Homemade Salted Caramel Candy...what a treat!

These soft, chewy caramels with a touch of salt are sooooo good, you might want to keep them all for yourself!

Salted Caramel Candy

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup half & half 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp course salt
4 tbsp. butter, divided 
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
Course salt (for sprinkling on top)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan, lined with foil or parchment paper (let it go up the sides so you can pull it out easily) with cooking spray. 

In a 1 qt saucepan, heat half & half, vanilla, salt and 2 tbsp of the butter over medium heat until mixture just begins to bubble.  

Remove from heat, cover and set aside.

In 2 qt. saucepan, mix sugar and corn syrup.  Add candy thermometer.
Cook over medium heat stirring just until sugar has dissolved.

Cook syrup without stirring, until thermometer reads 310 degrees.

Remove thermometer and remove saucepan from heat. SLOWLY pour half & half mixture into hot syrup.  Stir until smooth.

Return saucepan to medium heat, add thermometer and cook until thermometer reads 260 degrees.

Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 tbsp. of butter.  Stir until smooth.

Pour into prepared pan. 

Cool 10 minutes then sprinkle the top of the caramel with course salt.

When caramel is cool (I put mine in the freezer for about 10 minutes to cool), lift foil from pan, remove foil and cut into pieces with a sharp knife.  

Wrap each piece of caramel in waxed paper.  (This is a soft caramel and doesn't keep it's shape.  Each piece MUST be wrapped.)

I got 24 pieces.