Homemade Caramels
The holiday season is upon us and that means candy making! Homemade caramels are easier to make than you think. With just a few ingredients you can make these soft and chewy morsels that will literally melt in your mouth.
Servings: 4 dozen
Calories: 113kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup butter
- 1 ½ cups light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- flaky sea salt optional
Instructions
- Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper and butter it. Set aside.
- Combine all ingredients, except the vanilla, in a heavy pan.
- Stir cooking over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Make sure to keep stirring taking care not to let it scorch.
- Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches the firm ball stage (245 degrees F.) Do not let the temperature exceed 250 degrees F. Be patient, this will take about 45 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour into the prepared baking dish. Spread evenly.
- Cool.
- Cut into pieces with a sharp knife and wrap them in pieces of wax paper. (makes the perfect little candy wrappers!)
Notes
This recipe comes from an old church cookbook. It says to reach the soft ball stage when cooking, but I have found that the caramels didn't set up correctly there. Reaching 245-250 degrees had a firmer caramel and it was easier to work with.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 113kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 51mg | Sugar: 17g