Almond Vanilla Caramels

I haven't made much Christmas candy this year, but I made these caramels yesterday. The recipe is from the cookbook Pärlans Konfektyr. Pärlans make the best caramels (for sale) I've ever tried so I was pretty excited to try their recipe. Their cookbook came out earlier this fall, and since their caramels are pretty pricey, it's a good deal to make your own. And not hard - but a little scary, since you're dealing with super-hot temperatures. You need a good thermometer - I'm really happy with my Thermapen by the way!

The cookbook has loads of caramel flavors, but I thought I'd start out easy with a vanilla-almond combo. Since it turned out so nicely, .I  need to try more - maybe Cinnamon-Whiskey?

I have to figure out a good way to wrap them though. I used cellophane and tape this time, but it was quite a chore. Any ideas? How do you wrap caramels?

Almond Vanilla Caramels
about 50 small pieces

200 ml cream (full-fat)
1/2 vanilla bean (scraped out)
80 g butter
1/2 tsp salt
170 g glucose
250 g sugar
70 g almonds, blanched and then toasted, coarsely chopped

Cook the sugar and glucose until lightly golden - 170°C. Meanwhile, gently heat cream, vanilla, salt and butter in a small saucepan, on low heat. When the sugar reaches the right temperature, add the cream mixture to the sugar pot. Careful, careful - it'll be super hot and bubble a lot. Stir, carefully, and then heat again. It should reach 123°C.

Pour into a lined tin (mine is 8 by 8 inches / 20 by 20 cm, which was pretty perfect.) and then sprinkle with the toasted almonds. Let it set for at least  few hours or overnight. Cut into small caramels, and wrap individually.