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 this Buckeye Recipe, 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
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Recipe
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
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I originally shared this recipe November 2017. Updated May 2020 and November 2023.
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Hi, I great recipie. I would like to make these.
Would I be able to use ‘golden syrup’ I can’t find any Karo syrup in the UK :/
Thanks,
Anna
I’m not totally sure what “golden syrup” is, but it sounds like the same…I wouldn’t be able to say if they’ll turn out the exact same or not…sorry!
You can get corn syrup from Amazon. It’s about £11 for 3 bottles. Golden syrup works but it makes it extremely sweet. If you don’t want to order corn syrup, then you can get glucose syrup from the chemist, which works as well as corn syrup. I have to order glucose syrup in though, Boots carries it at Christmas time, and also you can find it at cake decorating suppliers.
Is there something I can use to substitute for the corn syrup? I can’t consume corn products… This sounds sooooo yummy!
Hi KJ, I’m really not sure what would be the best substitute…you may want to try a different recipe, perhaps one that is sweet and condensed milk based. Sorry, to not be more help…all the caramel recipes I’m familiar with use corn syrup.
Glucose is the same viscosity as corn syrup
This sounds amazing! Might try this for Christmas. Is the butter salted or unsalted?
Hi Bianca, I use Salted butter! We make them every year for Christmas–soo yummy!
Hi, this is my 2nd try at making them, the first batch didn’t set and I cooked it for an hour. I’m on 30 min now and it’s still looking the same as the 1st batch what might I be doing wrong?
Hi Kim, I’m really sorry they haven’t been setting for you. However, they do take a long time to cook, especially if your located somewhere with high altitude or humididty–they usually take me at least an hour…
Most recipes call for Carnation milk so I am excited to try this. Thanks.
Hi, just wanted to say I made the caramels today and it turned out great and they are wonderful. I cooked them to the firm ball stage and they were a little chewy. Kind of reminds me of a Slo-Pok sucker. Next time I will not cook quite to that point. They are delicious and I will definitely use this recipe again. Thank you for sharing.
Ive been looking for the perfect simple caramel recipe, what I’d like to do is once its set, cut it and make ropes out of it to wrap around pretzel rods… would this particular recipe work? once it’s wrapped in the caramel, i plan on dipping it in chocolate, these are for gift giving … if you have time can you get back to me please
thank you and thank you for sharing your recipes
Stella
That sounds amazing! Yes, I think this caramel recipe would work great for wrapping around the pretzel rods–however, I wouldn’t quite cook it to “hard ball” stage but just a little less so that it’s easy to roll into ropes. Good luck!
I have been looking for a good caramel recipe and I finally found it. I just made these today and they are amazing! Great recipe!
I’m happy they turned out so well! I’ve got to give full credit to my mom–it’s her awesome recipe! 🙂
I am thinking about making these for a bake sale. How long in advance do you think they would keep? Also, have you ever added nuts?
Hi Sarah, sounds fun! If refrigerated, they’ll last for weeks!
I made these yesterday and they still haven’t set, I think I may have added to much milk, can I fix this?
Hi Angela, You can try scooping all of the caramel back into your pot and cooking it longer
We LOVE making homemade caramel. Thanks for the recipe! Pinned!
Those look so yummy! I love home made caramels!
I love making caramels too but found a recipe where you can make them in the microwave! So simple, so easy and only takes 15 minutes. Use the same ingredients in this recipe but microwave in 3 minute intervals. After each 3 minutes, stir well. After 15 minutes pour into a dish that has been covered with parchment paper. Cool and cut into desired shapes either logs or squares. Have fun!