Caramel Candy
Learn how to make soft caramel candy from scratch with this easy tutorial. Homemade caramels require just a handful of ingredients and a little patience, so skip the store-bought stuff this year and make your own!
*This post is sponsored by Danish Creamery. As always, all opinions are mine.*
When it comes to caramel, homemade is the way to go. Store-bought caramel sauces and candies are super sweet with very little caramel flavor, and they often contain unnecessary ingredients to keep the candies shelf-stable.
The caramel candy recipe I’m sharing with you today requires just seven basic ingredients, including two types of sugar (for sweetness and flavor!), high-quality Danish Creamery Butter, vanilla extract, and sweetened condensed milk.
Making homemade caramels isn’t difficult, but you do need to be precise when measuring the ingredients and taking the temperature of the caramel mixture. (I’ll walk you through the caramel making process step-by-step in this post, so you have nothing to worry about!)
Make a batch of homemade caramel candies to gift at the holidays. Your friends and family will love them!
Ingredients in This Recipe
Soft caramels use ingredients you likely have in your pantry already. I’ve listed the ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below, but I wanted to quickly touch on a few of the key ingredients.
- Danish Creamery European-Style Unsalted Butter: My favorite brand of butter for making homemade caramels! Danish Creamery’s European Style Butter is slow-churned in small batches, which results in a velvety texture and rich flavor that I adore.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Make sure to use sweetened condensed milk and NOT evaporated milk. It’s much thicker and sweeter and works best for these caramels.
- Sugar: I prefer to use a mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar for this recipe, but you may use all brown sugar if you prefer.
- Light Corn Syrup: This helps to keep the caramel from crystallizing, so your candies stay nice and soft.
How to Make Caramel Candies
Soft caramel candy isn’t difficult to make, but you do need to watch the mixture closely as it boils. This is one recipe where you can’t afford to get distracted halfway through the cooking process! Here’s an overview of how how to make caramel candy from scratch:
- Prep your baking pan: Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper before beginning the recipe. Once the caramel mixture is finished cooking, it needs to be poured into the pan immediately!
- Melt the butter: Slice the butter into tablespoon-sized pieces before melting it in a large saucepan. As I mentioned earlier, I recommend using Danish Creamery butter for best results. It boasts a higher butterfat than most butter brands (85% compared to 82 – 83% butterfat). The extra fat will give the caramel candy a creamy texture that literally melts in your mouth.
- Add the sugar, corn syrup & sweetened condensed milk: Whisk the mixture until it’s fully combined.
- Boil until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage: You’ll need to stir the caramel mixture constantly as it boils. You’re looking for it to reach the soft ball stage, which is 236°F to 240°F.
- Let the caramel cool: As soon as the caramel reaches the soft ball stage, remove it from the heat. Then, stir in the salt and vanilla before pouring the caramel into the prepared baking dish. The caramel needs to cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then chill in the fridge for an additional 2 hours before you can slice into it.
- Slice and serve: I find it easiest to slice the caramel into bite-sized pieces using a sharp knife that’s been coated in non-stick cooking spray.
How to Tell When the Caramel Is Done
This recipe makes soft caramel candy. You’ll know the boiling caramel mixture is done cooking once it reaches the soft ball stage. You have two options for testing the caramel’s doneness:
- With a thermometer: Caramel reaches the soft ball stage between 236ºF and 240ºF. A candy thermometer or instant read thermometer is essential for this!
- Without a thermometer: Test the mixture by dropping a small amount into a cup of ice water. If the mixture forms a ball that flattens when pressed between your fingers, it’s ready. If you can’t form a soft ball with it, then continue cooking and checking the mixture until you’re able to.
Can the Corn Syrup Be Substituted?
No, you need to include the corn syrup in this recipe. Using another liquid sweetener like honey or maple syrup would affect the taste and texture of the finished candies.
How Long Do Homemade Caramels Last?
The caramel candy will last up to 2 weeks at room temperature. I prefer wrapping the individual caramels in wax paper to keep them fresh.
However, you can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Store in a freezer bag and remove as much air from the bag as possible to prevent freezer burn. When you’re ready to enjoy the caramels, thaw to room temperature and serve.
Baking Tips
- If you’re using parchment paper, there’s no need to grease it with butter. The caramel candies will easily come right off of the paper. If you don’t have any, you can just grease your pan with some butter before pouring the caramel mixture into it.
- I prefer to use an instant read thermometer to test the temperature of the mixture versus a candy thermometer. I find that it’s much more accurate!
- You can cut these caramels however you prefer. I usually cut mine into 12 strips, then cut each strip into 8 square pieces.
- If you don’t have a sharp knife, a pizza cutter coated in a little nonstick cooking spray works great too!
More Caramel Desserts You’ll Love!
- Caramel Popcorn
- Salted Caramel Sauce
- Salted Caramel Brownie Bites
- Salted Caramel Turtles
- Millionaire Shortbread
Video Tutorial
Caramel Candy
Ingredients
- 1 cup Danish Creamery unsalted butter (2 sticks; 230 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar (200 grams)
- 1 cup light corn syrup (315 grams)
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. If you don’t have any parchment paper you may grease the pan with butter instead, but I find that parchment paper works best.
- Slice the butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and place it in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Once all of the butter has melted, whisk in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk until fully combined.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Once the mixture is boiling, continue cooking and stirring until it reaches 236°F to 240°F (soft ball stage). If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test the mixture by dropping a small spoonful into a cup of ice water. If the mixture forms a soft ball that flattens easily when pressed between your fingers, it’s ready.
- Remove the mixture from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract and salt, then pour it into the prepared pan.
- Allow to cool at room temperature for one hour, then refrigerate for two more hours.
- Once the caramel is firm, use a sharp knife lightly coated in cooking spray to slice the caramels into pieces.
I have always been afraid, but you made it sound easy. It was easy and they are incredible. Followed the recipe exactly. Going to make a lot of caramels this holiday. Thank you.
What would the equivalent be for heavy whipping cream as a sub for evaporated milk? Equal amounts?
I haven’t tested it in this recipe, so I’m really not sure. I would probably use equal amounts, but heavy cream does have more fat in it than evaporated milk so it will change the overall texture and flavor of the candies.
Does the butter neeed to be room temp?
No, it’s not necessary for this recipe.
Stupid question: Does the heat have to stay medium the ENTIRE time or, after mixing the sugars, corn syrup, etc., can you turn it up to high until it boils?
The heat needs to stay at medium the entire time. If you try to increase the heat it will burn.
Absolutely the best smooth silky creamy texture. Be the only ones I’ll make now. Fantastic recipe !
These turned out amazing, so delish! I didn’t have fancy butter, I just used 1 cup of regular salted butter…food prices are pretty high but still turned awesome! I will sure be making these again for sure!
This recipe sounds amazing and much easier than the one I usually make. My question is can I add nuts to the caramel after it is cooked and before I pour into the pan?
I think that would be fine!
I love this recipe! Perfect using the soft ball method. I dipped half in chocolate and I’m back to make more. Follow to a t and it will be the best caramel you ever had I promise.
These caramels are amazing the only thing I used differently was the butter I used blue bonnet butter sticks otherwise I used recipe exactly. It reached the soft ball stage around 11 minutes on medium high heat. Great recipe!!! Will from now on be a family treat thank you!!!
Could you use this to wrap/dip pretzel rods? At what point would you use it?
Yes, that would be fine! I would probably dip them soon after you remove it from the heat. You can pour the caramel mixture into a tall glass and dip one or two pretzel rods to see how they look. If it’s too soft, you can let it cool slightly, then try dipping them again.
What size do you suggest to cut the wax paper wrappers?
I honestly never measure my parchment paper whenever I cut the wrappers, but if you cut this recipe into 96 pieces you will end up with candies that are about 1.25 square inches. I would probably cut out 3.5 to 4-inch squares of parchment paper to wrap each one. I’d recommend cutting a couple different sizes first, then wrapping a few candies to see how they look. I hope that helps!
I made these to give as Christmas gifts this year. So easy! So yummy! Will definitely be making them again, and again. Thank you Danielle!!
Thank you, Teresa! So glad you loved the caramels!
Hi Danielle, I’d like to include honey, could I substitute part of the sugar portion with honey ? Thanks!
Hi, Karen! I don’t recommend substituting the sugar with honey. You could probably swap out some of the corn syrup with honey, but it will change the taste and possibly the texture of the caramels.
You are so inspiring my dear this recipe is something I will make for sure. My grandmother used to make homemade caramel Toffee when I was four years old and I could not stop eating them! As a result all my baby teeth had cavities but I did not care! Those Caramel candies were soft and chewy and so tasty. When my permanent teeth came in though, she stopped making them for me unless it was my birthday or Christmas! Haha still those memories with grandma were priceless. Thank you for sharing your recipe Danielle
Thank you, Hanna! Hope you enjoy the recipe if you get a chance to try it!
Caramel is my absolute favorite! I am giving this a shot! Thank you!!!
Hope you enjoy the caramels, Cynthia!
I’ve always made caramels using evaporated milk and just white sugar (not brown)so I’m curious what the difference is taste-wise?
They’re similar! The brown sugar adds a little more flavor to the caramels though.
I’ve made these many times and they are delicious