good sea salt..

I had a chocolate mousse at Clandestino in Le Marche.. topped with mandarine orange infused olive oil.and Malden smoked sea salt.. ( tiny amount)
INCREDIBLE!!!
surprise your friends..

Also great is chocolate and chili pepper..
I make a croccante/piccante every christmas.. chili infused peanut brittle!
what If I dip that in chocolate?

I was in Santa Cruz a couple of weeks ago, and Sue M and I went to Donnelly Chocolates on Mission Street. We tasted their dark chocolate with chipotle ... OMG. They were so good. Shannon introduced me to chili-flavored chocolate in Palermo last year - I thought it was just okay at first, but I love it now!

Last weekend in Santa Fe she and I ate our way through a package of Woodhouse caramels with sea salt. No wonder my pants are tight.

Colleen,

mmmm...chocolate and sea salt.

Try Guittard Chocolate if you can. One of my favorites!

If you like really spicy chile chocolate, try BruCo's Ancho Chocolate. It is very spicy but I liked it. I second the endorsement of Guittard. They make the best white chocolate chips. It was the only one I found that actually included cocoa butter in the chips.

I think Guittard is headquartered in South San Fran - I wonder if they have a retail shop there? Marta - did you find them in a shop or did you order online?
Thanks!

I've only used the baking chocolate. I got it at my local supermarket. I haven't seen it recently so I'm not certain if they still distribute up here. You might be able to find the baking chocolate at a good local supermarket especially since they are from Bay Area. Right next to the Nestle and Ghiradelli chips.

BTW I got the Fran chocolate covered caramels that I ordered - OMG they are out of this world. Those extra two boxes I purchased as gifts - forget about it! They aren't going anywhere. Now I just have to decide what I'm going to get to replace them.

Hee - another convert!

Paula,
I did the same thing in November - I ordered some Fran's caramels and truffles for a friend's 60th birthday, and they never made it out of the house. I ended up sending her roses instead.

This caramel recipe is great, but my recommendation after making them is to chill the pan OVERNIGHT before cutting into bitesize pieces. An hour and a half or two hours is not long enough for them to be firm enough to cut easily.

Palma

I still haven't made caramels! But they're on my list ... maybe I'll get to them in time for our Paso Robles GTG.

In the meantime, I found some "fleur de sel" caramels at Trader Joe's! They're nothing like the exquisite caramels from Fran's or Woodhouse, but they're pretty good. The salt is mixed into the caramel, so you get a chewy salty/sweet combo. If you like caramels, they're definitely worth a try.