Chocolate-Dipped Salted Caramels Recipe

"We can’t get enough of these salty-sweet treats. Make a batch, put them in small candy boxes, and your holiday shopping is complete. Special equipment: For coating the caramels in chocolate, you’ll need a kitchen scale and a chocolate thermometer such as CDN’s. What to buy: Professional pastry chefs use a type of chocolate known as couverture, which sets up nicely because it contains more cocoa butter than regular chocolate. The only trick is, you need to temper it. For this recipe, we used El Rey 58.5 percent dark chocolate Discos; they can be found at many specialty grocery stores or online. Game plan: The caramels can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container until ready to coat. In our experience, it’s best to avoid tempering chocolate on a hot day or to work in an air-conditioned space. Chocolate behaves best at a room temperature between the mid-60s and low 70s. Also, chocolate stays in temper for only a short time, so have everything ready to go and work quickly. Once coated, the chocolate caramels will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. This recipe was featured as part of our... read moreWe can’t get enough of these salty-sweet treats. Make a batch, put them in small candy boxes, and your holiday shopping is complete. Special equipment: For coating the caramels in chocolate, you’ll need a kitchen scale and a chocolate thermometer such as CDN’s. What to buy: Professional pastry chefs use a type of chocolate known as couverture, which sets up nicely because it contains more cocoa butter than regular chocolate. The only trick is, you need to temper it. For this recipe, we used El Rey 58.5 percent dark chocolate Discos; they can be found at many specialty grocery stores or online. Game plan: The caramels can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container until ready to coat. In our experience, it’s best to avoid tempering chocolate on a hot day or to work in an air-conditioned space. Chocolate behaves best at a room temperature between the mid-60s and low 70s. Also, chocolate stays in temper for only a short time, so have everything ready to go and work quickly. Once coated, the chocolate caramels will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. This recipe was featured as part of our DIY Holiday Gifts Advent Calendar...."