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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.
I’ve attempted this recipe three times now, and every time, I get a huge pool of butter separated from the caramel. What am I doing wrong? I’m using 2 sticks and making sure it’s melted and combined with the corn syrup and sugar before boiling.
Sounds like you might be boiling it too fast at too high a heat. I used to have the same issue until I turned the heat down to medium. Also, stir constantly to get everything integrated.
SO YUMMY!!!!!
I’m not the best chef- so 3’s a charm.
Took me three tries on the same batch to get it right. First time I didn’t cook it long enough and it didn’t harden enough. Threw it back in the pan and proceeded to cook it too long so it became too hard. Threw it back in the pan for the third time, added almost an entire can of evaporated milk and some more corn syrup which did the trick since it was so overcooked. Came out perfect and scrumptious! Took me all day – but hopefully someone can learn from my mistakes!
I made an infused version of these and let me tell you they were fantastic!
Lauren,
This is awesome! Thank you for the recipe.
I have a question regarding Step 6 and 7.
“6. 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).
7. 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.
“,
wouldn’t several hours in the fridge make the caramels real hard?
By “but they should be soft at room temperature.”, do you mean once you take them out of friedge and leave them under room temperature then it would soon become soft?
If so, how long that may take?
Many thanks.
Don
I like to refrigerate them because they’re easier to cut when they are cold, and hardened. Once they sit out at room temperature, they soften a bit. The pan of caramels will take at least 30 minutes to come to room temperature. Wrapped caramels will soften, once they’re taken out of the fridge, within 15 minutes or so.
Thank you Lauren.
I did some experimentation for a small quantity late this morning.
1) I stopped stirring at 424F for the temperature,
2) transferred it to sheet tray (cupcake shaped);
3) dipped the bottom of the tray in cold water with ice for 7 to 8 minutes and then took it out
4) left it under room temperature ( 69F ) with parchment paper loosely on its top for about 42 minutes.
5) then, became a bit creative, use the tip of a knife to get each of them out the cupcake hole.
They are slightly harder than desired. I tried one, pretty good.
I was a bit reluctant to put them in the fridge for concern of flavor contamination because my fridge is crazy full.
To make the next batch softer,
should I stop at 420F and cool with ice for 3 to 4 minutes and room temperature cooling for 36 to 37 minutes?
Many thanks.
P.S. Could you please replace my email address with “Don Li”? Appreciated.
I made these!! They turned out so good. Had a nice buttery taste. It took so long for the carmel to reach that 240 soft ball stage I couldn’t believe how long I was standing at the stove maybe because I was stirring it constantly so it didn’t stick or burn.. I never stopped stirring which is crazy because I have ninja pans and nothing sticks haha kinda forgot about that. Any ways after I finally stopped stirring for 20 seconds and allowed it to boil and went back to the pan every 20 or 30 seconds maybe even 40 seconds. It finally reached temp I had to also switch pans early on because there was no way it was going to fit in my biggest one handle pot. So I used a 2 handle pot that I usually use for pasta or big meals and that helped. Thank you so much for the recipe, I now need to try and make a dairy free version for my daughter!! Very delicious 😋 I will be making this again after my arms recover lol!!
I have been told that corn syrup has been linked to several health problems common in my family, is there an alternative (brown sugar, honey, more granulated sugar) that I can use instead? If so, please let me know.
A healthier alternative is raw honey in the same amount as the corn syrup.
Absolutely perfect. Your instructions were easy to follow and right on target. I don’t have a candy but remember helping my mom test things with the ice water so I was happy to see your instructions on that. Thank you, this turned out great for me.
This was my first time making caramels and I found the instructions super easy to follow. They turned out so yummy! I used a pizza cutter to cut them into squares, that worked for me better than a knife and didn’t stick at all. Thank you so much for this yummy recipe, I will definitely make again!
Can I pour these in silicone candy trays?
Yes! If you search the comments several others have used a mold with success. Please let us know how it turns out for you!!
Yum. Preheat the evaporated milk in a separate pot or in the microwave, then you can add it much quicker without curdling.
Yes thank you! I was thinking the same!