Homemade caramels from scratch, for a fun homemade holiday gift-giving! Surprisingly easy with one special tool!
I’m on a homemade candy bender.
It really freaks people out when you make homemade candy. I get a million questions about how this sweet treat they thought could only be bought in a store came out of my kitchen. Last week, when someone tasted my homemade marshmallows, they asked if I bought the round marshmallows at the store and melted them down to cut into squares. He was 100% serious.
When I picked my jaw off the floor, I went on a homemade candy mission. I want to make small batches of your favorite candy all day! Did you see my homemade apple cider caramels? <–Love those!
The only thing you need to make homemade caramels is a candy thermometer. I have one of those clip-on candy thermometers, but I also really love this one with the thermometer inside the spatula! Either will work for this recipe.
For homemade chewy, sticky, creamy BEST EVER caramels, you just have to be able to boil a mixture. Twice. To two different temperatures. I think we can handle that, yes?
Homemade caramels recipe, plus variations.
When you make your own homemade caramels, you no longer have to ask a Trader Joe’s employee if they could give you all of the boxes of fleur de sel caramels they have in stock and a bigger shopping cart. (Guilty).
I want to try making all sorts of flavored caramels now. Even if you leave the vanilla out of the batch (like I did the first time), the caramels still taste great. I’ve got my eye on apple cider caramels next. I’m not from a state with abundant apples, so I’m not well versed in apple treats, but I want to be! Would you believe I’ve never had a proper apple cider donut? I’m on a mission!
Please, friends, be careful when making these caramels. Boiling things are, um, hot. Don’t burn yourself. When the sugar gets to the right temperature, move quickly but skillfully. And please, whatever you do, do not scrape the pan! You will burn your fingers!
Use both hands to steady the pot of boiling hot stuff, and then be done with it. Let the caramels cool a few hours, or overnight (uncovered).
Homemade Caramels
A small batch of homemade caramels with just 5 ingredients. Optional sea salt sprinkle on top!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Line a 9 x 5 x 3-inch bread loaf pan with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.
- In a 2-cup glass measuring cup, add the heavy cream, butter and salt. Microwave in 30 second pulses until melted and steaming. Set aside.
- In a 2-quart saucepan (seriously, don't use a smaller one-it boils up), add the sugar, corn syrup and water. Turn the heat to high, and cook without stirring until it reaches between 290-295 degrees.
- Turn the heat off.
- Slowly stream in the heavy cream mixture, and whisk gently. Turn the heat back to high, and cook without stirring until it reaches 240 degrees.
- Turn off the heat, and add the vanilla. Whisk gently to combine.
- Immediately pour the mixture into the loaf pan; do not scrape the bottom of the pan.
- Let sit for at least 30 minutes until firm but somewhat soft. This might take a few hours on humid days. You can always leave them overnight, too.
- Slice into desired shapes and wrap individually in wax paper.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
20Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 66Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 30mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 0g
Hey Christina!
I just made this recipe and they taste delicious! However they came really hard instead of soft and chewy. They soften up once they’re in your mouth but initially I had to break it up with a meat mallet haha. Do you think I got the mixture too hot? Maybe my candy thermometer is out of date :)
Any suggestions?
Thanks, Adrienne
I made these last night and I’m not sure what I did wrong…but they didn’t harden much. They are somewhere between a liquid and a solid that cannot be cut. The caramels taste good, though!
Yeah, so some people say they’re too hard, some people say they’re too soft. It’s a temperature error. Calibrate your thermometer in boiling water and try again :)
This looks like a great recipe! Do you think it’s possible to use the caramel in its melted state to drizzle over homemade truffles? Would that work?
Hi Winson,
No, it will probably set up. Just cook it at a much lower temperature to prevent it setting up. Best of luck!
Christina
Anything with caramels…YUM! Can you come up with a TWIX replicate, but small batch!? How about pecan turtle pralines!?
Just made these…they are very hard with a burned taste. I have an electric flat-top stove and I think that I should have removed my pan completely off the burner (while adding my cream mixture) instead of just turning the burner off. Pretty sure I burned this batch!
Ack! Sorry, SG! I used to have a flat-top stove, and oh my gosh, it stays so hot! I burned so many things on that thing! Yes, most definitely removing the pot would have helped. I’m sorry again! Those dang things run so hot.
Hey I don’t own thermometer so can I make this without one i don’t think iam ready to buy for now if so can you elaborate on how to do it :p
Thanks in Advance
Cheers.
A little late to comment but just made these and they were so much better and easier than my previous caramel recipe! My husband LOVES homemade caramels but I rarely made them due to that fussy recipe. Making them again this weekend but doubling so he doesn’t go through them so fast! Thank you…I always trust your recipes implicitly!
I made these last night, and let me tell you, for my first candy making experience, they were super easy and quick! I have a question though. How long do you let yours cool to set? Mine sat out for ~24 hours and they were still SO soft and sticky, I couldn’t cut them without ruining it and getting a sticky mess. Tasted delicious! Just curious how to make my next batch actually set up and cool like yours in the photos! Any help would be greatly appreciated!! :) :)
Oh no, Tessa! It sounds like you live in a humid environment? In your case, I would cook them a tad longer next time…like maybe just 5 degrees higher. In the meantime, can you refrigerate them to get them to set up more firmly, and then spray your knife with cooking spray while you cut? Let me know how it goes :)
I love making homemade caramels, but hate wrapping them. I end up eating so many of them because I get tired of wrapping them up!! But, that is with my super large recipe.
Do you think I could make these and pour into a small disposable aluminum pan to let the recipient cut them? Or, might the caramel get too hard if it sits too long? I want to make this for a Christmas food-gift bake sale, but don’t want to be tempted to eat the caramel..and I am pressed for time..okay, maybe lazy…fat and lazy when I end up eating the caramel. Thankfully it is a small batch. Sigh.
Thanks!