An easy, step-by-step guide on how to make caramel. It's perfectly sweet, silky smooth, and delicious homemade caramel. This recipe for caramel will have your family and friends begging for more.
I'm pretty confident this is the best caramel recipe. It's the best for making caramel candy or your favorite homemade candy. It can be ready in about 30 minutes. All you need is this easy recipe and a few tips and tricks. I've got everything you need to successfully make caramel below. It is truly the best homemade caramel recipe.
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Homemade Caramel Video Tutorial
The Best Tools to Use for Homemade Caramel
- A large, non-stick pot is the best pan to make this caramel recipe. However you can make it without a non-stick pot, but it is much more difficult to keep your caramel from scorching.
- When cooking, your caramel will boil up about double the size, so ensure your ingredients have room to expand. A pan with handles is a must too.
- You will be pouring the hot caramel into a greased baking dish as soon as it has come up to temperature, so be sure your baking dish can handle the heat of the caramel.
- I like to use a wooden spoon with a flat bottom to stir the caramel. This way you can scrape the bottom of the pan in a verticle and horizontal pattern to be sure you are evenly stirring the caramel. This will ensure your caramel is cooking evenly and you don't scorch the bottom of the pan.
- A digital thermometer will make your candy-making experience much easier too. This way, you can be sure you reach the soft ball stage without over or under-cooking the caramel. This is the best soft caramel recipe! (You can manually test the caramel for doneness with a bowl of cold water-see the video listed above to learn this method)
If you see little spots in your caramel, immediately take the caramel off the heat and pour it into another clean, non-stick pan.
This means you are cooking your caramel too quickly, and the caramel is scorching. However, If you act quickly, you can save your caramel, and it won't have a burnt taste. You might, however, get a little bit of a grainy texture if this happens.
You won't have a problem if you are cooking the caramel on constant medium-low heat and stirring constantly.
As the sugar and butter mixture boil, the sugar concentration increases, and the temperature rises.
Be sure to make a mental note of caramel tempreture, the soft-ball stage is 240 degrees Fahrenheit. The caramel's highest temperature will tell you how firm it will be when it cools.
The softball stage will be soft and chewy but not too hard to bite when it's cool. Softball stage, 240 degrees, is the temp you will want your caramel for caramel candy or for caramel apples.
You'll need to cook this recipe for caramel while stirring until it reaches 240 degrees fairenheight. It's best to gradually increase the temperature of the sugar and butter mixture. Stir the caramel the entire time the sugar and butter mixture is on heat.
Sugar scorches easily, so it's best to use a wooden spoon with a square tip so you can scrape much of the bottom of the pan as possible while the caramel comes to a soft ball stage. (Stir in one direction, scrape around the pan's perimeter, and then scrape in the other direction.
1. To test for the soft ball stage, if you don't have a candy thermometer, all you need is a bowl of cold water. The caramel will go through a few stages.
2. In the first stage, it will just begin to boil, and little bubbles will start popping up. Keep the heat on medium; as the liquid evaporates from the caramel, it will become hotter and produce a rapid boil. (A rapid boil is when there are layers of big bubbles all over the surface of the caramel.)
3. The caramel will go from a light caramel color to a little more of an amber-colored caramel. This is close to the softball stage.
4. Use a small and add a couple of cups of cold water. Drop a tablespoon or so of caramel in the bowl of cold water.
5. Be careful not to burn yourself. Just roll the ball of caramel around with your fingers, and it should produce a soft "ball" of caramel. If the caramel runs through your fingers or doesn't hold its shape at all, keep cooking it.
Repeat this process every minute or so until you reach the softball stage.
How to make salted caramel:
- To make salted caramel, add ½ teaspoon of salt to the caramel mixture when adding the sugars.
- Sprinkle salt flakes on the caramel pieces after they've cooled. An important reminder, use salt flakes, not coarse salt.
You want your salt sprinkles to be delicate and dissolve quickly. This easy caramel recipe is gorgeous and so delicious!!
Ingredients in Homemade Caramel Recipe
- Butter: You can use no salt butter or salted butter; either works great.
- Sugar: just regular granulated sugar works just fine.
- Brown Sugar: light brown sugar is best.
- Karo Syrup/Corn Syrup: Light corn syrup is best.
- Sweetened Condensed milk: This is important for this recipe. Do not substitute it for heavy cream or evaporated milk. This recipe doesn't allow for those substitutions.
- Salt: Sea Salt is best
- Vanilla: Pure Vanilla is best. For a flavor switch-up, use coconut flavoring. It's such a fun treat.
- Salt Flakes: This is optional. You can find salt flakes at a boutique grocery store or on amazon.
More Caramel Recipes
- A go-to caramel candy recipe for How to Make Caramel Apples, Caramel Apple Dip, Snowman Apples,
- Make a caramel sauce, don't cook it as long. Use the same ingredients and cook it until it reaches 220-230 degrees or coats the back of a spoon.
- Add caramel sauce and whipping cream to make a caramel sundae.
- Use it to make caramel candy such as Nilla Wafer Caramel Treats, Caramel Pretzels, and Caramel Popcorn.
- Caramel Cinnamon Rolls, Caramel Pecan Monkey Bread, and Caramel Coconut Popcorn.
- More Caramel Dessert Recipes.
Tips for Making Homemade Caramel:
- Use a non-stick pan to make the caramel
- Stir the caramel in a verticle pattern in the pan, around the perimeter, and then in a horizontal pattern. Be sure to scrape the entire bottom of the pan.
- Use a square-tip wooden spoon to be sure you are scraping off the entire bottom of the pan.
- Don't stop stirring; again, don't stop stirring.
- Cook the caramel to 240 degrees Fahrenheit ( or use the cold water method as explained above)
- Soft-ball stage should barely hold its shape when removed from the water and formed into a ball, it should still be very pliable.
- Use butter, not non-stick cooking spray, to prepare the baking dish. (Butter is all you should taste here!)
- You can speed up the cooling process by sliding the baking dish of caramels into the fridge or a cool garage.
- Don't cut the caramel until it has had a chance to cool completely and come to room temperature.
- If you plan to dip these caramels in chocolate, be sure to have them cut into pieces and then cooled in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, so the caramels keep their shape.
Wrapping Homemade Caramels
- After your caramel has had a chance to cool completely, you can dip your caramel candy in chocolate. If you decide to go this route, I've had good luck finding cute containers in the holiday section. Simply line with parchment and stack the candies inside the container.
- You can also wrap your caramel candy in parchment paper or wax paper. Parchment paper is preferred here. It's a little thicker and does better at keeping the caramels from sticking.
- These make the perfect neighbor gift, teacher gift, or just a little something thoughtful all year long.
Easy Homemade Caramel Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar (white, granulated)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup karo syrup or sometimes called corn syrup
- 1 can sweetend condensed milk Be sure this is NOT evaporated milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- salt flake for the top of the caramel (optional)
Instructions
How to Make Caramel
- Prepare your baking dish. Grease a 9 by 13" baking dish with butter. Do not use non-stick cooking spray for this or it will give your caramel a strange flavor. Set it aside until the caramel is done cooking.
- In a large non-stick pan, add the butter, sugar, brown sugar, Karo syrup, sweetened condensed milk, and salt.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.
- Stirring constantly, cook the caramel mixture until it comes up to 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. If you don't have a candy thermometer, use the cold water method. (put a couple cups of cold water in a cereal bowl. Drop a tablespoon of caramel into the cold water. move the caramel mixture around with your fingertips. If the caramel forms a "soft-ball" it's ready. If the caramel dissolves or runs through your fingers, keep cooking it.)
- Take the caramel off the heat immediately to stop the cooking.
- Add vanilla extract and stir until combined.
- Pour the caramel into the greased, prepared, 9 by 13" baking dish. Let the caramel cool before cutting.
- Sprinkle with salt flakes if desired. Cut into 1" pieces. Enjoy!
Notes
Tips for Making Homemade Caramel:
- Use a non-stick pan to make the caramel
- Stir the caramel in a verticle pattern in the pan, around the perimeter, and then in a horizontal pattern.
- Use a square tip wooden spoon to be sure you are scraping off the entire bottom of the pan.
- Don't stop stirring, again, don't stop stirring!
- Cook the caramel to 240 degrees Fahrenheit ( or use the cold water method as explained above)
- Use butter, not non-stick cooking spray to prepare the baking dish. (Butter is all you should be tasting here!)
- You can speed up the cooling process by sliding the baking dish of caramels in the fridge or a cool garage.
- Don't cut the caramel until it has had a chance to cool completely and come to room temperature
- If you plan to dip these caramels in chocolate, be sure to have them cut into pieces and then cooled in the fridge for at least 15 minutes so the caramels keep their shape
Nutrition
More Homemade Candy Recipes
- Ornament Oreos
- Dipped Chocolate Oreos
- Hot Chocolate Bombs
- Chocolate Fondue
- Saltine Cracker Toffee
- Homemade Peanut Brittle
- English Toffee
- More Candy Recipes
- More Dessert Recipes
If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest, feel free to leave a comment and photo there too. Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!
This recipe for homemade caramel candy is an easy, step-by-step guide. to make sweet, silky smooth, and delicious caramel. You can use this recipe for caramel apples or just as a homemade caramel candy.
Lynette
Caramels are so good. Easy recipe … and perfect instructions. Thank you!
Sally H
This is the same recipe my mother had in the 50's, and I have been making this for years. It's one of the candies that Mom made for us during Christmas. Best recipe for caramels.
Elizabeth
This is the BEST TASTING AND BEST TEXTURED CARMEL EVER TO EXIST!!!!????
Jeremy
easy to follow instructions, and it came out perfect!
Robert
love this recipe tried it today awesome. only problem its real sticky. trying to wrap in parchment and wax and it sticks to everything. put in fridge and it firms up but gets real soft and sticky again as I'm wrapping it. need yo keep cold in between wrapping. wish there was someone to ask hope to fix it???
Jill Baird
Parchment paper will be much easier to use than wax paper. The caramel will come off much easier. You can always butter your hands a little when handling it too.
Dior
Amazing recipe. First time making it, came out perfect. I even wrapped them in parchment paper like factory make caramel! I didn't have a candy thermometer so I used to cold water method, but it still came out great.
Jill Baird
Hooray! So happy to hear this!
Karen Fathalla
Excellent! Thank you!
Michele
I want to try this recipe. I tried a different recipe last night and it was a complete fail. my question is do you use light brown or dark brown sugar? I used light brown in the other recipe and the color was extremely pale and not appealing.
Jill Baird
You can use light or dark brown sugar. I prefer light but if you're looking for more of a rich flavor, dark would work great.
Jocelyn
Jill, your caramel recipe sounds amazing. I never made candy before, so I'll let you know how it goes. I have a question, though. Do you think this caramel would be good to make Payday candy bars by adding peanuts on the bottom of the pan before pouring, aging into caramel once cooked, and adding peanuts after pouring? Also, I would like to make them shelf-stable. Would I use a 1:1 amount of Ghee to butter? Love how easy you make everything look. Keep on cooking!
Jill Baird
It would be great mixed with nuts. It's super versatile and is perfect for just about any caramel candy recipe.
Sheila
I love this recipe so much- it’s perfect! I have family overseas and corn syrup is not available at a reasonable price. Is there any substitute that they could use?
Jill Baird
I haven't tried it, but I've had readers report that they just leave it out and it tastes great!
Daisy
I made it as it said and put the right amount of vanilla in but as a finished result it tastes like there is way to much vanilla. What happened?
Jill Baird
Hmmmm, I haven't had any problems with this. I'd love to help you figure out what's going on. Are you using vanilla extract or imitation vanilla? Either should actually be okay but you'll get a much more rich flavor with a vanilla extract.
Muffle
If you notice in this recipe it doesn't actually tell you to do anything at all in the instructions with the vanilla so I don't know when to put it in
Jill Baird
Daisy, I'm so glad you let me know. That was an oversight. I've added it to the instructions now. You can add the vanilla after it's done cooking and before you pour it into a greased baking dish. Thanks for your response.
Mrs H
This recipe looks super yummy. I've heard that you shouldn't make candy in a nonstick pan. Do you have a recommendation for the pan you use?
Jill Baird
I haven't heard that about the non-stick pans. I just bought mine at TJ Maxx, nothing special. Just be sure to use a wooden spoon to stir it so you don't scratch the surface of the pan when stirring.
Stephanie P
If you are looking for the best caramel recipe on the planet...THIS IS THE ONE!! This is my first time making caramel and i can't get over how perfect it is. I will be following your other recipes. Thank you for posting this. The only modification I did was instead of butter I used Ghee which is clarified butter. This makes my caramels shelf stable and I don't have to refrigerate them at all. Major thanks.
Jill Baird
You are so kind! This made my day! Thanks for your reply!
Coramay
Can you add chocolate chips to this recipe to make chocolate caramel and can you add peanut butter to make peanut butter caramel. I want to swirl those two together and make for my grandkids
Jill Baird
I haven't tried that but I'd love to know how it goes if you try!
Jeanni
I would like to know if not adding the salt in the recipe would be ok....I like carmel but I don't like sweet and salty......thanks jeanni
Jill Baird
You can leave it out or maybe just vut it in half. This isn't a salted caramel recipe unless you add extra salt. The salt in this just helps to balance and enhance the caramel flavor. You don't even taste the salt in this recipe.
Dorothy
try it topped with finely chopped, toasted almonds. Nice recipe.
Jill Baird
Great idea, Dorothy! Sounds delicious!
Ted Hanneman
I have been looking for a straightforward caramel recipe that actually works and this is it! It's a dead ringer for the one we used in the chocolate factory to make coated caramels ... same taste, same color, same texture. The instructions are good but this recipe burns easily so stir, stir, stir! I used a wire whip and that worked well. If you don't have a thermometer, it's best not to make candy. The cold water test that Jill describes is correctly described, but takes a LOT of practice to do accurately, and even then the results are not as good as a thermometer
Susan
I made this tonight using your recipe and it came out perfectly!
Thank you for sharing!!!
Sherri Mullin
Thank you so much for your yummy Caramel recipe! I can't wait to send some to my kids.
One quick suggestion: The recipe calls for 1 tsp Vanilla and the video shows you adding it, but the recipe doesn't say when to add the Vanilla, so I never added it in, and didn't realize it until I was cleaning up. I believe step 5 should also say "Mix in the vanilla." at the end. The one good thing is that, bummer, I am going to have to make them again and we are going to have to eat them again! ; )
Isabel
Where i live they don't sell Karo syrup, is there something i can use instead?
The Carefree Kitchen
It may go by a different name, karo syrup, corn syrup, glucose syrup. Do any of those sound familiar?
Melissa
I made this today. Only I change I made was I used condensed coconut milk. Instructions were great. I definitely agree that you need to grease the pan well that you pour it into. Getting the caramel out of the pan was the most awkward for me. After I would cut it the caramel would remorph itself back together like it was before I sliced it. So I had to move quick. Luckily the caramel was mailable so I could reshape it as I needed to fit in its candy wrapper. I used wax paper. It worked well. It would be helpful for future readers to know how to slice and wrap. Maybe you can add that to the YouTube video? Or make a separate video just for slicing, salting and wrapping. Because that part took me 1-2 hours.
The Carefree Kitchen
I've never heard of condensed coconut milk. That sounds amazing!! Good idea on adding instructions on how to wrap the caramels! I'll do that!
Stella
My Carmel is to soft, my temperature was over 245 , what did I do
Wrong, they taste yummy and by far the best instructions
The Carefree Kitchen
Maybe your thermometer was a little off. I'm not sure why it was too soft. Try cooking it to 5 or 10 degrees higher. That should do the trick.
Jock
Awesome recipe real simple to make Thank you
The Carefree Kitchen
I'm so glad it worked so great for you!
The Carefree Kitchen
Awesome! So glad you like it!
Gwen
I made this recipe last night and it is amazing! Just the flavor I was looking for and grew up with! I cut and wrapped them in wax paper at first, but it kept ripping so I wrapped in parchment paper and that seemed to be my favorite. My question to you is how long can these stay out on the counter? Usually they wouldn’t last more than a day but I am making them as gifts for Christmas a few weeks away.
The Carefree Kitchen
They should be fine for up to a week on the counter. I think they'd stay good in the fridge for up to a few weeks. Can you store them in the fridge?
Madison
Can you wrap these in wax paper?
The Carefree Kitchen
Parchment paper works a little better but yes, it works great wrapped up as a gift.
Sue Nation
Your recipes are so amazing, i am making the caramel bites!!
The Carefree Kitchen
Thank you so much for your kindness! I really appreciate you!
Gina
My family loves this recipe! It was my first time making caramel and this recipe was very easy.
The Carefree Kitchen
Hooray! I love hearing this! Thank you for taking the time to tell me. It made my day!
Cassidy
Do you use dark corn syrup or light corn syrup?
Jill Baird
You can use either. They will both taste great but just know a light corn syrup will result in a lighter flavor and color and the dark corn syrup will have more of a deep caramel flavor and color. I personally prefer using light corn syrup in this recipe.
Jamie
just finished making these and so far they came out great! I used a candy thermometer and also the cold water method just to make sure they would set. once they are fully cooled and set I'm going to dip in chocolate.