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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.
Hi,
I’m wondering what size you cut your caramels to, that yields the 80ct. I’m trying to gauge about how much of this recipe I would need to match a Kraft 14oz. bag of caramels, as I have recipes that call for those, specifically, by the bag. Theirs have about 50 pieces in a bag and are 3/4″ by 3/4″ at 1/2″ height. Thanks!!
Hi Veronica, I’m not sure the exact measurement but probably close to 1.5” squares…good luck! 🙂
I haven’t ever made this exact recipe, but I’ve made one similar to it for the last 15 years. I like to throw my wrapped caramels into Ziploc bags and freeze them. Then I get to enjoy delicious caramels year round.
Hi! I just wanted to say that I attempted to make this recipe today, and failed miserably! The caramel never got thicker, and I looked at other recipes that said you should let the sugar boil first that way your caramels won’t be gritty. REALLY wish I could have pulled this off, they looked great 🙁
It takes quite awhile, and some patience for it to get thick…but as the sugar boils it should get thicker…hope you can try again!
FYI hard ball stage is 260… soft ball is 240…. making them now! can’t wait to try them!
I tried your recipe. Didn’t work. The mixture curdled, and then burned. They never got to hard ball stage, so had to throw the whole thing out. I’ve never had caramel mixture curdle before.
Hi Ellen, the best way to avoid curdling is by making sure the mixture is constantly boiling. If you do have a problem with it curdling, a great trick is to stir in a pinch of baking soda while the mixture is cooking.
Hi there, was looking forward all week to making these caramels. I was planning on finding a good recipe so I could cover in chocolate and give as gifts, this was my test batch but was really hoping I’d nail it so I could wrap and give these out as well. Unfortunately, I somehow ended up with a lumpy mixture. The only thing I can think of is maybe while pouring the evaporated milk I took too long and at some point it seperated. Also a few times the boil was more of a simmer while adding the milk so I stopped for it to boil again. I stirred it fairly regularly and once I noticed the lumps I busted out a whisk and was relentless until it reached the firm ball stage, hoping for a Christmas miracle that it would cook out. No such luck. They are in the fridge now because I just refuse to give up on these guys. Any pointers? Is it normal for it to smell like brown butter? Lol, Help!
Hi Jessica, it sounds like your mixture curdled–which can happen if you don’t maintain a constant boil. A really great trick to fix the curdling is to stir in a pinch of baking soda while cooking. Hopefully you can try again and they’ll turn out great
I made these today using some of the caramel for Chocolate Turtles and it turned out AMAZING. I nearly didn’t have the patience, but in the end it totally paid off 🙂 I love caramel!
Super excited as Turtles are my mom’s favorite and now she can have some gluten free ones ^.^
Do you think these could be dipped in chocolate once they are refrigerated, cooled and cut into pieces and if yes, what chocolate recipe could you suggest?
Hi Helen, that would definitely work and be delicious! I would just melt any type of good quality milk or semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler! Yum!
Are you using white sugar or brown sugar?
Regular granulated white sugar 🙂
I made these on Monday and they taste delicious! The cost ended up being around $6.19. And I ended up with 143 caramels. I suppose my caramels must be smaller than what you cut out. My friends are addicted to them! I will be making them every Christmas! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m so glad you liked them! We make them every Christmas too! Thanks for commenting 🙂