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These Homemade Caramels are perfectly soft and chewy and easy to make with a few pantry ingredients. We love to gift them to friends and family.
Want more candy recipes? I love these Chocolate Turtles, Buckeyes, Homemade Almond Joys, Chocolate Fudge, and Rocky Road!
Why I love these caramels:
- Family Tradition – This is my Mom's homemade caramel recipe we've been making at Christmas time for decades. They were always our food gift for friends and neighbors during the holidays.
- Perfect – They really are soft, chewy, melt-in-your mouth delicious caramels! They truly couldn't be any better! This is a treasured family recipe.
- Easy – This easy caramel recipe only uses pantry ingredients and the steps are simple. But the magic is in the cooking process – it's important to not rush these! Read my tips below for the best caramels every time.
How to make Homemade Caramels:
Combine: Add butter, sugar, and karo syrup to a large heavy-bottom saucepan then stir over medium heat until mixture begins to boil, about 5-10 minutes.
Add Evaporated Milk: Gradually add the evaporated milk, one can at a time, taking about 12-15 minutes PER CAN, while stirring constantly. Make sure the mixture maintains a constant boil, otherwise your caramels can curdle.
Caramelize: Stir the mixture constantly, scraping the sides occasionally, until it reaches a firm ball stage. I don't rely on a candy thermometer. I use the ice water test: Drop a spoonful of the hot caramel into a cup of ice water then mold the caramel with your fingers into a ball. You will know the caramels are ready when they feel pretty firm and pliable. Remove from heat then stir in vanilla.
Cool: Pour caramels into prepared pan then refrigerate until cooled and hardened. (Best if you refrigerate them overnight, or for several hours. They will be easier to cut and wrap).
Cut: I like to use a stainless steel scraper to get perfectly even lines.
Wrap: The caramel will seem hard in the fridge after they're set, but they should be soft at room temperature. Cut soft caramels into small pieces then wrap like a tootsie roll in wax paper, if desired.
Tips for Perfect Caramels Every Time:
- SLOWLY stir in evaporated milk: This should take about 15 minutes per can, pouring in a little bit at a time (or warm your evaporated milk a little, to make the process faster). The caramel must maintain a constant boil the entire time.
- Maintain steady heat: Keep your burner/stove on medium heat to avoid any changes of temperature. Maintaining heat the same is why the milk gets added so slowly.
- Candy Thermometer vs Ice Water Test: I personally don't trust candy thermometers. Unless you take the time to calibrate yours, they can often be “off”. And depending on your location (altitude and humidity) 238°F may not be the perfect temperature for you. The best (and easiest) way I've found is using the ice water method. Drop a spoonful of the hot caramel into a cup of ice water then mold the caramel with your fingers into a ball. You will know the caramel candy recipe is ready when they feel pretty firm and pliable.
- Wrap them cold – I like to make them 24 hours ahead of time so they can get nice and cold in the fridge, making them easier to cut and wrap.
Make Ahead Instructions:
To Make Ahead: These easy homemade caramels will keep well in the fridge for several weeks. Take them out to come to room temperature for them to be soft and chewy.
More Caramel Recipes:
- Caramel Apples
- Caramel Popcorn
- Caramel Sauce
- Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods
- Chocolate Covered Marshmallows
- Salted Chocolate and Caramel Pretzel Bars
Homemade Caramels
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, (2 sticks)
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups light corn syrup
- 24 ounces evaporated milk*, (2 cans)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 9×13” pan or jelly roll pan with parchment paper. (If you don't have parchment paper you can generously butter the pan.) Either size pan will work–9×13” will yield thicker caramels.
- Add 2 sticks butter, sugar, and karo syrup to a large heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Stir over medium heat until mixture begins to boil, about 5-10 minutes.
- Gradually add the evaporated milk, one can at a time, taking about 12-15 minutes PER CAN to slowly add it, while stirring constantly. You want to make sure the mixture maintains a steady heat and constant boil (no drastic changes in temperature) otherwise your caramels can curdle.
- Stir the mixture constantly, scraping the sides occasionally until it reaches a firm ball stage (about 240-245 degrees F on a candy thermometer). It takes patience and time, but it's sooo worth it! (Also, I don't really trust or rely on a candy thermometer–I like to test it the old fashioned way. Drop a spoonful of hot caramel sauce into a cup of ice water and mold it with your fingers into a ball. When ready it will feel pretty firm and pliable, but still slightly sticky.)
- Once you reach 240-245 degrees F / or the firm ball stage, remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.
- Pour caramels into prepared pan. Refrigerate until cooled and hardened. (Best if you refrigerate them overnight, or for several hours. They will be easier to cut and wrap).
- The caramel will seem hard in the fridge after they're set, but they should be soft at room temperature. Cut caramel into small pieces and, if desired, wrap like a tootsie roll in wax paper.
Notes
- Candy Thermometer: I don't always trust candy thermometers, and depending on your location (altitude and humidity) temperature will vary. A good way to test them is the ice water method. Drop a spoonful of the hot caramel into a cup of ice water and mold the caramel with your fingers into a ball. The caramel should feel pretty firm but pliable in the ice water.
- Caramel is too soft after it has set up: It needed to cook longer. You can pour the whole batch back in to a pot and warm it up again!
- Caramel is too hard: it cooked for too long. Use the ice water method to avoid this.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe November 2017. Updated May 2020 and November 2023.
Love this recipe! Should I store these in the fridge or freezer?
Hi! And wow these look so yummy! Question, would you be able to use your recipe for covering apples?
Definitely! It will make more than you need.
Excited to try this!
About how many 1inch squares does 1x batch make?
Hi Erica! Did you use this recipe to make caramel apples? How many caramel apples did it make? How long did you wait for the caramel to cool before you dipped the apples? Did the caramel stay on the apples? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
I love this! I’m wondering, how long can these be stored?
They’ll keep in the fridge for 1-2 months at least.
what is the shelf life of these once they’re packaged?
Store them in the fridge for 2-3 months.
Thanks so much for this recipe! It was delicious!! My daughter has a dairy allergy so I used dairy free butter and coconut evaporated milk as substitutes and it turned out great! First time she’s ever been able to try caramel and she loved it!!
Epic failure, carmels FUSED to the wax paper! What a waste of time and ingredients. Really wish i would have just greased the pan. The spoon i licked tasted good tho.
You can’t use wax paper to line the pan–only PARCHMENT paper. I’m so sorry that happened! I only use wax paper to wrap individual caramels after they are already made and cold.
I used parchment paper and mine are sticking also. I wonder if i didn’t cook it long enough? I cooked for almost an hour. Or cod they not be cold enough?
When using parchment paper to line the pan, do you butter the parchment paper?
No you do not!
Always remember wax paper is for cold stuff, parchment is for hot
I’ve made this recipe about 5 times. The first two came out perfectly. The past 3 times i’ve made it though its been a crap shoot. The first of the three never fully set for me to cut it (i assume because there was too much liquid still in it?), the second became rock solid and wouldn’t break even when i hit it on the counter(too much liquid cooked out?), and now i’m waiting for a batch to cool but this time there is a line of oil on top. I’ve always bought the same brand of ingredients and cooked it the same way. I understand theres gonna be a bit of variety from time to time but i am beyond confused. I’ve tried different types of thermometers and the ice water trick. any help please i beg my friends all love these and i keep trying to make them happy but am disappointed in myself!
This sounds like a cooking temp problem. If you get the mixture too hot, it will get into the soft or hard Crack stage and will shatter apart. If it’s not cooked hot enough, it will be more runny and won’t solidify! Did you use a candy thermometer?
You To make sure that the humidity is not high outside if the humidity is high your caramels will not turn out so you can do everything right but if your humidity is over 50% say even 70 it’s not gonna work so no snow no rain they’ll turn off
I’m trying these with half white and half brown sugar. I want to try sending them in care packages to my boys in the Navy. Suggestions on how to pack them where they’ll stay fresh? Thank you!
Let me know how the brown sugar worked. That’s what I want to do. Thanks.
Whole bunch of popcorn for a little salt in my side when it’s cool pack the caramels in them in the box then the boys will have Popcorn too.
This works better with heavy cream than evaporated milk and refrigerator for caramel s is a huge no. They need to sit 8-12 hrs at room temp before cutting and wrapping so they set properly. Rushing this with a refrigerator shortens their lifespan. When you do it right you can have candy kept at room temp in an airtight container for WEEKS. Refrigeration makes them weep and granulate.
These are amazing! Do you think you can use it for dipping apples?
Yes! Here’s my caramel apple instructions: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/caramel-apples/