These Homemade Caramels are melt in your mouth incredible! Sweet, but not overbearing, these candies are the perfect balance of sweet and salty.
Ever had a caramel stuck to your teeth? Not with these incredibly smooth Homemade Caramels! These are the perfect amount of sweet with a touch of salt, and instead of sticking to your teeth, these luscious things just melt in your mouth.
Homemade Caramels are the perfect thing to use as a homemade gift, or to just have to balance out your holiday cookie baking. The salt on top balances out the flavor so you can really appreciate the creaminess of these little candies.
My family always loves when these make their way onto our treat or candy list. Even though this recipes makes so many of them, sometimes I make some extra to put in the freezer for later.
If you’re looking to add to your holiday dessert menu, then you absolutely have to add these Homemade Caramels to the list, there is perfect time then now.
Some of our other favorite dessert recipes we have on our site include: Homemade Fudge, Bourbon Caramel Sauce and Struffoli.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- You make quite a bite of caramels from just one batch.
- You only need a handful of ingredients to make these treats.
- They’re the perfect homemade gift.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM)
Salted butter
Light brown sugar
Granulated sugar
Light corn syrup
Heavy cream
Vanilla extract
Flaked sea salt for garnish, optional
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CARAMELS, STEP BY STEP:
- Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil or parchment paper. Grease the foil/paper generously with butter, set aside.
- In a dutch oven add the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and corn syrup.
- Place over medium heat and stir continuously until the sugars are melted then bring to a boil, about 10 minutes.
- Once to a boil, very slowly add the heavy cream. Add about 1 teaspoon at a time and continuously stir; you want the mixture to be boiling the entire time. This can take up to 20-30 minutes to add all the cream, be patient with it.
- Continue boiling the mixture white continuously stirring, scrape the bottom and sides of the dutch oven while doing so until the mixture comes to 240-245°F while measuring temperature with a candy thermometer.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Immediately pour the caramel into the prepared baking dish. Let it sit out at room temperature until completely cooled.
- Once cooled, place in the refrigerator until hardened, this will take 4-6 hours or overnight is better. Take the caramel out by lifting the foil/parchment paper out of the dish and then cut it into small pieces.
- Sprinkle with sea salt if desired and serve immediately.
DO I HAVE TO USE THE SALT?
While you could make these without the salt, to me, the salt is needed. Plus, it helps to cut the sweetness down some so that the caramels are not sickeningly sweet.
These really are BY FAR the best caramels I have ever made, let alone the best I have ever tasted.
HOW LONG DO THESE TAKE TO SET UP FULLY?
These caramels will be best if they can set overnight in the refrigerator. However, if you don’t have that much time, you can usually get away with them setting for 4-6 hours.
Keep in mind, the more you open the refrigerator door to check on them, the longer it takes the refrigerator to get back down to temperature, essentially adding more time to the required time they need to set up properly.
CAN I ADD ANY ADDITIONS?
Yes, we like to add some crushed nuts, pretzels, toffee bits for a fun twist. You can even use this as a drizzle for pretzels, do this before the caramel sets up.
If you did want to add nuts or something else in, add them at the same time as you add in the vanilla extract. Right at the end is when you add them and make sure to give them a good stir before pouring it all into the baking dish.
HOW TO STORE:
You can leave these out at room temperature, or keep them in the refrigerator. Whichever way you choose, place the caramels in an airtight container and use a sheet of parchment or wax paper in between layers.
You can keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, or at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
If you wish to keep them longer, they’ll keep in the freezer for up to 3 months stored in a freezer-safe container.
Defrost in the refrigerator or on the countertop overnight until thawed.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- You can use this caramel as a drizzle, or add other things to it, see some suggestions above.
- These need a minimum of 4 hours to set, preferably overnight if possible.
- While you can omit the salt, I think it really adds a punch to this caramel that we love.
- I think these are the best right out of the refrigerator, still a little cold and firm. You can also let them sit at room temperature to soften a little if desired.
- Freezing your treats is also an option, see above on how to freeze.
Are you a huge caramel fan? If so, you need to learn to make your own Homemade Caramels with this incredibly easy recipe! You won’t regret it!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried these HOMEMADE CARAMELS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Homemade Caramels
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter plus more for greasing
- 2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups light corn syrup
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Flaked sea salt for garnish optional
Instructions
- Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with foil or parchment paper. Grease the foil/paper generously with butter, set aside.
- In a dutch oven add the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and corn syrup.
- Place over medium heat and stir continuously until the sugars are melted then bring to a boil, about 10 minutes.
- Once to a boil, very slowly add the heavy cream. Add about 1 teaspoon at a time and continuously stir; you want the mixture to be boiling the entire time. This can take up to 20-30 minutes to add all the cream, be patient with it.
- Continue boiling the mixture white continuously stirring, scrape the bottom and sides of the dutch oven while doing so until the mixture comes to 240-245°F while measuring temperature with a candy thermometer.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Immediately pour the caramel into the prepared baking dish. Let it sit out at room temperature until completely cooled.
- Once cooled, place in the refrigerator until hardened, this will take 4-6 hours or overnight is better. Take the caramel out by lifting the foil/parchment paper out of the dish and then cut it into small pieces.
- Sprinkle with sea salt if desired and serve immediately.
Notes
- You can use this caramel as a drizzle, or add other things to it, see some suggestions above.
- These need a minimum of 4 hours to set, preferably overnight if possible.
- While you can omit the salt, I think it really adds a punch to this caramel that we love.
- I think these are the best right out of the refrigerator, still a little cold and firm. You can also let them sit at room temperature to soften a little if desired.
- Freezing your treats is also an option, see above on how to freeze.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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