Homemade Caramels -You’ll be spoiled!
Many stores are selling out of the Southern Plate Cookbook. If you’d like to ensure there is a copy under your tree for Christmas, order or reserve your copy today!
When I was a little girl we had a little store in our neighborhood which we all called “the store around the corner”. I don’t even know if it had a name other than that but kids from all over would ride their bicycles there to get treats on the weekends or pick up a loaf of bread for their mothers. They carried a few grocery staples, cold cokes, and snack cakes, and there was always a passle of bicycles scattered about out front.
I was too young to go by myself but Mama would let me go along if my brother went and I remember peddling as fast as I could to keep up with him, while he peddeled as fast as he could to lose his tag along little sister!
Caramels at that store were one penny each and I’d save my pennies and go spend every single one on them, coming home with a prized brown paper sack full of my favorite treat. I rationed them out, eating one a day, and was convinced that the rest of the world cherished them as much as I did. So, to protect my treasure, I hid them in my blue jean drawer, folding up one pants leg and lining it with caramels to foil any evil plot against them.
You know what is funny? I still ration them out today. But I gotta tell ya, these homemade ones are far better than any caramel I’ve ever had in my life and definitely worthy of a little special treatment. I hope you get to make them soon. They take a little more time but are still incredibly easy and I know you’ll be impressed with yourself when you’re done!
You’ll need: Sugar, Dark Corn Syrup, Sweetened Condensed Milk, Butter or Margarine, Waxed Paper, and Vanilla.
No, you won’t need a gallon of vanilla, just a teaspoon or so but I picked up the big old jug of fake stuff while I was shopping last time because I’m tired of running out. I could just about buy a vat this time of year and know I’d use it all with the baking I do!
I’ve had a lot of folks ask me what color my kitchen is so I went this past weekend to find the color. It is a color by Dutch Boy that I got in the Wal Mart paint department and it is called “Yellow Slip”.
Speaking of Wal Mart, oh my is it crazy this time of year! I’ve decided to try to stay away from there til after Christmas. I’m coming up on almost a week now, can you believe it?
To start with, take an 8×8 pan and line it with aluminum foil.
I prefer the heavy duty stuff for this but if you only have regular foil just go for it.
Now butter that. I just take a stick of butter or margarine and rub it over it for this part.
Margarine works a little better than butter for this in my opinion.
My opinion is a lot like my autograph – that and five bucks’ll get you a cup of coffee 
To begin with, place corn syrup, sugar, and butter (or margarine) in a medium sauce pot.
You’re going to put that on medium heat and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly.
Here is our butter starting to melt.
You really really have to stir constantly here so just settle in and get comfy.
Now our butter is melted and it’s still heating up…
Finally boiling! Once it reaches a full boil stop stirring and let it boil for four minutes.
During this time, get you a magazine or a book because the next step is of “stir constantly” is going to take ten forevers…
but it will be worth every second!
After four minutes is up, remove from heat and stir in your sweetened condensed milk.
Return the pot to the stove eye and place it on medium heat.
Here we go with the stir constantly thing again. This time it’s serious ~grins~
That sounds like a movie trailer. How cool would it be if we could get James Earl Jones to narrate a Southern Plate post?
Or Morgan Freeman, he seems like he’d be a really nice guy.
Put your candy thermometer in the pot. Now don’t you be intimidated by a candy thermometer, it really is no big deal.
Just remember, you are bigger than it. It is more scared of you than you are of it.
any of those working for ya?
It has a little clip that clips it right onto the side of the pot and you just have to make sure the bulb end of it is just beneath the surface of your liquid, but not touching the bottom.
We need to cook this to soft ball stage, and that is easy with a candy thermometer because it says right on it “soft ball stage”.
I’ll show you that towards the end so hang with me.
If you’ve never used a candy thermometer, you can buy them on the kitchen gadget aisle for two or three dollars. After you are done using it, just let it cool and then hand wash it and put it up for another day. They are really low maintenance and the key to many homemade candies.
Here it is coming to a boil. I’m stirring, stirring, stirring.
This will take about ten minutes or so. You just stir and watch your thermometer.
You could sing some Christmas songs to help pass the time. I remember when I was little and Mama would condition my hair, she’d put the conditioner on and then we’d sit there and sing a song to give it time to soak in. When we were done singing, it was time to rinse!
hehehe
This is at soft ball stage.
See where the blue line ends? That is the line that says “soft ball” on the thermometer so we know we’re ready.
Remove from heat.
and look at how gorgeous our caramel looks! oh my goodness, it smells so good!
Pour in your vanilla and give that a good stir.
I found a small bottle that had just enough left in it.
Now pour into your buttered foil lined pan.
This needs to sit a while until the caramel cools some.
I don’t let mine cool all the way though, I start working with it while it is still warm to make it easier.
While we’re waiting on that to cool, cut some sheets of waxed paper.
I tear off a few sheets about eighteen inches long or so.
Then cut each of those sheets into three strips.
and cut each strip into squares (or rectangles, depending on which way the wind blows, I’m not particular)
There, now we got us a little pile.
You’ll need about sixty total but I’ll start with this because I’m tired of messing with it for now
Get you a big old honking knife and start a cutting.
We are really just kind of scoring it because it won’t stay cut.
At this point it is the consistency of taffy so we’re scoring it and then we’ll pull it apart to get ready to wrap.
You wanna make sure your hands are clean for this.
As we pull it apart it will stretch a bit and I just plop it down like little balls on a plate.
These will shape up really well as we wrap them.
For now though, just pull them all into little balls like this and then allow to cool completely. A cookie sheet or large platter or two will be needed.
Once completely cooled, place each one in the center of a piece of waxed paper.
Roll it up and twist the ends
Continue until you are done and you’ll have about sixty pieces of caramel heaven!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup sugar
- 1 Cup Butter or Margarine
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Line an eight inch square pan with heavy aluminum foil. Butter foil and set aside. In large sauce pot, place sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil slowly for four minutes without stirring and then remove from heat. Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Return to medium heat and place candy thermometer in pot. Cook, stirring constantly, until thermometer reads Soft Ball Stage (238 degrees). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Pour into prepared pan. Allow to cool until able to handle. Cut into one inch squares and place each square (which will look like a blob at this point) onto a cookie sheet or platter to cool completely.
- Once cooled, place each in the center of a wax paper square, roll up and twist ends. **Update-Some folks have had problems with caramels sticking to the wrapping papers. We've played with this recipe and discovered that letting caramels cool completely before wrapping solves this problem. This happened on my last batch before I realized I should let them cool, but being the trooper I am I ate them anyway!;) SOO GOOD!
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Pluginhttp://www.southernplate.com/2010/12/homemade-caramels-youll-be-spoiled.html
Ingredients
- 1 Cup sugar
- 1 Cup Butter or Margarine
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Line an eight inch square pan with heavy aluminum foil. Butter foil and set aside. In large sauce pot, place sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil slowly for four minutes without stirring and then remove from heat. Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Return to medium heat and place candy thermometer in pot. Cook, stirring constantly, until thermometer reads Soft Ball Stage (238 degrees). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Pour into prepared pan. Allow to cool until able to handle. Cut into one inch squares and place each square (which will look like a blob at this point) onto a cookie sheet or platter to cool completely.
- Once cooled, place each in the center of a wax paper square, roll up and twist ends. **Update-Some folks have had problems with caramels sticking to the wrapping papers. We've played with this recipe and discovered that letting caramels cool completely before wrapping solves this problem. This happened on my last batch before I realized I should let them cool, but being the trooper I am I ate them anyway!;) SOO GOOD!
Print This Recipe
“Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.”
~ Aeschylus. Submitted by I Play Outside The Box. Submit your quote or pick up some more to inspire you by clicking here.
Subscribe to Southern Plate and never miss a single recipe!
Related posts:
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Dec 14 2010. Filed under Dessert, Holiday Favorites!, Holidays.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
Hi Christy .. I live in Ireland and we don’t have Karo syrup – do you know of substitute recipe I can use to make something similar to karo ? I sure would love to make some caramels. Thanks !!
Ireland?? How cool is that! Karo is just a dark corn syrup so maybe you have it under another brand? If not, do you have molasses?
OhMyStinkinHeck are these ever DEEEEELicious!
Ok..these are wonderfully delicious! One question though…mine stuck to my wrappers pretty bad when I tried to unwrap them, Did I do something wrong?
Jennifer!
Mine did the same thing! They sure smell and taste great one you pry them off the wrapper, but leave half of it behind becuase it just won’t come off! Did you ever resolve?
Shelly
I was born in North Carolina but moved to Ireland 6 years ago – I have used Karo syrup before I moved here … and the molasses is in no way the same flavor or texture. Maybe I can google and see if anyone knows of a way to make homemade syrup that tastes like Karo. Thanks for responding
okay, i must have done something wrong…mine set up a bit but not like in the picture…any suggestions on what i did wrong…however i improvised and dropped a teaspoon full into each wrapper and stuck them in the fridge to harden a bit…i hope that works…
Made these a few hours ago, turned out perfectly but now I’ve got a problem I can’t get any to unwrap from the waxed paper! All are stuck and can’t be eaten without consuming the paper (and yes – I’m sure I used waxed paper). Help! Any suggestions? What did I do wrong? Still tasty – if I don’t mind the extra fiber, lol!!!
Delicious, Christy! Made some yesterday, took to our family Christmas party today; empty bowl now! Easy and tasty…thanks!
You are so welcome! So glad ya’ll enjoyed them, they are a favorite of mine!
I also did some ‘Salted caramels’ with your recipe…just sprinkled with kosher salt when it was still barely warm…tasted just as good as some high dollar candy..and it was easy!
Christy
I made your caramel recipe and while tge taste was great, I could not chew it because it was too hard. I followed your recipe to the “t” but ??? What did I do wrong?
[...] Jordan has a great recipe for Homemade Caramels on her blog, SouthernPlate.com. They look delicious and would make a great holiday [...]
The boys and I made these today, soooo yummy! Our problem came when trying to wrap in waxed paper, they stuck! Got some foil candy wrappers from cooking store and they work perfectly. Yes, they were $2.95 for 125 pretty squares but my frustration level is worth that much. Thanks for the terrific recipe Christy!
I LOVE THESE CARAMELS!!!…kinda wish i didn’t =) Mine also stuck to wax paper and I even buttered it. I’m going to make them again and use the Release foil that Reynold’s makes. I always use it for things that need to be buttered, like fudge–I just line my dish with the foil and pour in the fudge, or whatever, then pop it out and pull off the foil with no problem. I even poured the caramels in a dish lined with that foil and it didn’t stick…SO, I’m going to make the caramels again and cut squares of the Release foil and wrap them in that. I’ll just “scrunch” up the ends a little, being careful not to rip it. They’re so good I don’t think they’ll have time to dry up! Thanks so much Christy and a very merry and blessed Christmas to you and your family!!!
The foil might just be a great idea! I think I might have to try it as well
oh my…. my my my. You really ARE trying to make my backside even broader, right? These sound like just the day-after-Christmas treat for our family,,…. thanks!!
A little Christmas after Christmas. Great idea!
I made these yesterday. All I have to say is YUM! I wish I had let it cool just a bit longer where it wasn’t so gooey before trying to cut it into pieces. I thought maybe I had done something wrong when it started cooling and it had a thin layer of liquid on top of it. Turns out that was a good thing. I don’t know what caused it, but it kept them from sticking to the paper when I wrapped them. I’ll be handing these out to my family at our Christmas get-together!
I made these yesterday and I’m not sure what I did but when we went to unwrap a few to eat they were really stuck to the wrapper. They taste phenomenal though!! Did I let them cool too long? Any thoughts would be helpful for the next time I make these. No mater what I will be making these again!! Thank you for this great recipe!
These caramels are delish…but they stuck to the waxed paper…which meant I could not use them for food treats…I don’t mind a little paper ,but as a present that wouldn’t work. I googled what to do and they suggested butcher paper. I have been given homemade caramels as gifts wrapped in waxed paper and they did not stick. Christy do you have any idea why they stuck? It seems like a number of us had the same problem!!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas
Hey! I have been meaning to get in here and reply to this but have been so busy with Christmas (y’all know what that is like) that I haven’t been able to!
I have made these several times and just this year had problems with them sticking. From what I can tell in my research, it may very well have to do with the moisture in the air on the day they are made. It has been very wet where we are and some candies are best made on dry days, caramels included.
One thing we can do to combat this problem is grease our waxed paper or roll each caramel in some powdered sugar before wrapping.
Personally, I’d just as soon eat the whole dern pan myself but I find myself wanting to share like y’all do from time to time ~grins~.
Debbie Strum also suggested storing them in the refrigerator to help combat this problem so I’m gonna go try that now!
I read somewhere that instead of pouring the hot caramel into a pan to use mini-muffin tins. I sprayed the muffin tins really well, then the caramel just scooped out into my hand and it was nice and greasy. I pulled each “muffin” into 3 pieces and wrapped the pieces in the waxed paper. The only problem was if it got caught in the twists of the paper. This is just a fabulous, delicious, extravagant and easy recipe!
oh my goodness, i love this idea!
I made these the day before Christmas Eve with much success except for my own lack of experience! ha ha ha
First of all I was already into making them when I couldn’t find my candy thermometer so I had to do it the “old fashioned way” and keep a close eye and drop a little in a room temp. cup of water to know when it was at soft ball stage. I got close! They could have cooked another minute or two but still set up just fine. Then I forgot to stir in the vanilla! Ugh! Talk about getting in my own way!
I think part of the problem with them sticking to the paper is two fold: 1) If you do it before they are cooled enough. I kept having to stop and start. The first twenty I wrapped stuck really bad, the last twenty that I wrapped several hours later peel off the paper just fine. 2) enough “grease” I mean butter! They slide right off the paper when there is enough around them.
Otherwise, another hit Christy! We loved them!
So glad you liked them Reagan!!
Oh, Reagan! I am so glad to hear that you “get in your own way,” too!!! I do that kind of thing all the time and thought I was the only one! All these folks on these blogs and on TV make everything look so simple, and then I get in the middle of attempting the “easy” recipes and my kitchen (and I) end up looking like a war zone. Thanks for sharing your little mistakes! You make me feel like there’s another one like me out there! I’m still hangin’ in there and trying all this though! I can’t wait to try these caramels…I’ll be sure to find my candy thermometer first!
Thanks for the info. on the kitchen paint color. I looked at my Walmart, and unfortunately thay don’t have the color “yellow slip.” I guess it could have been discontinued? Also, thanks for another great recipe! I’ll be trying these soon.
Have you ever made them with light Karo? Just curious, since I have some of that and would rather not run to Wal-Mart or the grocery just for dark Karo. I have a recipe for Caramels that just calls for Karo and evaporated milk and it comes out pretty good, but your recipe sounds like it might be richer. I love caramel.
PS – For those who complaining about the stick-to-the-paper problem, it is most likely the humidity.
I made these caramels in Jacksonville, Fl. The humidity center of the world (so it seems). So, i was real curious to see if they would set up right. They turned out absolutely perfect, and oh so yummy!!!!! My neighbor tasted them and said they felt as creamy as butter! Paula Deen would be proud…. you know she likes her butter! Keep the recipes coming- they are great!
So glad they turned out great for you Janie! Thank you so much!
If I Can make these anybody can. They are so good
[...] across a recipe for homemade caramels. I was thinking about making them and sending them to IL to my parents. But it could get [...]
Caramels are one of my favorites ! I must say I have NEVER seen a container of vanilla that big before. It’s exactly what I need for holiday goodie making !
~giggles~ It did come in handy Joyce!
Christy, I left you a comment a couple of weeks ago about using Release foil to wrap the caramels in. I’ve made them twice with the foil and there’s NO sticking at all! Thanks so much for the delicious recipe!!!
Yay!!! I am so glad to hear that it works. I am going to try it next time, thanks so much for letting us know!
I buy Mexican vanilla in quantity on the internet. MUCH better and richer than any you can buy on the grocery shelf…and you can’t even compare it to imitation!!!! Great price too….you use less than recipe calls for ’cause it’s so pure.
Where do you buy Mexican vanilla on the internet?
Sending my husband to buy a candy thermometer after work and will attempt to make them tonight…..I am a cake and cookie baker and have never attempted candy so wish me luck…I love Caramel!
Did any one’s turn out chewy? These are delicious, but they could have been firmer. They melt in the mouth a little too quickly. Maybe I didn’t do it quite right.
I tried parchment paper, and that worked ok for not sticking, but I ended up using the release aluminum wrap for most of them.
Love parchment paper for lots of things, from baking chicken pieces to baking cookies. Found in groceries along with the other food wraps.
The reason everyone’s caramels are sticking to the waxed paper is because these caramels won’t set up properly! They are way too sticky to be wrapped. I followed the directions exactly and am sorry to say that I have tried many recipes that taste (and set up) much, much better. These were “grainy” — not at all smooth and creamy like others I’ve made and, of course, sticky and gummy. I tried these because they looked so good and the directions were nicely detailed and easy to follow, but as for taste and texture, I will stick to my old tried and true recipes!
I tried to make these a second time a couple of weeks ago and they would not set up well…The first time i made them they turned out amazing but i don’t know what happened the second time…
Kayla, my first batch I cooked ONE minute longer (five minutes) and they have the darker caramel look similar to those in the store. The second batch (yes, two in one day! LOL) I went right by the recipe and although very soft, not chewy at all really (not like I imagine a caramel to be). Both batches are very tasty. However, I lean toward the one cooked an extra minute. From reading your post I think my second batch turned out much like yours. I was able to cut them though….just VERY soft! I hope this helps!!!! That extra minute does amazing things….just DO NOT stop stiring!
OH WOW!!! I have attempted making caramels before. TO NO AVAIL! This recipe is GREAT!!!! I would just give one tip: Do not stop stiring! Thank you SOOOOO MUCH! These are outrageously delish!
I am so glad you like them Kim!!
FYI, I do use a digital candy thermometer. They are creamy smooth and the perfect caramel “chewiness”!
You have totally inspired me to try and make caramels for the first time…I must admit to being incredibly nervous.
I’m totally not going to go the whole “stick to the paper” route though. I am going to roll them into balls, chill, and then dip them in chocolate
Question: Could this recipe be used to make turtle fudge by pouring over the fudge and adding pecans on top? What do you think?
Sure can! Just need to work fast
My daughter and I made these last year for Christmas and they are delicious! We even stuck mini marshmallows in some and they were awesome too! I’ll be making them again in the next few days, everyone loved them. Thanks for the great recipes and all the wrapping tips.
I made these for the first time in Dec. 2010 to test on our family, and now make them all year round, not just the holidays. So scrumptious that I have to hide them so we (2 of us) won’t eat them up in 2-3 days.
wonder if you don’t want to wrap them. what other way could you serve them?
Another must-try recipe!
DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE THESE WHEN THE WEATHER IS DRY? WE HAVE ALOT OF RAIN HERE, WILL THEY STILL TURN OUT?
Just made some, the weather is damp here today, just started sprinklin a lil while ago…anyway, mine taste fantastic…they’re just really gooey and I can’t wrap them or it sticks really bad….trying to figure out what to do with this whole batch…don’t want it to go to waste! ~i’m sure i could be like christy and eat the whole dern thing myself…LOL~
Just a thought, many years ago I made a caramel that required condensed milk, added a small amount of flour to the milk, mixed well, which took away the stickiness.
I’m headed to the store NOW for the dark Karo syrup. I can’t wait to try these. My grandchildren will love them. And, of course, us older ones will love them too!
One day at WalMart, in the baking aisle, I was looking at the mini muffin pans and there was another lady there and she told me that when she makes caramels, she puts them in the mini muffin pans, because that was easier than cutting them.
Speaking of WalMart or any other store, the only time I ever go shopping is no later than 8AM because that way I can avoid the crowds. Once in awhile during the school year I will go in the early afternoon, when I know that the only kids that will be around are the ones so young that they should be riding in the shopping cart, instead of running around unsupervised. I only shop where they have those electric carts for shoppers to use and it would be really easy to run into some little kid that is running around without their parents in sight.
My daughter’s and I made these last night and they are yummy! In fact, we all had an apple for breakfast with a piece of caramel to top it off! Thanks for the recipe.
I have to tell you how awesome you are!!! I found that I had some leftover pecans (that didn’t make it to my tummy after making Russian Tea Cake cookies)….and thought I’d make Turtles. Off I go to search for a Turtle recipe and realize that I need caramel and, alas, I did not have any on hand. Google search…and whose recipe is on top? YOURS!!! And it was posted today….were you thinking of me?! I’m making the caramel now. Thank you!!
Suggestion: Make your caramels the night before. Then wrap them the next day. This will allow plenty time for cooling, and your caramels won’t stick to your wax paper.
I have never ever made caramels before even my mom won’t make them and she bakes up a storm and knows how to make almost everything. I remember when I was little eating homemade caramels that we would get as gifts the chewy goodness that melted in your mouth and my only craving so far with my pregnancy was homemade caramels. I found this site and thought it was simple and I had everything so why not and Ohhhh am I in heaven it is perfect. Thank you for sharing these.
OH MY GOODNESS! I finally found the time to make these tonight and they are absolutely AMAZING! I refer to them as my 64 little fattening lard blobs of HEAVEN! I haven’t actually sampled them other than scraping a bit off the edge of the knife…INCREDIBLE! I do believe I have found a new Christmas tradition! Christy, thank you not only for a terrific recipe, but for such entertaining instructions. If you ever find yourself in Iowa, please let me know…I want to cook with you just once!
Thanks again…WONDERFUL!
Made these today. Ok taste, but I think way to much butter. I’m going to try again with only a half cup.
I have a good bit of light corn syrup that I purchased on sale. How do you think it would do in these caramels? Would they taste the same, but just be a little lighter in color, or do you think it would affect the taste, too? I made them last year & they are definitely on our list to make again this year!
light corn syrup worked fine
Thanks for letting us know Trish!
I made these caramels and they are absolutely delicious! I made them too big and had to cut them in half (not an easy task after they have cooled) I plan on making them, now that I know what to expect
Thank you, Christy for such a wonderful recipe!
I am so glad you got to try them Debbie!
making them *again* I meant