sea salt & Pistachio caramels
I love the combination of sweet, salty and crunchy. These caramels have the perfect combo of them all.
Here in Sweden we have a long tradition of making sweets for Christmas. One of the most traditional sweets is called Knäck and is a chewy caramel poured into small paper cups with almond. This is an easier (and better tasting!) variation of traditional Knäck, and the best thing is that you don’t have to mess around with the pouring into the small paper cups. These caramels are cut with a knife after cooling on a tray.
The recipe is based on this one from Pärlans Konfektyr, with only some small modifications. I have made it for the last few years for Christmas, and with different flavours each year. This year I made them with pistachios drizzled on top.
300 ML sugar
100 ml glucose syrup (or corn syrup)
80 g butter
200 ml heavy cream
1 tsp sea salt
1 VANILLA BEAN
Bring sugar and glucose syrup to a boil in a saucepan, stir occasionally. Let it simmer until it reaches 175 degrees, at this temperature it has caramelised and turned into an amber colour.
At the same time, heat cream, butter, sea salt and the vanilla bean in another saucepan.
When the caramelised sugar has reached 175 degrees, remove from the heat and carefully mix in the butter and cream mix. It will bubble and spatter a lot!
Turn on the heat again and bring the caramel to a boil until it reaches 124 degrees. Test the caramel by pouring a small amount in a glass of cold water. If you can shape into a small ball it’s ready.
chopped pistachios
sea salt
Here comes the part that I do differently. Grease a square tin with a good amount of nice olive oil and pour the caramel into it. Sprinkle sea salt and chopped pistachios on top and let it cool in room temperature for a few hours.
If you want really green and nice looking pistachios, you can let them drain in water for a while, then it’s easy to remove the skin by rubbing them carefully and get a nice green nut. I usually do this a few days before using the pistachios, or dry in the oven on 50 degrees, so they get dry again and return crunchy. In the picture above you can see the difference between the green pistachio on the right and the others that still have their brownish skin.
After cooling for a few hours, remove the caramel from the tray and cut with a knife into the desired size and shape.
The caramels stay a bit sticky so I really recommend that you pack them individually. You can use oven tray paper or cellophane, and cut into small rectangles.
I tried two different ways of wrapping them. One is the very traditional way: first wrapping the paper around the caramel and then twisting the ends. But I actually prefer the other, wrapping them and closing the wrap with a small piece of tape.
Now the Christmas feeling is really settling in here! I just love this period before Christmas and all the small preparations making candy, baking and preparing food. The best time of the year! This Christmas will be very different from all other years, and I will not be celebrating it with my family. And it feels more important than ever to enjoy these small, cosy preparations, and Christmas decorations as much as we can. So I light another candle and take a chewy, salty caramel and enjoy life!
