Now today is my kind of day.

Oh, yeah, just singing away here.

And eating some very fine caramels.

These are super easy to make and are great to wrap up and give as gifts.

I’m super into the salted caramel thing, so my caramels got a good dose of salt on top. Of course you can use less.

Fleur De Sel Caramels

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then brush the paper lightly with oil, allowing the paper to drape over two sides.

2. In a deep saucepan, stir together 1/4 cup water with the sugar and corn syrup and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until the mixture is a warm golden brown color. Watch carefully, as it goes from perfect to burnt in no time.

3. Meanwhile, in a small pan, bring the cream, butter, and 1 teaspoon of fleur de sel to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside.

4. When the sugar mixture is a warm golden color, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful as it will bubble up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248℉ (firm ball) on a candy thermometer.

5. Carefully pour the hot caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate for a few hours, until firm.

6. When the caramel is cold, remove the sheet from the pan and place on a cutting board. Cut the sheet in half. Starting with the long end, roll the caramel up tightly into an 8-inch log. Repeat with the second piece. Sprinkle both logs with fleur de sel, trim the ends, and cut each log in 8 pieces. Cut glassine or parchment paper into squares and wrap each caramel in a paper, twisting the ends. Store in the refrigerator and serve the caramels chilled.

Note: I did not follow Step 6. I thought the caramel was rich enough without rolling it into the larger pieces. I just sprinkled the caramel square with the fleur de sel and cut it into small pieces to serve.

Recipe from Food Network Magazine

Norway’s Team Me has a new EP out, ‘Female Lead’.

Sixteen Steps is one of the tracks. Gentle and pretty, it’s a bit different than their earlier, more upbeat pop tunes. I like it a lot.

Check out Team Me on the band’s Website, where you can also buy their music.

Cheers!