Sanders Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels Review
Small Batch Wonders.
I almost bought these Sanders Sea Salt Caramels from Amazon a few months before joining Costco. They were spendy, but had great reviews, and looked incredible. Once I realized Costco sold the same thing in the store for much cheaper, there was no going back. I’ve since bought two big jars of these caramels, approximately a year apart. They do not disappoint. Well, not very much.
I love how prominently cream and butter are featured in these caramels, and the real vanilla flavoring is definitely a plus. These are heavy little nuggets. I would describe the caramel texture as semi-soft. It’s firm enough to hold a crisp shape, but yields when bitten and is easy to chew without sticking to yer teeth. I’m not a fan of hard, chewy caramel at all, so I appreciated this.
The caramel flavor isn’t as deep or rich tasting as some other brands — it’s very sweet, but doesn’t have as many burnt sugar or brown sugar notes. It’s a lighter taste, overall.
The sea salt is prominent, albeit, a bit uneven from one caramel to the next. The saltiness packs a big punch. The jumbo salt grains tend to pit and scar the nearby caramels, so these are not pristine objects, but my taste buds do not care. I asked them.
I would describe the dark chocolate coating as crisp and moderately sweet. It has a deep cocoa taste and a little tanginess, but is not a bitterly dark chocolate. The crispness of the chocolate makes these easier to handle without melting. It’s a reasonably thick layer of chocolate — it isn’t drowned out by the caramel taste, like certain other chocolate-caramel candies.
I guess my main “dislike” here is that these are exceedingly sweet candies. I enjoy the flavors, but I can’t seem to eat more than one of these caramels at a time. In fact, I often only eat half of one. The sugary sweetness is just too concentrated. Although each caramel is only slightly larger than 1-inch square, they are 90 calories each, so fairly calorie dense. Sugar!
Fun fact: Sanders Candy started in 1875 in Detroit Michigan. They offer a whole array of confections on their website, including their famous Chocolate Fudge Bumpy Cake. Supposedly, these caramels are created in small batches via a “slow kettle cook” method. (No, this review wasn’t sponsored by Sanders. Or anyone else.)
The caramels are packed in a tall, sturdy plastic canister with a screw-on lid. I keep mine in my refrigerator, because it takes me almost a year to eat two pounds of these candies, and I want them to stay as fresh as possible, especially with the heavy cream and butter content.
Ingredients in Sanders Sea Salt Caramels
In the grand scheme of things, these have pretty decent ingredients, with one exception: corn syrup. Corn syrup is the second ingredient, so there’s a lot of it. Sugar is the third ingredient, and Invert Sugar is the fourth. Lotsa sugars. I love that cream is the first ingredient, however:
- Caramel (Cream [Cream, Milk], Corn Syrup, Sugar, Invert Sugar, Water, Butter [Cream, Salt], Soy Lecithin)
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor [processed with alkali], Cocoa Butter, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin [an emulsifier], Vanilla)
- Sea Salt
I’m delighted that there’s real vanilla instead of artificial flavors. And the natural sea salt is a big plus. These do contain “Bioengineered Food Ingredients.” Says the label.
Nutrition Facts in Sanders Sea Salt Caramels
These are tiny little squares, but they are full of sugary calories. Beware. A serving is just two caramels and packs a whopping 180 calories. There are also 8 grams of fat and 18 grams of sugar — which is less than I expected from the supremely sweet taste. You get a miniscule token of protein, with 2 grams total per serving.
Cost for Sanders Sea Salt Caramels
I wait until these go on sale at Costco, which seems to happen at least once a year. The non-sale price is typically around $10.99 for 2.25 pounds. There are 52 caramels per jar, which is 26 servings. That means each caramel costs 21 cents. On sale, they’ll run about $7.69. You can also buy these as Milk Chocolate, instead of Dark, but why-oh-why would you do that???? Team Dark Chocolate for everrrr!
More Reviews of Chocolate Treats You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out these other reviews of chocolate sweets I’ve recently written:
- Kirkland Caramel S’Mores Clusters
- UNREAL Dark Chocolate Coconut Minis
- Tony’s Chocolonely Dark Chocolate Pretzel Toffee Bar
Author’s note: I wasn’t paid to write this review, and I have no affiliation with Sanders or Costco.
