Skip to main content

These Homemade Salted Bourbon Caramels are the Perfect Holiday Gift

We never truly tire of receiving bottles of booze when friends come over for a dinner or party. We don’t get sick of giving them, either. But as the holidays approach and our calendars fill with more festive gatherings, we’re trying to think of fun, creative ways to say thank you for a night of revelry in someone’s home. And really, nothing says you care like a handmade gift, especially one that is edible and delicious.

Natasha Breen/Getty Images

Enter the salted bourbon caramel. Chef Donald Wressell of the Guittard Chocolate Company created this recipe for The Manual, just in time for holiday gift-giving season. These little morsels are simply irresistible, thanks to the addition of bourbon and flaky sea salt that adds a sweet-savory flavor punch. These are perfect for serving at your next holiday soiree, and they make a great gift for even the most discerning party host. Give them to mom, your boss, your kid’s school teacher, or even the mailman to bring some festive cheer. Just try not to eat them all yourself (trust us, it will be difficult).

Related Videos

When it comes to the bourbon to use, you have some options as well. High rye bourbons will impart spicy notes while wheated bourbons will contribute to a softer bourbon flavor. Finally, with a bourbon that is heavy on the barley, you’ll find toffee and cereal notes. All of these will change the flavor profile of the final product slightly (allowing you more room to experiment as well). If you need some options, check out this list of affordable whiskies.

(Note: 10 grams is equal to around .33 ounces.)

Arx0nt/Getty Images

Salted Bourbon Caramels

Ingredients:

  • 35 g water
  • 150 g bourbon, divided
  • 225 g sugar
  • 33 g corn syrup
  • 135 g unsalted butter
  • 215 g heavy cream
  • 1.5 g sea salt (such as Jacobsen Salt Co.’s Flake Salt)

Method:

  1. Combine water, 60 grams of bourbon, sugar, and glucose in a medium saucepan.
  2. Bring to a simmer on high heat until color appears, and continue cooking on medium-low heat to a deep amber caramel. Stir carefully as color deepens to ensure even cooking from middle to center of pot.
  3. Add butter when amber color is reached, stir in until fully emulsified.
  4. Add pre-warmed cream slowly to the pot while stirring with a long-handled whisk. Continue cooking on high while stirring continuously until 120 degrees Celsius is reached.
  5. Add remaining bourbon very slowly while stirring, followed by the salt. Return to 120 degrees Celcius (248 degrees Fahrenheit).
  6. Remove from heat and hand blend until smooth.
  7. Pour into an 8-inch-by-8-inch pan that has been greased lightly, lined with parchment, and then greased lightly again.
  8. Allow to cool for several hours or overnight before unmolding and cutting into squares to wrap in cellophane.
  9. For gifting, place a chocolate bar, such as the Guittard Chocolate 72 percent Quetzacoatl Bar, in a small paper or cellophane bag and fill around the bottom with the individually wrapped caramels. Tie off with a bow or a piece of twine for a simple present.

Editors' Recommendations

Colombian or Kona coffee: Which is the superior drink?
Colombian or Kona coffee: Sweet and spicy, or rich and chocolatey? Which do you prefer?
Ways to Make Coffee

If you're anything of a coffee connoisseur, you're well aware that coffee beans come from coffea plants, which is grown all around the world. Depending on your preference of flavor, boldness, and acidity, you may already have a preferred location from where your coffee originates. Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Honduras, and Vietnam all grow a delicious bean. And while all of these types and their rich, complex flavors are worth exploring, the two coffee varieties that people seem to be the most drawn to at the moment are Kona and Colombian.

While there are over 120 varieties of coffea plant, and each makes its own unique bean, coffee beans are usually broken down into four categories of flavor: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa.

Read more
How to make your own cold brew coffee at home (no, it isn’t just iced coffee)
Cold brew coffee: Making this popular drink is easier than you think it is
international coffee drinks that arent dalgona cold brew ice

I grew up in a house where iced coffee was made by pouring the hours-old coffee pot leftovers over a glass of ice. Maybe a little milk was added, or, if you were feeling extra fancy, a splash of flavored creamer. Embarrassingly far into adulthood (before Keurig came along and cramped my style), that's how I made my "cold brew." For years, this was how I drank my warm-weather coffee. But oh, did I have it wrong.
In case you're unaware, cold brew, real cold brew, is made using an entirely different method than hot coffee. While hot coffee is generally made by running hot water through finely-ground coffee beans, cold brew is made more like our grandmothers made sun tea - set to steep for a while, becoming flavorful and delicious on its own with nothing added but love, water, and time.
The result is a much smoother, silkier, bolder and more flavorful cup of morning magic. When coffee is steeped this way, much of the bitterness smooths to be much gentler on the palette, allowing you to really taste the flavor of the beans in a whole new way. So how do you make cold brew at home?
There are plenty of gizmos out there, like cold brew coffee makers, jugs, and infusers, but there's no need for these. Like many needless kitchen tools, these accessories end up being shoved into the back of the pantry, never to be seen again. Our favorite method of making cold brew coffee involves nothing more than a good old-fashioned French press.

How to make cold brew coffee

Read more
This Toronto cocktail recipe is the perfect whiskey drink
Escape to Canada with the lovely Toronto cocktail
drinkers guide to aspen aspenkitchen obiwanoldfashioned3

When you think about signature cocktails, names like Tom Collins, Brandy Alexander, and Old Fashioned come to mind. Yet, for whiskey lovers especially, there's an unsung hero that's deserving of a big-time comeback. It's named Toronto, and it's a cocktail well-suited for the chilly days of midwinter.

The drink dates back to 1922 and is a riff on the beloved Old Fashioned. It's a great whiskey cocktail, for certain, but also one that can be experimented with, as the best versions tend to involve a mix of a couple of different whiskies. The key ingredient, however, is Fernet, the intense and medicinal amaro from Italy.

Read more