• non-stick cooking spray
• ½ cup (6 oz) honey
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 stick (4 oz) butter, room temperature, cubed
• 1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
• ¼ - ½ tsp coarse sea salt

Optional Ingredient

• ¼ - ½ cup toasted nuts

Special Equipment

• parchment paper
• 8” x 8" square baking pan
• 4 qt saucepan
• candy thermometer

Prepare Pan

1. Take parchment paper and cut or fold it so that you have 2 strips of 8” x 15”.  Line the baking pan with the parchment strips in a criss-cross fashion, one overlapping the other, and then spray the strips with cooking spray. This process makes lifting the caramels out of the pan easier when they've cooled
2. Note: If adding nuts in your caramels, sprinkle evenly in the pan at this point
3. Set pan aside

Melt Sugar & Honey

1. Stir honey and sugar together in a deep heavy saucepan (4 qt size is ideal) and set over medium-high heat. The sugar will melt into the honey and the mixture will start to boil
2. As the mixture cooks, it will start to turn darker brown, about 3-4 minutes. The darker the color, the richer and less sweet the caramels will be. (You may see a little smoking, but that’s OK, however, do not burn the melted sugar, as it will turn bitter)

Add Butter & Cream

1. When the color is dark enough for your preference, add the butter and cream. The mixture will sputter and sizzle – be very careful
2. Stir until the butter is blended into the caramel and the mixture is smooth
3. Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan; making sure the bulb is in the candy, but not touching the bottom of the pan
4. Cook the caramel, without stirring, to 250º (firm-ball stage), 5-10 minutes
5. Pour the caramel into the prepared pan (do not scrape the bottom of the saucepan). Sprinkle coarse salt over the top. DO NOT touch the hot caramel
6. Let the caramel cool, about 2-3 hours (overnight is even better)

Cut & Wrap

1. For 1” square caramels, cut 4" x 4” squares of parchment (waxed paper will stick to the soft caramels)
2. Lift the cooled caramels out of the pan and lay them on a cutting board.  Cut a 1” strip from the block of caramel. Then cut the strip into 1” squares
3. Place each candy on a parchment square and wrap. Continue the process, cutting a strip of caramel into smaller pieces and wrapping the candies
4. Store the finished caramels in an airtight container.  They’ll keep well for about 1 month